September Bonus: Mike & Aubrey Take the Myers-Briggs

It was so funny coming to this late following Michael's ADHD diagnosis. "My mind is like a jumbled up jigsaw" you don't say buddy 😀. I did 16 personalities just now and was struck by how differently I answer the questions following my own diagnosis a couple of years and corresponding understanding of my neurotype and the way my brain works. It actually came up with a pretty accurate description of me (I think) but I remember doing it pre diagnosis and it was just a complete nonsense.

I gave myself a sub for the New Year and just listening to this... I've been an ENFJ or INFJ since I first took this in high school (I think I'm actually an extroverted introvert). No wonder I love you guys!

Relistening to this one and the Question the Fall in Love and there is a strong ASD/ADHD vibe, ngl. 😂😂 not trying to diagnose anyone, just a lot of shared experiences that suddenly made sense for me when I got my diagnoses, like how I thought I was introverted cause I got tired around people but really I was just masking all the time and the pandemic was a real wake up call.

“Dude. You’re the WORST at lightning rounds.”

It’s really bothering me how Mike keeps trying to decode the questions instead of just answering them 🤣🤣

Yeah Aubrey! Fellow INFJ! LOL!

This IS the episode that I did find myself wanting to ask Mike if he was okay and if he wanted to maybe take a break and go for a walk or something lol

My toxic trait is I can’t hear people talk about Myers-Briggs without mentioning the super racist novel Isabel Briggs-Myers wrote in which a whole family die by suicide because they find out they have African ancestry

The amount Mike over thinks things is so relatable

"What are you gonna do.. be right and alone?" 😅

Can we stop and talk about how Aubrey’s laugh is a national treasure!!!!!!!!!!!

The MBTI debunking did hurt my feelings tbh 😂 but honestly I think it's because a) I've gotten INFJ for the past 20 years so consistency feels like legitimacy and b) it feels like the first personality thing that said it was okay to not be outgoing and to hate networking/self-promotion. In college, I was convinced I would never have a professional job because I was quiet and absolutely terrified of networking and interviewing. Also I had no hobbies or sports or activities to put on my college applications because I found socializing very exhausting (hello, 80%+ for Introversion). The socializing at school was exhausting enough. Anyway. I acknowledge it's flawed. I'm still very comforted by it.

The only trait that's ever been fully consistent for me the various times I've taken this test is Extrovert. (I maintain that there probably aren't that many true extroverts; I'm tired when I'm by myself. Idk if I've even met another extrovert.) Everything else has changed every time. This time I was ENTP-A. It called me emotionally distant, which is laughable to anyone who knows me.

This made my day. Thank you! And I'm an INFJ too, which apparently the rarest personality type? 🤔

I just wanted to say that this was genuinely delightful! I laughed out loud so many times - thank you for a ray of sunlight during an absolutely grim week.

Entirely unrelated, have y’all ever talked about the show Survivor at all? Would love to hear an episode on the way food/starvation gets handled on that show

Award for most accurate descriptions of the extroverted introvert ever lol I absolutely was that kid who needed a break in the middle of a party or gathering (or multiple breaks) but always got treated like something was wrong with me because of it 🙄

Maybe I'll say this again once the Richard Simmons ep is up here (but I'm saying it now so I don't forget) -- how did I, a double FSU alum, not know he was a fellow alum?!?! You're doing important work, y'all!

Dying at the hugging intervention 😂

Keep speaking up about fan etiquette and things that make you feel uncomfortable! Everyone can be a creator and that means we are all getting educated on this safety issue as a social group.

My dad swears by the Myers-Briggs test because when he was in the military, his unit did some training where everyone took the test (pretty recently, in 2019). I still find that kinda weird. I've taken 16-personalities myself quite a few times and I always get INFP, which is close enough to my actual personality... plus or minus a few traits.

I took this years ago, totally got the ENFJ and thought “I win the dumb test” lol

Hey, my fellow fat people - I’m thinking of trying to learn to make my own clothes, because, y’know. Does anyone have any tips on where/how I could acquire a dressmaker’s dummy in a useful size? All the ones I see for sale around me are for skinny people. Thanks!

DO THE SALAD EPISODE!!!

please can you do russel brand’s magic amulet

Please can you do a deep dive of th book "fast like a girl" ?? So many thoughts about this book and so keen to hear yours!!

I am SO EXCITED to hear Mike get grumpier and more crotchety as he gets older

MB is astrology for managers.

