If Books Could Kill
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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 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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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 are fake.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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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 the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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Elon Musk Part 2
The boys continue their discussion of Walter Isaacson's "Elon Musk." This is the part where Elon loses his mind.
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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!
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Elon Musk
A biography that dares to ask: Is a lifetime of worker abuse and narcissism worth it to experience robot butlers?
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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!
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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 Perry for help researching and fact-checking this episode!
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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 cognitionThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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How To Win Friends And Influence People
Live like Dale Carnegie, neg like Calvin Coolidge.
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Self-help Messiah: Dale Carnegie and Success in Modern AmericaThe Positive ThinkersAge of industrial violence 1910-1915 : the activities and findings of the United States commission on industrial relationsRepresentation and Rebellion: The Rockefeller Plan at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1914?1942 Dale Carnegie and the Problem of SincerityNew York Times review from 1937
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
Peter and Michael discuss a book that's light on facts and long on sentences.
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Book Review: ?Summer of Our Discontent,? by Thomas Chatterton WilliamsPolice shootings database 2015-2024From the archive, 22 March 1991: President Bush sickened by Rodney King caseBarack Obama Public ApprovalLetter To Christopher L. Eisgruber, President Princeton UniversityPolice give additional details in beating of machete-wielding man amid Dallas protestIn City After City, Police Mishandled Black Lives Matter ProtestsRIOTS IN LOS ANGELES: Challenger; Nation Needs Healing, Clinton SaysMedian household income by race and ethnicity U.S. 1967-2023Majority of college students support Israel/Gaza campus protests, 1 in 10 actually participate in themThomas Chatterton Williams on Race, Identity, and ?Cancel Culture?Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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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.
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Susan Faludi's "Backlash"For Women Who Count on Men to Be JerksBridget Jones?s LegacySingle Women in Popular CultureA Decade of Advice for Women and Men in the Best-Selling Self-Help LiteratureThe gendered nature of self-helpSingle Women in Popular CultureThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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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 and Michael talk about Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink," a book that is mostly cute scientific anecdotes but also indirectly resulted in millions of taxpayer dollars being wasted on fraudulent science.
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Unconscious influences on decision making: A critical reviewHalf a Minute: Predicting Teacher Evaluations From Thin Slices of Nonverbal Behavior and Physical Attractiveness'Thin slices' of lifeConditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to DisagreeTelling More Than We Can Know: Verbal Reports on Mental ProcessesMagic at the marketplace: Choice blindness for the taste of jam and the smell of teaFalse-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as SignificantReading Lies: Nonverbal Communication and Deception Behavioral Science and SecurityTSA Should Limit Future Funding for Behavior Detection ActivitiesTSA Does Not Have Valid Evidence Supporting Most of the Revised Behavioral Indicators Used in Its Behavior Detection Activities Telling Lies: Fact, Fiction, and NonsenseTSA?s Secret Behavior Checklist to Spot TerroristsA Review of 'Blink' by Malcolm GladwellThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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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!
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"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.
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Lawrence Wright?s ?The Plague Year?Jonathan Howard?s ?We Want Them Infected?How the Pandemic Defeated AmericaCOVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsUS State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic DeathsImpact of non-pharmaceutical interventionsPolicy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 TransmissionThe Impact of Vaccines and Behavior on US Cumulative DeathsPro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death ratesReport for the Scottish COVID-19 InquiryThe Effectiveness Of Government Masking Mandates School closures during COVID-19COVID-19?Related School ClosuresThe Effects of School Closures on COVID?19Higher COVID-19 Deaths with Later School Closure in the United StatesReopening America?s SchoolsReading literacy decline in EuropeDeSantis vs. NewsomRed States Have Seen Less Learning LossPolitical partisanship and mobility restriction Republicans Aren?t New To The Anti-Vaxx MovementKFF poll on anti-vaxx beliefsThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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"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?"
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Lawrence Wright?s ?The Plague Year?The 2019 WHO report 30?day mortality following COVID?19COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsPolicy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United StatesWhat we can learn from SwedenA review of the Swedish policy response to COVID-19How Sweden approached the COVID?19 pandemicThe first eight months of Sweden?s COVID?19 strategyThe Swedish COVID-19 Response Is a DisasterExcess mortality in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020How Sweden approached the COVID-19 pandemicComparisons of all-cause mortality between European countries and regionsJonathan Howard?s ?We Want Them Infected.?Deaths: Leading Causes for 2021Stay-at-home orders associate with subsequent decreases in COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the United States Did the Timing of State Mandated Lockdown Affect the Spread of COVID-19? US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic DeathsThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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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 by right-wing cranks to an unfounded theory promoted by liberal journalists.
