Podcast I Love: Robot or Not

In the last couple of years, I’ve discovered podcasts. I have found that I like listening to them when I work around the house, or go for a walk, so generally, the longer, the better. This is a delightful exception. I think I have a bit of a crush on John Siracusa, one of the hosts of the juggernaut Accidental Tech Podcast, who seems grumpy and exacting (probably because he is, I suspect), but has revealed himself over time to be a person of great virtue, filled with compassion for people.

But that’s on other shows. On this show, host Jason Snell (of The Incomparable) asks Mr. Siracusa to determine if some object or fictional character is a robot, or not. To date they’ve weighed in on Roombas (yes), car factory robots (no), Mr. Roboto (no, both as a song (don’t ask) and the fictional character in the song), and others.

It may not work for anyone else, but the silly, simple premise and the short per-episode length make me smile every time I see a new episode appear in my feed, while I’m listening, and for several minutes afterward. Delightful, and probably a gateway drug to their other podcasts.