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-slash-cult-leader, Neil Gaiman. You know this guy’s work, even if you don’t recognize his name, and the cult he created has so many entry points, if you are a lover of Coraline, American Gods, The Dresden Dolls, or a variety of viral Tumblr DM reply screenshots from @neil-gaiman, there’s a chance you’ve skirted the edge of a few of them. We, along with the rest of the online book-nerd world, were flabbergasted by the release of Lila Shapiro’s article “There is No Safe Word” revealing that underneath Gaiman’s seemingly wholesome dynamic with his doting fans was a campaign of lovebombing, sexual assault, and bizarre rituals, involving the author’s ex-wife Amanda Palmer and a history with the freaking church of Scientology. It’s truly a heartbreaking, stranger-than-fiction story. Join Amanda and Reese, as they analyze it chapter by chapter.         P.S. While we for the most part try to keep things fairly lighthearted here at SLAC, this week’s episode is obviously covering a genuinely dangerous individual, and therefore some very sensitive topics. This is a content warning to maybe skip this week’s episode if the following are especially uncomfortable territory for you: sexual assault, emotional and verbal abuse, suicidal ideation, emotional abuse, abuse against LGBTQ+ individuals Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles.  Thank you to our sponsors! Head to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code CULT. Stop putting off those doctors’ appointments and go to https://www.Zocdoc.com/CULT to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Please consider donating to those affected by the Los Angeles Fires. Some organizations that Team SLAC are donating to are:  https://mutualaidla.org/ https://give.pasadenahumane.org/give/654134/#!/donation/checkout https://shorturl.at/SGW9w Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 A missive has arrived in your mailbox, dear cultie!  What’s this? An invitation to an exclusive, mystical, and splendidly nerdy episode of Sounds Like A Cult that’s only a short ride from King’s Cross station away!  YES, your most British, nostalgia-packed dreams have been realized because this week Amanda and Reese are hopping aboard the Hogwarts Express to every 90s baby’s starter cult, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!    Joined by the hilarious and wise podcasters Sequoia of Fanatical Fics and Where to Find Them and Mike of Potterless, Reese and Amanda are drinking the butterbeer and covering everything from Hogwarts houses to Snapewives. Follow us as we attempt to dissect the undeniably world-shifting franchise, fandom, and capitalist dreamscape that might have more mommy issues than Harry Potter himself…  Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube! Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles.  Thank you to our sponsors! Embrace your ritual with extraordinary hydration from Liquid I.V. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to https://LIQUIDIV.COM and use code CULT at checkout. Visit https://BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Please consider donating to those affected by the Los Angeles Fires. Some organizations that Team SLAC are donating to are:  https://mutualaidla.org/ https://give.pasadenahumane.org/give/654134/#!/donation/checkout https://shorturl.at/SGW9w Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

BOO! ‘tis the spookiest time of the year, dear culties, and this year we’ve whipped out our cauldrons to cook you an up episode on one of the scariest topics we could think of… complex emotions?! That is only half a joke, because this week Reese is equally embarrassed and excited to bring Amanda into the weird and wacky world of reborn dolls with the help of Corrine Vien and Sabrina Deana-Roga from Two Girls One Ghost. The "Reborners" community serves a wide range of acolytes, from grieving parents seeking therapeutic tools to fantasy lovers looking to adopt the most finely crafted infant abominable snowmen money can buy (no judgement!). This week, we’re sitting down to investigate exactly why people make, buy, and most cultily, wholeheartedly OBSESS over these fantastical silicone babies. No matter if you’ve been a loyal Britton Rose follower for years, or have never heard the words "reborn doll" in your life, this mystical Halloween-flavored episode of Sounds Like A Cult is full of tricks and treats just for you ;) Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @reesaronii @chelseaxcharles @amanda_montell  Subscribe to the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/CULT. Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.   Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Further reading: Effect of Doll Therapy in Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Systematic Review Inside the hyper-realistic world of baby doll collecting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weddings: Filled to the brim with ritualistic ceremonies, patriarchal traditions, power abuse, bank-breaking costs, conformist uniforms, and false promises galore...sound familiar? Sounds like a freakin CULT to us. This week: Amanda and Isa discuss wedding ceremonies and the lengths people will go to for the "best day of their life" with writer, author of "Trick Mirror," and professional wedding critic, Jia Tolentino. This is Isa's Parent's flower business! danisaflowers.com Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Go to DadGrass.com/CULT for 20% off your first order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to our life-changing, missional, intentional ministry for young people from all walks of life to strengthen their faith in Christ while having soooo much fun!! Evangelical youth groups (think: Young Life, Teen Mania Ministries, etc.) love-bomb vulnerable adolescent recruits into joining the Christian “cool” kids—a place where they’re promised to find both earthly acceptance and heavenly salvation—only to manipulate and indoctrinate them with oppressive, homophobic, legitimately terrifying dogma and providing zero exit strategy. Sounds. Like. A. Damn. Cult!!! This week, Amanda and Isa chat with former youth group kid turned TikTok comedy sensation Kevin James Thornton to unpack the cult-like tactics and ideology of Christian youth organizations. (Don’t worry, culties, a Jewish youth groups episode is coming l8er!!) https://www.kevinjamesthornton.com/ Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Kardashians: a harmlessly entertaining reality TV family or a dynastic conformist controlling cabal of K-named cult leaders? In this ~intense~ episode, Isa and Amanda chat with comedian and New Yorker writer Meg Indurti to unpack the cult-like influence of America’s most (in)famous family. Major Devil’s Avocado energy this week! Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or you can get 15% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code cult at checkout. Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Our listeners get 10% off their first month by visiting our sponsor BetterHelp at BetterHelp.com/cult Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of trauma. Yikes doesn’t even begin to describe this unregulated cult-like industry, which was originally inspired by the destructive cult Amanda’s dad grew up in, Synanon, and somehow hasn’t been shut down yet. Many disturbing stories await you this week!! Source/further reading: “I Was Forced To Sculpt My Rape”: What Is Happening Inside The Troubled Teen Industry? By ELIZABETH GULINO: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/06/10401693/troubled-teens-programs-industry-problem Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners twenty percent off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Dad Grass is offering our listeners 20% off your first order when you go to DADGRASS.COM/CULT Check out jordanharbinger.com/start for some episode recommendations, OR search for The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the last week of Cult Girl Summer, another juicy bonus episode: This time, Isa and Amanda are listening and reacting to unaired voice messages from our loyalest listeners—our beloved “culties”—who called into the show to comment on our Season 2 cults of the week (from Disney Adults to theatre kids). We’ll be back with regularly slated episodes next week, but in the meantime, check out Isa’s live comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (details on Instagram @isaamedinaa) and Amanda’s book CULTISH: The Language of Fanaticism (available in hardback, ebook, and audiobook wherever you buy books)! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A much-requested Part 2 to continue Cult Girl Summer. Our 12-Step Program episode sparked much debate, and we quickly determined we’d need to continue the conversation about how “culty” these addiction recovery groups can be. Inspired by our most engaged culties, here is our first-ever follow-up episode. Many thanks to the listeners who generously called in for this one! For further reading on this subject, check out the study, “Exiting Alcoholics Anonymous disappointed: A qualitative analysis of the experiences of ex-members of AA” (there’s a free PDF version on ResearchGate) and the 2018 Vox article, “Why some people swear by Alcoholics Anonymous — and others despise it.” Athletic Greens Is giving you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much would you risk in pursuit of perfection? It’s another installment of “Cult Girl Summer” bonus content. This week, Amanda and Isa speak candidly (like reallllllly candidly) about a glamorous and life-threatening industry that sucks you in with promises of beauty and never lets you out: Plastic surgery—featuring very special guest, Emmy-nominated comedian/actress, Sydnee Washington!  Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A flirty little topic for another installment of Cult Girl Summer: five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are airing unfiltered cult conversations, behind the scenes tidbits, much-requested Part 2s, and more. This week, Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, co-hosts of the bachelor recap podcast Love to See It, are joining for a truly *cathartic* conversation about a group that reels in its members with the promise of love and human connection, only to deceive them and make it next to impossible to leave. The cult of dating apps, of course! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Cult Girl Summer, five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are sharing unfiltered cult convos, footage from the cutting room floor, much-requested Part 2s, and more. Kicking off this juicy summer vibe is an episode to help listeners get to know the “cult” of Sounds Like A Cult a little bit better: This week, Amanda and Isa are answering your most frequently asked questions: Who we are, how we make the show, what “cults” to expect in future episodes, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Known to her loyalists as the “spiritual catalyst” but to her critics as the “suicide catalyst,” New Age influencer Teal Swan is a controversial 30-something self-help guru who some say has saved lives and others say has ended them. Having launched a social media career in the mid-2000s (and still going strong), Swan doesn’t post about beauty products and travel inspo but rather spiritual-meets-“scientific” teachings on a wide range of topics from addiction to chakras to vaccines to suicide. Some of her most committed adherents follow her down to Costa Rica to experience her shady self-actualization techniques IRL. Swan is the subject of the new Hulu docuseries The Deep End, based on the fascinating 2018 podcast The Gateway, which was created and hosted by this week’s guest, Jennings Brown, who’s here to talk with Amanda and Isa about the fanatical “cult” Swan has built online. Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult. For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. For listeners of the show, Everlywell is offering a special discount of 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Grab your trusty #2 and find the desk with your name tag on it, because class is in session this week at Sounds Like a Cult! Our /pedagogically inclined/ episodes are always RIPE with juicy insight, and today’s topic is no different. Be it Hogwarts or Pacific Coast Academy, boarding schools have long shrouded themselves in an air of mystery and exclusivity that has most recently led to a culture-wide obsession with the Dark Academia genre. But is this intrigue secretly supporting a sinister institution? What culty rituals and traditions lie behind the plaid and ivy? Let’s find out! Amanda and Chelsea are thrilled to be joined by the wonderful Ceara O’Sullivan from the Petty Crimes podcast to discover what lurks within boarding schools' hallowed (culty) halls. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT.  Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Shop the SKIMS bras at skims.com/cult. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Further reading: Psychopathology and Dissociation among Boarding School Students in Eastern Turkey National Museum of the American Indian: Boarding Schools Time for America to Get Over Our Ivy League Obsession A Brief History of Boarding-School Scandals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From his Jesus-like hair, erratic on-set antics, and fanatical 30 Seconds to Mars music fandom to his glazed-over sexual assault allegations and literal in-person cult compound, Jared Leto basically represents every possible meaning of the word “cult,” from the cheeky to the gravely serious. He may have Hollywood’s support in the way of an Oscar and desirable roles like the Joker, and many of his music stans worship him enough to follow him off the grid, but Jared Leto might be inching from “cult-followed” celebrity closer to full-blown cult leader. This week, with the help of listener tips, Isa and Amanda are here to untangle the story. In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code CULT50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Yale Whiffenpoofs to Pitch Perfect’s Barden Bellas, a cappella groups are not just your average band, they are a *family*, like a cross between fraternities and theatre kids. Crooning Top 40 covers in tight harmonies might sound like the most innocent way to commune... but can these seemingly wholesome, aggressively punny groups be sketchier than they seem? Amanda and Isa chat with an aca-mazing guest, Dani Calleiro—ex-member of the cult-followed YouTube a cappella band, Cimorelli—to get to the base note (sorry) of this week’s “cult.” In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anonymity, prayers, sitting in a circle and sharing your deepest secrets and traumas, an intimate mentor program… is it a cult or a 12-step program? This week, Isa and Amanda are joined by comedian JF Harris to discuss groups like AA, NA, and OA whose ritualistic approach to addiction recovery is definitely culty… but is it a LYL, a WYB, or a GTFO? In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult   For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From voraciously consuming gruesome podcasts by the dozen to amateur sleuthing gone wrong to fetishizing dangerous killers, the world of true crime definitely has a cult following… but does it ever go too far? This episode was chosen by our listener giveaway winner and features New York Times true crime columnist and author Sarah Weinman to discuss the good, bad, and the culty of fanatical true crime fandom. (P.S. Amanda and Isa have newfound respect for true crime podcasters… turns out, violent butcherings are easy enough to listen to, but almost impossible to talk about in public without wanting to puke a wee bit.) (P.P.S! In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult) Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult for up to forty dollars off your first box! Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fast Fashion (think: brands like Forever21, Zara, and Shein) could be described as an industry that takes high-end clothing designs and makes them quick and cheap for the masses. Or, if you look at it from a cult angle, it could be described as an international conspiracy that preys on the dreams, insecurities, and pleasure-seeking brain chemistry of mostly young women, while weaponizing social media to create a bottomless sense of co-dependence in order to make as much money as possible and will stop at nothing—worker exploitation, environmental destruction—in order to keep people in that profitable vicious cycle. Which one is closer to the truth? This week, Isa and Amanda interview Leah Thomas, the founder and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist, to find out… Listeners can get 65% off their first month of medication management and care counseling at Cerebreal.com/Cult Head to MeritBeauty.com/cult to get a free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Co-host Isa joined the “cult” of stand-up comedy four years ago in LA but didn’t realize until we started this podcast how culty it really was. Recorded live at the first-ever Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival, this week’s long-awaited episode features Isa and Amanda interviewing a very special guest—comedian and creator/star of “Feel Good” on Netflix, Mae Martin—about the hidden hierarchies, secret due-paying, exclusion, delusion, silencing, in-group lingo and rituals, AND (of course) the hilarity, magic, and close community of stand-up comedy.  Go to Grove.com/Cult to get a free gift set worth up to fifty dollars with your first order. For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult Athletic Greens Is giving you a FREE 1-year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The New York Times described him as “at once a capitalist hero, a glossy magazine celebrity and a bomb-throwing troll.” Multi-billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, best known for his high-stakes investments in companies from PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX to Neurolink, is seen as not just a businessman to his nearly 90 million Twitter followers, but as a rockstar, influencer, and Christlike savior sent from the heavens to save the world. On the heels of his fancy new purchase of Twitter, Amanda and Isa discuss Musk’s cult charisma, his army of Musketeers, and what his rise to cult-leader-ish power says about our culture at large. Thanks to all our loyal culties who called in to lend their insight to this episode! Sign up for your free two-week trial at Monday.com/podcast.  Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

POV: You work at Denny's. It's 12 AM. You want to go home. And from outside you hear it... your worst nightmare: 40 pairs of hungry footsteps and an acapella intro to Grease's Summer Nights. In this episode, with the help of stage actor and Tik Tok sensation Tyler Joseph Ellis, Isa and Amanda dig into Theatre Kid (yes, spelled “re”) culture—the rituals and superstitions, the cliques and power structures—to see just how far a teenager will go to live out their High School Musical dream. For a limited time, new users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/CULT  Listeners can get 65% off their first month of medication management and care counseling at cerebral.com/Cult.  Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lavender can cure headaches and tea tree oil can clear your acne (and heal Covid/your whole life)? The cult of essential oils blurs the line between fact and fiction and this week, Amanda and Isa team up with a special guest, Buzzfeed reporter Stephanie McNeal, to learn about these controversial little potions, their “cult following,” and the snake oil salespeople who weaponize them. Head to MeritBeauty.com/CULT to get their free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult for up to forty dollars off your first box! Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Listeners get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/CULT  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The life-changing magic of tidying up gave a shiny new rebrand to age-old ideas that owning less stuff can be connected to enlightenment... but are there people taking the "cult" of *minimalism* too far? Can stripping down your material possessions actually cure the sorrow and ennui of contemporary existence? Isa and Amanda chat with Joshua & Ryan, "cult leaders" of The Minimalists website, podcast, and documentary, and more to find out...  https://www.theminimalists.com/   For a limited time, new users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/cult  Go to Cerebral.com/CULT for 65% off your first month. Go to Grove.com/CULT to get a free gift set worth up to fifty dollars with your first order. For 50% off your first Care/of order of $40 or more, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NOT going to lie, this episode was a wee bit nerve racking to record!!! Despite the, ahem, LARGE number of requests we received for this topic (which would make you think it was ubiquitously reviled), the acolytes in this group ride HARD for their leader! Money and religion are the twin engines that make the world go ‘round, dear culties, and as such, they are the perfect mediums for sinister influence. This week’s subject has been ~blessing~ the airwaves and teaching your parents how to be debt free AND godly since the 1990s…the OG finance bro…the one and only… Dave Ramsey. This week, Amanda and Reese take a trepidatious foray into the chaotic, testosterone-filled, rapidly aging world of Ramsey Solutions with the help of seasoned Dave Ramsey experts (though, tbh, *survivors* is probably a more apt word) Jen Smith and Jill Sirianni from the Frugal Friends Podcast. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com/CULT. Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Did you know PhD actually stands for “Probably Heavily in Debt” and “Pretty Heavily Depressed”? Jk (or are we?). This week, Isa and Amanda delve into the mahogany-walled “cult” academia, where hierarchies, elitism, financial exploitation, hidden crimes, false promises, and weird robes are just part of the gig. Comedian, writer, and PhD adjunct professor Amy Silverberg joins us to discuss her experience being both a leader and a follower of this prestigious “cult.”   For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT.  Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! Listeners get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at BetterHelp.com/CULT  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Blackout dates, Genie lines, Magic Keys, Storyliving, DCP, D23... If any of these terms got you feeling some kind of way, you're likely in "cult" of Disney Adults. Grownups who worship an iconic mouse have established themselves as one of the most fanatical fandoms out there, but how dangerously culty are these Disney-inspired behaviors and rituals, *really*? To find out, co-hosts Amanda and Isa solicit the help of many passionate listener call-ins and special guest, cheeky Disney influencer Francis Dominic @francisdominiic.   Go to MeritBeauty.com/CULT to get their free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  Sounds Like A Cult listeners get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Serums, lasers, influencer skincare routines, oh my! There seems to be no end to how many expensive products and techniques are promised to keep us looking “eternally youthful”... but are these products *really* the miracles they claim to be? Do we *need* skincare at all? And isn’t the promise of aesthetic immortality kinda culty in the first place? This week, co-hosts Amanda (recovering beauty editor) and Isa (often forgets to wash her face) are joined by skincare critic Jessica DeFino and celebrity skincare expert Renée Rouleau to discuss the pros and cons of skincare’s “cult following.” https://www.jessica-defino.com/ Go to JoinHoney.com/CULT to start getting sweet deals for free! Get 10% off your first order with promo code CULT at OseaMalibu.com New users can get $10 in free Bitcoin when you sign up today at Coinbase.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Veganism isn’t just a diet, it‘s not just a lifestyle, it’s a whole identity, aesthetic, community, religion, and even a career for some people… like our special guest, Lauren Toyota, creator of “hot for food,” a vegan blog, YouTube channel, and series of cookbooks. Veganism has a cultish reputation, but with Lauren’s help, Amanda and Isa unpack all the upsides and downsides of this seemingly “extreme” way of life to determine what the cultiest aspects of veganism really are (especially in the age of social media) and what they say about us all.  Check out Lauren's Blog: https://www.hotforfoodblog.com/   Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult to get up to $40 off your first box!