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Every episode
If Books Could Kill
30 episodes
Three Cups of Tea
Aug 5, 2026 · 1 hr 52 min
In 1993, a desperate man stumbled into a remote village in the foothills of the Karakoram mountains. After the residents nursed him back to health, he placed his hands on the village elder's shoulders and made a sacred promise. "Somehow," he said, "I am going to get some private jet reimbursements out of this." Warning: Contains spoilers for the 2016 film "Arrival." Thanks to Ted Callahan for helping us fact-check this episode! Where to find us: Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's…
The Body Keeps The Score
Jun 18, 2026 · 1 hr 50 min
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 Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: What t…
Think And Grow Rich
May 21, 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
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 Lose Friends and Alienate People How a Different America Responded to the Great Depression The Psychic Scandal How Trump Turned T…
Grit
Apr 30, 2026 · 1 hr 19 min
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” The Problem With Grit The Limits of “Grit” Grit: The power of passion and perseverance Is 'Grit' Doomed To Be The New…
CROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body"
Apr 16, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
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 Body: The Real App You Are Working On Is An App Called Yourself Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song! Support us on Patreon: h…
Bullshit Jobs
Mar 5, 2026 · 1 hr
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 British workers think their jobs are meaningless Average Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United States The times they a…
The Millionaire Next Door
Feb 5, 2026 · 1 hr 11 min
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 Americans, 1982–2012 Wealth Elite Moralities The insane growth of America’s millionaire class The Extraordinary Rise In Th…
The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]
Dec 29, 2025 · 50 min
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
Elon Musk Part 2
Dec 18, 2025 · 1 hr 31 min
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 Political Rise of David Sacks, Silicon Valley’s Prophet of Urban Doom Elon Musk biographer admits suggestion SpaceX head blocked Ukraine drone…
Elon Musk
Dec 9, 2025 · 1 hr 28 min
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 of the best Quake players around Watch Elon Musk Talk About Being an ‘Illegal Immigrant’ in Video From 2013 Elon Musk…
Sapiens
Nov 20, 2025 · 1 hr 38 min
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 Harari Yuval Noah Harari’s History of Everyone, Ever How Humankind Conquered the World The revolution that wasn't Adva…
How To Win Friends And Influence People
Oct 2, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
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 relations Representation and Rebellion: The Rockefeller Plan at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1914–1942 Dale…
Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
Sep 11, 2025 · 1 hr 32 min
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 by Rodney King case Barack Obama Public Approval Letter To Christopher L. Eisgruber, President Princeton University Police…
He's Just Not That Into You
Jul 31, 2025 · 1 hr
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 Decade of Advice for Women and Men in the Best-Selling Self-Help Literature The gendered nature of self-help Single Women in Popular Culture…
Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
Jul 17, 2025 · 58 min
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: Our Patreon Our merch! Peter's newsletter Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources:…
The Supreme Court Goes Full TERF [TEASER]
Jul 1, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
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
"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
Jun 19, 2025 · 1 hr 10 min
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 the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths Imp…
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
Jun 17, 2025 · 58 min
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-pharmaceutical interventions Policy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United States What we can learn from Sweden A re…
Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
Jun 5, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
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 song! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
The Let Them Theory
Apr 23, 2025 · 54 min
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 Robbins’s “Let Them” theory: really that simple? Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framewor…
Josh Hawley's "Manhood" [TEASER]
Mar 31, 2025 · 53 min
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
Steve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man"
Mar 28, 2025 · 59 min
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
Of Boys And Men
Mar 6, 2025 · 1 hr 23 min
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 podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic Achievement Gender Diffe…
You Are A Badass
Jan 23, 2025 · 59 min
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, Maintenance Phase Sources: Savy Writes Books Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song! Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
What's The Matter With Kansas?
Dec 6, 2024 · 1 hr 6 min
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's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: The Thesis That Drove American P…
Sam Harris's "The End of Faith"
Nov 4, 2024 · 1 hr 10 min
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 'terrorism' is cited over and over Does intuitive mindset influence belief in God? Terrorism science: 5 insights into…
Who Moved My Cheese?
Oct 10, 2024 · 1 hr 9 min
What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey. Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining America Downsizing in America Temp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became Temporary The Disposable American Spencer Johnson, ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ Author, Dies at 78 What was the New Economy? Boss, Employees S…
UNLOCKED: Eric Adams
Sep 26, 2024 · 59 min
New York’s favorite criminal is in the news, so here is our episode about his ridiculous life. To hear all of our bonus episodes, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Glenn Kessler Retire B*tch [TEASER]
Sep 26, 2024 · 36 min
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss. 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
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Sep 24, 2024 · 56 min
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it. Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4 Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Sources: Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior, Child Development Types of Parenting Styles and Effects On Children Does “Tiger Parenting” Exist? Parenting Profiles of Chinese Americans and Adolescent Developmental Outcomes Associations of parenting dimensions and styles with externalizing…
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