If Books Could Kill

Grit

In 2013, education reformers tried to help poor students the using the best tool at their disposal: The 16th most popular Ted Talk. Special thanks to Marcus Credé!  Where to find us:  * Our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod] * Our merch! [https://ifbookspod.dashery.com/] * Peter's newsletter [https://stringinamaze.net/] * Peter's other podcast, 5-4 [https://www.fivefourpod.com/] * Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase [https://www.maintenancephase.com/] Sources: * Much Ado About Grit [https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-29674-001?doi=1] * What Shall We Do About Grit? [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0013189X18801322] * Grit under attack [https://hechingerreport.org/grit-under-attack/] * Teaching “Grit” [https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/teaching-grit-blaming-the-poor-and-undermining-the-public-will-to-address-poverty/] * The Problem With Grit [https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-the-problem-with-grit/2015/04] * The Limits of “Grit” [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-limits-of-grit] * Grit: The power of passion and perseverance [https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance] * Is 'Grit' Doomed To Be The New Self-Esteem? [https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/03/03/468870056/is-grit-doomed-to-be-the-new-self-esteem?ref=quillette.com] * Measurement Matters [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4849415/] * Using Psychological Science to Help Children Thrive [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6391729/] * Self-Control and Academic Achievement [https://www.annualreviews.org/docserver/fulltext/psych/70/1/annurev-psych-010418-103230.pdf?expires=1774973481&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=0EF7D86C0A967144FC703857E7482429] * Cognitive and noncognitive predictors of success [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31685624/] * Should non-cognitive skills be included in school accountability systems? [https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/EvidenceSpeaksWest031716.pdf] * Measuring Students’ Non-Cognitive Skills and the Impact of Schooling [https://www.columbia.edu/~rem2178/assets/pubs/west-2015.pdf] * Grit: A Short History of a Useful Concept [https://mabel.wwu.edu/do/94a7219b-a1cc-435d-a3f2-be68710d4a4a] * Teaching Kids 'Grit' is All the Rage. [https://newrepublic.com/article/117615/problem-grit-kipp-and-character-based-education] * "Grit" Revisited [https://mikerosebooks.blogspot.com/2016/06/grit-revisited-reflections-on-our.html] * Character Education: A Cautionary Note [https://www.brookings.edu/articles/character-education-a-cautionary-note/] * What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html] * The Effects of the EITC on Child Achievement [https://web.archive.org/web/20140207132630/http:/econ.msu.edu/seminars/docs/20131114%20Maxfield%20EITC%20Child%20Education.pdf] * Academic Performance And Food Stamps [https://www.npr.org/2017/09/21/552530614/researchers-examine-links-between-academic-performance-and-food-stamps] Thanks to Mindseye [https://mindseye-music.bandcamp.com/track/the-place-beyond-the-clouds-2] for our theme song!

CROSSOVER EVENT: Tim Ferriss’s "The 4-Hour Body"

Peter went on Mike's other show, Maintenance Phase, to revisit a biohacking diet book for the boys. Where to find us:  * Our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod] * Our merch! [https://ifbookspod.dashery.com/] * Peter's newsletter [https://stringinamaze.net/] * Peter's other podcast, 5-4 [https://www.fivefourpod.com/] * Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase [https://www.maintenancephase.com/] Sources: * The 4-Hour Body [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-4-hour-body-an-uncommon-guide-to-rapid-fat-loss-incredible-sex-and-becoming-superhuman-timothy-ferriss/0c03ff08c7bd9cf6?ean=9780307463630&next=t] * Does Glycemic Index Matter for Weight Loss? An Examination of the Evidence [https://www.academia.edu/110932489/Perspective_Does_Glycemic_Index_Matter_for_Weight_Loss_and_Obesity_Prevention_Examination_of_the_Evidence_on_Fast_Compared_with_Slow_Carbs]  * New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life! [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/books/07book.html]  * The 4-Hour Body: The Real App You Are Working On Is An App Called Yourself [https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/15/4-hour-body-review/] Thanks to Mindseye [https://mindseye-music.bandcamp.com/track/the-place-beyond-the-clouds-2] for our theme song!

