Robot or Not?

Choosy mothers pronounce it differently. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Where spreadsheets and databases collide. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

“You haven’t done soup yet, have you?” <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Smartphones, dumb phones, feature phones, and computers in your pocket. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Slot toasters, toaster ovens, and the definitions thereof. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes something a podcast? OMG, are we one?! <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Bread is bread, but what about hot dog buns, bagels, tortillas, and pitas? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

John is given the opportunity to endorse or reject the rulings of the International Astronomical Union. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

John’s worked (and left) a lot of jobs. What’s his personal philosophy about job security versus going it alone as an independent? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

The subtle and vexing difference between a nerd and a geek. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What is computer programming? And what doesn’t qualify? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

When is a game show a game show, and when is it reality television? Also, we reveal our favorite reality TV show. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Is a Mac a PC? Is an iPad a computer? Does John favor a broad definition or a narrow one? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes pasta pasta? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

The conundrum of seasons versus eternally pleasant weather. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Bagels are not donuts, people. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Listener Ed, we’ve got bad news. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes an animal a pet? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Did both of Jason’s parents both come from the Midwest, or only one? What are the true boundaries of America’s heartland? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

From Sour Cream & Onion to BBQ, what are the “real” potato chip flavors? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

If you don’t go anywhere, is it a vacation? What if you go somewhere, but you don’t relax? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Is cheesecake cheese, cake, pie, tart, or none of the above? Does the angle of the pan matter? Does crust content matter? Do any of us matter, really? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

As recently highlighted on “The Good Place”, it’s a classic ethical conundum that John wants absolutely no part of. And what if the trolley drives itself? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Never believe what a robot tells you. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

A dog interlude. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes a movie a holiday movie? How do they celebrate winter holidays in warm climates? Merry Christmas to all, especially in Australia! <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Okay, time to call it. Time of death— wait, wait, everybody hold on. How do we define death? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

How can we call something alive? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

It would seem like ice cream versus frozen yogurt would be the main debate. But the pronunciation of a third competitor completely derails us. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

We discuss the names of meals and when they happen, and make an interesting(?) digression into human sleep cycles. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

From leafy greens to sugary Jell-O concoctions, all sorts of things are called salads. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Continuing our confused series of episodes about food-related topics, it’s time for John and Jason to talk about Jason’s favorite food style and what happens when you put food on a grill. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

If everything can be a smoothie, then nothing is. So we try to define what makes a smoothie and acts as a bulwark against the milkshake. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

I don’t know what it is, but I know it when I see it. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

We don’t know quite what an old-fashioned donut is, but we know what we like… and what we don’t. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes machine intelligence “real AI”? And what is the difference between strong and weak AI? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

The very definition of video entertainment from Japan. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What makes something a sport, and not an exercise or a game? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Exploring Jason’s favorite food, what a “favorite food” even is, and the hazy dividing line between condiments and other edibles. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What’s science fiction? And more importantly, is Star Wars science fiction, fantasy, or something else? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Is everything a computer chip? Is nothing a computer chip? Jason thinks this is gonna be good. John thinks it’s obvious. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What is the canon of bagels? Why are some ingredients allowed in an Everything Bagel but not any other bagel style? What makes raisins an acceptable ingredient, yet bars blueberries? Mr. Siracusa, native of the great state of New York, educates Mr. Snell, one of those California hippie types, about what a real bagel is. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What toppings are allowed on pizza? And what about using a knife and fork to eat pizza? There are many rules. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

John weighs in on what makes something a pizza, including the horror of the Turkey Dinner Pizza. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Exploring what makes a sandwich, while also discussing the history of food, sandwiches as satire, and the difference between llamas and camels. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

John helps Jason figure out the precise moment when a villain becomes a supervillain. <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Your hosts return to where it all began and then prepare to set out for new horizons. (Robot or Not will return in two weeks with a new series of episodes.) <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Are John and Jason robots? All will be revealed! <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

Could it be? Are we all robots? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>

What does a robot do when it gets to a web page with a checkbox that says “I’m not a robot”? <p>John Siracusa and Jason Snell.</p>