If Books Could Kill

Think And Grow Rich 21.05.2026 1sa 3dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All TimeA Lifetime of RichesHow to Lose Friends and Alienate PeopleHow a Different America Responded to the Great DepressionThe Psychic Scandal How Trump Turned T...

Grit 30.04.2026 1sa 19dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Much Ado About GritWhat Shall We Do About Grit?Grit under attackTeaching “Grit”The Problem With GritThe Limits of “Grit”Grit: The power of passion and perseveranceIs 'Grit' Doomed To Be The ...

CROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body" 16.04.2026 1sa 8dk

Peter went on Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase, to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys. Where to find us: Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: The 4-Hour BodyDoes 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 YourselfThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Bullshit Jobs 05.03.2026 1sa

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant37% of British workers think their jobs are meaninglessAverage Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United StatesThe times they ...

The Millionaire Next Door 05.02.2026 1sa 11dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Uneasy StreetA Century of Wealth In AmericaFamily, Education, and Sources of Wealth among the Richest Americans, 1982–2012Wealth Elite MoralitiesThe insane growth of America’s millionaire classThe Extraordinary Rise In The...

The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER] 29.12.2025 50dk

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

Elon Musk Part 2 18.12.2025 1sa 31dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: 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 DoomElon Musk biographer admits suggestion SpaceX head blocke...

Elon Musk 09.12.2025 1sa 28dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: What Elon Musk Gets Wrong about South AfricaElon Musk’s Anti-Semitic, Apartheid-Loving Grandfather Elon Musk claims he was once one of the best Quake players aroundWatch Elon Musk Talk About Being an ‘Illegal Immigrant’ in Video From 2013&nb...

Sapiens 20.11.2025 1sa 38dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: A Response to Yuval HarariYuval Noah Harari’s History of Everyone, EverHow Humankind Conquered the WorldThe revolution that wasn...

How To Win Friends And Influence People 02.10.2025 1sa 10dk

Live like Dale Carnegie, neg like Calvin Coolidge. Where to find us: Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Self-help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern AmericaThe Positive ThinkersAge of industrial violence 1910-1915 : the activities and findings of the United States commission on industrial relationsRepresentation and Rebellion: The Rockefeller Plan at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1914–1942&nbsp...

Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent" 11.09.2025 1sa 31dk

Peter and Michael discuss a book that's light on facts and long on sentences. Where to find us: Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Book Review: ‘Summer of Our Discontent,’ by Thomas Chatterton WilliamsPolice shootings database 2015-2024From the archive, 22 March 1991: President Bush sickened by Rodney King caseBarack Obama Public ApprovalLetter To Christopher L. Eisgruber, President Princeton UniversityPolice ...

He's Just Not That Into You 31.07.2025 1sa

How one comedian's offhand advice launched a decent TV episode, a mediocre book and a terrible movie. Where to find us: Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Susan Faludi's "Backlash"For Women Who Count on Men to Be JerksBridget Jones’s LegacySingle Women in Popular CultureA Decade of Advice for Women and Men in the Best-Selling Self-Help LiteratureThe gendered nature of self-helpSingle Women in Popular Culture&n...

Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink" 17.07.2025 57dk

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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSou...

The Supreme Court Goes Full TERF [TEASER] 01.07.2025 1sa 1dk

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

"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right 19.06.2025 1sa 10dk

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 newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”Jonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected”How the Pandemic Defeated AmericaCOVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsUS State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic DeathsIm...

"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns 17.06.2025 57dk

Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?" Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”The 2019 WHO report 30‐day mortality following COVID‐19COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsPolicy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Trans...

Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream 05.06.2025 1sa 21dk

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 newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

The Let Them Theory 23.04.2025 53dk

Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency. Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: How to stop screwing yourself overMel Robbins and PlagiarismLet 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 ...

Josh Hawley's "Manhood" [TEASER] 31.03.2025 53dk

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

Steve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man" 28.03.2025 58dk

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 newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!