Sounds Like A Cult

Grab your trusty #2 and find the desk with your name tag on it, because class is in session this week at Sounds Like a Cult! Our /pedagogically inclined/ episodes are always RIPE with juicy insight, and today’s topic is no different. Be it Hogwarts or Pacific Coast Academy, boarding schools have long shrouded themselves in an air of mystery and exclusivity that has most recently led to a culture-wide obsession with the Dark Academia genre. But is this intrigue secretly supporting a sinister institution? What culty rituals and traditions lie behind the plaid and ivy? Let’s find out! Amanda and Chelsea are thrilled to be joined by the wonderful Ceara O’Sullivan from the Petty Crimes podcast to discover what lurks within boarding schools' hallowed (culty) halls. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT.  Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Further reading: Psychopathology and Dissociation among Boarding School Students in Eastern Turkey National Museum of the American Indian: Boarding Schools Time for America to Get Over Our Ivy League Obsession A Brief History of Boarding-School Scandals

NOT going to lie, this episode was a wee bit nerve racking to record!!! Despite the, ahem, LARGE number of requests we received for this topic (which would make you think it was ubiquitously reviled), the acolytes in this group ride HARD for their leader! Money and religion are the twin engines that make the world go ‘round, dear culties, and as such, they are the perfect mediums for sinister influence. This week’s subject has been ~blessing~ the airwaves and teaching your parents how to be debt free AND godly since the 1990s…the OG finance bro…the one and only… Dave Ramsey. This week, Amanda and Reese take a trepidatious foray into the chaotic, testosterone-filled, rapidly aging world of Ramsey Solutions with the help of seasoned Dave Ramsey experts (though, tbh, *survivors* is probably a more apt word) Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni from the Frugal Friends Podcast. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/CULT. Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.

Who’s your #mommy culties: Taylor or Whitney? That’s right, fresh(ish?) off the release of Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality series (for which Amanda and Reese attended a blissfully tinsel-adorned premiere party #notsponsored lol), this week we are covering the cult of Mormon MomTok. This coalition of young Mormon mothers turned TikTok stars raises a truly baffling number of questions: Are these girls really Mormon? Does that matter? Where are their garments? Are they even friends? And most importantly, will MomTok survive the "swinging scandal" that overtook headlines a few years back, earning these gals their own TV show?!?!?!??!?! Grab your heaviest Stanley, fill it with Fruity Pebbles ;) and settle in to have all of your most sacred prayers answered. Potentially cultier than the sum of its cults (and trust us there are plenty), Reese and Amanda are determined to get to the bottom of the drama-filled, diet Dr. Pepper flavored mom-strosisty that is #MomTok. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @reesaronii @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles  Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.   To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :)

Settle in with a Kirkland brand sparkling water and a rotisserie chicken because this week, Amanda and Chelsea are going IN on the us/them dynamics, strange rituals, manipulation tactics, over-the-top passion, and lore of your favorite membership-only cathedral of affordable excess, Costco. Based on this episode’s fervent listener call-ins alone, it’s clear Costco is more than just a place to buy 500-packs of plastic cups, gold bars, and even your future casket (???) ⚰️ Costco is some people’s entire personality. But has it crossed over into full-blown cult? Tune into our lol-filled analysis to find out.   Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT.  Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout

We’re baaaAAAAAaaaaack!!! Join us for a 🪐transcendent🪐 new season of Sounds Like A Cult, whose opening episode features Chelsea Charles, one of our sparklingly hilarious new co-hosts. An unscripted TV producer by day, Chelsea joins returning host Amanda to unpack this week’s nightmarish topic: Dance Moms. Indeed, we’re exploring every culty corner of the fanatically followed Lifetime reality show, which centers on a group of competitive child dancers, their high-drama mothers, and their veritable cult leader of a teacher, Abby Lee Miller *shudders*. It mightttt sound dramatic to call this goofy little TV program a cult, but the sky-high exit costs, rampant verbal abuse, lifelong trauma, obsessed fan behaviors, and scandalizing financial crimes say otherwise!!! Tune in as Amanda and Chelsea dissect the show’s cultiest characteristics, and their broader implications, with the help of The Pyramid Podcast.  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout

This is Sounds Like A Cult, a show with two sparkling new cult leaders, ahem, co-hosts!!!!!!  We’ve been keeping this secret for months, and it feels downright ~transcendent~ to let you culties know: Joining host Amanda for the next season of Sounds Like A Cult are two brilliant, kind, warm, and hilarious recurring voices—unscripted TV producer Chelsea Charles and theatre/rhetoric student Reese Oliver (whom you may already recognize as SLAC’s beloved coordinator). Tune into today’s surprise bonus minisode for some angelic wee introductions, teasers, and deats about what to expect from SLAC 2.0. The next season premieres Tuesday, September 17! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Thank you to our sponsor!  Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.

New Age love & wellness influencers turned baby NXIVM: That's kinda the best way we can succinctly describe this week’s cult, Twin Flames Universe, one of the most chilling groups we’ve discussed on the pod thus far. Several months ago, Twin Flames survivor Jessi Hersey, whom you might recognize from the “Escaping Twin Flames” doc on Netflix, slid into our DMs and made a very generous and compelling argument as to why Twin Flames needed airtime on Sounds Like A Cult. After all, it’s important to represent the whole LYL, WYB, GTFO cult spectrum! This week, we're asking the fundamental questions: How did this niche online self-help “community” turn so destructive so fast, and how are its tenets low-key a threat to us all? Tune in to find out, and make sure to listen to the very end of the episode. We’re making a highly exciting announcement about the next season of SLAC… let’s just say there might be a couple new “cult leaders” (ahem, co-hosts) in your future! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @reesaronii To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!!  Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Further reading: How ‘Twin Flames Universe’ YouTubers Monetized Heartbreak and Trauma “Everywhere I Went, They Went With Me, Because They Were on My Phone”: Inside the Always Online, All-Consuming World of Twin Flames Universe Why We Can't Get Enough of Cult Documentaries Twin Flames, Explained

Pack your hammer and your lack of cultural awareness, because this week on Sounds Like A Cult, we're interviewing Tia Levings, a former Christian fundamentalist, mission trip devotee, and survivor of church-sanctioned domestic violence. Tia is also the author of the brand new memoir A Well-Trained Wife. She joins to discuss the ever-so-common culty practice of recruiting church kids to go on white savior vacations all under the guise of bringing Sky Daddy and ultimate nepo kid Jesus into the lives of people who most certainly never asked for that. Aka, mission trips! Many thanks to all the listeners who submitted call-ins for this episode! Be sure to listen to the end, because we’ve got a verrrrrrrry exciting announcement about next season coming :) Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult. Shop the SKIMS Soft Lounge Collection at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT. Further reading: Mission trips are an evangelical rite of passage for US teens – but why? YouTube channel: ExMoLex Stop going on Mission Trips Why I'll Never Go on a Mission Trip Again

Get Tickets to Isa Medina's Live Comedy Show in NYC August 24th! Click Here!  Follow Isa on Instagram to keep up with her upcoming comedy shows!  Subscribe to Isa's new podcast I'm Right You're Wrong on Spotify or Apple!  If you want to support Isa's new podcast subscribe above, listen or watch the full episodes at the I'm Right You're Wrong Podcast Page! <3  Ep 6: Friendship Breakups: Right or Wrong? Have you ever had a Friendship Breakup? Absolutely no worries if not! Sounds like you're perfect and that's awesome <3 This week your gorgeous hosts, ⁠Lydia Keating⁠ and ⁠Isa Medina⁠, get into whether Friendship Breakups are right OR wrong. They debate both extremes, tell personal stories and chat about how post-college life affects friendship. They talk about bisexual friendships....aka love affairs and of course, they talk about boundaries. xx love you so much!  Subscribe to Isa's new podcast I'm Right You're Wrong on Spotify or Apple!  Follow the podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ethicalgirlies⁠⁠ 

Oops a politically flavored episode of Sounds Like A Cult!!!!! Would you believe it if we told you we recorded this nearly SIX MONTHS AGO and just crossed our fingers it would resonate whenever it ended up going live??? This week, host Amanda is joined by Puck reporter and former MAGA youth recruit, Tina Nguyen, author of the 2024 memoir The MAGA Diaries, who’s here to shed light on the culty modern movement that is conservative youth activism: why it exists, how it works, and why there’s no left-wing analog. Culty times people!!! Intrigued how this episode will land with you culties 👀😵‍💫✌️ Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Watch Amanda's Offline with Jon Favreau interview Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible! Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.  

Learn more about host Amanda's Italian writing "cult" ;) It's a Live Your Life!!!  https://trovatrip.com/trip/europe/italy/italy-with-amanda-montell-oct-2024  If you’ve ever seen a suburban lady wearing a tee shirt that reads, “I wine because he whines” or “I’m not a normal mom, I’m a wine mom,” then you have likely born witness to a follower of this week’s “cult.” Wine moms may have nailed the merch aspect of modern-day fanaticism with their culture of “rosé all day,” and there’s certainly valid solidarity in venting about the hardships of American motherhood over a glass of Prosecco or two. But… ten? At the kids’ soccer practice? Is any group that aims to cutesify alcoholism en masse ever not at least a “Watch Your Back”-level cult??? To help figure it out, please welcome this week’s special guest, survivor of both the wine mom cult AND the cult of MLMs (no small feat!!), author and sobriety coach Emily Lynn Paulson.  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

From TV executives abusing kids on sets to Scientology's "Celebrity Center," the cult of the entertainment business can getcha from about 6,000 different angles. After all, what other mainstream American industry is glamorized and lusted-after to this extreme degree, only to betray its most successful acolytes with financial and physical exploitation, social isolation, dehumanization, and a destroyed sense of self-worth to the point that entertainers dying early tragic deaths of despair is not only accepted, it's practically a meme??? This week, host Amanda offers a lil history lesson on the cult of Hollywood before getting into some juicy personal stories and an analytical discush with the one and only Maria Bamford, iconic comedian and author of Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere. Who are Hollywood's true "cult leaders," and do their worst behaviors earn it the title of a GTFO-level cult? Tune in to find out!!! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.   Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult.

Listen to Isa's new podcast: I'm Right You're Wrong! Isa is the co-creator and former host of Sounds Like A Cult<3 Click here to Subscribe/Listen on Spotify Podcasts Click here to Subscribe/Listen on Apple Podcasts Botox & Filler: Right or Wrong? Does getting botox and filler contribute to unjust beauty standards? Or are women literally not allowed to have anything anymore? This week, your perfect little hosts, ⁠Isa Medina⁠ and ⁠Lydia Keating⁠, discuss whether it's right or wrong to get botox and filler. Are we making things worse by not aging naturally or are we just trying to survive the dang patriarchy? Can women even make mistakes? Factually speaking, no. But your hosts are here to look at both sides! In classic fash, they debate the extremes and chit chat about life as perfect beautiful women. xx love you!!  Subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts and listen to other episodes covering topics like: Friendship Breakups, Tipping Culture, Nepo Babies, Stay at Home Moms and more😘 Follow Isa on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@isaamedinaa⁠⁠⁠⁠  Follow Isa's new podcast on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ethicalgirlies⁠⁠

You culties preyed and preyed for us to analyze the cult of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and at long last, host Amanda Montell and coordinator Reese Oliver are blessing you with one of our favorite episodes in a very long time 🥲 To the undiscerning eye, Netflix’s new “America’s Sweethearts” series may look like an innocent little feature on the NFL’s most treasured cheerleading squad… but to us, this was a true crime documentary about a profoundly conformist, exploitative, isolating, hyper-patriarchal, physically perilous, but also inspirational and glamorous CULT. The question is not if the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team is culty—I mean, hello, duh—the question is how bad is it??? Tighten your Kelli knots and spritz another coat of hairspray, because we are not holding back this week 📣  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast and/or watch full episodes on YouTube, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT. Shop the SKIMS Soft Lounge Collection at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult.

Class is in session and boy oh boy is it perturbing. Teaching is not just a profession, it's a calling to shape young hearts and minds—one that looks all wholesome on the outside, but once you're lured in, actually comes with labor exploitation, emotional manipulation, weird power dynamics created by the tenure system, and other sinister qualities that high-key resemble a cult. The cult of teaching is perhaps our single most passionate and consistent listener request in Sounds Like A Cult history, and to help us bring it to life, we're doing another "Interview A Listener" episode, featuring current New Jersey public school teacher, Charlyn Magat. Today's topic is of course massive and complex, and this conversation is just a small piece of it, informed by Charlyn's individual experience. We'd love to continue exploring the topic further, including potential episodes about the cults of Teach for America, boarding school, etc.! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult.