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Defrauded Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has become the subject of countless books, podcasts, documentaries, and now the brand new scripted Hulu series, The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried. Holmes's cult of personality—everything from her sociopath-chic Steve Jobs cosplay to her roster of Star Wars quotes (delivered in that mysteriously affected low voice) to her tyrannical lying and exploitation—has made her more than just your dime-a-dozen tech bro scammer. How did Holmes cultivate such a cult following among Silicon Valley investors, and now, why are true crime junkies so inordinately obsessed with her case? This week, with the help of listener call-ins, Amanda and Isa unpack the notorious grifter's zealous qualities to determine whether she really was more of a cult leader than a con artist, and if so, was her “cult” a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out? For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, with the help of special guest Dan Savage (relationships advice columnist and host of the Savage Lovecast), Isa and Amanda are talking about cults of one: toxic relationships. How are toxic lovers (and friends and bosses) similar to cult leaders? What cult-like tactics do these “charismatic” abusers use to lure people in and make them stay? This illuminating episode proves all you need to understand followers of groups like NXIVM and Scientology, is what it feels like to fall in love…   Follow Dan on Instagram: @dansavage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A 2015 Harvard Divinity School study reported that among many young people, CrossFit has become a bonafide new religion. So much more than a gym, these dark-walled “boxes” full of jacked Paleo dieters flipping tires have become sites of community and transcendence (and a source of billions in revenue). But... how did CrossFit gain such a “cult” following? And what are the dangers? This week, Amanda and Isa discuss the fitness phenomenon’s hulking appeal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A pseudo-family dynamic, decades-long commitments, physical peril, members who "would literally die for" their leader (coach): Competitive cheerleading is not just an off-the-beaten-path sport, it's a *lifestyle*... and this week, co-hosts Amanda and Isa get the inside scoop on this modern-day “cult” from special guest Morgan Simianer, star of CHEER, Netflix’s the smash-hit documentary series about the top college cheer program in the USA.   For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you have an Instagram account, you’ve probably seen those beautifully curated infographics explaining "trauma,” “attachment theory,” and "boundaries" in 100 words or less... but when does mass-disseminating parasocial mental health advice on social media become cultish? This juicy episode dives into the world of Instagram therapists: mental health experts (and self-proclaimed “experts”) who have taken our era’s desperate need for accessible therapy and spun it into an influencer career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trader Joe's, the most beloved "neighborhood grocery store" in America, has a super-loyal "cult following"... a sentiment that needs no explanation. The limited-edition niche products (like cookie butter and lemon ricotta), kitschy nautical aesthetic, and ridiculously friendly employees have spawned a generation of obsessed customers, who will wait in the rain, sleet, and snow to shop at TJs and spend hours connecting with other fanatics in TJ lovers Facebook groups. But is there a more sinister side to the "cult" of Trader Joe's? Are their corporate practices shady? Why *are* their employees so nice? With the help of sooo many Reddit forums and even more listener call-ins, Isa and Amanda investigate...     Follow us on Instagram: @soundslikeacultpod, and hosts @isaamedinaa and @amanda_montell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who’s your #mommy culties: Taylor or Whitney? That’s right, fresh(ish?) off the release of Hulu’s Secret Lives of Mormon Wives reality series (for which Amanda and Reese attended a blissfully tinsel-adorned premiere party #notsponsored lol), this week we are covering the cult of Mormon MomTok. This coalition of young Mormon mothers turned TikTok stars raises a truly baffling number of questions: Are these girls really Mormon? Does that matter? Where are their garments? Are they even friends? And most importantly, will MomTok survive the "swinging scandal" that overtook headlines a few years back, earning these gals their own TV show?!?!?!??!?! Grab your heaviest Stanley, fill it with Fruity Pebbles ;) and settle in to have all of your most sacred prayers answered. Potentially cultier than the sum of its cults (and trust us there are plenty), Reese and Amanda are determined to get to the bottom of the drama-filled, diet Dr. Pepper flavored mom-strosisty that is #MomTok. Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @reesaronii @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles  Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month. Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/cult.  Go to stopscooping.com/SLAC and enter promocode SLAC to save an EXTRA $50 on any Litter-Robot bundle.   