Sign in

If Books Could Kill

@ifbookspod.bsky.social
37K followers 2 following 128 posts

A podcast about the airport books that captured our hearts and ruined our minds. Patreon: patreon.com/ifbookspod Merch: ifbookspod.dashery.com

PostsRepliesMedia
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This month's bonus episode is about how climate change is fake but the hosts' body horror is real.
patreon.com
Conspiracies of Yore: Climategate | If Books Could Kill
Michael and Peter discuss Climategate, the scandal that rocked the climate science world. With scientists on one side, and paid lackeys for
1624316
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
this comes out next week lol
734710
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Melissa Stewart @lissajostewart.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Gotta stop listening to this podcast during workouts because I got to “Jesus is green” and almost dropped a dumbbell on my head.
51705
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Episode 55: Surrounded By Idiots Have you ever wondered why people have different personalities? A guy who’s not a psychologist is here to explain it during a mandatory workplace training.
podcasts.apple.com
Surrounded By Idiots
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · September 1 · 1h 9m
5448034
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
it’s really us
52765
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This month's bonus episode is about Ross Douthat, the longtime NYT columnist and new Bari Weiss hire whose job is selling conservatism to liberals.
patreon.com
Pundit Portrait: Ross Douthat | If Books Could Kill
Peter and Michael discuss Ross Douthat, lifelong conservative pundit and fascism's number one PR agent.
2239935
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Briony @irony-poisoned.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Peter saying middle eastern men are dramatic and then shortly afterwards threatening to kill himself for not being able to pronounce “C.A.I.” got me
017912
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
dragonlake.bsky.social @dragonlake.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I only just started the episode before having to rush to the ER to see my mother. Took a walk around the hospital and did not expect to find this book staring at me on the free book shelf. Let alone to open it and immediately see this page:
Photo of Mortenson with wife and child in Afganistan holding rifles.  

Text reads: 

