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Magical Overthinkers — Society & Culture
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 seems to be a lot of delulu out there these days. More than ever, in fact. Enter: This relatable, thought-provoking podcast for curious overthinkers. Every other week, tune in as host Amanda Montell, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Age of Magical Overthinking and host of the Sounds Like A Cult podcast, interviews a brilliant expert guest about a buzzy, confounding, anxiety-provoking topic. Think: narcissism, nostalgia, polyamory, social media comparison, “millennial cringe.” Complete with heart-on-their-sleeve personal stories, thought-provoking conversations, and actionable takeaways for how chronically online listeners can get out of their own heads, this podcast is here to make some sense of the senseless. To help quiet the cacophony in our brains for a while. Or even hear a melody in it.
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Copyright: © Amanda Montell & Studio71

Latest Episodes:

Overthinking About Ragebait Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

Why does it feel like every time we open our phones, something is begging us to get angry? This week, just in time for Thanksgiving, host Amanda is joined by theologian, ethics professor, and No Small Endeavor host Lee C. Camp (@leeccamp) to overthink about ragebait; the outrage optimized content designed to divide us, drain us, and keep us doomscrolling. Together, they explore how polarization has turned irritation into entertainment, why we’re so easily pulled into cycles of collective fury, and the surprising antidotes. A reflective spiral about anger, attention, and the radical act of meeting each other beyond the algorithm.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at⁠ https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical⁠

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Crying Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

Amanda is joined by wellness educator and founder of The Being Method MJ Renshaw (@beingmethodbreathwork) to gently spiral about crying: the science, the stigma, and the quiet relief that comes after the tears.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc .com /MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

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Overthinking About The Algorithm Oct 29, 2025

Show notes

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 our attention, creativity, politics, and identities: The Algorithm. Why do we talk about it like it’s a god, a ghost, or an ex? Why does it shove us into hyper specific digital rabbit holes no matter how much we resist? And what happens when our digital realities start to diverge so wildly, we can’t agree on the same version of truth?

Further Reading: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical
Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc .com /MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Therapy-Speak Oct 15, 2025

Show notes

We’re all “holding space,” “setting boundaries,” and “doing the work”, but when does the language of healing start to feel like another script we’re performing? This week, host Amanda Montell is joined by writer and therapist Joe Nucci (@joenuccitherapy) to overthink therapy speak, the vocabulary of mental health that’s seeped into everyday life and the internet alike. Together, they explore how this language can empower us to name our needs, but also how it can flatten complex emotions, mask avoidance as self care, and turn genuine vulnerability into content. A soft spiral about self-awareness, semantics, and the messy truth hiding underneath all those polished words for pain.
Further Reading: Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free by Joe Nucci, LPC

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Social Awkwardness Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Why does walking into a room, saying the wrong thing, or laughing too loud feel like the end of the world? This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by journalist and audio producer Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs) to spiral about social awkwardness and the tiny stumbles and silences that can feel so major in our heads. Together, they explore what awkwardness reveals about vulnerability, belonging, and the impossible standards we hold ourselves to in social spaces. Is awkwardness a flaw to overcome or proof that we’re trying, reaching, and wanting connection? A gentle spiral into shame, empathy, and the small, crooked ways we show up as ourselves.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Revenge Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Revenge is one of our oldest fantasies. It's sharp, seductive, but rarely as satisfying as it promises to be. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by lawyer, author, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, James Kimmel Jr. to overthink our obsession with revenge: why it feels so good in theory, why it rarely delivers in practice, and what it reveals about our deepest wounds and longings. Together, they explore how the brain processes revenge almost like an addictive substance - flooding us with momentary relief, then keeping us hooked in a cycle of suffering. From the neuroscience of vengeance to the quiet, radical possibility of letting go, this conversation opens up a gentler path through pain. A soft spiral into anger, control, and the sacred art of breaking the cycle.

Further Reading: The Science of Revenge by James Kimmel Jr.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at⁠ ⁠⁠https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical⁠
Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to ⁠https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL⁠ to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Ditziness Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

“Ditz.” It’s a word that sounds harmless, silly, soft-edged, even cute. But underneath it is a long, messy history of gendered judgment. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by journalist and author Koa Beck (@koabeck) to gently spiral about the cultural construction of ditziness: where the word came from, who it’s been used against, and what it reveals about how we punish femininity for being either too much… or not enough. Together, they unpack how "ditzy" became shorthand for whiteness, blondness, and a very specific kind of Southern California-coded femininity, despite the fact that the so-called “ditz” in pop culture (Elle Woods, Cher Horowitz, Regina George) is often brilliant, strategic, and socially powerful. Is ditziness a stereotype, a defense mechanism, a flirtation tool, or all three? What happens when smart women lean into softness? And how do internalized misogyny and impossible expectations make it feel safer to play dumb than to risk being called bossy, smug, or shrill? A quietly radical spiral into language, performance, and the politics of not being taken seriously on purpose or by accident.

Further Reading: White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind By Koa Beck
Further Reading: Valley Girl Substack by Koa Beck

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

Head to https://LETSLIVEITUP.com/MAGICAL and use code MAGICAL for 15% off your first Super Greens order!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Gaslighting Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Can you be trained by a gaslighter to gaslight yourself? This week, Amanda (@amanda_montell) is joined by Harvard historian and sociologist Rebecca Lemov (@rebeccalemov) to overthink gaslighting, a word that’s become part of our everyday vocabulary, but whose origins and implications run deeper than we realize. Together, they trace gaslighting’s roots in psychology, politics, and culture, and explore how this slow erosion of truth can shape our relationships, our self-trust, and our collective understanding of reality.
A quiet spiral about doubt, distortion, and the radical act of believing yourself.

Further Reading: The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion by Rebecca Lemov

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical
Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.
Get this new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at https://MINTMOBILE.com/magical

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Overthinking About Indecision Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Should I move or stay where I am? Take the job or turn it down? Text back or disappear into the ocean? This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Vicki Tan (@vickiheart), adigital product designer and author, to gently spiral about indecision: why it’s so hard to choose, what’s actually hiding underneath all that back-and-forth, and how much of it is really fear dressed up as logic.
Together, they unpack the mental clutter, perfectionism, and quiet grief that decision making so often stirs up, and ask what it would feel like to choose without trying to be perfect. A spiral into possibility, analysis paralysis, and the sacred mess of not knowing what comes next.
Further Reading: Ask This Book A Question by Vicki Tan

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Overthinking About Parasocial Relationships Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

In the digital age, the people we feel closest to sometimes don’t even know we exist. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Jessica Zier and Lizzie Li, PhD students at Northwestern University who study parasocial relationships, to spiral about the emotional life of one-sided intimacy. Together, they explore how digital closeness blurs the line between connection and projection, and why it makes perfect sense that we feel so seen by people who’ve never met us. A soft spiral into loneliness, identity, and the very human instinct to reach for connection, even through a screen.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical

Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/Magical to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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