To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're back and more culty than ever! Sounds Like A Cult, your favorite comedy-cult podcast about the modern-day “cults” we all follow, is relaunching on a weekly basis thanks to our new partnership with All Things Comedy. This time around, we're bringing you even more of the zeitgeisty cults you want to hear about, including Trader Joe’s, diet culture, Instagram Therapists, and more. If you’re interested in exploring the everyday groups and gurus that have made our culture so zealous and divided, but also want to laugh and hang out and not feel so bummed out all the time, then this is the show for you! Make sure to follow us wherever you get your pods so you know as soon as new episodes drop; we'll be back sooner than you might think ;)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On theme for Thanksgiving, we've got a bonus episode for you on the "cult" of America's most zealously worshipped, physically hazardous sport: NFL football. One might imagine the typical all-American family spending their Sunday mornings at church followed by a football game, often complete with alcohol-fueled tailgating and rivalrous smack-talking, conformist fan jerseys, and group chants, all of which are certainly "culty" behaviors in a comparatively innocent sense... but does the "cult" of the NFL get darker than that, both for fans and players? This week, we're discussing it all with the help of a very special expert guest, ESPN sports anchor Elle Duncan. Follow us on instagram @soundslikeacultpod, and hosts @isaamedinaa and @amanda_montell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the wake of the zealously consumed LuLaRich docuseries on Amazon Prime, we’re releasing a bonus episode on the leggings multilevel marketing company that shook American suburban boss babes throughout the 2010s: LuLaRoe. Ex-MLMers (and fascinated docuseries viewers) keep saying LuLaRoe is nothing but a massive “cult”… but is it really? And if so, how bad is it? This week, we’re unpacking all the culty elements of this fanatically followed group with the help of a special guest: former LuLaRoe retailer Roberta Blevins, who identifies as the company’s “public enemy #1” and who you might recognize from the LuLaRich docuseries or her own “cult-followed” podcast Life After MLM. Follow us on socials! @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell  @isaamedinaa Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Super-wealthy motivational speaker Tony Robbins physically towers over his thousands of adoring acolytes, boasting a booming voice and omniscient life advice about everything from love to business to trauma, which he espouses at his world-famous conferences… but in light of recent abuse allegations, his cult status is starting to look a lot more predatory than inspiring. Special guest Kate Kennedy of the Be There In Five podcast joins us this week to unpack the cult of motivational speaking and Tony Robbins, discussing peer pressure and forced vulnerability, the connection between Robbins and disgraced self-improvement star Rachel Hollis, and so much more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Omg, is mercury in retrograde?? Or is this week’s episode analyzing the “cult” of astrology just *that* intense? Co-hosts Amanda (Aquarius) and Isa (Pisces) didn’t realize how little they truly knew about the culture of zodiac signs and horoscopes until discussing with special guest, Jessica Lanyadoo, an astrologer, medium, and podcaster, who’s here to illuminate the culty aspects of astrology in the age of social media (both for good and for ill), explain what astrology even is in the first place, and play a few rounds of “Guess That Cult Leader’s Sun, Moon, and Rising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of our favorite topics to date: In this can’t-miss episode, we’re unpacking the wave of trendy evangelical church groups (like Hillsong, Mosaic, and Churchome), which use Silicon Valley-savvy marketing, celebrity endorsements, charismatic pastors, and a slew of doubtlessly culty recruitment techniques and power structures in an attempt to make Christ “cool” for masses of modern young people. Here to help us understand the cultishness of hipster Christianity is special guest Grace Baldridge, a musician and documentarian behind Refinery29’s “State of Grace” series, which tackles faith, queerness, and American culture. Be sure to follow @GraceBaldridge on Instagram! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the world of fitness trackers, high-performance athletic gear, nutrition goo, obsessively comparing your stats, and trying to  beat your PR… it’s the “cult” of marathoners. Is the seemingly healthy practice of running as pure as it‘s made out to be, or can it take over people’s lives in a disturbingly culty way? With the help of a special guest, fitness influencer (and Isa’s comedy pal) Lydia Keating, we’re talking all things athletics, competition, capitalism, and Tik Tok to try and assess how cultish the running community really is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A slightly NSFW episode of your favorite cult podcast comes courtesy of this week’s two special guests: the ever-so-charismatic podcaster/writer Gaby Dunn and actor/sex worker Bree Essrig, who both have experience with the “cult” of foot fetishists. Most of our episodes focus on seemingly harmless groups that might actually be more sinister than they appear, and this one’s all about a seemingly