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, ... Show More
Oct 9
Do We Misunderstand the Point of Monogamy? (Dan Savage)
Longtime sex-advice columnist and author Dan Savage shares how he thinks about monogamy, marriage, infidelity, and repair. We explore how sex and relationships get conflated. We get into identities, orientations, preferences, language, and how we’re raising kids today. Also, Sava ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2
The Intrinsic Order that Emerges from Within Chaos (Elinor Dickson, PhD)
“We have to let go of our own patriarchy,” says Elinor Dickson. “And we’re afraid to because it represents control for us.” Dickson spent more than 35 years as a Jungian therapist, and she cowrote the seminal Dancing in the Flames with her good friend Marion Woodman. She’s one of ... Show More
52m 50s
Sep 29
Using Triangulation to Better Understand Yourself (Monthly Solo)
In this month’s solo episode, I’m exploring the parts of our culture and our collective that we can own—and impact. And I’m sharing more on the power of triangulation, and how you can use certain systems and tools to better understand yourself, your roles, and what you might be t ... Show More
44m 4s
Feb 2025
#257 Understanding Rejection: Why It Hurts and How to Heal with Sabrina Zohar
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 rel ... Show More
47m 56s
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 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
Mar 2024
Communicating Your Needs For a Deeper Connection, with Amanda Feaver
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 “nee ... Show More
1h 10m