Host of If Books Could Kill
6 books recommended · 9 critiqued · 14 episodes
Books they recommend that someone else wrote.
“There's a book about the history of personality tests from about 20 years ago by Annie Murphy Paul, who's a journalist. It's called The Cult of Personality.”
The Cult of Personality by Annie Murphy Paul
Host on If Books Could KillSurrounded By Idiots
“And so in 2012, we get a book called How Children Succeed, colon, Grit, Curiosity,…”
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
Host on If Books Could KillGrit
“Here's an excerpt from Character Limit, which is a book about the Twitter takeover by Kate Conger and Ryan Mack.”
Why: It provides a clear account of the internal dynamics during the Twitter takeover.
Character Limit by Kate Conger
Host on If Books Could KillElon Musk Part 2
“So somewhat ironically, some of the clearest work I found on this was written by another airport book author, Daniel Kahneman, who's a psychologist who wrote Thinking Fast and Slow.”
Why: Contains clear work on when expert intuition is reliable.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Host on If Books Could KillMalcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
“For this, I also read The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright, which is really interesting and is basically exactly what it sounds like. It's just like, OK, what happened in 2020?”
The Plague Year by Lawrence Wright
Host on If Books Could Kill"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
“And so Susan Flutie's entire book, Backlash, she's just pointing out like statistics. She's like, oh, women still make way less than men.”
Why: It points out real statistics on workplace inequality and sexual harassment.
Backlash by Susan Faludi
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 grit colon the power of passion and perseverance by angela duckworth…”
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Host on If Books Could KillGrit
“The full title of the book is Sapiens colon A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. It was published originally in Hebrew in 2011 and then in English in 2014.”
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Host on If Books Could KillSapiens
“What do you know about How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie? All I know is that we've covered a lot of frauds and phonies on this podcast, and it's nice to finally cover someone who did it the right way by having the same last name as a successful businessman.”
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Host on If Books Could KillHow To Win Friends And Influence People
“What do you know about Of Boys and Men? Finally, a book on my expertise, dudes. So the book is called Of Boys and Men, Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters,…”
Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves
Host on If Books Could KillOf Boys And Men
“It says, The Straight Girl's Guide to Sleeping with Chicks. So this is her first book. It's a book about, well, let's be clear. This is exactly what it appears to be.”
Why: Ridiculed for biphobia, bizarre advice, and poor content.
The Straight Girl's Guide to Sleeping with Chicks by Jen Sincero
Host on If Books Could KillYou Are A Badass
“It reminds me of when I was researching the Rich Dad Poor Dad episode and I was looking into like online financial grifters.”
Why: Criticized for poor writing, grammatical errors, and grifter-style storytelling.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
Host on If Books Could KillYou Are A Badass
“All right. Michael. Peter. What do you know about the battle hymn of the tiger mother? We already learned from Malcolm Gladwell that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. But this was the book that taught Americans you can also become an expert by someone else yelling at you for 10,000 hours.”
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
Host on If Books Could KillBattle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
“I know that the book made the argument that we have to understand rural whites so that they can run for Senate and take our rights away.”
Why: The hosts argue the book is pernicious and maligns poor people, functioning as a roadmap for political ambition.
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Host on If Books Could KillBreaking News Re-Release: "Hillbilly Elegy"
“It is by Greg Barrett and Liz Tachillo, two writers on the show Sex and the City.”
Why: The hosts note the book is not bad enough to totally dunk on, but not good enough to learn anything profound.
He's Just Not That into You by Greg Behrendt
Host on If Books Could KillHe's Just Not That Into You
Named without an opinion attached.
“In 1956's The Organization Man, William White, sounded a warning about the stifling conformity such tests impose on American executives.”
The Organization Man by William H. Whyte
Host on If Books Could KillSurrounded By Idiots
“So this is an excerpt from a book called How Children Succeed.”
How Children Succeed by Paul Tough
Host on If Books Could KillGrit
“then in 2019 he published self-portrait in black and white unlearning race uh this one is about how becoming a father impacted his view of race, particularly when he had what I think is a very white presenting child.”
Self-Portrait in Black and White by Thomas Chatterton Williams
Host on If Books Could KillThomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
“In 2010, he published Losing My Cool, How a Father's Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip Hop Culture. Hip hop culture. Resulted in him like physically attacking his girlfriend at the time when he was like 15.”
Losing My Cool by Thomas Chatterton Williams
Host on If Books Could KillThomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
“In 2020, before he was mayor, he published a book about his lifestyle. I'm going to send you something.”
Healthy at Last by Eric Adams
Host on If Books Could KillUNLOCKED: Eric Adams