If Books Could Kill

Michael and Peter discuss the media's bizarre obsession with Democratic Party hotshot and possible demon Rahm Emanuel. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your suggestions for future bonus

Michael and Peter discuss Climategate, the scandal that rocked the climate science world. With scientists on one side, and paid lackeys for the fossil fuel industry on the other, how are we supposed to know who to trust? You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add i

Peter and Michael discuss Ross Douthat, lifelong conservative pundit and fascism's number one PR agent. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your suggestions for future bonus episodes in th

The boys answer listener questions about fatherhood, the literacy crisis, and whether we're capable of reflecting on our mistakes. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your suggestions for

For the first time in IBCK history we are going to be answering questions from our beautiful listeners. If you're wondering which self-help books we secretly love, or which pundits we hate the most, or what Michael's address is, now's the time to ask! Ask below or, if you'd rather, shoot us an email

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 terrible new podcast. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreo

Did Sarah Palin fake her 2008 pregnancy? Or is Andrew Sullivan just a lunatic? The boys discuss in the inaugural edition of the If Books Could Kill Conspiracies of Yore series. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instruct

Peter and Michael update each other on Zohran Mamdani, who's doing normal mayor stuff in New York, and Bari Weiss, who's doing weird reactionary stuff at CBS News. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Pat

Trump took America to war and the nation's pundits took readers to the dumbest recesses of their brains. Note: We recorded this almost two weeks ago, so if you're curious why we don't mention very much after the initial bombing, that is why! You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use

Oh, you're upset about the elite pedophile ring? Wait until you hear what people are saying about it on Bluesky. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your suggestions for future bonus episo

Michael and Peter discuss the saga of disgraced political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, her affair with the most grotesque man on Earth, and her terrible new book. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. L

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. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreo

Michael and Peter discuss the media campaign against Zohran Mamdani, who caused journalists across the globe to completely lose their minds. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your sugges

Peter and Michael discuss the latest trials and tribulations of Eric Adams, from his Instagram posts to his entanglements with Donald Trump and the collapse of his mayoral campaign. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the ins

The boys join the In Bed With The Right podcast to discuss the murder of Charlie Kirk. This episode was originally published as a Patreon episode by In Bed With The Right, but we're sharing it with our listeners as a supplement to our own Charlie Kirk discussion. You can play this episode directly t

Michael and Peter discuss the bizarre, hagiographic media reactions to the death of Charlie Kirk. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Leave your suggestions for future bonus episodes in the comm

Peter and Michael discuss Bret Stephens, the snitching, climate change-denying, racist creep who is gainfully employed by The New York Times. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, leave

Michael and Peter discuss the rising star of Bari Weiss, who took a one-note journalism career and spun it into a media empire. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, leave your suggesti

Michael and Peter discuss how a moral panic about trans people manifested in United States v. Skrmetti, a Supreme Court case upholding bans on gender affirming care for minors. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instruct

Michael and Peter discuss how the lab leak theory, despite a serious lack of good evidence, has captured the imagination of both liberal journalists and the American public. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instruction

For years, a loose alliance of pundits has been stoking a panic about the threat to free speech coming from the left. Now that an anti-speech right wing is in power, will they admit that they got conned? You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast

Michael and Peter discuss a book about masculinity written by Senator Josh Hawley, the guy who encouraged January 6th rioters and then broke into a full sprint when they actually rioted. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are th

Say it three times fast: it's Pamela Paul's Pundit Portrait. Peter and Michael discuss the recently departed New York Times Opinion columnist, who is steadfastly committed to not believing in anything. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast a

From the state of the media under Trump to the state of Peter's shelf, we answer your most pressing questions. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, leave suggestions for bonus episodes

Happy new year! Given the state of things, we thought it would be a good time for an episode where we answer your questions. These can be about airport books, opinion sections, the media, or whatever else you're curious about as long as it's not creepy. Post your questions here or email us at ifbook

Michael and Peter comb the pages of our nation's opinion sections to locate the uncontested dumbest takes of the year. Look upon their works, ye patrons, and despair. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from

Michael and Peter dissect some of the worst post-election analysis from our beloved pundits, all of whom have coalesced around a single diagnosis: the Democratic Party is just too woke. Please note that we forgot to do an opening zinger for this one - we also blame that on wokeness. You can play thi