This image was used for a family Christmas card, with the caption "Peace on Earth".
3882
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Episode 54: Three Cups of Tea One man's mission to build schools, fight terrorism and promote peace, one private jet reimbursement at a time.
buzzsprout.com
Three Cups of Tea - If Books Could Kill
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...
6452136
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
This month's bonus episode is a rare mailbag, where we answer various private questions about our brains and hash out an assortment of beefs with our listeners.
patreon.com
Peter Had a Baby and Michael Has ADHD: Your Questions, Answered | If Books Could Kill
The boys answer listener questions about fatherhood, the literacy crisis, and whether we're capable of reflecting on our mistakes.
171556
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
sharked up @sharkedup.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
This made me so so so mad. Not because of anything that Peter and Michael did or said, but because of how many people who I have respected and loved in the last 12 years have just been straight up lying to me because of this fucking book
113010
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
nora, but like, spooky @noralenderbe.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
i just finished listening to the @ifbookspod.bsky.social about how no one engages with WaPo podcasts and it's very funny that this post been up nearly a full day and hasn't gotten a single like
2963
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
in case anyone was wondering what the WaPo podcaster eating a burger to own the libs looked like, here you go.
A dead eyed middle aged man biting into a burger while making eye contact with the camera
3028318
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This month's bonus episode is about the humiliating decline of The Washington Post, which has culminated in the launch of a podcast that is worse than you could possibly imagine.
patreon.com
The Assassination of The Washington Post by the Coward Jeff Bezos | If Books Could Kill
Peter and Michael discuss the slow death of The Washington Post at the hands of its billionaire owner, and dive deep into the Post's truly t
2658459
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 21/06/2026
Listening to this episode and it’s actually worse than I thought; this book is like the final boss for fact checkers and other people who are bothered by made-up claims.
1137445
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Always sleepy @muchspooky.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
This book is so bad that when my colleagues and I (all trauma specialists specifically in IPV/SV) read it for our office book club we could hear each other yelling about it through the walls. Fuck this book and this man's shitty fucking science and gross ass writing.
864764
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Aubrey Gordon @yrfatfriend.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
brb, changing my bio to "Aubrey is obese and aggressive"
859416
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
A Tincan @atincan.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Cruising or Cod my body is keeping the score
My body is a machine that turns homosexuality into fresh fish
12938
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Episode 53: The Body Keeps The Score In 2014, a Dutch researcher revolutionized our understanding of trauma with insights like "don't talk about it" and "get a massage."
podcasts.apple.com
The Body Keeps The Score
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · June 18 · 1h 50m
1241312192
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
This month's bonus episode is about the Sarah Palin Fake Pregnancy Conspiracy, and how it drove Andrew Sullivan to madness.
patreon.com
Conspiracies of Yore: Sarah Palin's Fake Pregnancy | If Books Could Kill
Conspiracies of Yore: Sarah Palin's Fake Pregnancy by If Books Could Kill on Patreon. Join If Books Could Kill's community for exclusive content and updates.
2125515
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Sophie @sophies.games · 26/05/2026
IBCK at work in the Spotify comment section @ifbookspod.bsky.social
The Spotify page for the latest episode of The Ezra Klein Show, where Yuval Noah Harari is a guest and to top comments say he has nothing of value to say.
0631
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Episode 52: Think and Grow Rich In 1937, one man helped pioneer the self-help genre the only way he knew how: by telling an elaborate series of preposterous lies.
podcasts.apple.com
Think And Grow Rich
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · May 21 · 1h 3m
4848955
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Episode 51: Grit In 2013, education reformers decided to fix America's schools the old-fashioned way: By consulting the 16th most popular Ted Talk.  podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
podcasts.apple.com
Grit
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · April 30 · 1h 19m
7649441
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Justin Street @jstreet.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
@ifbookspod.bsky.social It's happening! They're doing burnmaxxing or whatever!!
3634
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
On month's bonus episode we check in on the Alpha and Omega of weird political discourse: Bari Weiss and Zohran Mamdani.
patreon.com
Catching Up With Bari & Zohran | If Books Could Kill
Catching Up With Bari & Zohran by If Books Could Kill on Patreon. Join If Books Could Kill's community for exclusive content and updates.
1323221
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Tex 👺 @trocchio.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
In fucking tears over the 15-minute female orgasm segment holy shit
41087
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Maintenance Phase @maintenancephase.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
🚨 IT’S A CROSSOVER EPISODE 🚨 We’re joined by @fivefourpod.bsky.social & @ifbookspod.bsky.social’s own Peter Shamshiri for a diet book deep dive on Tim Ferriss’s “The 4-Hour Body.” What does $250k in medical equipment get you? Unlimited ultrasounds & bad advice! www.buzzsprout.com/1411126/epis...
buzzsprout.com
Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body" (feat. Peter Shamshiri) - Maintenance Phase
We're joined by Mike's If Books Could Kill co-host to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys.Support us:Hear bonus episodes on PatreonWatch Aubrey's documentaryBuy Aubrey's bookListen to Mike's o...
4980180
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
This month’s bonus episode covers the worst takes from the opening weeks of the Iran War, from Bret Stephens and Tom Friedman to Iran’s long-exiled crown prince.
patreon.com
The Worst Iran Takes | If Books Could Kill
Get more from If Books Could Kill on Patreon
1642329
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
the time is here: send us the worst Iran takes
5551532
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
the time is here: send us the worst Iran takes
5551532
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Episode 50: Bullshit Jobs An anthropologist proffers a theory about fake jobs, and two professional podcasters weigh in.
podcasts.apple.com
B******t Jobs
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · March 5 · 1h
8166640
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
We did this
93299
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
A.J. Gochenaur @thegoche.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Bari to CBS: ok, fine we'll cut him loose, but only if we can wait for @notalawyer.bsky.social to say on @ifbookspod.bsky.social that we aren't.
0828
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
This month's bonus episode is about how "technically it's ephebophilia" went mainstream
patreon.com
The "Epstein Is A Moral Panic" Moral Panic | If Books Could Kill
Get more from If Books Could Kill on Patreon
2342540
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
petra @kutheks.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
that book is so bad that @ifbookspod.bsky.social made 2 episodes about it
112612
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
38986051078
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Phlebas the Phoenician @phlebasphoencian.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
His arms don’t sound like this on his podcast.
944418
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Andy McCumber @ahmccumber.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
If you need a good example of “sampling on the dependent variable” for your stats class, look no further.
311111
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
dial m for murderousness @minndb.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
I’ve always thought I’m not smart enough to write a best-selling book, but after a couple years listening to @ifbookspod.bsky.social I realized the truth is that I’m not dumb enough
316716
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
clip of me talking at length about watches being played at my neurodivergence trial
39130844
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Episode 49: The Millionaire Next Door In 1996, two marketing professors revealed the characteristics of America's new elite class: They buy the right kind of watch, marry the right kind of wife and were born the right kind of white.
podcasts.apple.com
The Millionaire Next Door
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 02/05/2026 · 1h 11m
5847131
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Jonty @fairless.xyz · 31/01/2026
LOVE how many people are getting introduced to @michaelhobbes.bsky.social for the first time via this @volts.wtf episode. Next: a small army of energy nerds get radicalised (complimentary) by Maintenance Phase & @ifbookspod.bsky.social. Maybe even make the jump to @fivefourpod.bsky.social...
41205
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
🦎 @loungeiguana.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
OMG David, this is so relevant to my interests. I regularly listen to both Volts.wtf and @ifbookspod.bsky.social . Downloaded.
volts.wtf
Volts | David Roberts | Substack
A newsletter, podcast, & community focused on the technology, politics, and policy of decarbonization. In your inbox once or twice a week. Click to read Volts, a Substack publication with tens of thou...
0191
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
This month's bonus episode is about Olivia Nuzzi: her rise to the top of political media, her FaceTime sex with RFK Jr., and her awful new book.
patreon.com
Olivia Nuzzi's "American Canto" | If Books Could Kill
Get more from If Books Could Kill on Patreon
3021814
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
This was simultaneously hilarious and damning examination of the shoddiness of Isaacson’s work. It’s something we came across multiple times in reporting our own book and factchecking it against his.
932533
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
From "Democrats should abandon trans rights" to "I want to have sex with a computer." Wake up, honey, it's the worst takes of the year.
patreon.com
The Worst Takes of 2025 | If Books Could Kill
Get more from If Books Could Kill on Patreon
3057658
Reposted by If Books Could Kill
Yoel Roth @yoyoel.com · 27/12/2025
Requested a correction from @princetonupress.bsky.social. Let's see what happens.
Dear Princeton University Press Editorial Team,

I am writing to request a correction to In Covid's Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us by Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee. The book contains a significant misquotation that inverts the meaning of my published work.

In 2023, I published an article for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University titled "Getting the Facts Straight: Some Observations on the Fifth Circuit Ruling in Missouri v. Biden." In that piece, I directly refuted false claims about government jawboning of social media platforms. One claim I specifically pushed back against was the myth that the FBI demanded Twitter censor online speech.

And yet, I was recently surprised to find that In Covid's Wake quotes me as stating that "the FBI went beyond strategic information sharing and made direct moderation demands" — the exact claim I was refuting, presented as though I endorsed it. The book uses my refutation of a false narrative to support that very narrative, employing my name, former position, and scholarly writing to buttress the authors' argument at the expense of the integrity of my own views.

This is not a case of authors disagreeing with my interpretation or selectively quoting from a nuanced argument. The book attributes to me a position that is the precise opposite of what I argued. The passage the authors quote is a section heading that introduces my refutation of that claim, not an endorsement of it.

The misrepresentation is particularly harmful because it lends Princeton University Press's credibility to demonstrably false claims about government censorship. My article exists specifically to establish what actually happened versus what conspiracy theories allege. By quote-mining a section heading and divorcing it from the argument that follows, the book weaponizes my attempt to establish facts against the truth itself.I request that the authors and Princeton University Press:
Issue a formal correction acknowledging the misquotation
Revise the relevant passage in future editions to accurately represent my argument
Post an erratum on the book's webpage
I recognize that scholarly interpretation involves judgment calls about sources. However, quoting someone's statement of a position they are about to refute as though they endorse that position is not interpretation — it is dishonest, misleading, and a self-evident factual error. This is not a matter of academic disagreement but of basic accuracy in representing published work.

I hope Princeton University Press shares my commitment to factual rigor and will address this matter promptly.

Sincerely,

Yoel Roth, PhD
201733303
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Furiously updating our LinkedIn profiles
esquire.com
The 20 Best Podcasts of 2025
This year’s selection balances humor with existential dread, snark with sincerity, and intellectual rigor—all while hangin' out, of course.
1339418
If Books Could Kill @ifbookspod.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Just recorded our annual Worst Takes of the Year episode!
My favorite actress is not humanthe left's new moralism will backfire
2681146