If Books Could Kill

You know that book your friend recommended? The one that rigorously describes the science of trauma, de-stigmatizes abuse and promotes effective treatments? Well here’s the thing: It doesn't actually do that. Thanks to Emi Nietfield , Keith Cox , Lisa Starr , Richard McNally, Kevin McGuire and everyone else who helped us research and fact-check this episode!  Where to find us:  Our Patreon Ou...

Peter and Michael discuss "Think And Grow Rich," the 1937 classic written by a lifelong fraudster who finds his final mark: You. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time A Lifetime of Riches How to Los...

In 2013, education reformers tried to help poor students the using the best tool at their disposal: The 16th most popular Ted Talk. Special thanks to Marcus Credé!  Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Much Ado About Grit What Shall We Do About Grit? Grit under attack Teaching “Grit”...

Peter went on Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase, to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: The 4-Hour Body Does Glycemic Index Matter for Weight Loss? An Examination of the Evidence   New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life!   The 4-Hour Bo...

Peter and Michael discuss "Bullshit Jobs" by anarchist anthropologist David Graeber. The result: two professional podcasters debating which jobs are real and which jobs are fake. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant 37% of Brit...

It turns out that the key to wealth is buying the right kind of watch, marrying the right kind of wife and being the right kind of white. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Uneasy Street A Century of Wealth In America Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth among the Richest Americ...

The boys catalog the definitive worst takes of the year, from the pundits who misunderstood our political moment to a guy who wants to have sex with a computer. To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

The boys continue their discussion of Walter Isaacson's "Elon Musk." This is the part where Elon loses his mind.  Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: From self-proclaimed ‘socialist’ to Team Trump and DeSantis: Elon Musk’s curious politics revealed   The Quiet Politica...

A biography that dares to ask: Is a lifetime of worker abuse and narcissism worth it to experience robot butlers? Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: What Elon Musk Gets Wrong about South Africa Elon Musk’s Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather   Elon Musk claims he was once one...

How do you tell the entire history of humanity in a single book? Whatever you do, do not open a browser window.  Thanks to Dorsa Amir , Duncan Stibbard Hawkes and David Perry for help researching and fact-checking this episode! Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: A Response to Yuval...

Live like Dale Carnegie, neg like Calvin Coolidge. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Self-help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern America The Positive Thinkers Age of industrial violence 1910-1915 : the activities and findings of the United States commission on industrial...

Peter and Michael discuss a book that's light on facts and long on sentences. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Book Review: ‘Summer of Our Discontent,’ by Thomas Chatterton Williams Police shootings database 2015-2024 From the archive, 22 March 1991: President Bush sickened b...

How one comedian's offhand advice launched a decent TV episode, a mediocre book and a terrible movie. Where to find us:  Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Susan Faludi's "Backlash" For Women Who Count on Men to Be Jerks Bridget Jones’s Legacy Single Women in Popular Culture A Deca...

Did you know that in the split-second it took you to read the title of this episode, your subconscious already figured out that it was going to be extremely good? Peter and Michael talk about Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink," a book that is mostly cute scientific anecdotes but also indirectly resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars being wasted on fraudulent science. Where to find us:  O...

This is most of the episode but if you want to hear the last 20 minutes, support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

Last episode we met two Princeton political scientists who are bad at virology. Today we learn that they are also bad at political science. Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year” Jonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected” How the Pandemic Defeated America COVID-19: examining...

Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?" Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year” The 2019 WHO report                  30‐day mortality following COVID‐19 COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceut...

By popular demand we are releasing last month's Patreon bonus episode on the main feed! We chart the transformation of the lab leak from an unfounded theory promoted by right-wing cranks to an unfounded theory promoted by liberal journalists. Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Thanks to Mindseye for our theme...

Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency. Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: How to stop screwing yourself over Mel Robbins and Plagiarism Let her? Army wife claims Mel Robbins stole her idea for blockbuster self-help book   Mel Robb...

To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

Are you a single lady struggling to find love with a man? Don't fret! A twice-divorced game show host who thinks conversation is for women is here to help. Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists and must reassert their manhood by supporting an authoritarian regime. And on the left, users of social media are often very irritating to people who write airport books.   Where to find us:  Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other...

Peter and Michael dissect Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass," a book that answers the question: What if "The Secret" was written in the painful, try-hard style of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck"? Featuring a surprise digression about Sincero's other, even worse books. Where to find us:  Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenan...

In 2004, historian Thomas Frank proposed a theory about the rightward drift of the white working class. Was he a prescient king whose work presaged the rise of Trump — or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis?  Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain. Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode! Where to find us:  Peter&...

Peter and Michael discuss the book that launched the phenomenon of New Atheism and asked the question: What if we hated Muslims, but in a secular way? Where to find us:  Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Views of Violence Carnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System The same motive for anti-US '...