If Books Could Kill

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1. Why Men Love Bitches

   5 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 12 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   Where to find us:

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   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

2. Surrounded By Idiots

   1 september 2026 · 1 uur 9 min

   Afspelen
   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? Lees meer

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   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

3. Three Cups of Tea

   5 augustus 2026 · 1 uur 52 min

   Afspelen
   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." Lees meer

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

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

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   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

4. The Body Keeps The Score

   18 juni 2026 · 1 uur 50 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   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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   Sources:

   What the Most Famous Book About Trauma Gets Wrong

   Trauma: A Genealogy

   Remembering Trauma

   Advocates of Research-Supported Treatments for PTSD are Losing

   Tell Me Why It Hurts

   ‘The Body Keeps the Score’ offers uncertain science

   Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside

   PTSD and complex PTSD: a review of reviews

   What Does It Mean When 38% Forget?

   Multiple Identity Enactments and Multiple Personality Disorder: A Sociocognitive Perspective

   The Brain Is Adaptive Not Triune

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

5. Think And Grow Rich

   21 mei 2026 · 1 uur 3 min

   Afspelen
   Peter and Michael discuss "Think And Grow Rich," the 1937 classic written by a lifelong fraudster who finds his final mark: You. Lees meer

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   Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

   Sources:

   The Untold Story of Napoleon Hill, the Greatest Self-Help Scammer of All Time

   A Lifetime of Riches

   How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

   How a Different America Responded to the Great Depression

   The Psychic Scandal

   How Trump Turned The Power of Positive Thinking Into Delusion

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

6. Grit

   30 april 2026 · 1 uur 19 min

   Afspelen
   In 2013, education reformers tried to help poor students the using the best tool at their disposal: The 16th most popular Ted Talk. Lees meer

   Special thanks to Marcus Credé!

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   Sources:

   Much Ado About Grit

   What Shall We Do About Grit?

   Grit under attack

   Teaching “Grit”

   The Problem With Grit

   The Limits of “Grit”

   Grit: The power of passion and perseverance

   Is 'Grit' Doomed To Be The New Self-Esteem?

   Measurement Matters

   Using Psychological Science to Help Children Thrive

   Self-Control and Academic Achievement

   Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success

   Should non-cognitive skills be included in school accountability systems?

   Measuring Students’ Non-Cognitive Skills and the Impact of Schooling

   Grit: A Short History of a Useful Concept

   Teaching Kids 'Grit' is All the Rage.

   "Grit" Revisited

   Character Education: A Cautionary Note

   What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?

   The Effects of the EITC on Child Achievement

   Academic Performance And Food Stamps

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

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

   16 april 2026 · 1 uur 8 min

   Afspelen
   Peter went on Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase, to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys. Lees meer

   Where to find us:

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   Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase

   Sources:

   The 4-Hour Body

   Does 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 Yourself

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

8. Bullshit Jobs

   5 maart 2026 · 1 uur

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   Where to find us:

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   Sources:

   On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant

   37% of British workers think their jobs are meaningless

   Average Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United States

   The 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 Useless

   Alienation Is Not ‘Bullshit’: An Empirical Critique of Graeber’s Theory of BS Jobs

   Many people feel they work in pointless ‘bullshit’ jobs, research confirms

   The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure

   Study: Leisure Time Declines

   USA Consumption as percent of GDP

   The Significance of Task Significance: Job Performance Effects, Relational Mechanisms, and Boundary Conditions

   Task significance and meaningful work: A longitudinal study

   Americans’ job satisfaction in 2024

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

9. The Millionaire Next Door

   5 februari 2026 · 1 uur 11 min

   Afspelen
   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. Lees meer

   Where to find us:

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   Sources:

   Uneasy Street

   A Century of Wealth In America

   Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth among the Richest Americans, 1982–2012

   Wealth Elite Moralities

   The insane growth of America’s millionaire class

   The Extraordinary Rise In The Wealth Of Older American Households

   Planning & Progress Study 2025

   Striking Out on Their Own: The Self-Employed in Bankruptcy

   How Many Households Meet The Net Worth Guidelines Of The Millionaire Next Door?

   Paying Tribute to Thomas Stanley and His ‘Millionaire Next Door’

   Pity the Billionaires

   What Rich Women Want

   The deserving or undeserving rich?

   The Evolution of Top Incomes

   Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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

10. The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]

    29 december 2025 · 50 min

    Afspelen
    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. Lees meer

    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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