Robot or Not?

Nov 18 2024 303 ep. 5 mins 1.6k

Robot or Not? Podcast artwork

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 [email protected].

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301: Fan/Light

Nov 18 2024 2 mins

Listener Patrick is concerned about taxonomy, most particularly involving fans that are also lights....

300: Fast Food

Nov 04 2024 11 mins

There are so many different ways to define fast food. Is pizza fast food? Also, Jason has a story about the Shake Shake in the Minneapolis airport....

299: Window

Oct 21 2024 3 mins

I can see clearly now....

298: Henchman

Oct 07 2024 5 mins

As so often happens with us, discussions of evil henchman end up becoming discussions of legal employment status....

297: Relay Podcastathon Special 2024

Sep 25 2024 15 mins

Live from the Relay Podcastathon, Jason and special guest Casey Liss ask John a bunch of questions from the Robot Or Not question list. Topics include: All-In-One computers, dates, pasta, and antique vs. retro. It’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Please consider donating as a part of our campaign at stjude.org/relay....

296: Catchphrase

Sep 16 2024 2 mins

Oh, Listener Sean wants to know about catchphrases! Well, isn’t that special?...

295: Homepods and Other Robots (or Not)

Sep 02 2024 8 mins

In a rare timely episode, John and Jason discuss a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman that Apple is designing a series of robots, including a “robot” that sits on a table and moves its display around, and a “robot” that follows you around your house folding laundry, reminding you of your mortality, and possibly running a viral campaign for Apple TV+ shows....

294: Double Space

Aug 19 2024 3 mins

Listener Daniel would like John’s blessing for his practice of putting two spaces after every sentence he types....

293: Severe Weather

Aug 05 2024 2 mins

Listener Arne received a severe weather alert for a fire. Fires are very bad, but are they weather? Are some natural disasters weather, and others not?...

292: Tea

Jul 22 2024 4 mins

Is “truffle mushroom tea” just a soup? Did a fancy New York restaurant play a trick on Listener David and his wife? And what is tea, really?...