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-aspirat ... Show More
Jul 8
The Cult of America's Next Top Model
This week, Chelsea, Amanda, and guest Sarah Hartshorne (@sarahbhartshorne) dig into the high-gloss, high-drama, and disturbingly high-control world of America’s Next Top Model. Once hailed as a launchpad for aspiring models, the long-running franchise masked emotional manipulatio ... Show More
1h 21m
Jul 1
The Cult of Elon Musk (Part 2)
What happens when a billionaire tech mogul starts to look less like a CEO and more like a modern-day messiah? This week, Chelsea, Amanda, and Reese team up with historian and authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) to explore the cult of personality surrounding Elo ... Show More
1h 12m
Jan 2024
cultish, a talk with amanda montell (revisit) [video]
[video available on spotify] today i present to you, amanda montell: a writer, linguist, and fellow podcast host. amanda has written three books. one of them, the age of magical overthinking, is about to come out. today i want to zoom in on one of our many common interests. she w ... Show More
50m 58s
Jul 2024
Crowd Favorite: Magic Mike and Girl Scouts (Channing, Call Us)
Why *wouldn’t* we revisit any entertainment property—this podcast ep included—starring Channing Tatum?! Behold, one of last year’s hits, for your (re-?)listening pleasure. What do the critics have to say about Magic Mike? Here’s Shirley Li at The Atlantic, Emma Specter at Vogue, ... Show More
41m 49s
May 2023
Destiny: Rev. Jim Willis, American Cults, Cabal, Corruptions and Charismatic Leaders
America has spawned hundreds of cults. Charismatic leaders periodically burst into the news for the most awful of reasons. We are awash with stories of brainwashed members’ struggles to leave. Meet the messianic leaders, see the indoctrination and manipulation, look at their beli ... Show More
1h 8m
Dec 2023
378 - Zombies, White Camps, and Murder: The Story of Lori Vallow
I know - this episode is a long one! I tried to cut as much as I could that didn't feel relevant to tell this tale. I really did! There's just so much juicy stuff. So many strange, STRANGE details. Lori evolved, over the course of her adult life, from a manipulative person who wa ... Show More
3h 13m
May 2024
How Romantic Socialization Has F*cked Us Up with Kara Loewentheil
It’s not you…it’s the brain gap. In this eye-opening episode with author/life coach/podcaster Kara Loewentheil, we’re unpacking what the brain gap actually is and how it f*cks you up when it comes to your love life, body image, and more. Kara educates us on the four traps of roma ... Show More
1h 33m