Catch Amanda back on tour this summer! July 29: The Age of Magical Overthinking book talk at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, WA (free!) Imagine you’re a little kid and your parents are actually your bosses. Now imagine that, as your professional superiors, your parents' job is to engineer and exploit every single precious moment of your childhood for millions of people on the internet to behold, all in exchange for clicks, comments, and ad dollars. Sometimes they prank you, embarrass you, and/or produce a whole ‘nother sibling purely as a career move. Now imagine if your parents manage to figure out at some point that this dynamic is power abusive and manipulative, and they decide to stop sharing your face with the world, scads of strangers who’ve gotten parasocially attached to you since before you were born start flipping the f*** out. Such is the uncanny experience of a kid born into the cult of family vloggers, this week’s culty a$$ subject, featuring journalist Fortesa Latifi, who is currently writing a book about parenthood and content creation.  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT. Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.  

Listen to Isa Medina NEW PODCAST – I'm Right You're Wrong on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, or wherever! Isa Medina is the Former Host and Co-Creator of Sounds Like A Cult Podcast. Follow Isa on IG @isaamedinaa for info about her live stand up comedy and her new podcast @ethicalgirlies. The episode preview ended at 23 min 40 seconds if you want to start where we left off and finish the episode <3  Right or Wrong? Nepo Babies: This week on I'M RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG, your gorgeous hosts, Lydia Keating and Isa Medina, debate nepo babies. Is it ethically right or wrong for nepo babies to have easy access to coveted careers just because their parent(s) work in the industry? Lydia argues that nepo babies are WRONG. Isa argues that they are RIGHT. They discuss the different types of nepo babies out there (it’s not all Hollywood, honey!) and if there is even an ideal way to be one… After they debate the extremes, in classic fashion, they open their dialogue up to a broader and more honest convo. Are THEY nepo babies?? (no, lol but they do get real about their own privileges). Lydia ponders creativity—is it something innate to the fibers of your being? Was Reese Witherspoon’s son born to be a DJ in the West Village? Isa talks about her boy drama and how men should never complain about being tired. Lydia acknowledges her annual spring/summer glow up. Both hosts agree that ebbing and flowing in one’s hotness is wayyyyy better than being consistently hot all year round, which would actually be so boring. And finally, they talk about WHO is to BLAME for nepotism? (and it’s not the nepo babies or their parents! It’s something far more insidious…) Enjoy the episode! Love you so much. 

Catch Amanda back on tour this summer! July 29: The Age of Magical Overthinking book talk at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, WA (free!) WE TRIED OUR BEST not to get too roasty in this long overdue episode, where host Amanda and her special guest, music journalist and host of the Songs My Ex Ruined podcast Melissa Locker, examine the cult of jam bands from Phish to the Grateful Dead. Where freewheeling guitar solos, acid trips, tape-trading, endless noodling, and oodles of exclusive lingo reign supreme, this world of die-hard fans who dedicate their whole life and personality to following their faves around the country is nothing short of a musical religion. Jam bands are definitely, ahem, a culty vibe to say the least... the real question is how destructive are they?? Tune in to this lol-worthy chat as Amanda and Melissa try and figure that out.  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT.

Catch Amanda back on tour this summer! July 29: The Age of Magical Overthinking book talk at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, WA (free!) Time to Milky Jelly™ cleanse your souls, culties. If you were alive in 2017, and anywhere near our same millennial pink corner of the internet, then you KNEW what a Glossier girl was. The emblem of relatable-but-aspirational coolness helmed by cult leader… ahem, CEO… Emily Weiss (of The Hills fame) was so much more than a cosmetics line. Glossier was a lifestyle, a uniform, an identity template, a cultural phenomenon, a religion? Come on, those pink bubble wrap pouches??? If you had one, it meant you’d reached a certain kind of ~enlightenment~. Alongside the likes of other rare brands like Starbucks and SoulCycle, Glossier was a ”cult-followed” company through in through… but was something more sinister lurking underneath? Why did the brand take off as astronomically as it did? And what is the status of the “cult” now? At long last, host Amanda is (over)analyzing the spiritual movement that is Glossier with none other than beauty journalist Marisa Meltzer, author of the New York Times bestselling book Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier (out now in paperback!). Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult. 

Catch Amanda on tour! First of all, we are downright GIDDY to share two iconic voices on this week’s episode—not only our expert guest, culture reporter (and personal hero of Amanda’s) Anne Helen Petersen, but also Sounds Like A Cult’s very own intern (actually recently promoted to coordinator 😎), Reese Oliver!!! Speaking of new voices, team SLAC has been cooking up additional cult leaders to add to the hosting rotation later this year, and Amanda is v excited not to have to converse all by herself 😂 In all seriousness, everyone at team SLAC has been feeling a lot of gratitude lately, and we want to thank you listeners for sticking around for this wacky roller coaster ride. NOW, onto introducing the “cult” of tradwives. Short for “traditional wife,” this disturbing cultural craze marries idealizations of biblical womanhood with romantic social media aesthetics to create a freaky wave of politically regressive influencers, who’ve rejected feminism in favor of oppression… but make it "cute?" In between churning their own butter and brushing their naturally birthed kids’ hair, tradwives evangelize a host of ideologies so racist and sexist, at first it seems like a bit… and then it’s not. SCARY!!!! Join Reese, Anne, and Amanda down the rabbit hole, as they attempt to puzzle out this confounding modern-day “cult.” Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.   Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Hi Culties <3 Isa Medina here, former host and co-creator of Sounds Like A Cult! With a special announcement.... My New Podcast is Coming! I'M RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG hosted by Isa Medina & Lydia Keating. Click to subscribe on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your pods. If you want to stay up to date with me, my comedy, live shows & my new podcast, follow me on my instagram @isaamedinaa <33  Follow the podcast on IG @ethicalgirlies

Catch Amanda on tour! Lace yourselves up for this haunting and twinkle-toed episode covering one of our most consistently requested topics: Ballet! Despite the tutus and baby pink palette, this ruthlessly competitive industry often seems less like a dainty art form and more like a doggone cult. Think about it: Why do we audience members just blindly accept and support an industry helmed by power abusive men, who have absolutely no problem taking little girls away from their families, working them to the bone, and literally starving them, all in pursuit of so-called greatness? Orrrrrr is that take a bit dramatic? To help us figure it out, podcast producer and former ballerina Erika Lantz, host of THE TURNING, joins the pod for a deep discush of how culty the ballet world is really.  Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) To subscribe to her new Magical Overthinkers podcast click here! Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Introducing the Magical Overthinkers podcast, a show for thought spiralers, exploring the subjects we can't stop overthinking about. Host Amanda is elated to share her latest audio project, based on her New York Times-bestselling book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Magical Overthinkers is out this week on all major podcast platforms (as well as YouTube)! Links below.   Subscribe on Spotify Subscribe on Apple Subscribe on YouTube Here is a look at episode 1, "Overthinking About Narcissism." Episode description below! Is it just us, or does American culture have narcissism fever? Between 2004 and 2016, the volume of Google searches for the word “narcissist” grew exponentially. Thanks to factors like the rise of therapyspeak, TikTok mental health diagnoses, and badly behaving reality stars-turned-world leaders, discourse about this buzzy, yet poorly understood phenomenon has exploded. Are we as a society becoming more narcissistic? Or are we now over-using and misusing this term to the point of meaninglessness? Wait, is obsessing about other people's narcissism its own kind of narcissism?? In an effort to soothe these thought spirals, host Amanda (@amanda_montell) settled in for an illuminating chat with her debut guest, psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula (@doctorramani), author of the New York Times bestseller "It's Not You" and one of the world's foremost narcissism experts. Tune in for a relatable, brain-tingling, and clarifying discussion about this confounding topic, complete with questions submitted by the "Magical Overthinkers Club" and bits of wisdom to help us overthinkers get out of our own heads.  Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers. To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack. Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook. Sources: What Is Narcissism? Science Confronts a Widely Misunderstood PhenomenonTime grows on trees: The effect of nature settings on time perceptionTherapist Aisha's Instagram

For our ~true followers~, behold a wee bonus episode to tide you over during our mid-season break, while host Amanda is on book tour and in production for the new MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS podcast (coming May 15)! Nostalgia is a warm-and-fuzzy coping mechanism for when the present feels painful, BUT it's also a key ingredient in sooooo many modern-day "cults," from Disney Adults to tradwives. How dangerous a weapon is nostalgia, really? That's what this episode, featuring an audio excerpt from Amanda's new book The Age of Magical Overthinking (an instant New York Times bestseller!) aims to find out. Regularly scheduled SLAC episodes will return Tuesday, May 21—thanks for sticking around til then! 💫 Get The Age of Magical Overthinking audiobook here! Purchase the book in hardback. Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING by Amanda Montell, read by the author. Copyright © 2024 by Amanda Montell. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Catch Amanda on book tour!

You culties have been THIRSTING after this episode, and it’s finally here! With the help of the piss-your-pants funny duo from the Add to Cart podcast, Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak, host Amanda unpacks the evangelical fanaticism surrounding these objectively not-that-special, too-big-to-fit-in-any-goddamn-cup-holder water vessels, which contain not just the keys to hydration but apparently our very souls. Sit back and *drink it in* as Amanda and guests go in on the accessory-cum-religion that is the Stanley Quencher—from its Mormon momfluencer origin story to its TikTok lore to the ever-present cult of consumerism. Also lol that is water brand is one of this week's sponsors 💀💦 Apparently no one can escape this cult!!! Order a copy of Amanda's new book The Age of Magical Overthinking! Catch Amanda on tour!!! Thank you to our sponsors! Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout. Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.

Host Amanda's new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality is out TODAY!!! Get your copy wherever you buy books (including audiobooks). The book is about magical overthinking in the Information Age—how our deep-rooted cognitive biases are clashing with contemporary culture to create a new era of delulu. Themes covered in the book include celebrity worship, nostalgia, and today's topic of discussion... the cult of manifestation. This special episode features an exclusive excerpt from Amanda's new audiobook! It's a portion from the chapter titled “I Swear I Manifested This: A Note on Proportionality Bias,” which explores how radical conspiracy theories and New Age ideas of manifestation are actually both motivated by the same psychological quirk, all the while telling the story of a cult-followed online manifestation guru 👽 Turns out, we all have a pinch of conspiracy theorist in us. Tune in to find out how🤞 Get the audiobook here! Purchase the book in hardback. Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING by Amanda Montell, read by the author. Copyright © 2024 by Amanda Montell. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Catch Amanda on tour!

Order a copy of Amanda's new book The Age of Magical Overthinking! Catch Amanda on tour!!! Stereotypes say that homeschool kids are a little, well, ~quirky~ but is that because they grew up in a "cult" of sorts? The American homeschool landscape is currently undergoing an especially fraught *paradigm shift* with upwards of 2 million kids being taught at home as of 2023. This surge is fueled by a range of sociopolitical factors, from the relatable (school shootings are scary!!!!) to the undeniably sinister (ahem, IBLP… ahem, Lord of the Flies-style unschooling practices that overlap with the troubled teen industry???). Homeschooling—with its insular communities, lack of regulation, and sometimes radical approaches to child-rearing—can add up to something eeeeeeeerily reminiscent of a fringey, paranoid sect. To help parse it out what “cult category” homeschooling falls into, Amanda is chatting with her pal (and homeschool *survivor*) Justina Sharp. This is delicate subject matter, and everyone’s experiences are different, so if you’re interested in learning more, be sure to check out the resources below! Thanks to all the culties who called in to share their personal experiences on the topic! Sources: Home schooling is surging, but lax regulation can leave kids vulnerable to abuse: https://www.npr.org/2024/01/18/1225324564/home-schooling-is-surging-but-lax-regulation-can-leave-kids-vulnerable-to-abuse  Coalition for Responsible Home Education: https://responsiblehomeschooling.org/  Home schooling’s rise from fringe to fastest-growing form of education: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-growth-data-by-district/ ‘Unschooling’ Isn’t The Answer To Education Woes—It’s The Problem: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2020/05/25/unschooling-isnt-the-answer-to-education-woes-its-the-problem/?sh=7541bc55543c  Thank you to our sponsors, who make this show possible: Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/cult. Go to StickerGiant.com/cult and use code CULT at checkout to get 25% off your first order. Shop the SKIMS T-Shirt Shop at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

Order Amanda's new book! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Age-of-Magical-Overthinking/Amanda-Montell/9781668007976  Get ready to live, laugh, love, and possibly get into an “aisle fight” over this longgggg overdue episode, featuring the iconic Griff Stark-Ennis from the Petty Crimes podcast! In what may just be our *pettiest* episode ever, Griff joins Amanda to discuss the cultish fanaticism surrounding the pottery brand, Rae Dunn. You know those farmhouse-style mugs and platters found at TJ Maxx and Home Goods, featuring cutesy “handwritten” sayings, like “Squeeze the day” and “Bah humbug?” To a certain breed of consumer, Rae Dunn has animorphed into not just a quaint kitchenware brand but a full-blown lifestyle worth making major sacrifices for. In other words, a cult!!! Unsure how the hell that’s possible? Tune in to find out… and don’t miss your chance to see Amanda live on tour together this spring! Tickets are below :) https://amandamontell.com/events/  Thank you to our sponsors <333 Head to FACTORMEALS.com/CULT50 and use code CULT50 to get 50% off.  Shop SKIMS Bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.

