If Books Could Kill is a podcast with the goal of putting popular books into logical perspective. This show offers a safe yet fun space to talk about bestselling books that deserve criticism. The hosts, Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri, offer valuable insight into notable works. The podcast analyzes these books but also comments on mainstream consumption. It encourages listeners to enhance their skills in determining well-researched books. This discussion-based podcast focuses on analysis, education, and critical thinking. Michael and Peter encourage listeners to reflect on the validity of the books they read. They show how to put these books in a realistic context.

The show points out mass over-generalizations often present in mainstream literature. This podcast wants to help determine what information is reliable. If Books Could Kill examines Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. The hosts criticize the book and point to biased research. The podcast hosts talk about The Secret and analyze the complicated reading experience. They also discuss Freakonomics and pick at the book's inaccuracies and data misuse. The hosts mock Rich Dad, Poor Dad and find the Robert Kiyosaki book to be implausible. They think the "Rich Dad" is either fictional or a monster who exploited the young Kiyosaki for cheap labor.

In an attempt to correct the miseducation of free speech, If Books Could Kill stays true to facts. The podcast hosts question a college professor's commentary on poor people. In the episode on Francis Fukayama's The End of History and the Last Man, the hosts criticize the danger of abstraction.

The podcast hosts explore the analogies In The Coddling of the American Mind. In one episode of If Books Could Kill, they criticize the book's attack on liberal professors. This leads to a pointed discussion of what is actually happening on college campuses. The myth of the campus coddle crisis demonstrates the point of this whole podcast. It shows that critical thinking is a skill that is waning. More featured books from the show are Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, and David Brooks's Bobos in Paradise. New episodes come out on a periodic basis.