In this episode, Rob, Don, and their friend Jack Ward attempt to delve into robots in popular culture, but what was intended as a light jaunt into robots and their place in entertainment turns into a deep existential discussion about what it really means to be human. Along the way, the trio explore possible definitions of what a robot is, how robots might truly be the children of men, and questions of our relationship with the machines around us. All that, and naturally sex robots, are waiting for you in this episode of the Department of Nerdly Affairs.
Closing Music:
Ode to Joy performed by Oliver Eckelt
Things Discussed:
Hero of Alexandria
The Turing Test
The Golem
Talos
George Carlin First Appearance on SNL
Bicentennial Man
A.I. by Speilberg
Ex Machina (movie)
Maria from Metropolis
Robby the Robot
The Three Laws of Robotics
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
A Mexican Mystery by W. Grove
Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy
The Questor Tapes
Lost in Space
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (this might be the one about the robot girl after the apocalypse, not sure)
The Uncanny Valley
Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (comet wipes out civilization)
The AD Police
Red Dwarf
Rick and Morty
D20 Gamma World
The Monkey Sphere
City Story by Clifford D. Samack
The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks
