Host of If Books Could Kill
16 books recommended · 21 critiqued · 27 episodes
Books they recommend that someone else wrote.
“The other thing that I read for this was The Tragedy of Heterosexuality by Jane Ward, who has an entire chapter about why men love bitches, he's just not that into you, and think like a woman, act like a man.”
The Tragedy of Heterosexuality by Jane Ward
Host on If Books Could KillWhy Men Love Bitches
“Five years later, in 2011, John Krakauer, the sort of famed outdoor journalist, publishes a book called Three Cups of Deceit, which is accompanied by a 60 Minutes documentary.”
Why: It is an 80-page long nonfiction book that is a brutal takedown and the perfect length.
Three Cups of Deceit: How Greg Mortenson, Humanitarian Hero, Lost His Way by Jon Krakauer
Host on If Books Could KillThree Cups of Tea
“According to him and in his book, Remembering Trauma, which is one of the definitive books that debunks this trend.”
Remembering Trauma by Richard J. McNally
Host on If Books Could KillThe Body Keeps The Score
“There's this economist, Juliette Shore, who studies this and wrote a very influential book in 1992 called The Overworked American.”
Why: It offers an influential perspective on why extra productivity turned into consumption rather than leisure.
The Overworked American by Juliet Schor
Host on If Books Could KillBullshit Jobs
“This is an excerpt from a super fascinating book called Uneasy Street by Rachel Sherman. The composition of U.S. elites has changed significantly since Ostrander conducted her research nearly four decades ago.”
Uneasy Street by Rachel Sherman
Host on If Books Could KillThe Millionaire Next Door
“There's a very good review of this book in the Wall Street Journal by Charles C. Mann, who wrote 1491.”
1491 by Charles C. Mann
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“As I was reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, I was also reading a book called Self-Help Messiah, Dale Carnegie, and Success in Modern America by Stephen Watts, which is very interesting and very good.”
Why: It is very interesting and very good.
Self-help Messiah by Steven Watts
Host on If Books Could KillHow To Win Friends And Influence People
“So this is from Naomi Klein's book, Doppelganger, which we talked about on this show, but we didn't get a chance to get to this part.”
Why: The speaker likes the book and recommends it overall, even while critiquing a specific argument in it.
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
Host on If Books Could KillBonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
“He wrote a very popular book called Listen Liberal after 2016 that hit a lot of the same themes and got a lot of attention because it was like a plausible explanation of Trump, you know?”
Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“Scott Atran wrote a whole book on this called Talking to the Enemy where he chronicles his interviews with accused terrorists.”
Why: It provides empirical data and interviews showing that violent jihadis are often motivated by revenge and recent radicalization rather than deep doctrinal knowledge.
Talking to the Enemy by Scott Atran
Host on If Books Could KillSam Harris's "The End of Faith"
“So this is an excerpt from Barbara Ehrenreich's Bright Sided, How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, which is a really good chronicle of the rise of the motivation industry.”
Why: Described as a really good chronicle of the rise of the motivation industry.
Bright-sided by Barbara Ehrenreich
Host on If Books Could KillWho Moved My Cheese?
“I spoke with Iris Chen, who wrote a book a few years ago called Untigering, about her journey, like, away from tiger parenting. I asked her about this because this was sort of an interesting topic to me.”
Untigering by Iris Chen
Host on If Books Could KillBattle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
“One of the most interesting conversations I had for this was with a researcher named Emily Weinstein, who wrote a very good book called Behind Their Screens, where she took the radical step of actually talking to teenagers about the way that they use their phones…”
Why: The host praises the book for taking the sensible approach of talking directly to teenagers.
Behind Their Screens by Emily Weinstein
Host on If Books Could KillThe Anxious Generation
“There was like there was more than one book that was written in response to this book. There was one called Appalachian Reckoning, which is like a collection of essays. And it's a good reminder that like there are academics who study this stuff.”
Why: It serves as a good reminder of academics who study the region with nuance.
Appalachian Reckoning by Anthony Harkins
Host on If Books Could KillBreaking News Re-Release: "Hillbilly Elegy"
“So for this, I looked at a book called Representation and Rebellion, the Rockefeller Plan at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1914 to 1942.”
