People > John Siracusa

John Siracusa is a programmer and freelance writer for Ars Technica, Macworld. He has a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Boston University. He has been a Mac user since 1984, a Unix geek since 1993, and has spent the last decade as a professional web developer and freelance technology writer. John enjoys gaming, exercising his TiVo, writing open source software, and pining for the pizza and bagels of his childhood home of Long Island, NY. John lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife, two children, and an attic full of classic Mac and NeXT hardware.

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John’s Shows

Hypercritical

With Dan Benjamin & John Siracusa

A weekly talk show ruminating on exactly what is wrong in the world of Apple and related technologies and businesses.

John’s Guest Appearances

The Incomparable #79: Everything Sounds Beautiful in German

February 19, 2012 at 1:00pm • 1 hour 5 minutes

We’re creating the Incomparable Film Festival! Each day for a week, one of us will introduce five films (to be screened at an imaginary location not to be determined). To prevent duplication of selections, our seven participants will choose favorite films in a draft format. When all is said and done, 35 classic movies will be chosen by our panel of geeks. (Part 1 of 2.)

Special guests: Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, Serenity Caldwell, and Steve Lutz

The Incomparable #77: Women's Libber

February 4, 2012 at 9:00pm • 1 hour 12 minutes

Step through your time portal, buy some cheap 1950s hamburger, and prepare for our discussion of Stephen King’s new novel 11/22/63. How does a 21st century man react to the racism and sexism of the south in the mid-20th century? Would the world have been a better place if Kennedy hadn’t been assassinated? Is Canada really eyeing the state of Maine anxiously? Like the book, we have some—but not all—of the answers.

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, Lisa Schmeiser, and Serenity Caldwell

After Dark #95: After (and During) The Incomparable #77

February 4, 2012 at 9:00pm • 37 minutes

Lots and lots and lots about Stephen King, after The Incomparable 77.

Special guests: Dan Moren, Jason Snell, John Siracusa, Lisa Schmeiser, and Serenity Caldwell

5by5 at the Movies #1: Goodfellas

January 17, 2012 at 1:00pm • 3 hours 15 minutes

Dan Benjamin and John Siracusa discuss Goodfellas.

Special guest: John Siracusa

The Incomparable #74: I'm Definitely Not a Girl

January 15, 2012 at 5:30pm • 60 minutes

It’s fun for the whole family, as we discuss some of our favorite movies for kids (and their parents). Did we really recommend an animated movie from Dreamworks? And a movie with Melanie Griffith? And a German fantasy film? Well, yes, but you’ll have to listen to find out which ones.

Special guests: John Siracusa & Lex Friedman

After Dark #83: After The Incomparable #74

January 15, 2012 at 5:30pm • 10 minutes

Jason Snell, John Siracusa, and Lex Friedman after The Incomparable #74. “Free to Be You and Me,” and an idea for Lex’s new podcast.

Special guests: Jason Snell, John Siracusa, and Lex Friedman

After Dark #62: After The Incomparable #67-68

November 25, 2011 at 7:00pm • 18 minutes

Jason, Dan, Ren, and John after The Incomparable #67-68. Three hours of talking about “The Empire Strikes Back” and we still couldn’t say goodbye.

Special guests: Dan Moren, Jason Snell, John Siracusa, and Serenity Caldwell

The Incomparable #68: Jedi Weekend

November 25, 2011 at 2:45pm • 1 hour 27 minutes

Gather some bounty hunters and warm up the carbon freezer! It’s time for the conclusion of our epic discussion of “The Empire Strikes Back.” We dissect the evolution of the Han-Leia relationship, the truly playful nature of Yoda and the importance of Dagobah, Vader’s agenda and his crunchy gloves, and Luke’s continuing adventures with garbage.

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, and Serenity Caldwell

The Incomparable #67: Darth Vader's Office is Really Weird

November 20, 2011 at 11:00am • 1 hour 24 minutes

Launch your probe droids and cut open your tauntaun! It’s time for part one of our two-part discussion of “The Empire Strikes Back.” Does Han Solo just want to be loved? Is Chewie sabotaging the Falcon on purpose? Why is snowy Hoth the setting? Why is Ben Kenobi a man of few words? Who’s scruffy-lookin’? And what is the purpose for Darth Vader’s clamshell office, anyway?

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, and Serenity Caldwell

The Incomparable #66: Regular People Like Us

November 14, 2011 at 12:15pm • 60 minutes

Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One” is a sci-fi novel that’s chock full of references to 1980s culture. But is it a good book, or are the references all that it’s got going for it? What will John Hughes movies be like in the future? And what do Cline, P.G. Wodehouse, and Umberto Eco have in common?

