If Books Could Kill
Episodes
The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Elon Musk Part 2
18 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The boys continue their discussion of Walter Isaacson's "Elon Musk." This is the part where Elon loses his mind. Where to find us: Ou...
Elon Musk
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A biography that dares to ask: Is a lifetime of worker abuse and narcissism worth it to experience robot butlers?Where to find us:Â Our PatreonOur mer...
Sapiens
20 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
How To Win Friends And Influence People
02 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Live like Dale Carnegie, neg like Calvin Coolidge.Where to find us:Â Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike&a...
Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
11 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael discuss a book that's light on facts and long on sentences.Where to find us:Â Our PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter...
He's Just Not That Into You
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How one comedian's offhand advice launched a decent TV episode, a mediocre book and a terrible movie.Where to find us:Â Our PatreonOur merch!Pete...
Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
17 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ext...
The Supreme Court Goes Full TERF [TEASER]
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 fi...
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?"Where to find us:Â Peter's newsletterPe...
Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 unfou...
The Let Them Theory
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency.Where to find us:Â Peter's news...
Josh Hawley's "Manhood" [TEASER]
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 her...
Of Boys And Men
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists and must reasser...
You Are A Badass
23 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael dissect Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass," a book that answers the question: What if "The Secret" was writte...
What's The Matter With Kansas?
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Sam Harris's "The End of Faith"
04 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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?...
Who Moved My Cheese?
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 o...
UNLOCKED: Eric Adams
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Patre...
Glenn Kessler Retire B*tch [TEASER]
26 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it.Where to find us:Â Peter's other podcast, 5-...
The Anxious Generation
08 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Is social media to blame for the teen mental health crisis? It's complicated!Thanks to Emily Weinstein, Amy Orben, Andrew Przybylski, Dean Burnet...
Breaking News Re-Release: "Hillbilly Elegy"
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate ("celebrate") Donald Trump choosing JD Vance as his running mate we are re-releasing our "Hillbilly Elegy" episode. E...
Richard Hanania's "The Origins of Woke"
11 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael discuss "The Origins of Woke," a glimpse into the dark aspirations of the Republican Party and the mind of a very unusual ...
The Columbia Protests [TEASER]
16 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael discuss the media coverage of the protests at Columbia — from the crazed, bloodthirsty ravings of right-wing media to the more mut...
"Going Infinite": Michael Lewis Takes On Sam Bankman-Fried
02 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Peter and Michael discuss Michael Lewis’s bestselling book about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young prodigy whose only flaw was that he...
"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 2: Campus Lies, I.Q. Rise & Epstein Ties
11 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
2 Better 2 AngelsSupport us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us:Â Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, ...
Who's Afraid of Naomi Wolf? [TEASER]
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're finally discussing a good book! Naomi Klein's "Doppelgänger" chronicles the long, steady descent of another Naomi — Wolf ...
Lean In
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, Sheryl Sandberg became an icon for women who wanted to move from middle management at a tech company into upper management at a tech company....
"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 1: You're Not Wrong, Pinker. You're Just An *sshole
22 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're tackling Steven Pinker's 900 page dissection of the reasons why violence, torture and war have declined over the last 10,000...
The Art of the Deal
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Before Donald Trump became America's most prominent politician and birth certificate inspector, he spent his days making everyone in New York Cit...
The Worst Takes of 2023 [TEASER]
21 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
The Identity Trap
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"There are two kinds of political scientists: The types who deal with noisy data and post on Twitter with a bunch of caveats. And then there are ...
Pundit Portraits: Kathleen Parker and Chris Cillizza [TEASER]
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You stare, mouth agape, at the bookstore display. It’s a self-help book, but with curse words in the title?! This must be a revolutionary new framew...
The 48 Laws of Power
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1996, a frustrated screenwriter got a fellowship in Italy. Twenty years later, Beyoncé released "Lemonade." Content warning: This episo...
The "Organized Retail Crime" Panic [TEASER]
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Retailers have been sounding the alarm about a shoplifting epidemic driven by organized criminal syndicates. In a shocking twist, it turns out that th...
San Fransicko
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're tackling "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities," a book that dares to ask: What if everything that experts think...
The 4-Hour Workweek
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wanted to escape the grind and follow your dreams? This week we're discussing "The 4-Hour Workweek," which reveals that a...
