This week, Cher and James put on their best robot voices with Roboism hosts, Alex and Savannah. Topics include: robots, feminism, education, Star Wars, and white tech bros comparing themselves to activists. In Open Mic, we determine what makes a robot, and what makes an appliance. Lastly, in Open Call, Savannah shouts out a Disney Channel Original Movie, Alex recommends Sleep Aid apps, James has a new favorite Snapchat page, and Cher is vibing a West Coast girl group.

We are sponsored this week by:

Field Notes: Field Notes Brand. USA made memo books & other products, including seasonal limited-editions. Visit fieldnotesbrand.com or 400 North May, in Chicago.

We also have announcements like:

We are kicking off a new fundraising goal for 2015! We have our eyes on a portable recorder so we can start doing more on-site interviews, continue to pay our guests, and make this podcast sustainable. Give us a hand with a one-time donation openended.fm/donate, and becoming a member starting at $1 a month, at patreon.com/openended.

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References made during our conversation:

Roboism, a podcast about robots and feminism, but mostly robots

Savannah, a web developer for education programs, and a great human person

Alex, Deputy Events Manager at Cards Against Humanity, and better than you at tech

Elon Musk, fearer of the robot apocalypse

Finland, the land over no homework and no tests!

teachers-need-to-know-about.html">Critical vs Creative Learning

Sphero, a gender-neutral robot that makes education fun

Rey, the lead star of the new Star Wars, and also a woman person

BB – 8, the girl robot in Star Wars, yet Disney won’t use the pronoun

Princess Amidala, the worst female character in the Star Wars franchise

Chewbacca is real, and it makes Cher very happy

Some White Tech Dude Bro compared himself to Rosa Parks. Really.

This week’s Open Mic Topic: Robot or Naw?

James vs. Roboism: 2-XL

Cher vs. Roboism: Tamagotchi

Open Ended vs. Roboism: Siri

You know we couldn't forget about Open Call:

Savannah: How to Build a Better Boy, a DCOM for all ages

Alex: Sleep Aid Apps, helping bring your sleeps to naps

James: DJ Khaled’s Snapchat, dropping truth bombs and proverbs

Cher: KING, black girl magic from LA

Thanks for listening to episode 32. It couldn't have been made without the help of the following folks:

The Chicago Podcast Cooperative. Like this show? You might like Your Stories. Your Stories is a weekly live show-turned-podcast completely created by our audience. We prompt our storytellers with a theme and they craft a story (or any other performance) in response

Our Patreon supporters: Caty, Amy, Stewart, Classy, Jennifer, Joelle, Will, "Michael", and Revision Path podcast.

If you have any recommendations for show topics, contact us!

Script written by Cher and James.

Music by U+1F60C.

Until next time, keep things Open Ended.