The complete record
The Archive
Every bestseller we've put on trial, newest first.
The Index
All 50 episodes →- 01
Think And Grow Rich
Peter and Michael discuss "Think And Grow Rich," the 1937 classic written by a lifelong fraudster who finds his final mark: You.
- 02
Grit
In 2013, education reformers tried to help poor students the using the best tool at their disposal: The 16th most popular Ted Talk.
- 03
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.
- 04
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.
- 05
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.
- 06
The Worst Takes of 2025
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.
- 07
Elon Musk Part 2
The boys continue their discussion of Walter Isaacson's "Elon Musk." This is the part where Elon loses his mind.
- 08
Elon Musk
A biography that dares to ask: Is a lifetime of worker abuse and narcissism worth it to experience robot butlers?
- 09
Sapiens
How do you tell the entire history of humanity in a single book? Whatever you do, do not open a browser window.
- 10
How To Win Friends And Influence People
Live like Dale Carnegie, neg like Calvin Coolidge.
- 11
Thomas Chatterton Williams' "Summer of Our Discontent"
Peter and Michael discuss a book that's light on facts and long on sentences.
- 12
He's Just Not That Into You
How one comedian's offhand advice launched a decent TV episode, a mediocre book and a terrible movie.
- 13
Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink"
Did you know that in the split-second it took you to read the title of this episode, your subconscious already figured out that it was going to be extremely good?
- 14
The Supreme Court Goes Full TERF
This is most of the episode but if you want to hear the last 20 minutes, support us on Patreon!
- 15
"In Covid's Wake" Part 2: Wrong About The Right
Last episode we met two Princeton political scientists who are bad at virology. Today we learn that they are also bad at political science.
- 16
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lying About Lockdowns
Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?"
- 17
Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream
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.
- 18
The Let Them Theory
Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency.
- 19
Josh Hawley's "Manhood"
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon.
- 20
Steve Harvey's "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man"
Are you a single lady struggling to find love with a man? Don't fret! A twice-divorced game show host who thinks conversation is for women is here to help.
- 21
Of Boys And Men
Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists. And on the left, users of social media are often very irritating to people who write airport books.
- 22
You Are A Badass
Peter and Michael dissect Jen Sincero's "You are a Badass," a book that answers the question: What if "The Secret" was written in the painful, try-hard style of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck"?
- 23
What's The Matter With Kansas?
In 2004, historian Thomas Frank proposed a theory about the rightward drift of the white working class. Was he a prescient king whose work presaged the rise of Trump — or a bumbling fool with a broken thesis?
- 24
Sam Harris's "The End of Faith"
Peter and Michael discuss the book that launched the phenomenon of New Atheism and asked the question: What if we hated Muslims, but in a secular way?
- 25
Who Moved My Cheese?
What should workers do when they get laid off? In 1998 a bleak, asinine bestseller told them to find another whey.
- 26
UNLOCKED: Eric Adams
New York’s favorite criminal is in the news, so here is our episode about his ridiculous life. To hear all of our bonus episodes, support us on Patreon.
- 27
Glenn Kessler Retire B*tch
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss.
- 28
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
A memoir about parenting very badly and then getting weirdly defensive when anyone asks you about it.
- 29
The Anxious Generation
Is social media to blame for the teen mental health crisis? It's complicated!
- 30
Breaking News Re-Release: "Hillbilly Elegy"
To celebrate ("celebrate") Donald Trump choosing JD Vance as his running mate we are re-releasing our "Hillbilly Elegy" episode. Enjoy!
- 31
Richard Hanania's "The Origins of Woke"
Peter and Michael discuss "The Origins of Woke," a glimpse into the dark aspirations of the Republican Party and the mind of a very unusual man.
- 32
The Columbia Protests
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.
- 33
"Going Infinite": Michael Lewis Takes On Sam Bankman-Fried
Peter and Michael discuss Michael Lewis’s bestselling book about the rise and fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, a young prodigy whose only flaw was that he dreamed too big.
- 34
- 35
Who's Afraid of Naomi Wolf?
We're finally discussing a good book! Naomi Klein's "Doppelgänger" chronicles the long, steady descent of another Naomi — Wolf (buddy oof) — from feminist icon to crank conspiracist.
- 36
Lean In
In 2013, Sheryl Sandberg became an icon for women who wanted to move from middle management at a tech company into upper management at a tech company.
- 37
"The Better Angels of Our Nature" Part 1: You're Not Wrong, Pinker. You're Just An *sshole
This week we're tackling Steven Pinker's 900 page dissection of the reasons why violence, torture and war have declined over the last 10,000 years.
- 38
The Art of the Deal
Before Donald Trump became America's most prominent politician and birth certificate inspector, he spent his days making everyone in New York City slightly uncomfortable.
- 39
The Worst Takes of 2023
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon.
- 40
The Identity Trap
"There are two kinds of political scientists: The types who deal with noisy data and post on Twitter with a bunch of caveats. And then there are the types who write books about identity politics."
- 41
Pundit Portraits: Kathleen Parker and Chris Cillizza
To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon.
- 42
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
You stare, mouth agape, at the bookstore display. It’s a self-help book, but with curse words in the title?! This must be a revolutionary new framework, not simply the same dull, reactionary ideas repackaged as hip and new.
- 43
The 48 Laws of Power
In 1996, a frustrated screenwriter got a fellowship in Italy. Twenty years later, Beyoncé released "Lemonade." Content warning: This episode includes a mention of suicide.
- 44
The "Organized Retail Crime" Panic
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.
- 45
San Fransicko
This week we're tackling "San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities," a book that dares to ask: What if everything that experts think about homelessness is wrong, and everything that one crank on Twitter thinks about homelessness is right?
- 46
The 4-Hour Workweek
Have you ever wanted to escape the grind and follow your dreams? This week we're discussing "The 4-Hour Workweek," which reveals that all you need is a plan, a willingness to take risks and a modestly sized fraud operation built on Third World labor.
- 47
The Clinton E-Mail Scandal
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.
- 48
God And Man At Yale
Oops all grievance.
- 49
'On Bullsh*t' and the Pundit Industrial Complex
For this month's bonus episode we dissected Harry Frankfurt's gloriously brief bestseller and applied the concept to our favorite op-ed page.
- 50
Liberal Fascism
Who poses the greatest threat to democracy? Is it the movement that openly identifies with the symbols, goals and policies of fascist governments? Or is it the median bureaucrat at the Department of Health and Human Services?