Sounds Like A Cult
Putting the “cult” in culture… Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about the Royal Family? What about Disney Adults? Or spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like A Cult, an iHeart Radio Award-winning podcast that analyzes a different fanatical group every week to try and answer the big question: This ~sounds~ like a cult, but is it really? Created and hosted by New York Times-bestselling author Amanda Montell, co-hosted and produced by Chelsea Charles and Reese Oliver. For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com We want to make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy
Episodes
October 28, 2025 • 74 mins
Is it evil… or just excellent branding? This week, Amanda & Reese are joined by writer and podcaster Sarah Marshall (You’re Wrong About) to descend into The Cult of Satanism: The spooky, sexy, misunderstood belief system that terrified suburban moms everywhere.
We’re talking devilish imagery, political theater, and the delicious irony of a religion that doesn’t actually believe in the Devil. From Anton LaVey’s campy theatrics to ...
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October 21, 2025 • 48 mins
For the low, low price of $19.99, you too can manifest love, money, or maybe just a little chaos. On this Halloween flavored episode of Sounds Like A Cult, we are diving broom first into The Cult of Etsy Witches, the booming online marketplace where spirituality meets capitalism and hexes come with free shipping. From TikTok witchfluencers to hexed baseball teams to real life political curses, host Amanda Montell explores how witch...
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October 20, 2025 • 1 min
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October 14, 2025 • 61 mins
Bow down, because we're about to cover one of the most powerful, mysterious, and meticulously choreographed cults in modern pop culture: The Cult of Beyoncé. This week, Chelsea is joined by journalist and cultural critic Kathleen Newman Bremang (@kathleennb), to help break down how the Beyhive became less of a fandom and more of a faith. From the Church of Lemonade to the gospel of Renaissance, Beyoncé has crafted not just a career...
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October 7, 2025 • 66 mins
Whether it’s the sweat-drenched ten-hour rehearsals, the spine-tingling halftime shows, or the communal showers and gym floor sleepovers… marching bands aren’t just extracurriculars…they’re high-control communities with ritual, hierarchy, and loyalty that rivals religion. In this episode, Amanda & Chelsea are joined by listener Chelsea McFarland, a music educator, marching band alum, and band director, for a deep dive into the glit...
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September 30, 2025 • 66 mins
It’s not just a chicken sandwich, it’s a ca-ca-calling
This week, host Amanda and special guest Carys Kolb (@carys.avooca), former employee and the pod's very own sister-in-law, dig into the waffle-fried, lemonade-sweetened, suspiciously polite world of Chick-fil-A. It's the fast-food chain that’s managed to turn fried chicken into both a lifestyle brand and a moral battleground. From the addictive sauce and cult-like customer ...
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September 29, 2025 • 1 min
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September 23, 2025 • 77 mins
This week, Amanda is joined by vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez and cultural critic Jane Borden (@janebordan) to unravel the misinformation machine and identity politics that keep this movement alive. Together, we break down not only how the anti-vax community functions like a high-control cult, with its own martyrs, prophets, and sacred texts (looking at you, “do your own research”), but also what vaccines actually are and how th...
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September 16, 2025 • 57 mins
She survived the Great Depression, she fought for women's suffrage, and for many of us, she was our first window into what it meant to be American. This week, Amanda and Chelsea are joined by culture writers and co-editors of An American Girl Anthology, Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler (@justineodashs) and KC Hysmith (@kchysmith), to unpack the cult of American Girl Dolls. Because these weren’t just toys… they were identity-shaping, his...
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September 9, 2025 • 81 mins
Get in losers, we’re going…who knows where?! If you’re anything like us, dear cultie, then the current state of the world might have you feeling a wee bit…lost? Well, this week's cult will have you “finding yourself” and dangling the /real/ ticket to true freedom and oneness with the earth. That's right, the cult of #VanLife promises salvation can be yours at the low low price of a down payment on a Sprinter — so long as you can ha...
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September 2, 2025 • 56 mins
They've got devotion in their eyes, American flag throw pillows on their couches, and a framed photo of Donald Trump in their prayer corner. This week, Amanda and Chelsea are joined by iconic advice columnist, author, and certified legend E. Jean Carroll (@ejeancarroll1), to unpack the wildly culty world of MAGA Wives: the loyal ladies of the far-right who will defend their orange king until the bitter, gold-plated end. From standi...
