Michael and Peter discuss the media campaign against Zohran Mamdani, who caused journalists across the globe to completely lose their minds.
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2025-11-11 10:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostPeter 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.
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2025-10-28 09:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe 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 through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2025-09-22 14:10:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Michael and Peter discuss the bizarre, hagiographic media reactions to the death of Charlie Kirk.
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Leave your suggestions for future bonus episodes in the comments!
2025-09-22 13:41:12 +0000 UTC View PostPeter and Michael discuss Bret Stephens, the snitching, climate change-denying, racist creep who is gainfully employed by The New York Times.
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2025-08-25 09:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostMichael and Peter discuss the rising star of Bari Weiss, who took a one-note journalism career and spun it into a media empire.
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2025-07-29 09:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostMichael 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.
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2025-06-30 09:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostMichael 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.
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2025-05-30 09:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostFor 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?
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2025-04-28 12:23:31 +0000 UTC View PostMichael 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.
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2025-03-31 11:47:23 +0000 UTC View PostSay 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.
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2025-02-28 10:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post
From the state of the media under Trump to the state of Peter's shelf, we answer your most pressing questions.
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As always, leave suggestions for bonus episodes in the comments!
2025-01-31 10:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostHappy 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 ifbookspod@gmail.com.
2025-01-09 18:53:04 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
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2024-12-19 10:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
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 this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2024-11-27 10:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Michael and Peter walk through some of the worst pieces of election coverage from this cycle, and discuss how the media normalizes Donald Trump.
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2024-10-23 09:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
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2024-09-30 18:46:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Is fact-checking a legitimate enterprise? Is America's most famous fact-checker nothing more than a dweeb? Michael and Peter discuss.
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2024-09-26 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostFor 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 bonus episodes in the comments! 2024-08-20 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
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2024-07-23 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View PostThe 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.
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2024-06-20 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostPeter 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.
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... 2024-05-16 09:00:07 +0000 UTC View PostA 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 control media narratives about crime.
You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2024-04-18 09:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
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As ...
2024-03-28 09:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
2024-02-27 10:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostConservatives 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 directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2024-01-30 10:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
2023-12-21 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostWe 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.
2023-11-30 21:56:22 +0000 UTC View PostThis 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 directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2023-11-28 10:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
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.
You can play this episode directly through Patreon or use our RSS feed to add it to your podcast app. 2023-10-26 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post