Lawyer and podcaster Peter Shamshiri discusses the secrets of junk nonfiction in popular airport books with host Emily Peck. They analyze the repetitive advice, oversimplified content, and potentially harmful messages found in self-help books. The importance of deep reading, critiquing popular titles, and exploring strategies for handling disappointing literature is highlighted. The conversation also touches on the evolution of Supreme Court decisions and the gap between bestselling books and collective understanding.
Airport books simplify complex issues, placing undue responsibility on individuals.
Self-help literature can promote dangerous beliefs and unethical practices.
Deep dives
Exploring Popular Airport Books
In the podcast, the host discusses the concept of 'airport books' featured in their If Books Could Kill show, where they critique books assumed to be popular yet potentially harmful or superficial. They delve into the repetitive nature of advice found in financial self-help books, pointing out how some offer unrealistic or risky suggestions like advocating for tax fraud or creating passive income fantasy businesses. The host reflects on the tendency of airport books to oversimplify complex issues and place undue responsibility on individuals for their success, neglecting systemic inequities.
Perils of Superficial Self-Help Literature
The podcast delves into the pernicious aspects of self-help books like The Secret, highlighting how seemingly harmless advice to 'visualize your desires' can escalate to dangerous beliefs such as substituting medical treatment with manifesting health. The hosts reveal the hidden dangers within books like Rich Dad Poor Dad that subtly promote unethical practices such as tax fraud. They criticize how self-help literature tends to individualize problems, ignoring societal issues like systemic racism or sexism.
Decoding Lengthy Supreme Court Decisions
The podcast touches on the trend of extended Supreme Court judgments, suggesting that the lengthier opinions aim to mask the simplicity of decision-making processes and create an illusion of thorough analysis. The hosts compare earlier concise decisions to current verbose ones, hinting that the complexity might be more of a façade than genuine depth. They imply that this elongation could be a deliberate attempt to add weight and authority to rulings beyond their actual substance.
Crafting Best-Selling Airport Books
The host humorously outlines a formula for creating a best-selling airport book, focusing on a catchy concept with little content depth as the key ingredient. By satirically suggesting ways to stretch a simple idea into an oversized volume filled with superficial exercises or redundant information, the podcast sheds light on how some books prioritize length over substance to appeal to a broader audience. The discussion hints at the commercial strategies employed in the publishing industry to attract readers through perceived value rather than meaningful content.
For this Money Talks, lawyer/podcaster Peter Shamshiri, co-host of If Books Could Kill, reveals the secrets of junk nonfiction to host Emily Peck. He explains why “airport books” like The Secret, Hillbilly Elegy, and The Tipping Point tend to be rife with non-advice, pseudoscience, and outright junk, and what that means for our culture at large. He also tells how to get rich with your own crappy self-help book!
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Podcast production by Jared Downing and Cheyna Roth.