NPR

It's 2025, the year we decided we need a widespread slur for robots

Debate over the song of the summer rages on, but if there were a contest for a word of the summer, one front-runner would surely be the onomatopoeic clanker. In recent weeks, clanker has risen to ...
NPR

A play about the revolt of human workers — not machines — gave us the word 'robot'

Clanker, rust bucket, tinskin — slang words used to put down robots are on the rise. As AI and robots threaten to replace human work and maybe even humans, the recent popularity of anti-robot lingo ...
The New York Times

From Which the Word ‘Robot’ Comes

Erica Hsiung Wojcik and Matthew Stock open our solving weekend. By Deb Amlen Jump to: Tricky Clues FRIDAY PUZZLE — Erica Hsiung Wojcik and Matthew Stock’s first published collaboration in The New York ...
American Songwriter

The Meaning Behind “Mr. Roboto” by Styx

If all you know about the song we’re about to talk about is Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto? Well, you probably know enough to enjoy it on a surface level. After all, it still sounds great after all these ...