freaky, underground community that might actually be quite positive! After listening, be sure to follow Gaby and Bree on Instagram @gabyroad and @breeessrig, subscribe to Gaby’s pods Just Between Us & Bad With Money, and feel free to check out Bree on Only Fans :) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Settle in with a Kirkland brand sparkling water and a rotisserie chicken because this week, Amanda and Chelsea are going IN on the us/them dynamics, strange rituals, manipulation tactics, over-the-top passion, and lore of your favorite membership-only cathedral of affordable excess, Costco. Based on this episode’s fervent listener call-ins alone, it’s clear Costco is more than just a place to buy 500-packs of plastic cups, gold bars, and even your future casket (???) ⚰️ Costco is some people’s entire personality. But has it crossed over into full-blown cult? Tune into our lol-filled analysis to find out.   Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @amanda_montell @chelseaxcharles @reesaronii Watch the new season of Sounds Like A Cult on YouTube! To order Amanda's new book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, click here. To subscribe to Amanda's new Magical Overthinkers podcast, click here :) Thank you to our sponsors!  Head to Squarespace.com for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch, go to https://www.squarespace.com/CULT to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app to start earning cash back and use code CULT.  Shop the SKIMS bras at SKIMS.com. After you place your order, select "Sounds Like A Cult" in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows. Get 20% off your first order of Liquid I.V. when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code CULT at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ask and you shall receive! This week, we’re covering our single most listener-requested topic: The “cult” of multi-level marketing (aka MLMs). Most of us have a former high school classmate or two who got sucked into a pay-and-recruit organization like Amway, Mary Kay, or Young Living. MLMs are at once the butt of countless jokes about pyramid schemes and brainwashed #girlbosses, and yet they maintain a profound hold on a certain slice of aspiring entrepreneurs, who’ve been promised that some shadily structured “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” will guarantee them the American Dream (and more). MLMs are certainly scammy, but are they culty? And if so, what kind of “cult” are they? In this episode, we attempt to find an answer... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Why does it feel like everything that has to do with tradition is actually a cult?” Such is one of our many musings from this week’s episode on the “cult” of Greek life. We call it “hazing” and “pledges” rather than “brainwashing” and “cult members,” but aren’t these highly exclusive groups with unchallenged power imbalances and bizarre often dangerous (even deadly) rituals—whose culture of “paying your dues” bleeds into the rest of American society—not low-key just a deep-rooted “cult” dressed up as a socially accepted college “experience?” With the help of listener call-ins, insightful facts and figures, and Isa’s own personal sorority stories, that is just the question we’re aiming to answer... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intense secrecy and exclusivity, unquestioned protocols and rituals, deception, isolation, hierarchies, and soooo much money… nope, we’re not talking about Satanism or Scientology, we’re talking about The Royal Family! ;) This week, with the help of brilliant British journalist Afua Adom, Isa and Amanda attempt to unpack the Meghan Markle interview and other windows in the centuries-old monarchy to determine how “culty” it really is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

These days, the lines between celebrity, religious figure, political leader, lifestyle guru, and best friend have blurred so hardcore that enthusiastic celebrity fans have morphed into a whole new kind of beast: rabidly loyal, obsessed stans. Is worshipping and defending megastars like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Elon Musk a harmless pop culture phenomenon, or is it decidedly cultier than that? On this episode, Amanda and Isa analyze the “cult” of celebrity stan culture with the help of insightful and hilarious listener call-ins. Which celebrity do you think has the most extreme stans? And does that make them a “cult leader” of sorts?? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We always thought of “flat earthers” as nothing but a bunch of spoofable Devil advocates with too much time on their hands... but after closer examination, this community of conspiratorial believers sounds a whole lot more like a cult. In this episode, we engage in an enlightening, guffaw-worthy interview with Abbie Richards (@tofology), a Tik Tok sensation known for her knowledge of conspiracy theories and misinformation, to try and determine how destructive the flat earth community *really* is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices