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If Books Could Kill

If Books Could Kill

By: Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri
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The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds© 2026 If Books Could Kill Art Best of 2023 Literary History & Criticism Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Why Men Love Bitches
    Oct 5 2026

    A 2002 dating guide has found new popularity on Tiktok using an old fashioned method: Have a catchy title and four pages of good advice.

    Where to find us:

    • Our Patreon
    • Our merch!
    • Peter's newsletter
    • Peter's other podcast, 5-4
    • Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

    Sources:

    • The Tragedy of Heterosexuality
    • Why men (still) love bitches
    • Systematic review on converting online contact into a first date
    • A Meta-Analytical Review of the Demand/Withdraw Pattern
    • Gender-Related Predictors of Change in Marital Satisfaction and Marital Conflict

    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 12 mins
  • Surrounded By Idiots
    Sep 1 2026

    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?

    Where to find us:

    • Our Patreon
    • Our merch!
    • Peter's newsletter
    • Peter's other podcast, 5-4
    • Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

    Sources:

    • Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians
    • Creator of Lie Detector Test Dies; Lecturer and Author Produced Comic Strip
    • One of Sweden's biggest scientific bluffs
    • Pseudoscience and the Claim of Practical Utility: The Case of Thomas Erikson's Surrounded by Idiots
    • Thomas Erikson accepts being called a pop psychology writer
    • Four personality types may be neither robust nor exhaustive
    • Spuriouser and spuriouser: The use of ipsative personality tests
    • Reconsidering the use of personality tests in personnel selection contexts
    • Using Personality Tests in Pre-Employment Screening
    • Employment Tests and Selection Procedures
    • The Cult of Personality Testing
    • A history of the early days of personality testing in American industry: an obsession with adjustment
    • Psychological Testing in Personnel Selection, Part II: The Refinement of Methods and Standards in Employee Selection
    • Psychological Testing in Personnel Selection, Part III: The Resurgence of Personality Testing
    • ACLU Files Discrimination Complaint Against CVS
    • Target Corporation to Pay $2.8 Million to Resolve EEOC Discrimination Finding
    • Personality Tests Are the Astrology of the Office
    • The $2 Billion Question of Who You Are at Work

    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Three Cups of Tea
    Aug 5 2026

    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 the village elder's shoulders and made a sacred promise. "Somehow," he said, "I am going to get some private jet reimbursements out of this."

    Warning: Contains spoilers for the 2016 film "Arrival."

    Thanks to Ted Callahan for helping us fact-check this episode!

    Where to find us:

    • Our Patreon
    • Our merch!
    • Peter's newsletter
    • Peter's other podcast, 5-4
    • Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

    Sources:

    • Three Cups of Deceit
    • “60 Minutes” expose
    • 3000 Cups of Deceit
    • Books vs Bombs? Humanitarian development and the narrative of terror in Northern Pakistan
    • Delusional States
    • Can't Get There From Here
    • Nobel Prize Nominee’s Charity Wins No Award for Accountability
    • David Oliver Relin, Adventurous Journalist, Dies at 49
    • What Mortenson Got Wrong
    • Three Cups of Tea: The Pakistan and Afghan side
    • 3 Lessons to Learn From Greg Mortenson
    • Mortenson returns to Afghanistan
    • The naive republic of aid: Grassroots exceptionalism in humanitarian memoir
    • Religious School Enrollment in Pakistan: A Look at the Data
    • If you build it, will they come?
    • What Really Works to Improve Learning in Developing Countries?
    • The madrassa scapegoat

    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 52 mins
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All stars
Most relevant
Michael doing an excellent follow-up to his work on You're Wrong About. Warm, friendly, evidence-centric criticism.

Amazing podcast

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They critique some of my favorite books and some of my least favorite too. Well-reseached discussion with a side of humor.

Funny and insightful

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It doesn't hurt to take a critical look at the books that hold value in our society. Sociology is a really complicated subject and boiling it down to a few statistics in a book doesn't always work, even when it's neatly packaged. The show is funny in addition to educational which is my favorite kind of podcast.

Great stuff

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Love all these podcasts. I know this isn't a podcast regarding reproductive rights but it would have been for Michael to mention that indigenous women are still having forced sterilization as well as other women in the present day here in the US. It isn't a past issue for us or the rest of the world sadly. I love how you guys can make me laugh so hard while learning about the most depressing shit. great work keep it up.

wow

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I thoroughly enjoy this podcast. I paid for Patreon. Then episodes stopped showing up. I would continue listening and I would restart Patreon, but not if the episodes just stop?!

Well.

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