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The Let Them Theory
Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency.
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How to stop screwing yourself overMel Robbins and PlagiarismLet her? Army wife claims Mel Robbins stole her idea for blockbuster self-help book Mel Robbins?s ?Let Them? theory: really that simple?Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature Polarization in AmericaThe 5 Resets Impact of health warning labels on selection and consumption of food and alcohol products: systematic review with meta-analysisThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Josh Hawley's "Manhood" [TEASER]
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Steve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man"
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 here to help.
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Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Of Boys And Men
Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists and must reassert their manhood by supporting an authoritarian regime. And on the left, users of social media are often very irritating to people who write airport books.
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Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:
Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic AchievementGender Differences in Scholastic Achievement: A Meta-AnalysisEarly Childhood Behavior Problems and the Gender Gap in Educational Attainment in the United StatesWhere The Boys Aren?tThe gender achievement gap in grades and standardised testsThe State of Gender Equality for U.S. AdolescentsHighlights of women?s earnings in 2023The gender gap in educational outcomes in NorwaySocial Influences And The Gender Gap In Disruptive BehaviorFamily Disadvantage and the Gender GapWhat might interrupt men's suicide?As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay DropsThe Cost of CaringIs Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?Age of Entry to Kindergarten and Children?s Academic AchievementThe Effect of Age at School Entry on Reading Achievement Scores Beyond the Pros and Cons of RedshirtingSelf- Control and the Developing BrainImportance of Sex Differences in Impulse Control and AddictionsIt is a myth that boys lag behind in brain developmentThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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You Are A Badass
Peter and Michael dissect Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass," a book that answers the question: What if "The Secret" was written in the painful, try-hard style of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck"? Featuring a surprise digression about Sincero's other, even worse books.
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Savy Writes BooksThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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What's The Matter With Kansas?
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 the rise of Trump ? or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis? Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain.
Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode!
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The Thesis That Drove American Politics Crazy: The Emerging Democratic Majority What?s the Matter with What?s the Matter with Kansas?Class is DismissedThe White Working Class and the Democratic PartyIt?s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.How the diploma divide came to dominate American politicsThe 'Diploma Divide': Does It Exist for Racial and Ethnic Minorities?Blind Retrospection: Why Shark Attacks Are Bad For DemocracyNationally poor, locally rich: Income and local context in the 2016 presidential electionDemocracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive GovernmentIdentity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of AmericaPolitical Landscapes of Donald TrumpThe White Working Class and the 2016 ElectionPartisanship by family income, home ownership, union membership and veteran statusThe Elites Had It ComingWhat Explains Educational Realignment Among White Americans?Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Sam Harris's "The End of Faith"
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?
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Views of ViolenceCarnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening SystemThe same motive for anti-US 'terrorism' is cited over and overDoes intuitive mindset influence belief in God? Terrorism science: 5 insights into jihad in EuropeAnalytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal beliefWhat Is "Islamophobia"?Essays In Defense of ProfilingTo Profile or Not to ProfileChapter 2 The Making of Jihadist Social Actors in Europe inWho are the new jihadis?Disbelief - Prometheus Books God and the Ivory TowerReligion?s evolutionary landscape: Counterintuition, commitment, compassion, communionThe Evolution of Religion: How Cognitive By-Products, Adaptive Learning Heuristics, Ritual Displays, and Group Competition GenerateTalking to the EnemyThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Who Moved My Cheese?
What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey.
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Bright-Sided: How Positive Thinking Is Undermining AmericaDownsizing in AmericaTemp: How American Work, American Business, and the American Dream Became TemporaryThe Disposable AmericanSpencer Johnson, ?Who Moved My Cheese?? Author, Dies at 78What was the New Economy?Boss, Employees Share Large Cheese PlatterTarpon's big cheese has aides readingWhy doesn?t downsizing deliver?On the Battlefields of Business, Millions of CasualtiesShareholder Value and Workforce Downsizing, 1981-2006Long-Term Earnings Losses Due to Job Separation During the 1982 RecessionDoes Employee Downsizing Really Work?Layoffs, Top Executive Pay, and Firm PerformanceEmerging Conceptions of Work, Management and the Labor MarketA Conceptual Framework for Analyzing Why Organizations DownsizeOrganizational Downsizing: Constraining, Cloning, LearningThe Decline and Fall of the Conglomerate Firm in the 1980sThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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UNLOCKED: Eric Adams
New York?s favorite criminal is in the news, so here is our episode about his ridiculous life.