Can you do an episodes on the “foodbabe”? And also how TikTok is filled with influencers telling people to be skinny, my feed has been horrendous the past couple months

I wanna know more about the bad hugging skills

I never had a problem with Myers Briggs. I get ISFJ every time without fail. But please can you debunk Belbin now?! It always felt far more cursed… https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-team-roles

unrelated, but I recently was at whole foods and saw that the ceo has put out an absurd book about the founding of whole foods… could be the ideal circumstances for a maintenance phase/ if books could kills cross over ep…

Test: "Are you an extrovert?" Michael: "Well, yes? But I'm not so I'm going to put down no." Test: "You are an extrovert."

Also, Mike, you have a whole podcast that’s literally dedicated to interpretation of creative arts. And I love it.

Y’all’s chemistry has never been better and I’m so happy for you both. You’re both cool kids.

Mike saying he would just tell people their books are good when he has a whole podcast picking apart people’s books 😅😅😅

Also weirdly I have taken this test several times in the last 20 years and I always get the same type: ENFP. For 16 Personalities I also get the subtype "The Campaigner" which is kinda funny since I am a publicist :-o hahaha

Michael trying to figure out what is behind the question and not just telling the truth had me DEAD hahahahah!!! This was a fun parasocial activity :p

I would LOVEEE for you guys to cover the Enneagram!

Mine says I'm like Robert Downey Junior and I'm like, "But do they really mean I'm like Robert or do they really mean I'm like iron Man?" Either way, I have no idea how to feel about this.

The first time I took this test was for a career workshop in my first year of uni. As an INFJ some of my potential career paths, listed right next to each other were a professional clown, or an undertaker 🙃 Imagine my 18 yr old surprise

I want “Oops I have to yell for an hour” on a t-shirt lmao

My favorite interpretation of the Myers-Briggs results: https://www.xeromag.com/fun/personality.html Why yes, thank you, I *will* accept the title Evil Overlord

Michael eating eggs I am ☠️.

Introverted/extrovert is not the same as shy/outgoing! That's why the questions don't make sense, they're conflating social skills (learned) with introversion. That said, Quiet would be a fun IBCK bonus episode.

Every time I take this stupid quiz I oscillate between INFJ and ENFJ- between Mike and Aubrey, I guess!

I’ve listened to this episode twice and I cry laughing every time I hear Mike say “I’m making bird-like movements”

I took the test along with you guys.i pretty much laughed the whole episode😀

Is there a category for impressionability? Mike, y'all got similar results because you changed your answer several times when Aubrey explained her reasoning. The questions are hella vague, so that's no surprise lol. Love y'all!

Idk why but “fucking Malala” killed me 🤣 I require some context for the Malala ire!

Mike, you are just an introverted extrovert. I'm so on the line of I/E that it changes based on whether I take the test alone or with other people nearby

"I'm making bird-like movements..." "you're having a teeny tiny meltdown..."god damn I love you two.

I had to do one of these quizzes for work recently to determine my “leadership style” and put mostly neutral. The results were just as expected- vague and yet somehow specific 🤣

I've always tested as an ESFJ and I relate to the description exactly 0%

Another delightful episode. Love you both so much!

I also cry a lot when talking to people. So glad to hear I’m not alone 🙌 😭 😂

I actually kind of thought Mike might gravitate toward the simple ideas! The “complex and novel” reminds me of convoluted neoliberal policy solutions that Michael often debunks (e.g., doing anything for poverty other than giving people money) Then again, both Mike and Aubrey are really good at diving in to complicated topics and finding the nuance. The answer to most of these questions is probably context-dependent!

What’s the personality trait that causes you to reassure yourself what your cohost’s answers are before you can decide on your own? 😂

Can you guys go over the MIND diet

Can Mike please do a book report for the next bonus episode How to Hug a Porcupine( Easy Ways to Love the Difficult People in Your Life)[HT HUG A PORCUPINE][Hardcover] https://a.co/d/46uB36v

🥚

This was so much fun. Thanks, guys!

