Bonus: The Lab Leak Goes Mainstream

Last episode we met two Princeton political scientists who are bad at virology. Today we learn that they are also bad at political science.Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”Jonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected”How the Pandemic Defeated AmericaCOVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsUS State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic DeathsImpact of non-pharmaceutical interventionsPolicy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 TransmissionThe Impact of Vaccines and Behavior on US Cumulative DeathsPro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death ratesReport for the Scottish COVID-19 InquiryThe Effectiveness Of Government Masking Mandates School closures during COVID-19COVID-19–Related School ClosuresThe Effects of School Closures on COVID‑19Higher COVID-19 Deaths with Later School Closure in the United StatesReopening America’s SchoolsReading literacy decline in EuropeDeSantis vs. NewsomRed States Have Seen Less Learning LossPolitical partisanship and mobility restriction Republicans Aren’t New To The Anti-Vaxx MovementKFF poll on anti-vaxx beliefsThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Two political scientists look back at a deadly pandemic and ask, "could we have done even less?"Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Lawrence Wright’s “The Plague Year”The 2019 WHO report                30‐day mortality following COVID‐19COVID-19: examining the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventionsPolicy Interventions, Social Distancing, and SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United StatesWhat we can learn from SwedenA review of the Swedish policy response to COVID-19How Sweden approached the COVID‐19 pandemicThe first eight months of Sweden’s COVID‐19 strategyThe Swedish COVID-19 Response Is a DisasterExcess mortality in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020How Sweden approached the COVID-19 pandemicComparisons of all-cause mortality between European countries and regionsJonathan Howard’s “We Want Them Infected.”Deaths: Leading Causes for 2021Stay-at-home orders associate with subsequent decreases in COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the United States Did the Timing of State Mandated Lockdown Affect the Spread of COVID-19? US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic DeathsThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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.Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Peter and Michael discuss The Let Them Theory, a self-help guide to seeking bliss through unmitigated complacency.Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:How to stop screwing yourself overMel Robbins and PlagiarismLet her? Army wife claims Mel Robbins stole her idea for blockbuster self-help book Mel Robbins’s “Let Them” theory: really that simple?Breathing Practices for Stress and Anxiety Reduction: Conceptual Framework of Implementation Guidelines Based on a Systematic Review of the Published Literature Polarization in AmericaThe 5 Resets Impact of health warning labels on selection and consumption of food and alcohol products: systematic review with meta-analysisThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

To hear the rest of the episode, support us on Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/IfBooksPod

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.Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

Who's to blame for the crisis of American masculinity? On the right, politicians tell men that they being oppressed by feminists and must reassert their manhood by supporting an authoritarian regime. And on the left, users of social media are often very irritating to people who write airport books.  Where to find us: Peter's newsletterPeter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic AchievementGender Differences in Scholastic Achievement: A Meta-AnalysisEarly Childhood Behavior Problems and the Gender Gap in Educational Attainment in the United StatesWhere The Boys Aren’tThe gender achievement gap in grades and standardised testsThe State of Gender Equality for U.S. AdolescentsHighlights of women’s earnings in 2023The gender gap in educational outcomes in NorwaySocial Influences And The Gender Gap In Disruptive BehaviorFamily Disadvantage and the Gender GapWhat might interrupt men's suicide?As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay DropsThe Cost of CaringIs Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?Age of Entry to Kindergarten and Children’s Academic AchievementThe Effect of Age at School Entry on Reading Achievement Scores Beyond the Pros and Cons of RedshirtingSelf- Control and the Developing BrainImportance of Sex Differences in Impulse Control and AddictionsIt is a myth that boys lag behind in brain developmentThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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"? Featuring a surprise digression about Sincero's other, even worse books.Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Savy Writes BooksThanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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?  Unfortunately it turns out he is a secret third thing that takes one hour and six minutes to explain.Special thanks to Julia Valdés for her help with this episode!Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:The Thesis That Drove American Politics Crazy: The Emerging Democratic Majority What’s the Matter with What’s the Matter with Kansas?Class is DismissedThe White Working Class and the Democratic PartyIt’s time to bust the myth: Most Trump voters were not working class.How the diploma divide came to dominate American politicsThe 'Diploma Divide': Does It Exist for Racial and Ethnic Minorities?Blind Retrospection: Why Shark Attacks Are Bad For DemocracyNationally poor, locally rich: Income and local context in the 2016 presidential electionDemocracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive GovernmentIdentity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of AmericaPolitical Landscapes of Donald TrumpThe White Working Class and the 2016 ElectionPartisanship by family income, home ownership, union membership and veteran statusThe Elites Had It ComingWhat Explains Educational Realignment Among White Americans?Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!

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?Where to find us: Peter's other podcast, 5-4Mike's other podcast, Maintenance PhaseSources:Views of ViolenceCarnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening SystemThe same motive for anti-US 'terrorism' is cited over and overDoes intuitive mindset influence belief in God? Terrorism science: 5 insights into jihad in EuropeAnalytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal beliefWhat Is "Islamophobia"?Essays In Defense of ProfilingTo Profile or Not to ProfileChapter 2 The Making of Jihadist Social Actors in Europe inWho are the new jihadis?Disbelief - Prometheus Books God and the Ivory TowerReligion’s evolutionary landscape: Counterintuition, commitment, compassion, communionThe Evolution of Religion: How Cognitive By-Products, Adaptive Learning Heuristics, Ritual Displays, and Group Competition GenerateTalking to the Enemy Thanks to Mindseye for our theme song!