If Books Could Kill

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Surrounded By Idiots

Peter and Michael discuss "Surrounded by Idiots," a book that dares to ask: Can the mystery of human relationships be unraveled by a workplace personality assessment? Wh

Sep 1
1 h 09 min

Three Cups of Tea

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

Aug 5
1 h 52 min

The Body Keeps The Score

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 t

Jun 18
1 h 49 min

Think And Grow Rich

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

May 21
1 h 03 min

Grit

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! Whe

Apr 30
1 h 19 min

CROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body"

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 newsletter

Apr 16
1 h 08 min

Bullshit Jobs

Peter and Michael discuss "Bullshit Jobs" by anarchist anthropologist David Graeber. The result: two professional podcasters debating which jobs are real and which jobs a

Mar 5
1 h 00 min

The Millionaire Next Door

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

Feb 5
1 h 11 min

The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]

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

Dec 29 2025
50 min

Elon Musk Part 2

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&apo

Dec 18 2025
1 h 31 min

Elon Musk

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 n

Dec 9 2025
1 h 28 min

Sapiens

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 P

Nov 20 2025
1 h 38 min

How To Win Friends And Influence People

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 podca

Oct 2 2025
1 h 10 min

Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"

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 pod

Sep 11 2025
1 h 31 min

He's Just Not That Into You

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 newslett

Jul 31 2025
1 h 00 min

Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink"

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

Jul 17 2025
57 min

The Supreme Court Goes Full TERF [TEASER]

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.p

Jul 1 2025
1 h 01 min

"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right

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&apo

Jun 19 2025
1 h 10 min

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

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

Jun 17 2025
57 min

Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream

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

Jun 5 2025
1 h 21 min

Chart trend

Position in the Society & Culture chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#32#62JunJulAugSep

all-time peak

days in the top 10 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where If Books Could Kill ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 16, 2026).

#47 ▼ 7 Society & Culture US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Michael & Peter, where have you been all my life? Your profane takedowns have me belly laughing. My new fave podcast.👏🏼

Lola Says · Sep 2026

my whole family are long time listeners and we listen to this pod daily. when a new episode comes out it’s like we js got tickets to a concert! i’ve listened to all the episodes and am a huge fan. when my little brother (who’s trans) came out to our grandparents. my grandparents were skeptical of the whole thing, then we played “the supreme court goes full turf” episode for them and that helped them. they are now supportive and understand it. thank you so much for doing what you do it means a lot to us.

ifbookscouldkillisthebest · Sep 2026

I am a young trans person and I want to thank you for the care you take with every episode, but specifically the one about the Supreme Court. It’s truly heartbreaking for me and many of my friends the lengths at which people will go to hurt us. However, you did this episode beautifully. You stated the facts, but managed to keep it light enough that it was ok to listen to So thank you for the care you put in to your podcast.

Purple potatoes 53 · Aug 2026

Michael and Peter deliver a masterclass in intellectual dunk fests, blending razor-sharp skepticism with such effortless, high brow wit that you'll feel significantly smarter for having heard them dismantle the world's most popular airport books. Also, Peter casually booing things is maybe the funniest thing ever

Mr.S.Martin · Aug 2026

Got into this podcast a few months ago and really enjoyed their take downs of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” “The Secret,” and “The Let Them Theory.” They do a great job of showing how the self-help world takes little kernels of truth and turns them into profit-driven slop, often propped up by pseudoscience. Unfortunately, their episode on “The Body Keeps the Score” shows how glaring their own blind spots are. While there is definitely a LOT of things to criticize in that book, their search for the ultimate coup de grace ends up making them sound kind of stupid. As an LCSW who practices Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), even I found the episode to be wildly out of touch. I know people would LOVE for the therapy world to be as black and white as these guys (or Reddit threads) try to make it, but they actually cause more harm than good by lumping all somatic therapies, equine therapy, etc, into the realm of MAHA and pseudoscience. A quick google search about evidence supported treatments (ESTs) vs. evidence based practice (EBP) in the therapy office would have cleared up a lot for these guys. When you have clients coming to your office saying things like “I heard that body based therapies are COMPLETELY bs,” you start seeing how these types of hipster podcasts demonstrate their own kind of malpractice.

GazaOrBust · Jul 2026

I loved this show when they focused on airport books. The silly sarcasm was fun and made sense for the genre, including the sometimes uncharitable comments and exaggerations. Once they get into politics and serious current events, they do the thing that they accuse the worst books of doing - make huge leaps and use throwaway funny comments to hide that they’re simply following their biases. Cute when you’re attaching “the five love languages,” very problematic when you’re discussing the Middle East. If these episodes were a book, they wouldn’t pass their own critique. Tried listening to the Sam Harris one but they lost me when they flippantly dropped “genocide” about Israel/Palestine mere minutes after discussing accuracy and fact checking regarding body counts. What makes it ok for them to not keep the same standards they accuse the books they discuss of not keeping? Ugh.

Tiny Prof · Dec 2024

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