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Glenn Kessler Retire B*tch [TEASER]
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss.
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Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it.
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Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior, Child DevelopmentTypes of Parenting Styles and Effects On ChildrenDoes ?Tiger Parenting? Exist? Parenting Profiles of Chinese Americans and Adolescent Developmental OutcomesAssociations of parenting dimensions and styles with externalizing problems of children and adolescents: An updated meta-analysisDo the associations of parenting styles with behavior problems and academic achievement vary by culture? Results from a meta-analysisParenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known ConceptImpact of Behavioral Inhibition and Parenting Style on Internalizing and Externalizing Problems from Early Childhood through AdolescenceThe One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You?re a Trump SupporterInvestigating Correlates of Self-Regulation in Early Childhood with a Representative Sample of English-Speaking American FamiliesAmy Chua thinks identity politics on both sides are to blame.How the 'Tiger Mom' Convinced the Author of Hillbilly Elegy to Write His Story
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The Anxious Generation
Is social media to blame for the teen mental health crisis? It's complicated!
Thanks to Emily Weinstein, Amy Orben, Andrew Przybylski, Dean Burnett, Michael Mullarkey and Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz for help researching and fact-checking this episode!
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Emily Weinstein's book, "Behind Their Screens"Positive and negative uses of social media among adolescents hospitalized for suicidal behaviorThe Sisyphean Cycle of Technology PanicsThe Relationship Between Online Social Networking and Depression: A Systematic Review of Quantitative StudiesOnline "predators" and their victimsThe Coddling of the American ParentNo More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and DepressionHow technology is transforming the ways in which children playBanning mobile phones in schools in SpainNo One Knows Exactly What Social Media Is Doing To TeensWindows of developmental sensitivity to social mediaSmartphones are bad for some teens, not allHow Smartphones Affect the Social-Emotional Development of AdolescentsSocial media use and its impactTime Spent on Social Network Sites and Psychological Well-BeingA School-Level Analysis of Adolescent Extracurricular ActivityThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Breaking News Re-Release: "Hillbilly Elegy"
To celebrate ("celebrate") Donald Trump choosing JD Vance as his running mate we are re-releasing our "Hillbilly Elegy" episode. Enjoy!
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Richard Hanania's "The Origins of Woke"
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 man.
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What Speech Does "Hostile Work Environment" Harassment Law Restrict? Tunis v. Corning Glass Works, 698 F. Supp. 452 (S.D.N.Y. 1988)Pakizegi v. First Nat. Bank of Boston, 831 F. Supp. 901 Tesla Settles Discrimination Suit With Former Factory Worker - The New York TimesMenial Tasks, Slurs and Swastikas: Many Black Workers at Tesla Say They Faced Racism - The New York Times Diaz v. Tesla, Inc.Making Hispanics: How Activists, Bureaucrats, and Media Constructed a New AmericanAre Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination Meta-analysis of field experiments shows no change in racial discrimination in hiring over time | PNASSystemic Discrimination Among Large U.S. EmployersThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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The Columbia Protests [TEASER]
Peter and Michael discuss the media coverage of the protests at Columbia ? from the crazed, bloodthirsty ravings of right-wing media to the more muted, respectful bloodthirst of centrist media.
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"Going Infinite": Michael Lewis Takes On Sam Bankman-Fried
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 dreamed too big.
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Michael Lewis Is Buying What Sam Bankman-Fried Is Selling Michael Lewis Likens Critics of His New Book on Sam Bankman-Fried to a 'Mob'The SBF trial is a reminder that crypto is a rotten businessReview: Michael Lewis's Going InfiniteThe Curious Case of FTX?s ?Company Therapist? (vice.com)FTX?s Collapse Was a Crime, Not an AccidentGoing Infinite by Michael Lewis review ? falling for the antiheroThe Second FTX Asset Recovery Report Is Packed With BombshellsTakeaways From a New Book on Sam Bankman-FriedCaroline Ellison Testifies Against Sam Bankman-Fried, Blaming Him for CrimesThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 2: Campus Lies, I.Q. Rise & Epstein Ties
2 Better 2 Angels
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Jeffrey Epstein?s Science of SleazePinker?s response to Epstein allegationsHow Jeffrey Epstein Captivated HarvardJeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNAIt?s Official ? Steven Pinker Is Full of ShitPinker, Epstein, Soldier, SpyA century of sexual abuse victimisation: A birth cohort analysisThe prevalence of child sexual abuse with online sexual abuse addedHave Sexual Abuse and Physical Abuse Declined Since the 1990s?Explanations for the Decline in Child Sexual Abuse CasesThe Decline in Child Sexual Abuse CasesWhy Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined?Spanking and Other Corporal Punishment of Children by Parents: Undervaluing Children, Overvaluing PainWere There Really More Hate Crimes Last Year?Hate Crime Reported by Victims and PoliceThe Sexual Victimization of College WomenThe "Discovery" of Child AbuseA Short History of Child Protection in AmericaThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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Who's Afraid of Naomi Wolf? [TEASER]
We're finally discussing a good book! Naomi Klein's "Doppelgänger" chronicles the long, steady descent of another Naomi ? Wolf (buddy oof) ? from feminist icon to crank conspiracist.
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Lean In
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 corporate feminism and ask whether women will finally find liberation in the Metaverse.
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Facebook Feminism, Like It or NotFeminism's Tipping Point: Who Wins from Leaning in?One Cheer for Lean InIs there an implicit quota on women in top management? A large?sample statistical analysisFemale tokens in high-prestige work groups: Catalysts or inhibitors of group diversification?Want Equal Pay? Get a Union.The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and ExplanationsWhat Was the Girlboss?New Research: Women Who Don?t Negotiate Might Have a Good ReasonNow, Women Do Ask: A Call to Update Beliefs about the Gender Pay GapWhat?s It Like Inside the Hive? Managerial Discretion Drives TMT Gender Diversity of Women-Led FirmsI asked Facebook if I could work part-time from home after I had my baby. They said no?so I quitWomen in the Workplace 2023Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter SyndromeDig Deep: Beyond Lean InThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 1: You're Not Wrong, Pinker. You're Just An *sshole
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 European guys write some books that said murder was bad?
Special thanks to Philip Dwyer, Eleanor Janega, David M. Perry and Doug Thompson for help researching and fact-checking this episode!
Where to find us:
Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:
The Darker Angels of Our NatureGetting Medieval On Steven PinkerThe Decline of Violence in the West: From Cultural to Post-Cultural HistoryPinker?s (Mis)Representation of the Enlightenment and ViolenceHerding and Homicide: An Examination of the Nisbett-Reaves HypothesisPeace in Our TimeJohn Gray: Steven Pinker is wrong about violence and warThe business class doesn't understand the EnlightenmentDelusions Of PeacePinker And ProgressNorbert Elias and the History of ViolenceModernization, Self-Control And Lethal ViolenceExplaining Long Term Trends in Violent CrimeThe Enlightenment?s Dark SideThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
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The Art of the Deal
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 chronicling his exploits as a celebrity slumlord.
Where to find us:
Sources:
When Donald Trump Took Down Holiday Inns The Lost City of Trump Who Runs New York Now? How Donald Trump Bankrupted His Atlantic City Casinos, but Still Earned Millions Doer and Slumlord Both Donald Trump Gets What He WantsDonald Trump was a nightmare landlord in the 1980s Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of AmericaThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The Worst Takes of 2023 [TEASER]
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The Identity Trap
"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."
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Sources:
Sam Huneke's "Yascha Mounk?s Woke Straw Man"Jacob T. Levy's "The Defense of Liberty Can?t Do Without Identity Politics"Olúf??mi O. Táíwò's "Elite Capture"Aaron Huertas's "We Need to Talk About Reactionary Centrists"Mary Lin Elementary under federal investigationParents refute claims of segregation at Mary Lin Elementary SchoolSchool Segregation in Metropolitan Regions, 1970?200060 Years After BrownSchool choice and racial segregation in US schoolsStudent Population Has Significantly Diversified, But Many Schools Remain Divided Along Racial, Ethnic, and Economic LinesU.S. public school students often go to schools where at least half of their peers are the same race or ethnicityThe Return of Old-Fashioned Racism to White Americans? Partisan PreferencesWhy The Democrats Have Shifted Left Over The Last 30 YearsWidespread misperceptions of long-term attitude changeTrump, the 2016 Election, and Expressions of SexismChanging Norms Following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: The Trump Effect on PrejudiceChanges in Americans? prejudices during the presidency of Donald TrumpThe CDC slide presentationModel-informed COVID-19 vaccine prioritization strategiesThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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Pundit Portraits: Kathleen Parker and Chris Cillizza [TEASER]
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
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.