I too like fewer people the older I get 😅

It's so funny to me that in all the feelings vs. facts questions both Aubrey and Mike were like, "I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings" when your jobs are largely about examining facts and debunking things people "feel" to be true. It just further illustrates how vague and open to interpretation these questions are. Yes, both Aubrey and Mike are fairly empathetic (which is probably a more accurate political alignment metric than a personality test metric), but both regularly distinguish between what "feels true" and what the data actually reveals. Also, every time Mike was like, "This is an introvert vs. extrovert question, and I'm am introvert, so I can't answer with my first instinct that puts me more towards extrovert" I snickered. According to the MBTI version of "extrovert," yes you are, Mike and Aubrey. I was so far on the introvert side of the questions (talk to people? Out of no where?? Go out and make friends???) that hearing both Mike and Aubrey claim "I'm an introvert, I swear!" and then be so much more people-oriented than me was fascinating. Anxiety is not introversion, y'all. While you both are the classic "I need to recharge between people interactions" introvert, you are not a Myers Briggs "introvert." Also, the whole introvert/extrovert scale is too simplistic. I'm recharged by being around people I like, but exhausted by everyone else. Whereas other people find a crowd of strangers exhilarating, and still others need to recharge even after spending time with good friends. Maybe introversion vs. extroversion is complicated by anxiety vs. ADHD vs. those neurotypicals I hear so much about.

I did follow-along test taking and actually interpreted the question about "complex and novel ideas versus simple, straightforward ones" in a way that I did disagree. I love seeing an elegantly simple solution!

I am and have always been an INFJ. I’ve always gotten it even though I answer quite differently from Aubrey!

I just took a test like this for work and we ended up having a conversation about being an introvert who has a public interacting job. I can engage with strangers all day but don't you dare try to talk to me at lunch time.

Me over here like "I would be in the 10-15% because of my complex brain 🧠✨"

🫶🏽

The scream i scrumpt when i heard Mike say he got ENFJ - twins! And yes obviously it’s all bs, lol

Mike: *strongly agrees that he favors efficiency in decision making* Also Mike: *agonizes for 10 minutes about whether he can talk to strangers as Aubrey leaves him equivocating in the dust*

Obviously this is all bunk but the questions that annoyed me are the emotions vs fact questions. People who are aware that they use emotions in decision making are a lot more fact oriented than the people who think they use facts. If you’re saying agree to emotions you understand that there is space between the world in your head and the world out there. The Meyers-Briggs is old hat btw, you should definitely look into “the enneagram” as the cool new totally unhinged version.

INFJ-T here 🤷🏻‍♀️💜

Aubrey talking about how some anxiety makes her do things really ahead of time and some anxiety makes her procrastinate with dread - I have honestly never felt so seen. Mike, you can shun all of my friend overtures, but if you ever need a higher education researcher then I’m your person!!!!

Aubrey: okay speed run time! Michael: I'm So sorry actually but I have to deliver this 10 minutes monologue about the time I was accidentally an intern for the entire country of Turkey (I mean this in the best possible way I love this show so much)

How was Aubrey’s list of celebrities all of these huge activists and humanitarians and then Nicole Kidman? 🤣

Anal? Yes! 🤩

Next maintenance phase bonus special should be Mike and Aubrey take the Raads-R

You guys really think people don't prefer simple ideas? I can introduce you to many people who refuse to see the world outside black and white and live by Keep It Simple Stupid. Hell, look at highly religious people, they refuse science in favor of dogma. You talk about some of these people on your shows, so did you forget?

I needed a pick me up and this totally did the trick. Seriously funny.

Myers Briggs "Introvert" v "Extrovert" does not actually mean introvert vs extrovert!

Awww, don’t apologize for silly bonus episodes! It makes me so happy to listen to two smart, funny goofballs who clearly enjoy each other very much.

As someone who went from being an ENFP to an INFJ in the last couple years, is it possible Maintenance Phase has made me more judgy?! 😆

Aubrey should have come on If Books Could Kill to talk about the Adams diet book

This whole Patreon is full of Thinker discrimination

Also, I would’ve whacked Mike’s coworker at the video store with a branch.

Over here still waiting for “dumb bitch juice” drinking vessels in the merch store… Pleeeeeeease can we have???

I don't know if I can fully believe Mike is actually an introvert after him getting mad at all those questions 🤣🤣 maybe I'm just a super-introvert

Mike is 💯 ISFJ, Aubrey is ENFP lolol

Did I miss an episode? Because I actually need you both to stake out your onions on TAR.

This was SO much fun!

Love how Mike is saying if someone worked hard and wrote a book he’d say it was good but then has a podcast about horrible books 🤣

I retook this along with you guys, and... I have spent a good decade identifying as an ISFJ. And on this test I retook I got INFP. THE FUCK?? MBTI is fake, it's true. (but also I'm pretty sure the questions were different on this site 10 years ago)

BOILED EGGS FUCKING RULE!!!!

