Bryan Kohberger’s Reading: How “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway” Became His Mindset

When police arrested Bryan Kohberger — the criminology Ph.D. student accused of murdering four University of Idaho students — they found a single book with underlining on page 118. Months later, reporting from the Idaho Statesman revealed that book was Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers — a self-help classic about conquering fear through action. In this episode of Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski , we dig into what that detail really means. Was Kohberger simply reading a popular motivational book? Or was he absorbing a philosophy that, in his hands, took on something much darker? Tony breaks down how Jeffers’ message — “The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it” — could have resonated with Kohberger’s obsessive need for control and dominance. Through psychological analysis and factual reporting, this episode explores how self-help principles can be warped by pathological minds — transforming courage into justification, empowerment into entitlement, and action into violence. We examine the context of the discovery, Kohberger’s academic writings about “emotions and criminal decision-making,” and his disturbing fascination with overcoming hesitation. The result is a chilling portrait of a man who may have misread a book about personal growth as a guide to fearlessness at any cost. It’s not about blame. It’s about understanding how ordinary ideas can become extraordinary distortions inside extraordinary minds. 🎧 New episodes daily. 📺 Watch full coverage and interviews with top experts — retired FBI agents, prosecutors, and psychotherapists — only on Hidden Killers with Tony Brueski. #BryanKohberger #FeelTheFearAndDoItAnyway #IdahoMurders #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #TonyBrueski #PsychologyOfMurder #Criminology #SusanJeffers #FearAndControl #IdahoCase #TrueCrimeAnalysis #HiddenKillersPodcast Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872