The Clinton E-Mail Scandal [TEASER]
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
But her e-mails! Michael explains the non-scandal that captivated the mainstream media in 2016 while Peter attempts to sow the podcast with anti-Hilla...
God And Man At Yale
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Oops all grievance.Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us:Â TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other ...
'On Bullsh*t' and the Pundit Industrial Complex [TEASER]
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For this month's bonus episode we dissected Harry Frankfurt's gloriously brief bestseller and applied the concept to our favorite op-ed page...
Liberal Fascism
27 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Who poses the greatest threat to democracy? Is it the movement that openly identifies with the symbols, goals and policies of fascist governments? Or ...
Are The Straights OK [TEASER]
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In our "Rules" and "Game" episodes we didn't get a chance to dissect the phenomenon of online dating (i.e. describe our worst...
BONUS: Conservatives vs. Pride Month
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Lots of subscribers asked us to release last month's bonus episode in full so here it is! Share it with the conservatives, the boomers and the Sa...
The Rules
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1995 a bestselling book proposed a simple dating strategy for women: Lose weight, wear bright colors and become a completely different person for t...
Atomic Habits
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're discussing "Atomic Habits," a book about how to use science (and also some stuff that’s definitely not science) to tr...
The World is Flat
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Much has been said about globalization, but perhaps no one has said it worse than Thomas Friedman.Content Note: Discussions of xenophobic and racist c...
"Nudge" Part 2: Mr. Nudge Goes to Washington
19 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Nudgening.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us:Â TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podc...
The Meme Stock Cult [TEASER]
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2021, scrappy young investors from across the world joined forces to buy GameStop stock, aiming to take down greedy hedge funds. What came next was...
"Nudge" Part 1: A Simple Solution For Littering, Organ Donations and Climate Change
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2008, an economist and a law professor proposed a radical new approach to politics: Telling people not to do bad stuff.Support us on Patreon: https...
The 5 Love Languages
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What’s your love language? Is it gifts? Words of affirmation? Or is it podcasts about books with extremely weird, reactionary gender dynamics?Suppor...
Ben Shapiro's Plan To End Poverty [TEASER]
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is it bootstraps? It's bootstraps.To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Rich Dad Poor Dad
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1997, Robert Kiyosaki revealed the secret to lifelong success: Deliver grifty seminars and hire child slaves.Support us on Patreon: https://www.pat...
The Dumbest Campus Controversies Of The Last Decade [TEASER]
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Get in loser, we're going to Oberlin.To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Hillbilly Elegy
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2016, J.D. Vance informally launched his political career with "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir that blames the relative poverty of Appalachia...
The Coddling Of The American Mind
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
TRIGGER WARNING: if you're a SNOWFLAKE college professor afraid of how your students are expressing themselves, you might need a SAFE SPACE, beca...
The New York Times's War On Trans Kids [TEASER]
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The nation's most prestigious newspaper insists on asking a very stupid question. So for this month's bonus episode, we decided to answer it...
The Clash of Civilizations
23 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"If your thesis doesn't hold up to obvious criticisms, there's a chance that your thesis sucks." Thanks to Paul Musgrave and Alex ...
The End of History
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man" changed political discourse forever. Peter and Michael peel back his muddled h...
The Lab Leak [TEASER]
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In December 2019, the coronavirus pandemic began in Wuhan, China. In May 2021, America experienced one of the most cursed weeks of punditry we've...
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 1992 a yoga instructor with a distance-learning PhD had the courage to ask: "Are women not getting help around the house because they're ...
The Secret
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret" sold millions of copies based on a simple premise: All of science is fake and the only reason anything ever...
The Population Bomb
15 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How a Stanford lepidopterist convinced the world to fear the breeding habits of the poor. Again. Support us on PatreonWhere to find us:Â TwitterPeter&...
A Bari Special Bonus Episode [TEASER]
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our first premium episode is a deep dive into the blog of the infamously (and dubiously) "canceled" Bari Weiss. To hear the full episode, ...
The Game
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 l...
David Brooks's "Bobos in Paradise"
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
David Brooks became liberals' famous conservative by telling them what they wanted to hear. But ... why did they want to hear something that was ...
Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers"
10 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In "Outliers," Malcolm Gladwell posited that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert in something. Mike and Peter prove him wr...
Freakonomics
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 jus...