Representation and Rebellion by Jonathan H. Rees
Host on If Books Could KillHow To Win Friends And Influence People
“And so compared to like, for example, The Rules, which was like, pretend that he's funny so that he likes you or like all these weird manipulation tactics.”
Why: It is presented as a clear winner over books like The Rules because it does not rely on weird manipulation tactics.
The Rules by Ellen Fein
Host on If Books Could KillHe's Just Not That Into You
Books they argue against or name the limits of.
“So the full title of this book is Why Men Love Bitches, colon, From Doormat to Dream Girl,…”
Why Men Love Bitches by Sherry Argov
Host on If Books Could KillWhy Men Love Bitches
“The initial release of the book is not particularly interesting. It was followed up by a sequel, Why Men Marry Bitches in 2004.”
Why Men Marry Bitches by Sherry Argov
Host on If Books Could KillWhy Men Love Bitches
“What do you know about Surrounded by Idiots? All I know is that it's brave to base a book on the three words you only hear from the worst person you know.”
Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erikson
Host on If Books Could KillSurrounded By Idiots
“What do you know about The Body Keeps the Score? All I know is that I've been told the score my body keeps is a 6.5 at best.”
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
Host on If Books Could KillThe Body Keeps The Score
“And I think a lot of the reasons why it's complete bullshit are also why it succeeded at the time.”
Why: The host views the book as complete bullshit that appealed to post-Depression readers looking for individual mindsets rather than structural explanations.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
More from this conversation
“So the metaphysical sort of argument here, the pitch, is that all of these frequencies are running through the universe. And if you align your mind with the frequencies, the universe will deliver whatever that frequency entails.”
“Bullshit Jobs, written by David Graeber, came out in 2018. Graeber is an anthropologist, [60] and he is a hardcore lefty.”
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
Host on If Books Could KillBullshit Jobs
“So the name of the book is The Millionaire Next Door, colon, The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy. It's by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D., and William D. Danko, Ph.D.”
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley
Host on If Books Could KillThe Millionaire Next Door
“One of the big misfires of the book, and it's a severe one, is that Isaacson compresses politics into a single chapter out of over 90.”
Why: The book fails to cover the main story of Elon's political radicalization.
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Host on If Books Could KillElon Musk Part 2
“This is Walter Isaacson's 2023 biography of Elon Musk. Do you know anything about Walter Isaacson?”
Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
Host on If Books Could KillElon Musk
“All right. The book is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. Heard of it. Heard of him. Big best…”
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Host on If Books Could KillMalcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
“Here is in COVID's wake. Despite a proliferation of studies, there remains a dearth of settled science about whether and how the restrictions employed by governments in the United States and around the world affected pandemic outcomes.”
Why: The hosts argue the authors misrepresent standard scientific caveats and cherry-pick questionable non-US sources to falsely claim lockdowns and masks have unproven efficacy.
In Covid's Wake by Stephen Macedo
Host on If Books Could Kill"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
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“okay so this is episode two of our dissection of in covid's wake how our politics failed us by steven macedo and francis lee two academics at princeton…”
“So the full title of this book is In COVID's Wake, Colon, How Our Politics Failed Us. It is by Stephen Macedo and Francis Lee, two political scientists at Princeton.”
Why: The hosts argue the book is awful, reactionary, and provides a backbone for right-wing COVID revisionism.
In Covid's Wake by Stephen Macedo
Host on If Books Could Kill"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
“Michael. Peter. What do you know about Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man? This is the first time we've ever covered a book that perfectly describes the co-host of this podcast.”
Why: The hosts frame it as a terrible, misogynistic dating advice book full of gender essentialism.
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey
Host on If Books Could KillSteve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man"
“His 2018 book, 12 Rules for Life, sold more than 5 million copies. For anyone serious about understanding what is happening with young men, Peterson's appeal is an important data point. By Peterson's own reckoning, they account for 80% of his audience.”
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
Host on If Books Could KillOf Boys And Men
“This is another book where the central theme is the law of attraction. The idea that you can attract positive things into your life through positive thinking. And if you recall, that was the central premise of The Secret.”
Why: Dismissed for promoting unhinged beliefs about manifestation and physics.