Come party with Amanda on tour!!! Ahoy, and welcome to our first ever "Interview a Listener" episode of Sounds Like A Cult!!! Could you imagine a more tantalizing subject for this week's ~dive deep~ than this gazillion-dollar industry of floating compounds where the lines between leisure and obsession blur worse than a Carnival cruiser's vision after 12 "free" Mai Tais?? Joining the pod as Amanda's guest host is Sounds Like A Cult devotee/former long-time cruise ship employee (she's fine) Emmy McGreeghan, who went positively overboard as she divulged the culty consumerism, hierarchies, exploitation, hedonistic lawlessness, and psychological tricks cruise companies use on their acolytes to turn a simple holiday into an almost religious experience. I mean, has anyone heard of the NINE MONTH CRUISE??? So much to discuss—hope you enjoy (and possibly rethink your next floating vacation).  To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here :) For book BTS, news about Amanda's forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to HelixSleep.com/CULT and use code HELIXPARTNER20 for 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/CULT50 and use code CULT50 to get 50% off.  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult. 

It's a cult of one dynamic almost too frightful for this show. When your very own caregiver poisons, manipulates, exploits, and lies to you for personal gain... it's the cult of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome, a nightmare phenomenon made internationally famous by the notorious (iconic?) Gypsy Rose Blanchard, a victim of child medical abuse, who played a role in the murder of her cult leader of one, aka, her very own mother. To explore the many culty angles of this week's unique subject, host Amanda is joined by novelist and investigative podcaster Andrea Dunlop, whose show Nobody Should Believe Me was inspired by her very close personal connection to the "cult" of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. Stick around for the verdict—we're fascinated to know if you agree! Get your tickets now to The Big Magical Cult Show! To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here :) For podcast updates and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to StickerGiant.com/cult and use code CULT at checkout to get 25% off your first order. Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult. 

First of all, what the hell is going on with culty leggings companies that have too many Ls in their brand name: LuLaRoe, Lululemon... sounds like a conspiracy!!! Anyway, after many long years of listener requesting this topic, Sounds Like A Cult is finally diving into the spandex heart of darkness that is Lululemon. With the help of special guest hosts Taz and Marah, the ridiculously charming voices behind the Sistas Who Kill podcast, host Amanda is unraveling how this bougie "It Girl" athleisure empire stretches beyond mere clothing into a full-blown lifestyle, complete with dogmas, devotees, and even a murder??? Yep, the true crime girlies already know. Oooof, this tale is banaynays—we hope you enjoy our culty analysis of it! Get your tickets now to Amanda's live tour, The Big Magical Cult Show, feat. Kelsey from Normal Gossip, Ceara & Griff from Petty Crimes, drag burlesque, musical guests, merch, and more! To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here :) For book BTS, news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Shop SKIMS Bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Further reading! Business of Fashion: At Lululemon, Being Black Is ‘Off-Brand’ by Sheena Butler Young: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/workplace-talent/lululemon-diversity-and-inclusion-2023/ HuffPost: What the F*ck Was LuluLemon Thinking by Caroline Gregoir: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-the-fck-was-lululemon-thinking_b_4138754 Business Insider: 12 Utterly Bizarre Facts About The Rise Of Lululemon, The Cult-Like Yoga Brand by Jim Edwards: https://www.businessinsider.com/12-utterly-bizarre-facts-about-the-rise-of-lululemon-2012-4#the-founder-is-an-ayn-rand-fan-and-the-company-takes-its-values-from-atlas-shrugged-1 Business Insider: Some Lululemon retail employees say there is an environment of 'toxic positivity,' where workers feel pressure to share personal information with managers and constant feedback can feel like bullying by Caroline Hroncich and May Teng: https://www.businessinsider.com/lululemon-retail-employees-describe-toxic-culture-2021-3 Salon: Yoga, spinning and a murder: My strange months at Lululemon by Mary Mann: https://www.salon.com/2013/12/31/yoga_spinning_and_a_murder_my_strange_months_at_lululemon/

You're invited to The Big Magical Cult Show!!! Catch host Amanda on tour this April to celebrate her new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking. Half the events are star-studded bookstore stops (where she'll be in conversation with the likes of Molly Ringwald and Pauline Chalamet!), and the other half are these wacky, witchy variety shows, featuring cult-followed podcasters (like Kelsey from Normal Gossip and Ceara & Griff from Petty Crimes), drag burlesque, musical guests, and more. There will be book signings, audience Q&As, and Amanda's first-ever merch collection, available only at these live events!!! Get your tickets below :) April 9: Los Angeles, CA — Barnes & Noble at The Grove, in conversation with Pauline Chalamet (tickets here) SOLD OUT April 11: NYC, NY — The Strand April 12: Brooklyn, NY — Littlefield with Books Are Magic, “The Big Magical Cult Show” feat. Ceara & Griff from Petty Crimes (tickets here) April 13: Boston, MA — wbur cityspace, “The Big Magical Cult Show” feat. Sasha Sagan (tickets here) April 15: Washington DC — Solid State Books (tickets here) April 16: Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts with Uncle Bobbie’s, “The Big Magical Cult Show” feat. Kelsey McKinney from Normal Gossip (tickets here) April 17: Portland, OR — Powell’s Books, in conversation with Chelsea Bieker (free, no ticket needed)

Would you sacrifice your phone, passport, dignity, and freedom to move into an isolated pod for 10 days and compete against a sorority of strangers in search of True Love™, all for a world of fiendish reality TV consumers to see??? Sounds like cult behavior to me!!! This week, just in time for the Season 6 premiere, we’re FINALLY covering the cult of Love Is Blind, one of the most ~radical~ reality dating shows to have graced the airwaves. We’re joined by former cult member… ahem, I mean, contestant… Stacy Snyder to discuss the pros and cons of this objectively cultlike approach to marriage. To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here :)  For book BTS, news about Amanda's forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to HelixSleep.com/CULT and use code HELIXPARTNER20 for 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/CULT50 and use code CULT50 to get 50% off.  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult. 

Grab your rosary and slap on your plaid skirt (although you WILL need to recite six “Our Fathers” if it rides even one millimeter above the knee!!!) because this week’s theatrical episode is here to validate and possibly trigger all our former Catholic School #religioustrauma girlies. Recovering Catholic Aiden Arata—writer, “queen of depression Instagram,” and Amanda's former college pal—joins the pod to unpack all the pageantry and horror of this objectively bizarre (and yet totally mainstream) marriage of religion and education. Bless the many listeners who submitted their voice memo confessions—you truly made this episode sparkle brighter than the Papal tiara. To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here :) For book BTS, news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to StickerGiant.com/cult and use code CULT at checkout to get 25% off your first order. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT. Shop SKIMS Bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "podcast" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.

We have NEVER had such a hard time finding a guest brave enough to appear on the show than we did for the week's episode on the flashy, fanatical, downright culty (sorry!!!) world of K-Pop. Thank goddess that Lai Frances, music reporter and expert in the "cult" at hand, was down to come have both a chuckle and a legitimately analytical discush about the pros and cons of this "cult-followed" music genre, which is of course so much more than that... it's a lifestyle, an identity, a bazillion-dollar cash cow, a life-consuming cult? Listen to us chat about the intense training K-Pop idols go through, their hardcore "sasaeng fans," and more to find out... K-Pop sounds like a cult, but is it really?? To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) For book BTS, news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell Thanks to our sponsors! SKIMS Bras are now available at SKIMS.com. Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Visit betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month.

Sorry in advance for all the crack vs. quack wordplay coming in this week's episode, which we already know will push some buttons! Obviously #notallchiropractors, but it’s definitely scary how this industry of psuedo-doctors is entrenched in a cultural history of New Age scammers and conspiracy theorists with Jesus complexes, including dudes who believed they could talk to the dead and heal all that ails you with their bare hands. Joining us is professional chiropractor/mole/part-time critic of his controversial profession, Trevor Zierke, here to help us figure out what level of “cult” the wild world of chiros really is. To order a copy of Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) For book BTS, news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell

A clandestine society aimed at indoctrinating a fleet of nationalist spies with an extensive entrance process, aliases, secretive language, isolation from the outside world, and no clear exit strategy... sounds like a cult, but it’s actually America’s most prized federal agency, the CIA. This week, former CIA intelligence analyst Christina Hillsberg joins the pod, fulfilling all our Carrie Mathison fantasies with a tell-all interview about how the CIA is high-key just like a fringey religious sect!!! We hope you delight in this dishy, hilarious (and sometime deeply uncomfortable) convo as much as we did. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) For book BTS, news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, and more, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Thank you to our sponsors: Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Head to FACTORMEALS.com/CULT50 and use code CULT50 to get 50% off.  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.   

Welcome baaaAAAAaaaAAaack, culties!! Time to *ascend* to the 2024 era of Sounds Like A Cult 👽 Kicking off with a damn bang—the most colossal cult we’ve ever covered (as in ~1.5 million employees and 310 million users colossal). It's the multi-pronged monster of convenience, which spares no one, no matter the cost… you guessed it, Amazon. Duh, we know, Amazon is a cult—from its notorious treatment of factory workers to its uncanny world-domination energy to its “never leave us” messaging, it’s obvious. But is Amazon a LYL, a WYB, or a GTFO-level cult? And is the verdict the same for both employees and consumers? To unpack this gazillion-dollar organization (religion?) from the inside, please welcome special guest Kristi Coulter, an ex-Amazonian who spent 12 years in the cult… I mean, *company*… before defecting to write her new tell-all memoir, Exit Interview. It’s one of our juiciest conversations in SLAC history and we hope you enjoy it!! Thanks to all the listeners who leant their voice messages to this episode. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) For news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Thank you to our sponsors: Go to HelixSleep.com/CULT and use code HELIXPARTNER20 for 20% off all mattress orders AND two free pillows. Ibotta is offering $5 just for trying the app by using the code CULT when you register in the App Store or Google Play store. SKIMS Bras are now available at SKIMS.com. Visit betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month.

Florals for spring may not be groundbreaking, but you know what is? Today’s brain-tingling interview with possibly the single best speaking voice in podcasting, Avery Trufelman, friend of the pod and host of the critically acclaimed fashion series Articles of Interest. Avery joins our season finale episode for a discush about the “cult” of the haute couture industry, from its elitism and exclusivity to its bonkers sense of conspiracy that (spoiler!!) affects us all, whether we realize it or not. Let’s just say if you’ve ever felt stressed about what pants are cool anymore, you are definitely in this cult!!! Stick to the end for our culty verdict and to hear a brief announcement about next season. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @isaamedinaa  To stay up to date on Isa’s future projects, click here! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here :) For news about her forthcoming Magical Overthinkers podcast, consider subscribing to her newsletter! Thank you to our sponsors: SKIMS Holiday Gift Shop is now open at SKIMS.com. Get free shipping on orders over seventy five dollars. Go to betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month.