Michael and Peter walk through some of the worst pieces of election coverage from this cycle, and discuss how the media normalizes Donald Trump. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, le

A special treat for the Adams-heads in our audience. Peter and Michael walk through the indictment of New York City mayor Eric Adams, and discuss his dumbest crimes. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from P

Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, leave suggest

For this month's bonus episode, Peter and Michael explore a recurring IBCK character: New York City's weird, stupid mayor. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As always, leave suggestions for bo

Michael and Peter discuss Persuasion, Yascha Mounk's newsletter for so-called heterodox thought, and use it as a window into the reactionary centrist mind. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. As

The latest installment in our Pundit Portraits series is about Peggy Noonan, the Reagan speechwriter turned op-ed royalty. Join us as we slip the surly bonds of Earth and read the terrible opinions of a very weird Republican lady. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS fee

Peter and Michael discuss the media coverage of the protests at Columbia, from the crazed, bloodthirsty ravings of right-wing media to the more muted, respectful bloodthirst of centrist media. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here

A few years ago, New York reformed its bail system. Since then, police and their close ally Mayor Eric Adams have successfully manipulated the public into believing that the reforms have been a disaster. Peter and Michael discuss how police have used taxpayer money to fund massive PR operations and

We're finally discussing a good book! Naomi Klein's "Doppelganger" chronicles the long, steady descent of another Naomi — Wolf (buddy oof) — from feminist icon to crank conspiracist. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the in

Peter and Michael reflect on how a series of media failures brought us from student protests to a plagiarism scandal, the resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay, a billionaire meltdown, and a ludicrous campaign against diversity hiring at major companies.

Conservatives are freaking out about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace, so Michael and Peter do a medium-to-deep dive on the subject. We talk about what workplace DEI aspires to be, how it falls short, and why the right is stirring up a moral panic about it. You can play this episode

For our final episode of 2023, we look back on a year full of terrible opinions. A special thanks to all of our subscribers for being part of our first full year! There are many more bad takes to come and we look forward to suffering alongside you.

We are planning a bonus episode, and we want to hear from our patrons: what were, in your opinion, the absolute worst takes of 2023? These can be books, op-eds, articles, tweets, whatever! Sound off in the comments.

This episode is the first in an ongoing series wherein Peter and Michael explore the brains of America's pundits. We start with Kathleen Parker, the platonic ideal of a rich white lady, and Chris Cillizza, a pioneer in talking about politics without saying anything. You can play this episode directl

Retailers have been sounding the alarm about a shoplifting epidemic driven by organized criminal syndicates. In a shocking twist, it turns out that their story is mostly made up. Join us as Peter tries to figure out where this panic originated and as Mike finally comes clean about his criminal past.

But her e-mails! Michael explains the non-scandal that captivated the mainstream media in 2016 while Peter attempts to sow the podcast with anti-Hillary sentiment. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Pat

Michael and Peter dissect Harry Frankfurt's seminal essay "On Bullsh*t" and discuss the types of nonsense that are perpetually cascading through our media and politics. NOTE: If it sounds like we're being weirdly harsh to a guy who just died, that's because we recorded this in June, before it happen

Michael and Peter discuss the ways in which the paradigm shift toward online dating has damaged our brains and hardened our hearts. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. If you have suggestions fo

To celebrate Pride Month, we are discussing the right's coordinated assault on rainbow-colored retail displays. You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. If you have suggestions for bonus episode cont

In 2021, scrappy young investors from across the world joined forces to buy GameStop stock, aiming to take down greedy hedge funds. What came next was tragedy, injustice, and a conspiratorial internet cult so stupid we had to do an episode about it. As always, you can play this episode directly thro

On the heels of our Rich Dad Poor Dad episode we're doing a deep dive into the ideology of the "success sequence," the preferred poverty alleviation strategy of the conservative intelligentsia. Here's the clip of Ben Shapiro breaking it down. Warning: Contains Ben Shapiro. As always, you can play th

Get in loser, we're going to Oberlin. As always, you can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. Here are the instructions from Patreon. Drop a line in the comments if you've got requests for future bonus episodes. Next week: Rich Dad Poor Dad! P

The nation's most prestigious newspaper insists on asking a very stupid question. So for this month's bonus episode, we decided to answer it. If you're new here, welcome! As we mentioned on the main feed, we're donating this month's support to Parker Molloy, Katelyn Burns and Evan Urquhart, three of