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August 26, 2025 • 75 mins
Bless up, culties. We descend from the heavens in tandem with the reign of Backflippin’ Benson Boone and Ordinary Alex Warren to share with you an episode to lift your spirit and put music in your soul! But not just any music, these tunes must be self deprecating, they’ve gotta be anthemic, they need building major chords and choral vocal FX like you’ve never seen before. Get stomping and clapping, it’s time to discuss Christian Po...
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August 19, 2025 • 55 mins
Is it a free language learning app... or a feathered dictator in your pocket? In this episode, Amanda and Chelsea are joined by Zaria Parvez (@zariaparvez), the social media mastermind behind that chaotic green owl, to unpack the potentially culty world of Duolingo. We’re talking guilt-trippy push notifications, leaderboard anxiety, and the question on everyone’s mind: why does Duo feel more like a clingy ex than a study buddy? Wh...
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August 12, 2025 • 68 mins
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of ‘side hustles’ being advertised to you on social media? Feel undue pressure to ‘build passive income,’ even if you aren’t entirely sure what that means, or how to do so? Maybe the siren song of ‘digital assets’ and ‘financial freedom’ gives you déjà vu— haven’t we heard these buzzwords before? But maybe you’re just getting your first taste of the #GirlBoss side of the internet, which is so very...
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August 5, 2025 • 61 mins
This week, Chelsea, Amanda, and Reese dive headfirst into the wide-eyed, snaggletoothed, pastel-smeared world of Labubu…the culty vinyl toy phenomenon taking over your explore page and possibly your wallet. What started as a mischievous creature from the mind of Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung has exploded into a full-blown lifestyle, complete with blind box rituals, resale hierarchies, and people tattooing their favorite figures like...
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July 29, 2025 • 72 mins
"I GOT A TEXT!!!!" Get ready, culties, because a hot new bombshell has just entered the villa. Grab your neon string bikinis, your mic necklaces, and a whole lot of self tanner and join us at the fire pit because we are finally covering the cult of Love Island. From its devoted followers to its culty 24/7 production, Amanda and Reese are joined by comedian Jo Firestone and Love Island Australia Season 6 winner Em Miguel-Leigh (@dra...
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July 22, 2025 • 64 mins
Ahoy, Culties! This week we’re resurfacing one of our most popular episodes from last summer: The Cult of Cruise Ships. While we cook up some fresh new episodes for you (we see you, Labubu), we’re revisiting this sea-sickeningly good deep dive into the bizarre, floating world of loyalty tiers, all-you-can-eat shrimp, and high-seas herd mentality. But wait! Don’t set sail just yet. We’ve added a brand new intro with some juicy upda...
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July 15, 2025 • 69 mins
Once hailed as a feminist rebellion on wheels, modern roller derby spins a complicated web of DIY empowerment, body-positivity, and community. From punny alter egos and glitter-soaked uniforms, to initiation rituals and injury worship, we unpack how the derby track became a sacred stage for self-invention. Rachel Rotten (@rachtilldeath), a longtime skater and derby lifer, joins us to share what it’s really like on the inside: the u...
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July 8, 2025 • 79 mins
This week, Chelsea, Amanda, and guest Sarah Hartshorne (@sarahbhartshorne) dig into the high-gloss, high-drama, and disturbingly high-control world of America’s Next Top Model. Once hailed as a launchpad for aspiring models, the long-running franchise masked emotional manipulation and identity erasure beneath a veneer of empowerment and fashion fantasy.
From Tyra Banks’ god-like authority to the cultish language of “smize” and “bo...
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July 1, 2025 • 70 mins
What happens when a billionaire tech mogul starts to look less like a CEO and more like a modern-day messiah? This week, Chelsea, Amanda, and Reese team up with historian and authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) to explore the cult of personality surrounding Elon Musk. The man behind Tesla, SpaceX, X, and a growing empire of followers who treat his every post like prophecy. From the mysterious emerald mine origin ...
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