To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
31 mar 2025 - 53 min 11 seg
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. Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
28 mar 2025 - 58 min 53 seg
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. Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic Achievement...
6 mar 2025 - 01 hr 22 min 42 seg
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. Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: Savy Writes Books Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!
23 ene 2025 - 58 min 58 seg
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! Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: The Thesis That D...
6 dic 2024 - 01 hr 05 min 33 seg
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? Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: 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 insi...
4 nov 2024 - 01 hr 09 min 58 seg
What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey. Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: 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?Bo...
10 oct 2024 - 01 hr 09 min 12 seg
New York’s favorite criminal is in the news, so here is our episode about his ridiculous life. To hear all of our bonus episodes, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
26 sep 2024 - 59 min 28 seg
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss. To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod
26 sep 2024 - 36 min 08 seg
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it. Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources: 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 externaliz...
24 sep 2024 - 55 min 37 seg