Sounds Like A Cult

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

The Cult of Van Life

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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The Cult of MAGA Wives

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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The Cult of Christian Pop Music

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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The Cult of Duolingo

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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The Cult of Digital Marketing Scams (The New MLM)

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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The Cult of Labubu

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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The Cult of Love Island

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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The Cult of Cruise Ships

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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The Cult of Roller Derby

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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The Cult of America's Next Top Model

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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The Cult of Elon Musk (Part 2)

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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The Cult of WWE

June 24, 2025 • 72 mins
The lights dim. The murmuring crowd nibbles subpar soft pretzels anxiously. The Sounds Like a Cult theme music begins to blare at ear-splitting volumes, pyrotechnics nearly blinding an old lady caught in the front of the mob as a spandex-clad (think Barbie meets Barbarella) Reese Oliver steps into the ring to tackle her biggest opponent yet: The Cult of the WWE. *DINGDINGDING* This time, Reese is flying solo— no tag team parter— bu...
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The Cult of Sleepaway Camp

June 17, 2025 • 51 mins
What happens when a seemingly innocent summer camp experience turns into a breeding ground for conformity, control, and groupthink? This week, Reese and Chelsea dive deep into the cult-like rituals of sleepaway camps, unpacking how a place meant for childhood fun can quickly slip into something far darker. From initiation rituals to absurd team-building exercises, we explore how sleepaway camps use isolation, authority, and shared ...
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The Cult of Purity Culture

June 10, 2025 • 70 mins
RERUN! We took a cute little break to have a very culty wedding weekend but couldn’t leave the culties high and dry on content! This week we give you one of our favorite episodes from last season! Anyone who grew up evangelical Christian and/or plugged into teen celebrity news circa 2008 will be familiar with today’s cult: Purity Rings. You know, the dainty piece of jewelry placed ritualistically on a teen girl’s wedding finger to ...
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NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani: Right or Wrong? Listen to the full interview with Isa Medina and Zohran below!

June 9, 2025 • 4 mins
Check out the full episode of I'm Right You're Wrong Podcast on Apple Podcasts  or  Spotify  o r wherever you get your podcasts!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Cult of Bachelorette Parties (New!)

June 3, 2025 • 75 mins
Matching satin robes. Bedazzled cowboy hats. A mysterious urgency to fly to Nashville and scream “Woooo!” from a pedal pub. This week, Amanda returns to one of the most glitter-drenched, mimosa-fueled cults in the modern social landscape: bachelorette parties, but this time, with Sociologist Beth Montemurro and journalist Annie Atherton to help us dissect how these pre-wedding rituals evolved from quaint luncheons to weekend-long r...
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The Cult of Erewhon

May 27, 2025 • 64 mins
Erewhon: the only place where the quest to enlightenment involves dropping $25 on a celebrity smoothie. This week, Amanda and Chelsea dive into the culty glow of Southern California's bougiest grocery store with oh-so special guests Raven-Symoné and Miranda Pearman-Maday (check out their podcast Tea Time with Raven and Miranda)! From raw milk acolytes and mushroom dust disciples to influencer pilgrammages and ragebait-y marketing, ...
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The Cult of Incels

May 20, 2025 • 77 mins
Buckle up, because this week we’re spiraling into one of the internet’s darkest (and most tragically cringey) cults: Incels, a.k.a. self-proclaimed “involuntary celibates” who believe they’ve been cursed by the universe (read: women) to live a life without love, sex, or accountability. Joining Amanda and Reese for this delightfully horrifying deep-dive are cult comedy kings Henry Zebrowski (@drfantasty) and Ed Larson (@eddietunes) ...
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Is it Wrong to Buy vs. Adopt a Dog? Ft. SNL's Ceara Jane O'Sullivan | Link Below for Full Episode!

May 19, 2025 • 2 mins
Listen to I'M RIGHT YOU'RE WRONG Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Cult of Plant Parents

May 13, 2025 • 66 mins
Although the thumbs typing this are decidedly *not* green, this week’s exploration has been nurtured into fruition with love just for our botanically inclined culties.  Whether you spent quarantine scrolling through other people’s nurseries on #planstagram until your eyes glazed over green, or nobly undertook the task of cultivating an amateur jungle of your own leafy companions, in recent years it seems harder than ever to resis...
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