Wowowow, today’s episode featuring Jill and Derick Dillard (whom you might recognize from TLC’s 19 Kids & Counting!!) has been a looooong time coming. Imagine this: You’re born into a family that’s already a little ~abnormal~ because your parents are polygamists or you have 200 siblings or whatever, then a reality television network comes knocking with promises of money and glory, slaps your whole clan of loved ones into a giant pair of golden handcuffs, a bunch of exploitation ensues, and one day you wake up and realize you’ve spent your childhood in an insane f*cking cult??? The “cult” of reality TV families is today’s subject of discussion, and what a juicy convo it was. Of all the reality TV family shows, which do YOU think is the cultiest??  Click here to check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking. Copies of her last book Cultish can be found here (and make a lovely holiday gift!).  Stay tuned for news about Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast here. Thank you to our sponsors: Head to Microdose.com and use code: CULT to get free shipping & 30% off your first order. Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. This episode reflects solely the opinions and work of Amanda and special guests.

Sounds Like A Cult has covered doomsday cults, political cults, religious cults ... and this week is where they all join forces – on the much requested: Cult of Reddit! Notorious for forming some of the most niche yet largely endorsed group-thinks on the internet, and even powerful enough to take down institutional pillars…is the Cult of Reddit a Live Your Life, Watch Your Back or a Get the Fuck Out Level Cult? This week, Isa welcomes friend, writer and soon-to-be co-host of their new podcast, Lydia Keating, to discuss the good, the bad and the rabbit whole that is The Cult of Reddit.  Head to Host Isa Medina's IG or website to learn more about her new podcast coming in 2024! Or to tell her where to perform stand up next! Thank you to our sponsor: SKIMS Holiday Gift Shop is now open at SKIMS.com. Get free shipping on orders over seventy five dollars.

ChatGPT could never!!! Over the past year or so, A.I. buzz has obviously risen to cult status, but if you think about it, all this apocalyptic talk of robots rising up and taking over the world lowkey makes us all sound like $ci3nt0l0gists. Is A.I. the newest SciFi cult? And if so, how apocalyptic is it?? To help figure that out, internet reporter Kate Lindsay joins the pod for a thought-provoking discush that's less about the technology itself and more about our cultlike attitudes toward A.I. Which cult category do youuuu think it falls into? Only time will reveal the answer 👽 To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! The Magical Overthinkers newsletter can be found here. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod  This episode reflects solely the opinions and work of Amanda and special guests.

iF yOuRe rEaDiNg thiS yOuRe iN tHe CuLt o.0 This week we are covering the most meta cult yet and one that we are all most definitely a part of: The Cult of Podcasting. From the para-social relationships and us vs them mentality to the larger cult of the podcasting inDusTry – Isa and very special guest, Co-Host of That’s Messed Up, An SVU Podcast from Exactly Right, Kara Klenk, discuss all things Cult of Podcasting. But what do you think? Is it a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get The Fuck Out Level Cult?  Head to Host Isa Medina's IG or website to tell her where to perform stand up, keep up with her work and learn more about her new podcast coming in 2024! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod  Thank you to our sponsors:  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult SKIMS Holiday Gift Shop is now open at SKIMS.com. Get free shipping on orders over seventy five dollars. For Green Chef’s best deal of the year, get $250 off with code cult250 at GreenChef.com/cult250 Hatch is offering our listeners $20 off your purchase of a Hatch Restore 2 and free shipping at hatch.co/cult.  But right now, they are matching their Black Friday - Cyber Monday onsite sale so you can get $40 off and free shipping using my link - hatch.co/cult

It’s me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me, here with an update to one of our most-streamed episodes of all time, the cult of exalted idol bestie goddess mother queen angel (no, that’s not pandering to the standom! They're not intimidating at all!), Taylor Swift. Somehow, the pop icon’s “cult” has only exploded in size and religiosity since our last discussion, which was uploaded right as Midnights was dropping, pre-Eras Tour. Needless to say, there’s a lotttttt to catch up on. Whether you stan Taylor til the death or truly do not get what all the fuss is about, we hope you enjoy this part 2!! To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! Head to Isa Medina's IG or website to tell her where to perform stand up, keep up with her work and learn more about her new podcast coming in 2024. The Magical Overthinkers newsletter can be found here. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod  I was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes: If Taylor told her Swifties to kill a man, they would. They would kill a man for Taylor, because her music means *that* much to them. But the "cult" of country-pop sensation Taylor Swift is not just about the music. It's about the Swiftie community, the rituals, the beliefs, the aesthetic, and (of course) Taylor's cult of personality. This extreme fandom definitely seems classically culty, but is it dangerous just because it's fanatical? That's the question on Amanda and Isa's agenda today, and they've solicited pop culture connoisseur Jill Gutowitz, author of the essay collection GIRLS CAN KISS NOW, to help them figure it out. 

At long last, the man/myth/legend, Amanda's dad, Craig Montell, whose riveting stories of his childhood spent in the Synanon cult planted her fascination with all things "cultish," joins as this week's guest. In this *extremely wholesome* episode, Amanda and her pop analyze a quartet of listener-submitted stories, documenting four firsthand experiences with “culty” groups (from military wives to Abercrombie & Fitch) comparing each one to the surreal mindfuckery and power dynamics Craig witnessed in Synanon. The episode mostly focuses on the “cult” of military spouses... faaaaascinating how closely it resembles a bonafide '70s-era cult. But is it a Life Your Life, Watch Your Back, or GTFO?? Tune in to find out. Thanks so much to all who wrote in their culty tales! To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! The Magical Overthinkers newsletter can be found here. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod  Thank you to our sponsors! The Cotton collection and more are available now at SKIMS.com. Go to betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month This episode reflects solely the opinions and work of Amanda and special guests.

If you've been paying attention at all, you know that this weeks cult is growing at a mighty pace. The rate at which Americans and individuals from all over the world have decided to blindly spend all their free time idolizing this secret force is astonishing. On this weeks episode we get into it and discuss the much requested topic of The Cult of Pickleball. From their exclusive language to their outfits, rituals and cliquey us versus them mentality towards other recreational sports this is one for the books. Isa is joined by special guest and Pickleball enthusiast, Ruby Karp (@RubyKarp) to decide if this is a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back or a Get the F*ck Out level cult?  This episode was hosted, edited and produced by @isaamedinaa - go to her IG or website to tell her where to perform stand up, keep up with her work and learn more about her new podcast coming in 2024 (!!) Follow the podcast @soundslikeacultpod Thank you to our sponsors:  Hatch is offering our listeners $20 off your purchase of a Hatch Restore 2 and free shipping at hatch.co/cult  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to Dipseastories.com/cult   Manage your money the easy way, go to RocketMoney.com/SLAC

Behold, a re-air of our most popular episode of 2023—The Cult of Momfluencers—which takes on new relevance, thanks to the disturbing recent case of (allegedly) abusive YouTube momfluencer Ruby Franke! Motherhood is hard, lonely, and exhausting... except, apparently, if you're a momfluencer. Since the mid-2000s, a crop of seemingly perfect, all-knowing mommy goddesses in billowy tunics have emerged on social media—and we can't help but feel that their highly monetizable (often misinformation-ridden) internet presences basically exist to make other moms feel less than. This week, with the help of journalist and real-life mother Sara Petersen, author of the book MOMFLUENCED, Isa and Amanda spill the (organic, non-toxic, totally baby-safe) tea about how famous internet moms have become their own kind of 21st Century cult leader. To keep up with all things Sounds Like A Cult, click here! Sources:YouTuber mom Ruby Franke arrested and charged in child abuse investigation: What to know: https://www.today.com/parents/moms/ruby-franke-arrested-child-abuse-rcna102754 Here’s Everything You Need To Know About Ruby Franke, The YouTuber Who Was Charged With Aggravated Child Abuse, And Her Controversial Parenting Videos Over The Years: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/leylamohammed/youtuber-ruby-franke-of-8-passengers-child-abuse-explained Mommy Vlogger Ruby Franke Has Been Charged With Child Abuse: https://www.thecut.com/2023/09/ruby-franke-utah-mommy-vlogger-charged-with-child-abuse.html 8 Passengers Update: Ruby Franke Grows Her Cult and Shari Makes Amends With the Griffiths: https://www.therealitysnark.com/post/8-passengers-update-ruby-franke-grows-her-cult-and-shari-makes-amends-with-the-griffiths Mommy Vlogger Ruby Franke’s Child Abuse Case Could Take Years, Experts Say: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ruby-franke-child-abuse-case-years-1234832227/

Anyone who grew up evangelical Christian and/or plugged into teen celebrity news circa 2008 will be familiar with today's cult: Purity Rings. You know, the dainty piece of jewelry placed ritualistically on a teen girl's wedding finger to signify her vow of chastity until marriage, or else?? Purity rings are not just an accessory—they're a bonafide industry, complete with rules, ceremonies, secrets, veiled threats, and religious trauma up the wazoo... but are they a cult? This week, a very special (ex-evangelical) guest, Normal Gossip's Kelsey McKinney, is joining host Amanda to unpack just that! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod  To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! The Magical Overthinkers newsletter can be found here. Thank you to our sponsors! Go to thefarmersdog.com/cult to get 50% off your first box. Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.  The Cotton collection and more are available now at SKIMS.com. This episode reflects solely the opinions and work of Amanda and special guests.

The Cult of Bachelorette Parties is one we have all been a part of, whether from an observational distance or as a member yourself, this cult spares no one. This week, Isa is joined by a very special guest: comedian, host of Giggly Squad and Berner Phone Podcasts, and once a bachelorette herself, the hilarious Hannah Berner (@hannahberner). Tune in as they chat about how culty Hannah’s bachelorette party really got – we’re talking rituals, us vs them dynamics, exploitation, isolation from society and of course one ultra charismatic leader. But are Bachelorette parties a live your life, watch your back, or a get the f*ck out level cult? Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to DipseaStories.com/cult for an extended 30 day free trial  Go to RocketMoney.com/slac to manage your money the easy way  Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE

To his fanatics, he's an inspiring businessman, marketing guru, tough-love motivational speaker, and blue-collar-masculine embodiment of the American Dream; but, to his critics, he's just a bro-y blowhard—a grandstanding motormouth whom Fortune Magazine once called a "snake oil salesman." We're talking about Gary Vaynerchuck, aka Gary Vee, a serial entrepreneur whose multi-pronged "empire" and cult of personality scream god complex... but is this guy dangerous, obnoxious, or actually kind of inspiring? These are the questions Amanda and Isa are aiming to answer on this week's episode of Sounds Like A Cult. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Go to thefarmersdog.com/cult to get 50% off your first box. Go to BEISTRAVEL.com/CULT for 15% off your first purchase. Hatch is offering $20 off your purchase of a Hatch Restore 2 and free shipping at hatch.co/cult. Go to betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month.

Why does it seem like certain "life coaches" are exactly the kinda folks who shouldn't be giving life advice? The unregulated life coaching industry is perfectly set up to turn culty: It's rife with New Age quacks charging thousands to tell others how to live, but also... hiring a brainstorming partner to help you work through sh*t during times of uncertainty *does* sound beneficial? Tricky!! This week, Amanda and Isa are joined by comedian and host of the Self-Helpless podcast Kelsey Cook to unpack how much of a "cult" the life coach space has really become. To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to RocketMoney.com/SLAC to cancel unwanted subscriptions! Go to BEISTRAVEL.com/CULT for 15% off your first purchase. The Cotton collection and more are available now at SKIMS.com.

Strap on your steampunk lewks and get ready to blast off to the dusty, glittery, and undeniably culty alternate universe that is Burning Man—an event explicitly inspired by the New Age fringe religions of the 1970s. ~Join us~ for Amanda and Isa's lol-worthy chat with Em and Christine, hosts of the paranormal-true crime podcast And That's Why We Drink. We're unpacking the countercultural carnival's eccentric (sometimes deadly) rituals, us vs. them dynamics, major controversies, and undeniable allure. What do youuuu think is the cultiest thing about Burning Man?? And do you think it's a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a GTFO-level cult? To check out Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking, click here! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Dipsea is offering our listeners a 30 day free trial when you go to dipseastories.com/cult Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.  Go to JULIECARE.CO/CULT to get $10 off your online purchase for a limited time!

Before we return with regularly structured episodes next week (stay tuned for the "cult" of Burning Man!), here's another ad-free bonus episode featuring a rerun of our most-listened to episode of all time, The Cult of Disney Adults. Re-listen and/or skip to the 52-minute mark for a bonus Q&A with your hosts, Amanda and Isa! To support Sounds Like A Cult, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell

A heavily controlled, totally isolated group of women who worship one "charismatic” male figure and aren’t allowed to read magazines, watch TV, or speak to their families… is this a cult or the most popular reality dating show in history? This week, we’re re-airing one of our fave Season 1 episodes with a new, updated intro. It’s the “cult” of The Bachelor Franchise, featuring special guest, former contestant, Kendall Long! We got the juicy inside scoop on how culty The Bachelor *really* is to try and figure out whether this objectively bizarre pop culture phenomenon is a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out-level “cult.” 🌹  To support Sounds Like A Cult, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell

Time to spill some never-before-heard culty tales: This week, Amanda and Isa are reacting to shocking cult stories submitted by you listeners! Many thanks to those who wrote in to share their personal brushes with New Age scams, love-bombing strangers, elementary school rituals that seem sus in retrospect, and more. Traditional religion may be on the decline, but our cravings for meaning and magic are stronger than ever, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... that's why we're here to determine whether your culty experiences were a Life Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or GTFO!  To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! New customers get $5 off a Lume Starter Pack with code CULT at LumeDeodorant.com Go to betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month Dipsea is offering our listeners a 30 day free trial when you go to dipseastories.com/cult

For an episode spicier than an inflight bloody Mary, Isa and Amanda are joined by comedian and frequent flyer Fumi Abi (@TheFumiAbe) for a conversation on the unexpectedly cultlike nature of airline loyalty programs. From spending countless hours chasing elusive miles to believing you're just one step away from flying on a golden unicorn, these programs can be as delusional and deceptive as a New Age compound in Hudson Valley. But just how cultish is the Airline Miles system? Prepare for turbulence, laughs, insights, and a few jaw-dropping revelations.  To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to Kosas.com/CULT for 15% off your first purchase of $50 or more plus FREE shipping Go to BEISTRAVEL.com/CULT  for 15% off your first purchase  SKIMS Fits Everybody and more best-selling essentials are available now at SKIMS.com Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.

~Join us~ as Isa and Amanda unpack the "cult" of the Peace Corps—its peculiar rituals of initiation, close-knit camaraderie that borders on religious obsession, unwavering devotion to a higher cause, and (wait a second) abuse and murder?? Thanks to insightful listener call-ins, we reveal the eerie similarities that make this hallowed American organization an uncanny mirror to cult-like communities.  To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Head to stitchfix.com/cult and you'll get 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix Go to Kosas.com/CULT for 15% off your first purchase of $50 or more plus FREE shipping Go to betterhelp.com/cult to get 10% off your first month Dipsea is offering our listeners a 30 day free trial when you go to dipseastories.com/cult

Get ready for some no holds barred sh*t-talking, culties, because this week, Amanda and Isa are joined by the hosts of the motherhood-themed "I've Had It" podcast for a wild discussion of how PTA Moms are kindaaa just like a cult. Relentless groupthink, wacky power dynamics, oh my... this conversation will leave you questioning bake sales forever. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Go to farmersdog.com/cult to get 50% off your first box Head to stitchfix.com/cult and you'll get 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix  

You're sure to *devour* this week's episode analyzing four generations of wealthy men who, in our little opinion, represent a stunning example of how a powerful American family can resemble a cult. This week, Isa and Amanda are joined by a third co-host of sorts, true crime TikTokker and friend of the pod Lauren Skae (@thezenblonde), who's here to help tell the harrowing story of The Hammer Family, including actor Armie Hammer, who was exposed for a bunch of power-abusive behaviors. Sometimes murder-y, sometimes cannibal-y (allegedly!!!), this one is not for the faint of heart. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell Thank you to our sponsors! Get free shipping on orders over $75 at SKIMS.com  Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Go to Kosas.com/CULT for 15% off your first purchase of $50 or more plus FREE shipping

It sounds like an episode of Black Mirror: 18-year-old kids are sacrificing their futures and signing their incomes away for the chance to move into a #sponsored Southern California mansion and dedicate every waking moment to the pursuit of online virality. Are TikTok Social Houses an innocuous influencer trend or something more like Heaven's Gate for the 21st Century? This week, Amanda and Isa are joined by performer and Scam Goddess host Laci Mosley to figure out if these uncanny little dystopias are a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a GFTO-level cult! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, go to https://linktr.ee/soundslikeacult ! Sponsors: Dipsea: For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult. Stitch Fix: Try Stitch Fix today at StitchFix.com/cult and you’ll get 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix. BetterHelp: Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.

Volunteering to subject yourself to isolation, starvation, and desperation on a remote island under high-pressure circumstances, all in pursuit of money and fame (aka today's spiritual enlightenment)… is that a dangerous cult we're describing or the premise of America's OG "cult-followed" reality show? Survivor is the topic of discussion on this week's episode, and Isa and Amanda are analyzing everything from the sacrifices contestants make to the behind-the-scenes production to the fanatical fandom to figure out if the show is a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out-level cult. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first order of $40 or more at NextEvo.com/cult  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT You can find Julie at your local CVS Target or Walmart or by visiting Juliecare.co  

The Hippocratic Oath says do no harm. Explain elitism, secret societies, and debilitating physical and mental exhaustion to the point of potentially harming both doctor and patient, then?? Such is the "cult" of med school, this week's in-demand topic, which Amanda and Isa are discussing with insights from listeners who've survived this seemingly prestigious, but sneakily damaging (allegedly!!!) everyday "cult." To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Click HERE To get YOUR tickets to Sounds Like A Cult Live in London on May 26th! Thank you to our sponsors! Get $10 off your first month of Nutrafol by visiting nutrafol.com and entering promo code CULT  Visit article.com/CULT for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/cult to get up to $65 dollars off your first box!  Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.    

America's favorite buxom, rhinestone-clad Southern songstress, Dolly Parton, has a "cult following" like no other celebrity. Thanks to her unmistakable image, her "Dollyisms," her theme park, her illustrious music, and her ability to transcend politics, "Saint Dolly" has become so much more than your average country star. But are there any risks to worshiping a singer as your spiritual idol? Tune in as Amanda, Isa, and special guests Claire and Ashley from Celebrity Memoir Book Club attempt to break down Dolly Parton's iconic "cult." To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Visit AURA.com/CULT for a 14 day free trial. Get 10% off your first order sitewide & free shipping on orders over $60 with code CULT at OSEAMalibu.com.

This *highly* requested topic has all the makings of a modern-day cult: mystery, unquestioned loyalty, and the future of children's hearts and minds at stake. But does that make it dangerous?? This week, Amanda and Isa dive into the cult of Montessori education, those idyllic primary schools where kids allegedly (!!!) access transcendant knowledge with nothing but wooden blocks and hippie vibes (oh, and $40,000 annual tuition). Are Montessori schools a brilliant alternative approach to learning or something insidiously culty? With the help of listener call-ins, @amanda_montell and @isaamedinaa are aiming to unpack just that. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first Liquid Death apparel purchase available exclusively at LiquidDeath.com/CULT Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT  

What began as a Woodstock-esque alt music fest in the '90s for fans of indie electronica to get freaky in the California desert has swiftly morphed into more of a celebrity horror show/Instagram museum, where people pay thousands of dollars to gather on a hot slab of corporate-sponsored land, wear disposable outfits, and pretend to have fun. Has Coachella just become obnoxious or something more like a cult?? As we come down from the festival hype this month, with the help of no-holds-barred listener call-ins, Isa and Amanda aim to find out! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get free shipping on orders over $75 at SKIMS.com  You can find Julie at your local CVS Target or Walmart or by visiting Juliecare.co Get $10 off your first month of Nutrafol by visiting nutrafol.com and entering promo code CULT   

One of our fav episodes to date tbh. The promises include acceptance, stability, and fertility, but the reality = rigidity, conformity, and oftentimes outright shunning. Thinking about heterosexual culture as a "cult" might seem far out at first, but teasing it out with comedian Ashley Gavin, whose hilarious comedy special is viewable April 23 on YouTube, Isa and Amanda unpack sooooo much culty oppression that comes with our society's narrow standards for sexual expression (and also how the insidious "cult" of hetersexuality empowers some of the most f*cked religious cults of all time)! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Visit article.com/CULT for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Visit AURA.com/CULT for a 14 day free trial. Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/cult to get up to $65 dollars off your first box!  Get 20% off your first order of $40 or more at NextEvo.com/podcast and use promo code cult.  

It's time to dynamically synergize mission-critical alignments. Let's go ahead and fungibly communicate client-centric potentialities. If you can even half-way understand either of these sentences, then you might be a member of this week's "cult": Corporate America. With the help of special guest, Jamie Jackson of the cult-followed @humorous_resources Instagram account, Amanda and Isa are picking apart corporate culture's hyper-controlled rules, rituals, and hierarchies to tease out if this "leading-edge, credibly cultivated, turnkey market" is a life-ruiner or not. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Visit ritual.com/CULT to start Ritual or add Synbiotic+ to your subscription today. Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT

Fame, wealth, fraud, backstabbing, plastic surgery, hidden power hierarchies... are we talking about one of reality television's most successful franchises or a full-blown cult??? Host of the Reality Life podcast Kate Casey, an unscripted TV connoisseur who's been analyzing The Real Housewives for years, joins Isa and Amanda this week to unpack the inner workings and potential damage of this notoriously clique-y "cult." To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first Liquid Death apparel purchase available exclusively at LiquidDeath.com/CULT. Get $20 off your fertility test when you go to ModernFertility.com/CULT. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Download SmartNews for free today in the app store to get the news that matters most.

Pinkies up and wallets out for this week's quaffable "cult": the elitist, jargon-packed, ritual-soaked world of fine wine. Amanda and Isa were always highly intrigued but knew very little about this top-shelf "cult" until chatting with special guest Cristie Norman, certified sommelier, Wine Enthusiast's "educator of the year," and creator of The Online Wine Course. The fine wine world is certainly mysterious and exclusive, but how "dangerously culty" is it? Drunk on Cristie's insights, we're ready to find out... To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Visit article.com/CULT for $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more. Visit AURA.com/CULT for a 14 day free trial. Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code CULT at OSEAMalibu.com.

Stocks? The economy?? Don't get us started! Look, any industry that allowed the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, aka Bernie Madoff, to literally *thrive* is an automatic sounds like a cult to us. Members willing to "sell their soul" to Wall Street in exchange for the American Dream enter a world ripe for corruption, deception, and exclusivity, and this week, ex-trader turned "finfluencer" Vivian Tu (aka, Your Rich BFF) joins Isa and Amanda to spill all the *insider trading* on what makes Wall Street such a cult. Be sure to check out Vivian's new podcast, Networth and Chill, dropping March 22nd! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get 20% off your first order of $40 or more at NextEvo.com/podcast and use promo code cult. Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. Get 50% off your first DoorDash order up to a twenty-dollar value when you use code CULT at checkout.

Kayaking, friendship bracelet making, and oh yeah, threats of eternal damnation! What better way for a kid to spend the summer than at church camp? These pricy summer experiences for God-fearing kiddos might look all wholesome from the outside (a little *too* wholesome, in fact), but there have been enough allegedlys over the years to make Amanda and Isa think church camps might be serving up their 'smores with a side of cultiness. But are Christian summer camps a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out-level cult? Actor, writer, and former church camper Joel Kim Booster joins this week's episode to help us figure it out! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Visit ritual.com/CULT to start Ritual or add Synbiotic+ to your subscription today. Download SmartNews for free today in the app store! Sounds Like A Cult listeners get 20% off your first Liquid Death apparel purchase available exclusively at LiquidDeath.com/CULT. 

As Keenan Thompson said in a recent SNL parody of the Miss Universe pageant, "Welcome back to Miss Universe, one of several shows still on the air where we rank women. But it's not what you think—we do it based off of looks." Welp when you put it that way :/ In our humble little opinion, it's hard to believe that the conformist, objectifying, and sometimes downright exploitative "beauty contest" business—perpetuated by the likes of Donald Trump and P.T. Barnum (yep, the circus guy)—is still a thing. Beauty pageants can be prettyyyyyyy cringe, but are they dangerously cultish? This week, Amanda and Isa aim to figure that out! To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Did the first episode of HBO Max's Sex And The City reboot turn you off of Peloton? That makes one of us. This week, Amanda and Isa unpack the fanatical riders, worshipped instructors, and dystopian nature of the highly fetishized fitness brand that has been described as “SoulCycle via Zoom.” Peloton is definitely hardcore, but does that make it dangerous? With the help of insightful listener call-ins, your hosts explore just that. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you so much to our sponsors! To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to modernfertility.com/CULT.  Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT.

Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, and Daniel Radcliffe are all survivors of today's "cult," and so is our guest, Mara Wilson, star of 1990s cinematic classics like Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire. Mara was only five years old when she started appearing in major commercials, and the next ten years of her life were a dream come true—full of glamour and accolades... and intense pressures, isolation, creepy stalkers, and other shocking experiences that make the world of child stars seem VERY culty. This week, with Mara's help, Amanda and Isa attempt to figure out if this secretive wing of the entertainment industry—responsible for what former child star Alyson Stoner once called the "toddler to trainwreck pipeline"—is as cult-like as it seems. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, donate to Isa’s fundraiser or visit our website, click here!  Thank you so much to our sponsors! Download SmartNews for free today in the app store! To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to cerebral.com/cult. 

In 2005, this week's guest Sarah Edmondson joined what she thought was a personal development program devoted to helping her overcome her "limiting beliefs." Little did she know it'd turn out to be one of the most notorious and scrutinized groups of all time, NXIVM. "Self-Help" is a distinctly optimistic American pursuit and a majorly profitable industry. Sooo many culty groups start out with the innocent promise of helping their members become their best self. This gray area between positive self-improvement program and dangerous sect is exactly what hosts Isa and Amanda discuss on this week's can't-miss episode with Sarah, host of the podcast A Little Bit Culty and star of The Vow on HBO (Season 2 streaming now!). To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsors! Get 10% off your first OSEA order sitewide with code CULT at OSEAMalibu.com Visit ritual.com/CULT to start Ritual or add Synbiotic+ to your subscription today. Sounds like a Cult is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.

Allegations of right-wing dogma, unquestioned power dynamics, charismatic leaders, freaky rituals, and physical abuse... are we talking about a serious cult or the Boy Scouts of America? Potato, po-tah-toe? That's the question on the docket this week, as Amanda and Isa dissect this prestigious but potentially sinister after-school organization for all-American boys. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsor, ZocDoc! Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.

Motherhood is hard, lonely, and exhausting... except, apparently, if you're a momfluencer. Since the mid-2000s, a crop of seemingly perfect, all-knowing mommy goddesses in billowy tunics have emerged on social media—and we can't help but feel that their highly monetizable (often misinformation-ridden) internet presences basically exist to make other moms feel less than. This week, with the help of journalist and real-life mother Sara Petersen, author of the forthcoming book MOMFLUENCED, Isa and Amanda spill the (organic, non-toxic, totally baby-safe) tea about how famous internet moms have become their own kind of 21st Century cult leader. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you so much to our sponsor, Modern Fertility! To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to modernfertility.com/CULT. 

The end of the world... but make it cute and consumerist! "Preppers" are the latest iteration of doomsday survivalists, who band together on social media to talk canning, stockpiling, and first aid, but also multi-million-dollar bunkers in rural New Zealand?? Um, yeah, there are also billionaire preppers, and if the apocalypse weren't coming already, these guys are definitely speeding up the process. This week, Isa and Amanda are unpacking the so-called "doom boom" to judge how cultishly bananas (freeze-dried, obvi) modern-day "prepping" has gotten.  To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you so much to our sponsor, Cerebral! To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to cerebral.com/cult. 

The stigma around the green text bubble alone could ruin a man's life. How has Apple's secretiveness, superiority complex, and (admitted) marketing genius put our culture's social dynamics and behaviors in such a chokehold? In this week's much-anticipated 'sode, Amanda and Isa analyze how Apple built not just a multi-trillion-dollar tech business, but a "cult" (allegedly!!!), and spoiler alert: We're all a part of it, whether we like it or not. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

We’re baaaaaaack! We can barely record an episode of this podcast without a snack, so how are millions of people supposed to escape the "cult" of dieting when its mission is to keep everyone hungry, tired, and riddled with self-loathing? Let's count the red flags: a strictly controlled eating regimen, shame and peer pressure up the wazoo, false promises, hidden costs, viciously addictive cycles that offer no exit strategy... um, how is diet culture *not* a cult? In our highly requested relaunch episode, Amanda and Isa analyze the dangerous (and highly profitable) "cult" of dieting with special guest, actress and host of the I Weigh podcast, Jameela Jamil. To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Thank you to our sponsor! Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE Diet Culture Resources: Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings: https://nyupress.org/9781479886753/fearing-the-black-body/ What We Don't Talk about When We Talk About Fat Aubrey Gordon: https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-we-don-t-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-fat-aubrey-gordon/14443277  The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor: https://www.sonyareneetaylor.com/the-body-is-not-an-apology  I Weigh Community: https://iweighcommunity.com/  Hooked by Michael Moss: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/246273/hooked-by-michael-moss/  NRP diet culture article: https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1067210075/what-if-the-best-diet-is-to-reject-diet-culture  Diet culture podcasts: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/arts/podcasts-diets-healthy-living.html 

Remember the Juniper Latte? Wasn't it just about the strangest thing you ever tasted? Yet, you still came back. Some might say you couldn't help yourself. This week, Amanda and Isa *roast* Starbucks’s “cult following”—the coffee religion with a church on every street corner—from its savvy marketing tactics and insider-y vocabulary to its addictive beverages and behind-the-scenes corporate ~vibes~. With a Starbucks cup in hand, comedian Jade Catta-Preta adds an extra shot of espresso to this episode as our very special guest. Tickets to Isa's Live Shows in NYC & DC: https://linktr.ee/isaamedinaaTickets to Sounds Like A Cult Live in LA, Sunday, Dec. 4: https://www.dynastytypewriter.com/events-calendar?loxi_pathname=/sounds-like-a-cult-live-3418 Thank you to our sponsors: Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult. Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50 Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/cult.

A cabal of black-robed elites who preside, unquestioned, over all our rights and freedoms… hmmm… sounds like a dang cult to us! Isa and Amanda are getting *judicial* this week to analyze the “cult” of The Supreme Court with NYU law professor and host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Melissa Murray. Just in time for voting season! Check out voting resources below for this year's upcoming midterm elections. Register to vote, learn about your local elections, and make a plan – resources below! Midterms cheat sheet: https://www.generatorcollective.com/ Vote Save America: https://votesaveamerica.com/be-a-voter/ Get tickets to see Sounds Like A Cult live and in-person in Los Angeles on 12/4! https://www.dynastytypewriter.com Link to Isa's upcoming NYC comedy show here! Thank you to our sponsors: For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.  

Happy Cultyweeeeeeen! Our favorite holiday at Sounds Like A Cult is here, and to celebrate the spooky season, we’re asking: What could be more frightful than a haunted house dedicated to pushing an oppressive right-wing religious agenda onto high school kids just trying to have a good time? That’s the topic on Amanda and Isa’s minds this week for our very festive ‘sode on the “cult” of Hell Houses, a phenomenon that is somehow even scarier than it sounds…. Get tickets to Sounds Like A Cult’s first live in-person show in Los Angeles, Sunday, December 4th! https://www.dynastytypewriter.com/events-calendar?loxi_pathname=/sounds-like-a-cult-live-3418 Thank you to our sponsors. Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE Athletic Greens Is giving you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CULT

I was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes: If Taylor told her Swifties to kill a man, they would. They would kill a man for Taylor, because her music means *that* much to them. But the "cult" of country-pop sensation Taylor Swift is not just about the music. It's about the Swiftie community, the rituals, the beliefs, the aesthetic, and (of course) Taylor's cult of personality. This extreme fandom definitely seems classically culty, but is it dangerous just because it's fanatical? That's the question on Amanda and Isa's agenda today, and they've solicited pop culture connoisseur Jill Gutowitz, author of the essay collection GIRLS CAN KISS NOW, to help them figure it out.  Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/cult to get up to forty dollars off your first box!  Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 15% off when you go to LIQUIDIV.COM and use code cult at checkout. Frame your photos or send someone the perfect gift today at Framebridge.com.

Summer 2022, it seemed like everyone and their cult leader was *devouring* the TV show The Bear: an inside look at the hierarchical, co-dependent, misfit-ridden, sometimes downright abusive—but also totally transcendent—“cult” of restaurant kitchen culture. This week, Amanda and Isa are chatting with Matty Matheson, a big-time chef and cast member of the show, for a no holds barred analysis of the culty power dynamics and rituals found in the world of knives, remoulades, shift drinks, “family meal,” and everyone screaming “behind!!!!” Get Tickets to Isa's Live Comedy Shows Here: https://linktr.ee/isaamedinaa Attend Amanda's Live Book Events: http://amandamontell.com/events/ Thank to our sponsors: Dipsea: Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial at: DipseaStories.com/CULT Honey: Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult. ​BetterHelp: ​When you want to be a better problem solver, therapy can get you there. Visit BetterHelp​.​com​/​CULT today to get 10% off your first month​. Daily Harvest: Go to DAILYHARVEST​.​com​/​cult to get up to forty dollars off your first box! 

Cults tend to thrive during times of broader cultural questioning and turmoil, when institutional support seems to be failing so alternative groups swoop in to offer solutions to the world’s most urgent problems. War, famine, healthcare crisis. Hmmm… sounds not unlike the nonprofit industry, no? This week, Amanda and Isa look into the language, background, and structure of the nonprofit industry to try and figure out how cultishly sus it might be 👀  Get 20% off at honeylove.com with the code CULT.  Right now, get up to 55% off your subscription when you go to babbel.com/CULT. Get Honey for FREE at joinhoney.com/cult Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

We've all joked about Gwyneth Paltrow's *candle.* But does this boho Hollywood elitist girlboss ever go too far? (As in, cult leader far?) This week, Amanda and Isa unpack the charismatic movie star’s ever-roastable wellness empire, Goop, and how its "cult" status may be a cause for concern, with extremely special guests Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan, hosts of the Gloss Angeles podcast (glossangelespod.com / @glossangelespod). Head to FentySkin.com and use code CULT20 for 20% off a Start'rs Bundle, OG, or Fragrance-Free. For listeners of the show, Everlywell is offering a special discount of 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 15% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code cult at checkout. Get started today - frame your photos or send someone the perfect gift. Go to Framebridge.com and use promo code CULT to save an additional 15% off your first order

If you don’t worship at the altar of this week’s “cult,” then simply sashay away! One of the most intense, vicious, fabulous reality TV fandoms in history is that of the competition show that put drag queens on the mainstream map: RuPaul’s Drag Race. Season 6 and All-Star queen BenDeLaCreme joins Isa and Amanda to offer an inside look at the most cult-like aspects of Drag Race, from the time she was physically stalked by a fan to the producers’ truly bonkers manipulation techniques. The tea is piping hot!!! For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50 Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Did you know Dr. Phil is not actually a medical doctor?? When “physicians” like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, and Dr. Drew are elevated to TV star status, followers flock to their “wisdom” to feel safe in a society whose healthcare system is seriously lacking. But should doctors really be treated like rock stars? In pursuit of fame and fortune, these famous medical professionals def find themselves in a borderline cult leader-ish role. This week, Isa and Amanda chat with Buzzfeed culture reporter and host of the Scamfluencers podcast Scaachi Koul to figure out just how sus these docs really are. Head to FentySkin.com and use code CULT20 for 20% off a Start'rs Bundle, OG, or Fragrance-Free. Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Weddings: Filled to the brim with ritualistic ceremonies, patriarchal traditions, power abuse, bank-breaking costs, conformist uniforms, and false promises galore...sound familiar? Sounds like a freakin CULT to us. This week: Amanda and Isa discuss wedding ceremonies and the lengths people will go to for the "best day of their life" with writer, author of "Trick Mirror," and professional wedding critic, Jia Tolentino. This is Isa's Parent's flower business! danisaflowers.com Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Go to DadGrass.com/CULT for 20% off your first order.

Welcome to our life-changing, missional, intentional ministry for young people from all walks of life to strengthen their faith in Christ while having soooo much fun!! Evangelical youth groups (think: Young Life, Teen Mania Ministries, etc.) love-bomb vulnerable adolescent recruits into joining the Christian “cool” kids—a place where they’re promised to find both earthly acceptance and heavenly salvation—only to manipulate and indoctrinate them with oppressive, homophobic, legitimately terrifying dogma and providing zero exit strategy. Sounds. Like. A. Damn. Cult!!! This week, Amanda and Isa chat with former youth group kid turned TikTok comedy sensation Kevin James Thornton to unpack the cult-like tactics and ideology of Christian youth organizations. (Don’t worry, culties, a Jewish youth groups episode is coming l8er!!) https://www.kevinjamesthornton.com/ Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE.

The Kardashians: a harmlessly entertaining reality TV family or a dynastic conformist controlling cabal of K-named cult leaders? In this ~intense~ episode, Isa and Amanda chat with comedian and New Yorker writer Meg Indurti to unpack the cult-like influence of America’s most (in)famous family. Major Devil’s Avocado energy this week! Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or you can get 15% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code cult at checkout. Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Our listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting our sponsor BetterHelp at BetterHelp.com/cult

We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of trauma. Yikes doesn’t even begin to describe this unregulated cult-like industry, which was originally inspired by the destructive cult Amanda’s dad grew up in, Synanon, and somehow hasn’t been shut down yet. Many disturbing stories await you this week!! Source/further reading: “I Was Forced To Sculpt My Rape”: What Is Happening Inside The Troubled Teen Industry? By ELIZABETH GULINO: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/06/10401693/troubled-teens-programs-industry-problem Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners twenty percent off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Dad Grass is offering our listeners 20% off your first order when you go to DADGRASS.COM/CULT Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

For the last week of Cult Girl Summer, another juicy bonus episode: This time, Isa and Amanda are listening and reacting to unaired voice messages from our loyalest listeners—our beloved “culties”—who called into the show to comment on our Season 2 cults of the week (from Disney Adults to theatre kids). We’ll be back with regularly slated episodes next week, but in the meantime, check out Isa’s live comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (details on Instagram @isaamedinaa) and Amanda’s book CULTISH: The Language of Fanaticism (available in hardback, ebook, and audiobook wherever you buy books)!

A much-requested Part 2 to continue Cult Girl Summer. Our 12-Step Program episode sparked much debate, and we quickly determined we’d need to continue the conversation about how “culty” these addiction recovery groups can be. Inspired by our most engaged culties, here is our first-ever follow-up episode. Many thanks to the listeners who generously called in for this one! For further reading on this subject, check out the study, “Exiting Alcoholics Anonymous disappointed: A qualitative analysis of the experiences of ex-members of AA” (there’s a free PDF version on ResearchGate) and the 2018 Vox article, “Why some people swear by Alcoholics Anonymous — and others despise it.” Athletic Greens Is giving you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CULT

How much would you risk in pursuit of perfection? It’s another installment of “Cult Girl Summer” bonus content. This week, Amanda and Isa speak candidly (like reallllllly candidly) about a glamorous and life-threatening industry that sucks you in with promises of beauty and never lets you out: Plastic surgery—featuring very special guest, Emmy-nominated comedian/actress, Sydnee Washington!  Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/CULT

A flirty little topic for another installment of Cult Girl Summer: five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are airing unfiltered cult conversations, behind the scenes tidbits, much-requested Part 2s, and more. This week, Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, co-hosts of the bachelor recap podcast Love to See It, are joining for a truly *cathartic* conversation about a group that reels in its members with the promise of love and human connection, only to deceive them and make it next to impossible to leave. The cult of dating apps, of course!

Welcome to Cult Girl Summer, five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are sharing unfiltered cult convos, footage from the cutting room floor, much-requested Part 2s, and more. Kicking off this juicy summer vibe is an episode to help listeners get to know the “cult” of Sounds Like A Cult a little bit better: This week, Amanda and Isa are answering your most frequently asked questions: Who we are, how we make the show, what “cults” to expect in future episodes, and beyond.

Known to her loyalists as the “spiritual catalyst” but to her critics as the “suicide catalyst,” New Age influencer Teal Swan is a controversial 30-something self-help guru who some say has saved lives and others say has ended them. Having launched a social media career in the mid-2000s (and still going strong), Swan doesn’t post about beauty products and travel inspo but rather spiritual-meets-“scientific” teachings on a wide range of topics from addiction to chakras to vaccines to suicide. Some of her most committed adherents follow her down to Costa Rica to experience her shady self-actualization techniques IRL. Swan is the subject of the new Hulu docuseries The Deep End, based on the fascinating 2018 podcast The Gateway, which was created and hosted by this week’s guest, Jennings Brown, who’s here to talk with Amanda and Isa about the fanatical “cult” Swan has built online. Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult. For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. For listeners of the show, Everlywell is offering a special discount of 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT.

From his Jesus-like hair, erratic on-set antics, and fanatical 30 Seconds to Mars music fandom to his glazed-over sexual assault allegations and literal in-person cult compound, Jared Leto basically represents every possible meaning of the word “cult,” from the cheeky to the gravely serious. He may have Hollywood’s support in the way of an Oscar and desirable roles like the Joker, and many of his music stans worship him enough to follow him off the grid, but Jared Leto might be inching from “cult-followed” celebrity closer to full-blown cult leader. This week, with the help of listener tips, Isa and Amanda are here to untangle the story. In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code CULT50

From The Yale Whiffenpoofs to Pitch Perfect’s Barden Bellas, a cappella groups are not just your average band, they are a *family*, like a cross between fraternities and theatre kids. Crooning Top 40 covers in tight harmonies might sound like the most innocent way to commune... but can these seemingly wholesome, aggressively punny groups be sketchier than they seem? Amanda and Isa chat with an aca-mazing guest, Dani Calleiro—ex-member of the cult-followed YouTube a cappella band, Cimorelli—to get to the base note (sorry) of this week’s “cult.” In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT

Anonymity, prayers, sitting in a circle and sharing your deepest secrets and traumas, an intimate mentor program… is it a cult or a 12-step program? This week, Isa and Amanda are joined by comedian JF Harris to discuss groups like AA, NA, and OA whose ritualistic approach to addiction recovery is definitely culty… but is it a LYL, a WYB, or a GTFO? In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult   For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts!

From voraciously consuming gruesome podcasts by the dozen to amateur sleuthing gone wrong to fetishizing dangerous killers, the world of true crime definitely has a cult following… but does it ever go too far? This episode was chosen by our listener giveaway winner and features New York Times true crime columnist and author Sarah Weinman to discuss the good, bad, and the culty of fanatical true crime fandom. (P.S. Amanda and Isa have newfound respect for true crime podcasters… turns out, violent butcherings are easy enough to listen to, but almost impossible to talk about in public without wanting to puke a wee bit.) (P.P.S! In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult) Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult for up to forty dollars off your first box! Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT

Fast Fashion (think: brands like Forever21, Zara, and Shein) could be described as an industry that takes high-end clothing designs and makes them quick and cheap for the masses. Or, if you look at it from a cult angle, it could be described as an international conspiracy that preys on the dreams, insecurities, and pleasure-seeking brain chemistry of mostly young women, while weaponizing social media to create a bottomless sense of co-dependence in order to make as much money as possible and will stop at nothing—worker exploitation, environmental destruction—in order to keep people in that profitable vicious cycle. Which one is closer to the truth? This week, Isa and Amanda interview Leah Thomas, the founder and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist, to find out… Listeners can get 65% off their first month of medication management and care counseling at Cerebreal.com/Cult Head to MeritBeauty.com/cult to get a free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. 

Co-host Isa joined the “cult” of stand-up comedy four years ago in LA but didn’t realize until we started this podcast how culty it really was. Recorded live at the first-ever Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival, this week’s long-awaited episode features Isa and Amanda interviewing a very special guest—comedian and creator/star of “Feel Good” on Netflix, Mae Martin—about the hidden hierarchies, secret due-paying, exclusion, delusion, silencing, in-group lingo and rituals, AND (of course) the hilarity, magic, and close community of stand-up comedy.  Go to Grove.com/Cult to get a free gift set worth up to fifty dollars with your first order. For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult Athletic Greens Is giving you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CULT

The New York Times described him as “at once a capitalist hero, a glossy magazine celebrity and a bomb-throwing troll.” Multi-billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, best known for his high-stakes investments in companies from PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX to Neurolink, is seen as not just a businessman to his nearly 90 million Twitter followers, but as a rockstar, influencer, and Christlike savior sent from the heavens to save the world. On the heels of his fancy new purchase of Twitter, Amanda and Isa discuss Musk’s cult charisma, his army of Musketeers, and what his rise to cult-leader-ish power says about our culture at large. Thanks to all our loyal culties who called in to lend their insight to this episode! Sign up for your free two-week trial at Monday.com/podcast.  Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts!

POV: You work at Denny's. It's 12 AM. You want to go home. And from outside you hear it... your worst nightmare: 40 pairs of hungry footsteps and an acapella intro to Grease's Summer Nights. In this episode, with the help of stage actor and Tik Tok sensation Tyler Joseph Ellis, Isa and Amanda dig into Theatre Kid (yes, spelled “re”) culture—the rituals and superstitions, the cliques and power structures—to see just how far a teenager will go to live out their High School Musical dream. For a limited time, new users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/CULT  Listeners can get 65% off their first month of medication management and care counseling at cerebral.com/Cult.  Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult. 

Lavender can cure headaches and tea tree oil can clear your acne (and heal Covid/your whole life)? The cult of essential oils blurs the line between fact and fiction and this week, Amanda and Isa team up with a special guest, Buzzfeed reporter Stephanie McNeal, to learn about these controversial little potions, their “cult following,” and the snake oil salespeople who weaponize them. Head to MeritBeauty.com/CULT to get their free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult for up to forty dollars off your first box! Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Listeners get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/CULT 

The life-changing magic of tidying up gave a shiny new rebrand to age-old ideas that owning less stuff can be connected to enlightenment... but are there people taking the "cult" of *minimalism* too far? Can stripping down your material possessions actually cure the sorrow and ennui of contemporary existence? Isa and Amanda chat with Joshua & Ryan, "cult leaders" of The Minimalists website, podcast, and documentary, and more to find out...  https://www.theminimalists.com/   For a limited time, new users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/cult  Go to Cerebral.com/CULT for 65% off your first month. Go to Grove.com/CULT to get a free gift set worth up to fifty dollars with your first order. For 50% off your first Care/of order of $40 or more, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50

Did you know PhD actually stands for “Probably Heavily in Debt” and “Pretty Heavily Depressed”? Jk (or are we?). This week, Isa and Amanda delve into the mahogany-walled “cult” academia, where hierarchies, elitism, financial exploitation, hidden crimes, false promises, and weird robes are just part of the gig. Comedian, writer, and PhD adjunct professor Amy Silverberg joins us to discuss her experience being both a leader and a follower of this prestigious “cult.”   For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT.  Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! Listeners get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/CULT 

Blackout dates, Genie lines, Magic Keys, Storyliving, DCP, D23... If any of these terms got you feeling some kind of way, you're likely in "cult" of Disney Adults. Grownups who worship an iconic mouse have established themselves as one of the most fanatical fandoms out there, but how dangerously culty are these Disney-inspired behaviors and rituals, *really*? To find out, co-hosts Amanda and Isa solicit the help of many passionate listener call-ins and special guest, cheeky Disney influencer Francis Dominic @francisdominiic.   Go to MeritBeauty.com/CULT to get their free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  Sounds Like A Cult listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/CULT

Serums, lasers, influencer skincare routines, oh my! There seems to be no end to how many expensive products and techniques are promised to keep us looking “eternally youthful”... but are these products *really* the miracles they claim to be? Do we *need* skincare at all? And isn’t the promise of aesthetic immortality kinda culty in the first place? This week, co-hosts Amanda (recovering beauty editor) and Isa (often forgets to wash her face) are joined by skincare critic Jessica DeFino and celebrity skincare expert Renée Rouleau to discuss the pros and cons of skincare’s “cult following.” https://www.jessica-defino.com/ Go to JoinHoney.com/CULT to start getting sweet deals for free! Get 10% off your first order with promo code CULT at OseaMalibu.com New users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/CULT

Veganism isn’t just a diet, it‘s not just a lifestyle, it’s a whole identity, aesthetic, community, religion, and even a career for some people… like our special guest, Lauren Toyota, creator of “hot for food,” a vegan blog, YouTube channel, and series of cookbooks. Veganism has a cultish reputation, but with Lauren’s help, Amanda and Isa unpack all the upsides and downsides of this seemingly “extreme” way of life to determine what the cultiest aspects of veganism really are (especially in the age of social media) and what they say about us all.  Check out Lauren's Blog: https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/   Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult to get up to $40 off your first box! 

