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 th

The Secret

3 1 Jan 12th, 2023 42m 58s

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 happens is because people manifest it by communicating with the universe.Support us on PatreonWhere to find

The Population Bomb

Dec 15th, 2022 49m 27s

How a Stanford lepidopterist convinced the world to fear the breeding habits of the poor. Again. Support us on PatreonWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Sonia Shah’s “The Next Great

Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers"

1 Nov 10th, 2022 50m 6s

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 PatreonLinks:Malcolm Glad

The Game

2 Dec 1st, 2022 55m 41s

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 PatreonWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other pod

The 5 Love Languages

3 Apr 20th, 2023 54m 46s

What’s your love language? Is it gifts? Words of affirmation? Or is it podcasts about books with extremely weird, reactionary gender dynamics?Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcas

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus

1 Jan 26th, 2023 1h 9m

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 using the wrong modal verb?" Support us on PatreonWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mik

The Coddling Of The American Mind

1 Mar 9th, 2023 58m 12s

TRIGGER WARNING: if you're a SNOWFLAKE college professor afraid of how your students are expressing themselves, you might need a SAFE SPACE, because Michael and Peter are discussing "The Coddling of The American Mind," a book about campus cultu

David Brooks's "Bobos in Paradise"

1 Nov 17th, 2022 59m 44s

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 PatreonWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other

Lean In

Mar 14th, 2024 57m

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. Today, Peter and Michael examine the contents of her bestselling book, survey the wreckage of

"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 1: You're Not Wrong Pinker, You're Just An *sshole

Feb 22nd, 2024 1h 37m

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 years. Was it an indeterminate mixture of politics, economics, technology and serendipity? Or did some

The Art of the Deal

Jan 11th, 2024 52m 22s

Before Donald Trump became America's most prominent politician and birth certificate inspector, he spent his days making everyone in New York City slightly uncomfortable. Michael and Peter discuss "The Art of the Deal," Trump’s 1987 bestseller

The Identity Trap

1 Dec 14th, 2023 1h 47m

"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 the types who write books about identity politics." Where to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast,

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Nov 21st, 2023 45m 44s

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 framework, not simply the same dull, reactionary ideas repackaged as hip and new.Support us on Patreon

San Fransicko

2 Oct 19th, 2023 1h

This week we're tackling "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities," a book that dares to ask: What if everything that experts think about homelessness is wrong, and everything that one crank on Twitter thinks about homelessness is right?Tha

Rich Dad Poor Dad

Apr 6th, 2023 1h 13m

In 1997, Robert Kiyosaki revealed the secret to lifelong success: Deliver grifty seminars and hire child slaves.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Ma

God And Man At Yale

1 Sep 7th, 2023 1h 11m

Oops all grievance.Support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us: TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:No Ivory Tower : Mccarthyism And The UniversitiesThe Fire Is Upon UsThe

The Rules

Jun 29th, 2023 1h 9m

In 1995 a bestselling book proposed a simple dating strategy for women: Lose weight, wear bright colors and become a completely different person for the rest of your life.Thanks to Moira Donegan for helping us with this episode! Support us on P

Atomic Habits

2 Jun 15th, 2023 58m 12s

This week we're discussing "Atomic Habits," a book about how to use science (and also some stuff that’s definitely not science) to train yourself to be a more functional person.Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to f

Hillbilly Elegy

Mar 23rd, 2023 48m 1s

In 2016, J.D. Vance informally launched his political career with "Hillbilly Elegy," a memoir that blames the relative poverty of Appalachian and Rust Belt populations on their own culture. Despite its reactionary premise, mainstream and libera

The Clash of Civilizations

Feb 23rd, 2023 58m 12s

"If your thesis doesn't hold up to obvious criticisms, there's a chance that your thesis sucks." Thanks to Paul Musgrave and Alex Cruikshanks for helping us fact-check this episode!Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere

The End of History

Feb 9th, 2023 47m 27s

Francis Fukuyama's "The End of History and the Last Man" changed political discourse forever. Peter and Michael peel back his muddled history and fluffy rhetoric, revealing several more layers of muddled history and fluffy rhetoric.Support us o

The 4-Hour Workweek

1 Sep 21st, 2023 56m 25s

Have you ever wanted to escape the grind and follow your dreams? This week we're discussing "The 4-Hour Workweek," which reveals that all you need is a plan, a willingness to take risks and a modestly sized fraud operation built on Third World

"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 2: Campus Lies, I.Q. Rise & Epstein Ties

23 days ago 1h 24m

2 Better 2 AngelsSupport us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPodWhere to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Jeffrey Epstein’s Science of SleazePinker’s response to Epstein allegationsHow J