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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 Literary History & Criticism Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • CROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body"
    Apr 16 2026

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

    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 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!

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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Bullshit Jobs
    Mar 5 2026

    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.

    Where to find us:

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

    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!

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr
  • The Millionaire Next Door
    Feb 5 2026

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

    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!

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 11 mins
All stars
Most relevant
I listen to this while I'm bored or distracted. It's a total stress remover, just amazing.

I love this podcast.

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accessible but smart critique of culture, politics and sociology. Well worth the listen. Essentially a cut-through of books of misinformation that never got corrected in the public consciousness.

Want some political analysis with your breakfast?

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get rich quick, use child slave labor, run a scam. start of with a large fortune, don't pay tax, don't save but save everything.

great coverage

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I mean, I knew already men weren't from Mars, but I had no idea the author was only pretending to be a doctor!

An entertaining deep-dive into the dangerous agendas hiding inside non-fiction bestsellers

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funny and informative. I have read some of the books they critique and found their discussions about them very interesting and amusing

My favourite podcast

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