Show overview
Robot or Not? has been publishing since 2015, and across the 11 years since has built a catalogue of 354 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 1 weeks ago, with 22 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 354 episodes352: 'Wolf-Inspired' Robot
351: Cobot
350: Pasta Sauce
349: Video Game
348: Colloquial Robot
347: Official
346: 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>