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, Serenity Caldwell, and Monty Ashley

The Incomparable #65: Maine is Purgatory

November 6, 2011 at 1:30pm • 1 hour 20 minutes

A new TV season is here! We analyze the new shows, plus some returning favorites. Among our targets: Revenge, Homeland, Terra Nova, Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Person of Interest, American Horror Story, Ringer, A Gifted Man, Boss, and returning shows The Walking Dead, Fringe, Community, Supernatural, Haven, and Dexter. Also: Why does Scott McNulty think every show is Prime Suspect?

Special guests: Dan Moren, Lisa Schmeiser, Scott McNulty, John Siracusa, and Ben Boychuk

The Incomparable #63: Like a Good Book Exploded

October 27, 2011 at 12:45pm • 48 minutes

Is “The Wise Man’s Fear” a rich fantasy novel about storytelling and myth-making, or is it a collection of good story elements scattered across an overlong plot? Could it be both? Ninjas! Off-camera shipwrecks! Board games! Sexism! Off-camera courtroom drama! Discursions within digressions within framing sequences! Join us as we discuss yet another 1000-page fantasy novel, the sequel to “The Name of the Wind.”

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, and Serenity Caldwell

The Incomparable #60: Thanks For Everything... Now Go Die

October 7, 2011 at 8:15pm • 1 hour 6 minutes

Why do secret agents wear make-up under their eyepatches? When do text messages not properly convey thanks for saving the universe? Are the Cybermen the worst villians ever? We wrap up the sixth season of “Doctor Who” with discussion of the last three episodes as well as the season as a whole.

Special guests: Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, and Serenity Caldwell

5by5 Specials #1: Let's Talk iPhone

October 4, 2011 at 6:30pm • 1 hour 58 minutes

Dan Benjamin talks about Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event with Dan Moren, Marco Arment, John Siracusa, John Gruber, Horace Dediu, Arnold Kim, and Christina Warren. Topics include the iPhone 4S hardware and form factor, the iOS update, the “geek letdown”, Siri, iPods, pricing, release dates, AppleCare, carriers, serious stats, iCloud and iTunes Match, the non-geek response, and more.

Special guests: Christina Warren, Dan Moren, Horace Dediu, John Gruber, John Siracusa, and Marco Arment

The Incomparable #59: Flitting is in (TV Fantasy Pitches)

October 2, 2011 at 7:45pm • 1 hour 21 minutes

We conclude our TV Fantasy Draft with the unveiling of our series pitches. Vampire and ghost detectives! Star Trek meets the West Wing! A sitcom starring a robot and an omnipotent being! A gritty techno-drama. A psychedelic drama set on a Zeppelin! And John Siracusa’s pitch seems awfully familiar somehow.

Special guests: Dan Moren, Glenn Fleishman, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, Serenity Caldwell, and Steve Lutz

The Incomparable #58: Greyskull Anonymous (TV Fantasy Draft)

September 23, 2011 at 10:00pm • 1 hour 14 minutes

Who are the best TV characters of all time? Six people set out to draft teams of 10 characters each, from which they would form some of the strangest TV ensembles ever seen. Will Captain Kirk, Columbo, and The Fonz end up on the same show? Perhaps the craziest episode we’ve ever done highlights dozens of our favorite characters from TV history.

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, Scott McNulty, Serenity Caldwell, and Steve Lutz

The Incomparable #56: Let Me in the Frickin' TARDIS!

September 12, 2011 at 12:00pm • 58 minutes

Press the Green Anchor and jump into a parallel timestream: it’s time to talk “Doctor Who.” In this flash episode we deconstruct the two most recent episodes, “Night Terrors” and “The Girl Who Waited.” And here’s a hint: we liked one of them way more than the other.

Special guests: Dan Moren, John Siracusa, Glenn Fleishman, Scott McNulty, and Serenity Caldwell

The Incomparable #50: We Apologize for the Extinction of the Clownfish

August 8, 2011 at 12:00am • 50 minutes

Talking “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story 2,” and “Wall-E.” Plus, we discuss what Pixar should do next to challenge itself, try to understand why “Cars 2” was made, and pick out our least favorite thing Pixar has ever done. Hint: Jason has a problem with rats. (Part 2 of 2.)

Special guests: John Siracusa & Steve Lutz

The Incomparable #49: It's Like "Working Girl" With Monsters

August 1, 2011 at 3:00pm • 59 minutes

Old men with balloons! Wisecracking monsters! Superheroes with mid-life crises! The films of Pixar are in our sights this week. Join us as we pick our favorite films and explore why Pixar’s movies are better than those from other animation studios. (Part 1 of 2.)