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
Yesterday
The Core of Consciousness (Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD)
“Feeling is really the core of consciousness,” says Antonio Damasio, MD, PhD. “And it's giving you information about what it is like to be alive, and how your life is going, and what you need to do about it.” Damasio is the director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the Un ... Show More
49m 41s
Sep 10
Pleasure Principles (Richard Christiansen)
Richard Christiansen is the founder of Flamingo Estate and a dear pal of mine. Today, we’re talking (in part) about the stories that led to his new book, Flamingo Estate Pleasure Principles. We get into: our love of witches, why Richard thinks we’re experiencing a crisis of beaut ... Show More
51m 21s
Sep 2023
cultish, a talk with amanda montell [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 33s
May 2024
Introducing Magical Overthinkers
Are you an overthinker? Prone to thought spirals? Do you wonder why, despite living in the "Information Age," life only seems to be making less sense? From extreme celebrity worshippers to people with master’s degrees basing their real-life choices on Mercury’s whereabouts, there ... Show More
2m 24s
Nov 2025
The Cult of Audiobooks (CULTISH, Amanda's Version)
What is the definition of the word "cult" anyway, according to Sounds Like A Cult??? This week, for the first time ever, host Amanda Montell takes the mic to read from her New York Times bestseller Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, the book that inspired this entire pod. It’s ... Show More
1h 22m
Jun 2021
#69: Is Diet Culture a Cult? with Amanda Montell
<p>I couldn't wait to release this episode with Amanda Montell, a feminist sociolinguist, author of 2 books, and all-out empowering human! This educational episode explores the dynamics between feminism, cults, and the language we use.</p>
<p>You will learn...</p>
<ul>
<li>the ma ... Show More
57m 54s
Jul 2020
Is the Beauty Industry a Cult? Linguistically, Maybe. Featuring Author and Linguist Amanda Montell
Amanda Montell is a writer, linguist, and author of the critically acclaimed book Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, which has earned praise from readers and critics alike, including publications like The New York Times, Time Magazine, and Harper's Ba ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 2025
Overthinking About The Algorithm
If the algorithm knows what we want before we do… who’s really in charge? This week, host Amanda Montell(@amanda_montell) is joined by linguist, creator, and internet culture observer Adam Aleksic (@etymologynerd) to spiral deep into the invisible yet all powerful force shaping o ... Show More
42m 30s