"You think you can dissect me with this blunt little tool?"

this is just a random question. I've noticed you guys always end the episode with one of you laughing and it's usually a longer than usual laugh and then it fades out. Do you intentionally like setup a few jokes at the end and try to laugh for them for the outro? I have been listening to you guys and If Books Could Kill for years and this has haunted me. The laughs sound so real and yet they are longer than the previous laugh so you must know this is the "outro laugh"- do they feel forced? Do you keep going afterward and do a couple of outro riffs and just pick the best one? Have you ever had to rerecord the laugh due to it not being long enough or background noise or something? Plz clarify thank u so much. I am an infp if that helps <3 Kellyanne

just the sentence “i’m making bird-like movements” had me giggling

such a fun ep! I was always an INFJ (so rare so special) but this time I got INFP-T. growth change and fluidity lookit me go! love that amongst my fellow INFPers are Björk ❤️Fox Mulder❤️Amelie Poulain❤️Frodo Baggins ❤️ and total shitbird Johnny Depp 💩

Episodes I'd like to see: Seed Oils (Where did the panic over this start?) Grain-Free Diets for Dogs (What happens when humans impose our diet weirdness on animals, with heartbreaking results)

I've taken this test several times and I flip back and forth on the last two letters depending on my mood? Apparently today I'm an INFP. Regarding Mike's dad jokes, I genuinely believe that all men over a certain age just start finding joy in making those kinds of ridiculous puns and the intense reaction they get, and historically most men in that age range are dads. They get called dad jokes, but really, they're dude jokes. (And enby jokes, I'm almost as prone to making them as my husband.)

I use the Anne of Green Gables term, Kindred Spirits for clicks. It's those people who you just get and can be yourself with

I sincerely wish I had Aubrey and Mike’s kind of anxiety !! Why can’t I do something until it’s literally due???

mike hugs the worst and pees the most

Very rare INFJ here. This was exactly the episode I needed today. Loving that ENFJ energy Mike!

Omg Aubrey saying exactly what I have felt about people in my 20s vs my 30s

As an ENFP with severe ADHD listening to this episode, so many of theses questions are more helpful for screening for ADHD and autism!!

I have to tell y'all, I've been really depressed this week and woke up sick today and really couldn't face the world. Seeing that you had a new episode made me get out of bed. Thank you ♥️

This was super cute and a really fun listen. It was also validating since I have a hard time answering these kinds of questions about myself!

Excited to listen but I hope there will be no more discussion of nutritional yeasted hand stirred chocolate milk. I’m still unwell about that.

This episode was hilarious 😂 I felt like a lot of the episode was Aubrey telling Mike to just be honest 😂 i related a little too much to Mike’s anxiety

Aubrey: “You often feel overwhelmed.” Mike: “Well, yeah. I’m alive.” Same, Mike. Same. 😂😂😂

Okay, I am a defender ISFJ-T...anyone else?

I want to hear Mike and- particularly- Aubrey to talk about some of the unexpected consequences of fame and/or a public image. I was upset for you, Aubrey, when you mentioned a fan trying to find your hotel room by calling out to you down the hallway. I hope there are positive stories, too!

Aubrey I have the exact same experience, I’ve always classed as slightly an introvert but now that I’m working from home, I’ve moved to slight ENFJ! (anxious ofc)

I’m an ENFJ too Michael! Supposedly it’s only 5% of the population, but how they know that, I don’t know. Test takers (big self selection bias) would not extrapolate to the wider population necessarily? Or maybe they don’t care since it’s basically all made up?😂

Mike said he hates talking about "how the world might look in the future" as he does podcasts about the things that are wrong with the current world and how they could be different.

I really think that considering people's feelings and considering the Hard Facts when deciding on something are not inherently at odds with each other and actually to have a nuanced view of the world you need to consider both things and the ways they intertwine and play off each other. Like this whole idea of "facts vs feelings" is just something dickheads use to justify being a dickhead

Michael has a unique blend of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent

So I was always an INFP, except for when I was trying to figure out my career path and my mom had me do this testing at Purdue Uni and I was squarely in the middle for I and E. It was completely situation dependent. The lady finally helped me decide by asking how I regained energy and that's definitely alone. But then I retook it a few years ago after I learned about racial and disability justice and I was an INFJ and I think it's because I was answering the questions through a different lens of "no, I don't think everyone is well-intentioned because racism and ableism exist and impact us on a daily basis". So I've gotten judgier as I've gotten older. 🤣 But that also impacted the "Do you like making new friends?" question because I am so much more confident in myself and what I believe and after Trump and especially after COVID, that has weeded a lot of people out that I previously might have been generally fine with.