Defrauded Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has become the subject of countless books, podcasts, documentaries, and now the brand new scripted Hulu series, The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried. Holmes's cult of personality—everything from her sociopath-chic Steve Jobs cosplay to her roster of Star Wars quotes (delivered in that mysteriously affected low voice) to her tyrannical lying and exploitation—has made her more than just your dime-a-dozen tech bro scammer. How did Holmes cultivate such a cult following among Silicon Valley investors, and now, why are true crime junkies so inordinately obsessed with her case? This week, with the help of listener call-ins, Amanda and Isa unpack the notorious grifter's zealous qualities to determine whether she really was more of a cult leader than a con artist, and if so, was her “cult” a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out? For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT

This week, with the help of special guest Dan Savage (relationships advice columnist and host of the Savage Lovecast), Isa and Amanda are talking about cults of one: toxic relationships. How are toxic lovers (and friends and bosses) similar to cult leaders? What cult-like tactics do these “charismatic” abusers use to lure people in and make them stay? This illuminating episode proves all you need to understand followers of groups like NXIVM and Scientology, is what it feels like to fall in love…   Follow Dan on Instagram: @dansavage

A 2015 Harvard Divinity School study reported that among many young people, CrossFit has become a bonafide new religion. So much more than a gym, these dark-walled “boxes” full of jacked Paleo dieters flipping tires have become sites of community and transcendence (and a source of billions in revenue). But... how did CrossFit gain such a “cult” following? And what are the dangers? This week, Amanda and Isa discuss the fitness phenomenon’s hulking appeal.   Get 10% off your first order with promo code CULT at OSEAmalibu.com. You’ll get free samples with every order, and orders over $50 get free shipping.

A pseudo-family dynamic, decades-long commitments, physical peril, members who "would literally die for" their leader (coach): Competitive cheerleading is not just an off-the-beaten-path sport, it's a *lifestyle*... and this week, co-hosts Amanda and Isa get the inside scoop on this modern-day “cult” from special guest Morgan Simianer, star of CHEER, Netflix’s the smash-hit documentary series about the top college cheer program in the USA.   For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT

If you have an Instagram account, you’ve probably seen those beautifully curated infographics explaining "trauma,” “attachment theory,” and "boundaries" in 100 words or less... but when does mass-disseminating parasocial mental health advice on social media become cultish? This juicy episode dives into the world of Instagram therapists: mental health experts (and self-proclaimed “experts”) who have taken our era’s desperate need for accessible therapy and spun it into an influencer career.

Trader Joe's, the most beloved "neighborhood grocery store" in America, has a super-loyal "cult following"... a sentiment that needs no explanation. The limited-edition niche products (like cookie butter and lemon ricotta), kitschy nautical aesthetic, and ridiculously friendly employees have spawned a generation of obsessed customers, who will wait in the rain, sleet, and snow to shop at TJs and spend hours connecting with other fanatics in TJ lovers Facebook groups. But is there a more sinister side to the "cult" of Trader Joe's? Are their corporate practices shady? Why *are* their employees so nice? With the help of sooo many Reddit forums and even more listener call-ins, Isa and Amanda investigate...     Follow us on Instagram: @soundslikeacultpod, and hosts @isaamedinaa and @amanda_montell

We're back and more culty than ever! Sounds Like A Cult, your favorite comedy-cult podcast about the modern-day “cults” we all follow, is relaunching on a weekly basis thanks to our new partnership with All Things Comedy. This time around, we're bringing you even more of the zeitgeisty cults you want to hear about, including Trader Joe’s, diet culture, Instagram Therapists, and more. If you’re interested in exploring the everyday groups and gurus that have made our culture so zealous and divided, but also want to laugh and hang out and not feel so bummed out all the time, then this is the show for you! Make sure to follow us wherever you get your pods so you know as soon as new episodes drop; we'll be back sooner than you might think ;) 

We're going weekly!

On theme for Thanksgiving, we've got a bonus episode for you on the "cult" of America's most zealously worshipped, physically hazardous sport: NFL football. One might imagine the typical all-American family spending their Sunday mornings at church followed by a football game, often complete with alcohol-fueled tailgating and rivalrous smack-talking, conformist fan jerseys, and group chants, all of which are certainly "culty" behaviors in a comparatively innocent sense... but does the "cult" of the NFL get darker than that, both for fans and players? This week, we're discussing it all with the help of a very special expert guest, ESPN sports anchor Elle Duncan. Follow us on instagram @soundslikeacultpod, and hosts @isaamedinaa and @amanda_montell.

In the wake of the zealously consumed LuLaRich docuseries on Amazon Prime, we’re releasing a bonus episode on the leggings multilevel marketing company that shook American suburban boss babes throughout the 2010s: LuLaRoe. Ex-MLMers (and fascinated docuseries viewers) keep saying LuLaRoe is nothing but a massive “cult”… but is it really? And if so, how bad is it? This week, we’re unpacking all the culty elements of this fanatically followed group with the help of a special guest: former LuLaRoe retailer Roberta Blevins, who identifies as the company’s “public enemy #1” and who you might recognize from the LuLaRich docuseries or her own “cult-followed” podcast Life After MLM. Follow us on socials! @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell  @isaamedinaa

Season 2 of Sounds Like A Cult is coming December 7th! We are so grateful for all you loyal Culties who tuned in to Season 1 and sent us scores of suggestions for Season 2 “cults” of the week. We have a juicy, thought-provoking lineup of zeitgeisty “cults” on deck (from Landmark, to Disney adults, to CrossFit), as well as some extra special guests, so make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to your pods to get notified as soon as we’re back. In the meantime, stay culty, but not toooooooo culty ;)

Super-wealthy motivational speaker Tony Robbins physically towers over his thousands of adoring acolytes, boasting a booming voice and omniscient life advice about everything from love to business to trauma, which he espouses at his world-famous conferences… but in light of recent abuse allegations, his cult status is starting to look a lot more predatory than inspiring. Special guest Kate Kennedy of the Be There In Five podcast joins us this week to unpack the cult of motivational speaking and Tony Robbins, discussing peer pressure and forced vulnerability, the connection between Robbins and disgraced self-improvement star Rachel Hollis, and so much more.

Omg, is mercury in retrograde?? Or is this week’s episode analyzing the “cult” of astrology just *that* intense? Co-hosts Amanda (Aquarius) and Isa (Pisces) didn’t realize how little they truly knew about the culture of zodiac signs and horoscopes until discussing with special guest, Jessica Lanyadoo, an astrologer, medium, and podcaster, who’s here to illuminate the culty aspects of astrology in the age of social media (both for good and for ill), explain what astrology even is in the first place, and play a few rounds of “Guess That Cult Leader’s Sun, Moon, and Rising.

One of our favorite topics to date: In this can’t-miss episode, we’re unpacking the wave of trendy evangelical church groups (like Hillsong, Mosaic, and Churchome), which use Silicon Valley-savvy marketing, celebrity endorsements, charismatic pastors, and a slew of doubtlessly culty recruitment techniques and power structures in an attempt to make Christ “cool” for masses of modern young people. Here to help us understand the cultishness of hipster Christianity is special guest Grace Baldridge, a musician and documentarian behind Refinery29’s “State of Grace” series, which tackles faith, queerness, and American culture. Be sure to follow @GraceBaldridge on Instagram!

Welcome to the world of fitness trackers, high-performance athletic gear, nutrition goo, obsessively comparing your stats, and trying to  beat your PR… it’s the “cult” of marathoners. Is the seemingly healthy practice of running as pure as it‘s made out to be, or can it take over people’s lives in a disturbingly culty way? With the help of a special guest, fitness influencer (and Isa’s comedy pal) Lydia Keating, we’re talking all things athletics, competition, capitalism, and Tik Tok to try and assess how cultish the running community really is.

A slightly NSFW episode of your favorite cult podcast comes courtesy of this week’s two special guests: the ever-so-charismatic podcaster/writer Gaby Dunn and actor/sex worker Bree Essrig, who both have experience with the “cult” of foot fetishists. Most of our episodes focus on seemingly harmless groups that might actually be more sinister than they appear, and this one’s all about a seemingly freaky, underground community that might actually be quite positive! After listening, be sure to follow Gaby and Bree on Instagram @gabyroad and @breeessrig, subscribe to Gaby’s pods Just Between Us & Bad With Money, and feel free to check out Bree on Only Fans :)

Ask and you shall receive! This week, we’re covering our single most listener-requested topic: The “cult” of multi-level marketing (aka MLMs). Most of us have a former high school classmate or two who got sucked into a pay-and-recruit organization like Amway, Mary Kay, or Young Living. MLMs are at once the butt of countless jokes about pyramid schemes and brainwashed #girlbosses, and yet they maintain a profound hold on a certain slice of aspiring entrepreneurs, who’ve been promised that some shadily structured “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” will guarantee them the American Dream (and more). MLMs are certainly scammy, but are they culty? And if so, what kind of “cult” are they? In this episode, we attempt to find an answer...

“Why does it feel like everything that has to do with tradition is actually a cult?” Such is one of our many musings from this week’s episode on the “cult” of Greek life. We call it “hazing” and “pledges” rather than “brainwashing” and “cult members,” but aren’t these highly exclusive groups with unchallenged power imbalances and bizarre often dangerous (even deadly) rituals—whose culture of “paying your dues” bleeds into the rest of American society—not low-key just a deep-rooted “cult” dressed up as a socially accepted college “experience?” With the help of listener call-ins, insightful facts and figures, and Isa’s own personal sorority stories, that is just the question we’re aiming to answer...

Intense secrecy and exclusivity, unquestioned protocols and rituals, deception, isolation, hierarchies, and soooo much money… nope, we’re not talking about Satanism or Scientology, we’re talking about The Royal Family! ;) This week, with the help of brilliant British journalist Afua Adom, Isa and Amanda attempt to unpack the Meghan Markle interview and other windows in the centuries-old monarchy to determine how “culty” it really is.

These days, the lines between celebrity, religious figure, political leader, lifestyle guru, and best friend have blurred so hardcore that enthusiastic celebrity fans have morphed into a whole new kind of beast: rabidly loyal, obsessed stans. Is worshipping and defending megastars like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Elon Musk a harmless pop culture phenomenon, or is it decidedly cultier than that? On this episode, Amanda and Isa analyze the “cult” of celebrity stan culture with the help of insightful and hilarious listener call-ins. Which celebrity do you think has the most extreme stans? And does that make them a “cult leader” of sorts??

We always thought of “flat earthers” as nothing but a bunch of spoofable Devil advocates with too much time on their hands... but after closer examination, this community of conspiratorial believers sounds a whole lot more like a cult. In this episode, we engage in an enlightening, guffaw-worthy interview with Abbie Richards (@tofology), a Tik Tok sensation known for her knowledge of conspiracy theories and misinformation, to try and determine how destructive the flat earth community *really* is.

A heavily controlled, totally isolated group of polygamists who worship one charismatic figure and aren’t allowed to read magazines, watch TV, or speak to their families… is this a cult or the most popular reality dating show in history? This week on Sounds Like A Cult, we’re discussing the “cult” of The Bachelor Franchise with a very special guest, former contestant Kendall Long… and she did not hold back. We got the juicy inside scoop on how culty The Bachelor *really* is to try and figure out whether this objectively bizarre pop culture phenomenon is a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out-level “cult.”

SoulCycle is without question a “cult-followed” brand, but is this exclusive boutique workout studio actually more insidious than that? This week, resident cult skeptic Amanda and real-life SoulCycle attendee Isa engage in a hilarious, well-informed debate about the intense, inspiring (and potential sinister) cult of SoulCycle to try and figure out what category along the cult spectrum it falls into: Live Your Life, Watch Your Back, or Get the Fuck Out?

This is Sounds Like A Cult, a podcast about the zeitgeisty cults that have inducted us all—from SoulCycle and Peloton to spiritual influencers to fraternities and sororities to flat earth conspiracy theorists, and beyond. Each episode, your co-hosts Isa and Amanda discuss a different modern-day “cult,” and with the help of guests, games, and legitimate research, we attempt to answer the big question: this group *sounds* like a cult, but is it really? And if so, what category of cult does it fall into? Live Your Life, Watch Your Back, or Get the Fuck Out. Here’s a sneak peek of the show, premiering June 1…

Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about Elon Musk stans? Or the Royal Family? What about spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like a Cult, a podcast about the modern day cults we all follow. Join us every week as we analyze a different zeitgeisty group to try and answer the big question: This group sounds like a cult, but is it really? And if so, how bad is it...? 1) Live your life, 2) Watch Your Back or 3) Get the f*ck out !