Very rarely does a culty news topic compel us to the mic as urgently as this week’s subject, a nerdy literature fandom turned…collective traumatic experience? In the wake of a bombshell Vulture exposé that straight-up reads like a Sounds Like A Cult script, Reese and Amanda are unpacking the nightmarish tale of multi-bestselling-author-turned-sex-abuser-slas ... Show More
Apr 21
The Cult of Neurolinguistic Programming
What if the right words could rewire your brain… or at least make you feel like they did? This week, Amanda is joined by journalists and hosts of the podcast Mind Games, Alice Hines (@alicehines_) and Zoë Lescaze (@zoelescaze), to unpack the cult of neurolinguistic programming, t ... Show More
1h 2m
Apr 14
The Cult of Christian Nationalism
What does the Mormon curl, January 6th, and the rapture all have in common? Christian Nationalism! This week Reese and Amanda are joined by Jennie Gage (@LifeTakeTwoJennie) of Life Take Two, to unpack what we (spoiler alert) feel is one of the most insidious cults taking over Ame ... Show More
1h 19m
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
Oct 2025
Serpopsychology (WHAT’S CREEPY?) with Frank McAndrew
<p>Are you creepy? How would you know? What’s “creepy” as opposed to scary or eerie? We talk to the pioneer of this research, Serpopsychologist, Dr. Frank McAndrew, a professor emeritus at Knox College. We chat: dates that give you the willies, Weary Willie the Clown, haunted dol ... Show More
1h 9m
Jul 2025
Extreme Religious Conversion - Kelsey Osgood on women, religious transformations, and what anorexia has to do with it (PREVIEW)
<p>This week, I'm joined by author Kelsey Osgood to discuss her recent book "Godstruck: Seven Women's Unexpected Journeys To Religious Conversion." The book, which profiles women who traded secular lives for religious communities such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ... Show More
34m 54s