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Host on If Books Could KillYou Are A Badass
“So the book is You Are a Badass, subtitle How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.”
Why: The host criticizes the book as being part of a genre of unhinged and poorly reasoned self-help literature.
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Host on If Books Could KillYou Are A Badass
“It spawned some spinoffs, including You Are a Badass at Making Money, which I also read. You are a badass for teens. You are a badass dad.”
Why: Discussed critically to highlight the repetitive and absurd nature of the author's financial and life advice.
You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
Host on If Books Could KillYou Are A Badass
“So this is a book from 2004 by Thomas Frank, who's sort of a lefty historian journalist guy.”
What's the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“So, yeah, the book is The End of Faith by Sam Harris.”
Why: The hosts frame the book as boring and abstract, serving as a foundation for Islamophobia and flawed logical arguments about religion.
The End of Faith by Sam Harris
Host on If Books Could KillSam Harris's "The End of Faith"
“What do you know about Who Moved My Cheese? Most of our books are books that you pick up in an airport on a whim, and this is the first one that your boss forces you to read.”
Why: Described as a demonic book of staggering malignancy used as propaganda for layoffs.
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Host on If Books Could KillWho Moved My Cheese?
“so the full title of this book is the anxious generation colon how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness…”
Why: The hosts critique the book for being overly reductive and presenting a simplistic moral panic narrative.
The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
Host on If Books Could KillThe Anxious Generation
“We talked about his previous book, The Coddling of the American Mind. We found that like it wasn't just that we disagree with that book, although we do. It's like the book was bad.”
Why: The host dismisses the book for having bad research and mischaracterized anecdotes.
The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff
Host on If Books Could KillThe Anxious Generation
“So this is straight from you are a badass, which means that you are a badass actually, I assume just plucked this.”
Why: The speaker notes that Sincero's book plagiarized or lifted its Henry Ford story directly from Hill's work.
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
“It's like, yeah, this is where Malcolm Gladwell is just like, by the way, I don't think Koreans are good at flying.”
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Host on If Books Could Kill"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
Named without an opinion attached.
“so back in 1928 there's a psychologist named william molten marston and he publishes a book called emotions of normal people…”
Emotions of Normal People by William Moulton Marston
Host on If Books Could KillSurrounded By Idiots
“John Krakauer is also a best-selling author and mountaineer who wrote Into Thin Air and Into the Wild.”
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Host on If Books Could KillThree Cups of Tea
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“i read for this i actually read uh into thin air by john krakauer because i was curious and i was like how do people read these fucking books and want to climb mountains…”
“John Krakauer is also a best-selling author and mountaineer who wrote Into Thin Air and Into the Wild.”
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Host on If Books Could KillThree Cups of Tea
“I didn't know this until I was reading up on it, but Rich Dad, Poor Dad is like a ripoff of this book. Oh. Like it's like a dumber version of this book.”
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Host on If Books Could KillThe Millionaire Next Door
“There is a story that is very important. I need you to read it. It's from a book called Liftoff by Eric Berger. Liftoff, Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX.”
Liftoff by Eric Berger
Host on If Books Could KillElon Musk
“The science fiction book that most influenced his wonder years was Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The jaunty and wry tale helped shape Musk's philosophy and added a dollop of droll humor…”
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Host on If Books Could KillElon Musk
“You have your holy texts, the feminine mystique.”
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“The beauty myth by Naomi Wolf.”
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“For this, I talked to David Perry, who is a medievalist and the author of a book called The Bright Ages.”
The Bright Ages by Matthew Gabriele
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“Harry Potter is a good example.”
Harry Potter (Series) 1-7 by J. K. Rowling
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“And like there were already starting to be protests against the lockdown orders. So on April 17th, he tweets all caps, liberate Michigan. And this is an excerpt from Lawrence Wright's book, The Plague Year.”
The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright
Host on If Books Could Kill"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
“To give you some background on Robbins, She struck it big in 2017 with her book, The Five Second Rule.”
The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins
Host on If Books Could KillThe Let Them Theory
“This is what I should have done on page like 87 of my notes for of boys and men. I should have just we should have just dunked on the stupid parts.”
Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves
Host on If Books Could KillSteve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man"
“This is something that was brought up in Lean In, if you recall, that women will leave the workforce even for a short period, which negatively impacts their income. And what Sheryl Sandberg said was, if you can afford it, just pay for the child care,…”
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Host on If Books Could KillOf Boys And Men
“A couple paragraphs later, he lists a bunch of bestselling books, like The End of Men. There's one called Man Out. There's one called Manning Up. There's one called Man Interrupted. John Gray, the Men Are From Mars guy, wrote The Boy Crisis. And then Richard Reeves does not mention this, But apparently Maureen Dowd wrote a book called Are Men Necessary?”
Are Men Necessary? by Maureen Dowd
Host on If Books Could KillOf Boys And Men
“The idea of red shirting was popularized in Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. This is why three weeks ago you texted me being like, did we talk about a red shirting? Exactly. When we discussed outliers.”
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Host on If Books Could KillOf Boys And Men
“So Larry Bartels and another guy, Christopher Atchin, published a book called Democracy for Realists a few years ago. It compiles their research on voter rationality.”
Democracy for Realists by Christopher H. Achen
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“In 1992, a political scientist named Benjamin Page published a book called The Rational Public, where he argued that even though individuals are not very well informed, in the aggregate, they make reasonable decisions primarily by taking cues from politicians and media.”
The Rational Public by Benjamin I. Page
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“In the midst of all this, John Judas, who's a politics writer, and Roy Texera, who's a political scientist, they publish a book called The Emerging Democratic Majority.”
The Emerging Democratic Majority by John B. Judis
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“The last time I did a book that I said up top, I didn't think was that stupid. It was Atomic Habits.”
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“In 1960, there's a study published called The American Voter. They surveyed voters and essentially found that people knew very little about policy and did not have coherent beliefs.”
The American Voter by Angus Campbell
Host on If Books Could KillWhat's The Matter With Kansas?
“Who Moved My Cheese is not his first business bestseller. His first business bestseller was 15 years before called The One Minute Manager.”
The One Minute Manager by Kenneth H. Blanchard
Host on If Books Could KillWho Moved My Cheese?
“This is very central to this book's success and the ideology of the book, which we will get into. This is a list from a book called The Disposable American.”
The Disposable American by Louis Uchitelle
Host on If Books Could KillWho Moved My Cheese?
“So for this, I read a really fascinating book called Downsizing in America, which was thunderously boring, but just like a list of all of the statistics about like everything we know about downsizing basically.”
Downsizing in America by William J. Baumol
Host on If Books Could KillWho Moved My Cheese?
“The starting pistol for this entire panic was the 1980 book, Michelle Remembers, which means Sarah did a whole series on where this woman under hypnosis, quote, recovers memories of like years long satanic rituals…”
Michelle Remembers by Michelle Smith
Host on If Books Could KillThe Body Keeps The Score
“So for this, I spoke to Emmy Neatfield, who is the author of a memoir about trauma called Acceptance and wrote like one of the first pieces to publicly criticize this book for Mother Jones.”
Acceptance by Emi Nietfeld
Host on If Books Could KillThe Body Keeps The Score
“This comes out one year after How to Win Friends and Influence People, which we talked about.”
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
“So this book is in the tradition of New Thought, which is a spiritual movement that was relatively popular at the time and which you and our listeners may know from The Secret.”
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
“The pastor Norman Vincent Peale claimed that Hill helped him write The Power of Positive Thinking in the early 1950s, which is notable, first of all, because it just boosts one book theory, right?”
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
“So Hill goes back into journalism and in 1928, he publishes a book called Law of Success, which was ostensibly the result of his research into success…”
The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill
Host on If Books Could KillThink And Grow Rich
“Abram Kendi? He talks about Kendi, who wrote How to Be an Anti-Racist, which I know less about, but I've seen sort of similar critiques.”
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Host on If Books Could KillThomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
“And Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. Oh my God. I mean, this is such a clear winner just based on the title alone.”
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus by John Gray
Host on If Books Could KillHe's Just Not That Into You
“Every time I walk back through the catalog of like dating advice books on this show, we're talking about The Game, The Rules, the Steve Harvey book and this.”
The Game by Neil Strauss
Host on If Books Could KillHe's Just Not That Into You