Podcast
If Books Could Kill
Hosted by Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri · EN
The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds
40episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Body Keeps The Score
6d ago01:49:41Summary readyYou 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 PatreonOur merch!Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:What the Most Famous Book About Trauma Gets WrongTrauma: A GenealogyRemembering TraumaAdvocates of Research-Supported Treatments for PTSD are Losing Tell Me Why It Hurts‘The Body Keeps the Score’ offers uncertain scienceYour Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside PTSD and complex PTSD: a review of reviewsWhat Does It Mean When 38% Forget?Multiple Identity Enactments and Multiple Personality Disorder: A Sociocognitive PerspectiveThe Brain Is Adaptive Not TriuneThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryThink And Grow Rich
May 2101:03:04Summary readyPeter 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 The Power of Positive Thinking Into DelusionThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryGrit
Apr 3001:19:02Summary readyIn 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 New Self-Esteem?Measurement MattersUsing Psychological Science to Help Children ThriveSelf-Control and Academic AchievementCognitive and noncognitive predictors of successShould non-cognitive skills be included in school accountability systems?Measuring Students’ Non-Cognitive Skills and the Impact of SchoolingGrit: A Short History of a Useful ConceptTeaching Kids 'Grit' is All the Rage."Grit" RevisitedCharacter Education: A Cautionary NoteWhat if the Secret to Success Is Failure?The Effects of the EITC on Child AchievementAcademic Performance And Food StampsThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryCROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body"
Apr 1601:08:18Summary readyPeter 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!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryBullshit Jobs
Mar 501:00:22Summary readyPeter 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 are not changin’: Days and hours of work in Old and New Worlds, 1870–2000‘Bullshit’ After All? Why People Consider Their Jobs Socially UselessAlienation Is Not ‘Bullshit’: An Empirical Critique of Graeber’s Theory of BS JobsMany people feel they work in pointless ‘bullshit’ jobs, research confirmsThe Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure Study: Leisure Time DeclinesUSA Consumption as percent of GDPThe Significance of Task Significance: Job Performance Effects, Relational Mechanisms, and Boundary ConditionsTask significance and meaningful work: A longitudinal studyAmericans’ job satisfaction in 2024Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryThe Millionaire Next Door
Feb 501:11:25Summary readyIt 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 Wealth Of Older American HouseholdsPlanning & Progress Study 2025Striking Out on Their Own: The Self-Employed in BankruptcyHow Many Households Meet The Net Worth Guidelines Of The Millionaire Next Door?Paying Tribute to Thomas Stanley and His ‘Millionaire Next Door’Pity the BillionairesWhat Rich Women WantThe deserving or undeserving rich?The Evolution of Top IncomesThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryThe Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]
Dec 2900:50:05Summary readyThe 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/IfBooksPodSupport us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryElon Musk Part 2
Dec 1801:31:15Summary readyThe 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 blocked Ukraine drone attack was wrong Elon Musk's Daughter on Dad's Biography: 'Sad Excuse for a Puff Piece'Character LimitTwitter fulfilling more government censorship requests under Musk Elon Musk booed for nearly 5 minutes straight at Dave Chappelle show in San Francisco New CNN Chief Trying to Please GOP Elite Research finds more than 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues, including more than 4 million children under fiveWhat the data says about Social Security Trump Administration, DOGE Activities Risk SSA Operations and Security of Personal DataThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummaryElon Musk
Dec 901:28:25Summary readyA 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 Elon Musk’s dad Errol says he can ‘prove’ existence of emerald mine in new bombshell claim revealing its location How Elon Musk Went from Superhero to Supervillain The BelieverElon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow How Elon Musk Plans on Reinventing the World (and Mars)Tesla factory workers reveal pain, injury and stress: 'Everything feels like the future but us' | TeslaHundreds of Tesla workers tested positive for the virus after Elon Musk reopened a plant, data showsInside Tesla as Elon Musk Pushed an Unflinching Vision for Self-Driving Cars Tesla video promoting self-driving was staged, engineer testifiesElon Musk Says His 'Running Robot' Will 'Actually Eliminate Poverty' As He Shares Video Of Tesla Optimus Jogging Elon Musk Wants ‘Strong Influence’ Over the ‘Robot Army’ He’s Building There’s a Very Simple Pattern to Elon Musk’s Broken PromisesThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
SummarySapiens
Nov 2001:38:17Summary readyHow 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'tAdvances In The Study Of The Origin Of Humanness21 Lessons for the 21st Century is a banal and risible self-help bookAre Human Rights Western? Bonaparte in EgyptShip of FoolsThe Dangerous Populist Science of Yuval Noah HarariA Reductionist History of HumankindHarari, Sapiens and historical accuracyThe Broad Spectrum Revolution at 40The Neolithic Revolution in the Middle EastWas the Agricultural Revolution a Terrible Mistake?The Darker Side of the "Original Affluent Society"Harari's world historyCompassion with Justice: Harari’s Assault on Human RightsReconsidering the link between past material culture and cognition Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Summary