If Books Could Kill

How a Stanford lepidopterist convinced the world to fear the breeding habits of the poor. Again. Support us on Patreon Where to find us:  Twitter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Sonia Shah’s “The Next Great Migration” Barbarian Hordes: The overpopulation scapegoat in international development discourse Optimism and Overpopulation The Population...

Our first premium episode is a deep dive into the blog of the infamously (and  dubiously) "canceled" Bari Weiss. To hear the full episode, subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod More free episodes are on their way!  Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

Neil Strauss's "The Game" aimed to teach any man how to hook up with beautiful women. All he needed was a little bit of sociopathy, a lot of misogyny and a fanny pack full of props. Support us on Patreon Where to find us:  Twitter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: He's Simply Resistable   Pickup Artists Are Still A Thing. And...

David Brooks became liberals' famous conservative by telling them what they wanted to hear. But ... why did they want to hear something that was lazy and wrong? Support us on Patreon Where to find us:  Twitter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: A Reasonable Man David Brooks: Boo-Boos in Paradise A Cartoon Elite David Brooks’s Conversion Story...

In "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell posited that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something. Mike and Peter prove him wrong by mastering his dumb book over the span of about 50 minutes. Support us on Patreon Links: Malcolm Gladwell talks about responding to critics, and the perils of ‘Talking to Strangers’ Gladwell for Dummies  Malcolm Gladwell interview  The Role of...

In 2005, two men named Steven and Stephen published the quintessential airport book. In 2022, two men named Mike and Peter started a whole podcast just to make fun of it. Thanks to Ted Joyce and Ames Grawert for helping with the research for this episode! Support us on Patreon Where to find us:  Twitter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: The 2003...