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https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck (Blog Post)Where A is Ordinary: The Evolution of American College and University Grading, 1940-2009We?ve Been Handing Out Participation Trophies for 100 YearsPositive Disintegration?The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%!? Review: A Blunt Philosophy
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The 48 Laws of Power
In 1996, a frustrated screenwriter got a fellowship in Italy. Twenty years later, Beyoncé released "Lemonade."
Content warning: This episode includes a mention of suicide.
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https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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Rebecca Solnit?s ?A Paradise Built in Hell?Kelly Link's "White Cat, Black Dog"The Half-Century in Bullshit: On Peter Bogdanovich?s ?Paper Moon? and Robert Greene?s ?The 48 Laws of Power?A Book of Anecdotes, 1957The Little Brown Book Of AnecdotesFear Nothing: Self-Fashioning and Social Mobility in 50 Cent?s The 50th LawThe fear of conflict leads people to systematically avoid potentially valuable zero-sum situationsThe Immigration DilemmaYou Can Win But I Can't LoseIf you rise, I fall: Equality is prevented by the misperception that it harms advantaged groupsZero-Sum Thinking and the Roots of U.S. Political DividesA Genesis of Conflict: The Zero-Sum MindsetForbes Winslow?s Physic and PhysiciansThe role of masculinity in men's help-seeking for depression: A systematic review The Strange, Sad Story of Joe Orton, His Lover, and 72 Stolen Library Books A Failure Of InitiativeNew Orleans reaches settlements for police shootings after Hurricane KatrinaPost-Katrina, White Vigilantes Shot African-Americans With Impunity
Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The "Organized Retail Crime" Panic [TEASER]
Retailers have been sounding the alarm about a shoplifting epidemic driven by organized criminal syndicates. In a shocking twist, it turns out that their story is mostly made up. Join us as Peter tries to figure out where this panic originated and as Mike finally comes clean about his criminal past.
To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon:
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Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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San Fransicko
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?
Thanks to Ned Resnikoff for helping us with the research for this episode!
Support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Where to find us:
TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:
Inflection Points in Community-level Homeless RatesHow Housing Costs Drive Levels of HomelessnessThe 2022 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report To CongressThe California Statewide Study of People Experiencing HomelessnessSan Francisco Homelessness Benchmarking ReportHomelessness is a Housing ProblemA randomized trial of permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless persons with high use of publicly funded servicesSan Francisco Department of Public Health Update Report on Mental Health ReformCivil Commitment in the United StatesThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The 4-Hour Workweek
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 labor.
Support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Where to find us:
TwitterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:
The Fraud and the Four-Hour WorkweekRevisiting "The 4-Hour Workweek"New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life!From Productivity to Psychedelics: Tim Ferriss Has Changed His Mind About SuccessThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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The Clinton E-Mail Scandal [TEASER]
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-Hillary sentiment.
To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon:
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Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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God And Man At Yale
Oops all grievance.
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Where 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 Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945The Passion of William F. Buckley: Academic Freedom, Conspiratorial Conservatism, and the Rise of the Postwar RightWhy Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care?Compromised Campus: The Collaboration of Universities with the Intelligence Community, 1945-1955Debunking a Longstanding Myth About William F. BuckleyHow William F. Buckley Jr.?s Right-Wing College Crusade Paved the Way for Ron DeSantisThe Right v. Higher Education: Change and ContinuityThe Buckleys: A Family ExaminedThe Academic Elite Goes to Washington, and to WarWhat About ?God and Man??The Attack on YaleThe academy on the firing line: William F. Buckley, Jr.'s God and Man at Yale and the modern conservative critique of higher educationConservatives charge that universities are hotbeds of liberalism. They?re wrong.Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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'On Bullsh*t' and the Pundit Industrial Complex [TEASER]
For this month's bonus episode we dissected Harry Frankfurt's gloriously brief bestseller and applied the concept to our favorite op-ed page.
To hear the rest of the show, support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
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