I have taken this test in three different formats (not by choice, long boring stories), have gotten three different outcomes, and upon reading all three type descriptions reacted with "yep, fine, that sounds like me." Which is how astrology works also, and yet people that I'm pretty sure would roll their eyes at astrology take Myers-Briggs seriously, and I don't understand it. XD

Mikes personality results are discovered in *how* he takes the test 😂

michael hobbes, one of the most intellectually curious and thoughtful reporters i've ever read/heard: "i think i just don't have intellectual depth." xD truly, one of THE most virgo thought processes i've ever heard. plus, i think you underestimate how uncomfortable most people are with ambiguity and not having Answers(TM) in fiction.

*wait, I'm chewing*

I’m only as far as the second question into the show. Enjoying it (as always) but I’m quite amused at how I’m not sure how I’d answer that question when Michael’s all “who would answer this differently?!” And they’re saying there’s a socially incorrect answer (I do agree with this assessment for that question). *waves in autistic* 😂

I went to take the test after watching the episode and I guess it remembered me somehow and I've taken it before?? I have no memory of this. Apparently I'm also an INFJ, but I think I've gotten ENFJ in the past. In addition to the other problems with this test, I think being an autistic with extroverted tendencies really throws it off - I like interacting with people, but that doesn't mean I'm good at it in the ways that allistics are

"If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?" -- "Don't know, I'm stumped." -- will be my favorite accidental pun for the foreseeable future

Me listening to this and thinking “strongly agree” for a bunch of the questions Mike and Aubrey saying, “Who would admit to this?”🫠

My husband is an ENFJ and I’m INFJ. This is hilarious 😅

Love you guys so much. This is making my Monday morning commute so enjoyable 💜

LMAOOOOO as soon as Aubrey said she got an avatar of a white bearded dude I knew she was Advocate INFJ, samesies girl! 🤣🤣🤣

Really experiencing the Michael and Aubrey overlap here one question in. I hear Michael say he doesn’t click with people and my immediate parasocial thought is oh well *I* could win him over. And then I realize I’m exhibiting Aubrey-appropriate behaviour for my age range 😂

This dropped at the perfect time- went to a screening of Your Fat Friend and got to listen to this on the way home!

Thanks for the fun episode! I went back and retook the test afterwards... my result never changes. Unfortunately my celebrity twins include Elon Musk, Tywin Lannister, and WALTER WHITE.

One thing I notice is that as a parent of littles my responses are very different than they would be otherwise. Short bursts of productivity? Yep. Do I value quiet, alone time? Heck, yes! Am I overwhelmed often? Hahahaha…why? Do I seem overwhelmed??(eye twitch) Anyhow, very much agree that this is context specific because mine turned out way different than the last time I took it!

I used to click with 80% of people I met and now I click with 1%.

Omg I'm an enfj too! Just like my pals mike, Barack and Oprah in the group chat 😂😂

(I’m sorry for who I am as a person) it’s a Likert Scale, pronounced lick-urt

This was so funny - loved it and really needed the laugh!! I got frickin Johnny Depp as one of the Mediators you might know 🤢

These tests (and the cult that sprung up around them) have to be a huge contributor to the internet misunderstanding introversion Forget social battery - I see so many posts that are just misanthropic and/or unchecked social anxiety. And it is perfectly valid to mistrust people or suffer with anxiety (I myself struggle with both!) but in a culture so biased toward extroverts it does a disservice to misconstrue introversion

Lmaoo as an "advocate" myself I agree on so much 😂

Kia ora from Aotearoa New Zealand Mike and Aubrey!! Come down here some time 🥝

Spolier coming... I'm an INFJ! I've done several knock-off tests (although not for a while). I am also turbulent with a capital T! INFJ is "supposed" to be the most rare type but it's all I meet online. Apparently ENFJ is a good wing man/woman for an INFJ - everything becomes clear!

I went and took this same test after listening to the main feed episode. I had exactly the same reactions as Mike to most of it, only much less wittily.

Mike is the internal monologue of my autistic brain filling out every survey/questionnaire ever 😂😂😂 It depends, it always depends!

How many questions do you have to answer about how great you are at social situations before you have to accept your own extroversion? 😂😂😂

This is a fantastic birthday present for me 😁 I hate this test, how reductive it is.

couldn't have a better start to my week than y'all having fun

This is the BEST end to a long Monday thank you m + a ❤️

No doubt about it, I am ready to get hurt again

Yessss a new epi!

I've been refreshing for the last hour - I'm so excited!