Show overview
Robot or Not? has been publishing since 2015, and across the 11 years since has built a catalogue of 348 episodes. That works out to roughly 30 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence.
Episodes typically run under ten minutes — most land between 3 min and 7 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. It is catalogued as a EN-language Society & Culture show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 3 days ago, with 16 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2016, with 53 episodes published. Published by John Siracusa and Jason Snell.
From the publisher
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].
Latest Episodes
View all 348 episodes346: Pizza Wheel
345: Wearable Robot
344: Look-Up
343: Pizza Robot
342: Superhero Naming Conventions
341: Life on the Moon (and Mars?)
Ep 340340: Out of Pocket
Listener Tom really wants us to explain what it means if someone is “out of pocket.” This leads to some existential questions about the pocket and the people who may not be in it. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 339339: Can
Listener Niels follows on from the logical question of if a glass can be made of plastic to ponder what makes a can a can. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 338338: Facial Hair
Listener Justin tries to get us to stretch the definition of “facial hair” beyond the beard. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 337337: Shirt
Listener Roy brings us into his debate with his teenage son about what makes a shirt a shirt. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 336336: Building
Listener Jack wants to know if a few famous gates and statues are also buildings. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 335335: Pop-Tart Pie
Listener Gregory thinks Pop-Tarts are pies. We have ratio questions. Also: We remember so many burned palates caused by calzones and McDonald’s fruit pies. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 334334: Open-Faced Sandwiches and French Bread Pizzas
Listener Gregory tries to confuse us with a question about open-faced sandwiches and pizza. We largely ignore him and talk about different ways to eat things that are like pizza, but aren’t quite pizza. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 333333: Scrolling
Listener Scott’s wife sure has a strange definition of which way is up. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 332332: Basement
Listener Joel has discovered some Canadians referring to the first floor of a two-story house as a “basement.” Does this defy all reason? How low must you go to be a basement? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 331331: Supercars and Hypercars
Host John Siracusa asks himself to discuss the difference between Supercars and Hypercars, while Jason looks on. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 330330: Sleigh
The difference between a slegh and a sled. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 329329: Charger follow-up
Listener William challenges our ruling about chargers and we get deep into the weeds of car charging. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 328328: Hoodie
Stephen Hackett has called us out and requests John’s ruling. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>
Ep 327327: Blogs
What’s a blog, and what’s a news outlet? Are Jason and John bloggers? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>