Bullshit Jobs

Peter and Michael discuss "Bullshit Jobs" by anarchist anthropologist David Graeber. The result: two professional podcasters debating which jobs are real and which jobs are fake. Where to find us:  * Our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod] * Our merch! [https://ifbookspod.dashery.com/] * Peter's newsletter [https://stringinamaze.net/] * Peter's other podcast, 5-4 [https://www.fivefourpod.com/] * Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase [https://www.maintenancephase.com/] Sources: * On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant [https://strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/] * 37% of British workers think their jobs are meaningless [https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/13005-british-jobs-meaningless] * Average Annual Hours Worked by Persons Engaged for United States [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/data/AVHWPEUSA065NRUG] * The times they are not changin’: Days and hours of work in Old and New Worlds, 1870–2000 [https://personal.lse.ac.uk/minns/huberman_minns_eeh_2007.pdf] * ‘Bullshit’ After All? Why People Consider Their Jobs Socially Useless [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09500170231175771] * Alienation Is Not ‘Bullshit’: An Empirical Critique of Graeber’s Theory of BS Jobs [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09500170211015067] * Many people feel they work in pointless ‘bullshit’ jobs, research confirms [https://es.britsoc.co.uk/many-people-feel-they-work-in-pointless-bullshit-jobs-research-confirms] * The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/027046769301300454]  * Study: Leisure Time Declines [https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1992/2/19/study-leisure-time-declines-pthe-average/] * USA Consumption as percent of GDP [https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/USA/consumption_GDP/] * The Significance of Task Significance: Job Performance Effects, Relational Mechanisms, and Boundary Conditions [https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2008_Grant_JAP_TaskSignificance.pdf] * Task significance and meaningful work: A longitudinal study [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0001879117300702] * Americans’ job satisfaction in 2024 [https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/12/10/job-satisfaction/] Thanks to Mindseye [https://mindseye-music.bandcamp.com/track/the-place-beyond-the-clouds-2] for our theme song!

The Millionaire Next Door

It turns out that the key to wealth is buying the right kind of watch, marrying the right kind of wife and being the right kind of white. Where to find us:  * Our Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod] * Our merch! [https://ifbookspod.dashery.com/] * Peter's newsletter [https://stringinamaze.net/] * Peter's other podcast, 5-4 [https://www.fivefourpod.com/] * Mike's other podcast, Maintenance Phase [https://www.maintenancephase.com/] Sources: * Uneasy Street [https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691191904/uneasy-street?srsltid=AfmBOoqPw0mBIMUVJ_XaYVbCmAelcQFWVSLNiOulwHwd96mpXYnQu5LJ] * A Century of Wealth In America [https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674495142] * Family, Education, and Sources of Wealth among the Richest Americans, 1982–2012 [https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.103.3.158] * Wealth Elite Moralities [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038518768175] * The insane growth of America’s millionaire class [https://thehustle.co/originals/the-insane-growth-of-americas-millionaire-class] * The Extraordinary Rise In The Wealth Of Older American Households [https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w34131/w34131.pdf] * Planning & Progress Study 2025 [https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2025] * Striking Out on Their Own: The Self-Employed in Bankruptcy [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1982213] * How Many Households Meet The Net Worth Guidelines Of The Millionaire Next Door? [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294091013_How_many_households_meet_the_net_worth_guidelines_of_The_Millionaire_Next_Door] * Paying Tribute to Thomas Stanley and His ‘Millionaire Next Door’ [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/your-money/paying-tribute-to-thomas-stanley-and-his-millionaire-next-door.html?searchResultPosition=6] * Pity the Billionaires [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/business/yourmoney/pity-the-billionaires.html?searchResultPosition=52] * What Rich Women Want [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/business/mutual-funds-report-what-rich-women-want.html?searchResultPosition=53] * The deserving or undeserving rich? [https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s43545-022-00593-4.pdf] * The Evolution of Top Incomes [https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/piketty-saezAEAPP06.pdf] Thanks to Mindseye [https://mindseye-music.bandcamp.com/track/the-place-beyond-the-clouds-2] for our theme song!

The Worst Takes of 2025 [TEASER]

The boys catalog the definitive worst takes of the year, from the pundits who misunderstood our political moment to a guy who wants to have sex with a computer. To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod