If Books Could Kill Podcast Por Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri arte de portada

If Books Could Kill

If Books Could Kill

De: Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri
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The airport bestsellers that captured our hearts and ruined our minds© 2025 If Books Could Kill Arte Ciencia Política Ciencias Sociales Historia y Crítica Literaria Política y Gobierno
Episodios
  • "In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
    Jun 19 2025

    Last episode we met two Princeton political scientists who are bad at virology. Today we learn that they are also bad at political science.

    Where to find us:

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

    Sources:

    • Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”
    • Jonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected”
    • How the Pandemic Defeated America
    • COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions
    • US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths
    • Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions
    • Policy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission
    • The Impact of Vaccines and Behavior on US Cumulative Deaths
    • Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates
    • Report for the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry
    • The Effectiveness Of Government Masking Mandates
    • School closures during COVID-19
    • COVID-19–Related School Closures
    • The Effects of School Closures on COVID‑19
    • Higher COVID-19 Deaths with Later School Closure in the United States
    • Reopening America’s Schools
    • Reading literacy decline in Europe
    • DeSantis vs. Newsom
    • Red States Have Seen Less Learning Loss
    • Political partisanship and mobility restriction
    • Republicans Aren’t New To The Anti-Vaxx Movement
    • KFF poll on anti-vaxx beliefs

    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Más Menos
    1 h y 10 m
  • "In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
    Jun 17 2025

    Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?"

    Where to find us:

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

    Sources:

    • Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”
    • The 2019 WHO report
    • 30‐day mortality following COVID‐19
    • COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions
    • Policy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United States
    • What we can learn from Sweden
    • A review of the Swedish policy response to COVID-19
    • How Sweden approached the COVID‐19 pandemic
    • The first eight months of Sweden’s COVID‐19 strategy
    • The Swedish COVID-19 Response Is a Disaster
    • Excess mortality in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020
    • How Sweden approached the COVID-19 pandemic
    • Comparisons of all-cause mortality between European countries and regions
    • Jonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected.”
    • Deaths: Leading Causes for 2021
    • Stay-at-home orders associate with subsequent decreases in COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the United States
    • Did the Timing of State Mandated Lockdown Affect the Spread of COVID-19?
    • US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths

    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Más Menos
    58 m
  • Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
    Jun 5 2025

    By popular demand we are releasing last month's Patreon bonus episode on the main feed! We chart the transformation of the lab leak from an unfounded theory promoted by right-wing cranks to an unfounded theory promoted by liberal journalists.

    Where to find us:

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


    Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

    Más Menos
    1 h y 21 m
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They critique some of my favorite books and some of my least favorite too. Well-reseached discussion with a side of humor.

Funny and insightful

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Michael doing an excellent follow-up to his work on You're Wrong About. Warm, friendly, evidence-centric criticism.

Amazing podcast

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This is great content for those looking for a fact based breakdown of this social phenomenon. It even includes a Pierce Brosnan mention!

Michael shines here doing what he's best at!

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Sometimes when I’m sitting at my stupid desk at my stupid job at 5 in the morning on 2hrs sleep waiting for my coffee break, seeing that a new episode dropped is the only thing that keeps me going

The only time I get to laugh at work

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It doesn't hurt to take a critical look at the books that hold value in our society. Sociology is a really complicated subject and boiling it down to a few statistics in a book doesn't always work, even when it's neatly packaged. The show is funny in addition to educational which is my favorite kind of podcast.

Great stuff

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Love all these podcasts. I know this isn't a podcast regarding reproductive rights but it would have been for Michael to mention that indigenous women are still having forced sterilization as well as other women in the present day here in the US. It isn't a past issue for us or the rest of the world sadly. I love how you guys can make me laugh so hard while learning about the most depressing shit. great work keep it up.

wow

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I thoroughly enjoy this podcast. I paid for Patreon. Then episodes stopped showing up. I would continue listening and I would restart Patreon, but not if the episodes just stop?!

Well.

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Always informative… always fun!! I enjoy listening to and from work. Michael Hobbs, I love you!! You too, Peter!!

Dazzling Book Reviews

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This made my work days fly by and it was hilarious and engaging with wonderful chemistry between Michael and Peter. Definitely feel like checking out their other podcasts

Fantastic

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I like the arguments they bring up on the matter of data analytics as well as the way they fact check the authors. But I can't get personal opinions they demonstrate. It is almost like the authors personally offended them. They give me the impression of a two neck bearded, purple headed Karen's, yelling to see the manager.

Karen vibe

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