Robot or Not?
Hosted by John Siracusa and Jason Snell
Jason Snell asks John Siracusa to rule on the meaning of various words and concepts. It’s not just about robots anymore.
Have a question for John? Email robot@theincomparable.com.
321 Glass
Can a drinking glass be made out of plastic? Or is it just a cup?
Previous Episodes
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August 4, 2025320 Parasol
Summer is in full swing, so Listener Ken has asked us to differentiate between umbrellas and parasols.
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July 21, 2025
319 Market
Listener Marc ponders the “VR headset market” and wants to know what makes a market a market.
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July 7, 2025
318 Charger
Listener Eric really needs his kids to differentiate between charger blocks and charging cables.
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June 23, 2025
317 AI Hype
Listener Christian, your time has come. Is an AI Lock the same as a Smart Lock? Or a Fuzzy Logic Lock? When bicycle gear shifters are called “AI”, how do we define what any of this means? I know—let’s ask John.
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June 9, 2025
316 Spacesuits
Listener Lorne asks what makes a spacesuit a spacesuit, and it gets complicated in a hurry.
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May 22, 2025
315 10th Anniversary Episode
Let’s get back to basics. We celebrate our improbable 10th anniversary with a letter from Listener Scott, who has a lot of questions about his son’s book “Science Comics: Robots and Drones.”
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May 20, 2025
314 Bay Leaf
Listener Paul doubts the efficacy of the Bay Leaf. Host John ponders the longevity of Spices. Host Jason admits to keeping spices 15 years past their expiration dates.
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May 5, 2025
313 Tech
Listener Jason (not host Jason) wants to know if “non-tech items” are really tech items.
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April 22, 2025
312 Unanchored Buoys
Listener Ben asks: If a Buoy is unanchored and works hard to stay where it is, is it the Roomba of the seas?
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April 7, 2025
311 Mushroombot
Listener Jim wants John to weigh in on the story of the mushroom that was given a robot body, and while that does sound fascinating, the answer seems to be right there in the description.