logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
43m 25s

Why We Overthink (Amanda Montell)

Elise Loehnen
About this episode

Amanda Montell is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, as well as Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut. Amanda is a linguistics major from NYU and all of her work centers around the way that words—and thoughts—shape our minds, and how our minds are permeable to other factors, whether it’s the halo effect, confirmation bias, or Cult-like sensibilities. Amanda is also the host of a podcast, “Sounds like a Cult.” Okay, let’s get to our conversation.


MORE FROM AMANDA MONTELL:

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

Follow Amanda on Instagram

Amanda’s Website

Amanda’s Podcast: “Sounds Like a Cult

Amanda’s Newsletter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Yesterday
A Special Listen: Julia Gets Wise with Roz Chast
<p>This week we're sharing a special episode from a show we love, <em>Wiser Than Me</em>. Julia Louis-Dreyfus sits down with 70-year-old New Yorker cartooning legend Roz Chast, whose humor and unforgettable illustrations Julia has adored for decades. They dive into Roz&rsquo;s an ... Show More
1h 12m
Nov 24
Are We in the Presence of the Trickster? (Monthly Solo)
<p>In November&rsquo;s solo episode: A major reframe I had. What you might learn from the Trickster archetype. Little ways I&rsquo;m finding meaning in the universe. Other ways of thinking about the process of evolution and change. How we might hold inspiration and discernment at ... Show More
36m 20s
Nov 20
Is Revenge an Addiction? And What is Its Cure? (James Kimmel, Jr.)
<p>James Kimmel, Jr., PhD, is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and the author of&nbsp;<em>The Science of Revenge</em>. He&rsquo;s known in part for identifying compulsive revenge seeking as an addiction. He explains how perceived wrongs ... Show More
1h 2m
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
#257 Understanding Rejection: Why It Hurts and How to Heal with Sabrina Zohar
<p>In this episode, I chat with Sabrina Zohar, host of the Sabrina Zohar podcast, about why we take breakups so personally and how to shift that mindset. Sabrina shares her journey from difficult relationships and anxiety to creating content that helps others navigate dating and ... Show More
49m 28s
May 2024
Overthinking About Narcissism
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-turn ... Show More
58m 20s
Jun 2024
Overthinking About Imposter Syndrome
In 1978, psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes published the first study on imposter syndrome—originally termed “imposter phenomenon”—about high-achieving women feeling like frauds at work… and it struck a major nerve. The study kicked off decades of frenzied discour ... Show More
1h 9m
Jun 2024
Overthinking About Burnout
Chronically stressed? Emotionally exhausted? Depleted to the point of physical suffering, dissociation, and paranoia that things will never improve?? No, this is not an antidepressant ad but rather an episode dedicated to a woefully relatable topic, burnout, which is not just fat ... Show More
1h 6m
Oct 2024
How to Have *Healthy* Conflict with Amanda Ripley
351. How to Have *Healthy* Conflict with Amanda Ripley  Conflict expert and investigative journalist, Amanda Ripley, is back to give us a conflict resolution 101 guide and delve into some real-life examples from Abby and Glennon’s relationship.  Discover:  -The best way to diff ... Show More
1 h
May 2025
Finding Meaning In The New Age of Anxiety
The world doesn’t make a lot of sense right now, including other people and why they think the things they think and do the things they do. So I’m tapping in Steven J. Heine, professor of Social and Cultural Psychology and the author of Start Making Sense: How Existential Psychol ... Show More
1h 10m
Apr 2025
Overthinking About Misinformation
We live in an era where misinformation spreads faster than ever—shaping our beliefs, fueling our anxieties, and making it nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction. Why are our brains so susceptible to false narratives even when we know better? How do we resist falling for ... Show More
42m 58s
Mar 2024
Communicating Your Needs For a Deeper Connection, with Amanda Feaver
<p>This week, Jeff and his guest co-host Amanda Feaver, LPC, dive into a relatable topic: feeling insecure in a new relationship. Their caller opens up about her struggle to find a balance between wanting to ask for more and fearing she might scare this new guy off by being too “ ... Show More
1h 10m
Jan 2025
Where did our attention spans go, and can we get them back?
The Oxford English Dictionary announced its word of the year at the end of 2024: brain rot. The term relates to the supposedly negative effects of consuming social media content, but it struck a chord more widely with many of us who feel we just don’t have the mental capacity we ... Show More
17m 10s
Feb 2025
DR. JULIE: SIGNS THAT SOMEONE IS NOT A TRUE FRIEND
<p>Dr. Julie is a psychologist who started putting videos on TikTok to make information about mental health more accessible but she never dreamed her videos would become as big as they did… With an audience of over 7 million, and the biggest-selling book of 2022, she’s someone I’ ... Show More
1h 5m