Sounds Like A Cult

Latest Episodes:

The Cult of Coachella Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

What began as a Woodstock-esque alt music fest in the '90s for fans of indie electronica to get freaky in the California desert has swiftly morphed into more of a celebrity horror show/Instagram museum, where people pay thousands of dollars to gather on a hot slab of corporate-sponsored land, wear disposable outfits, and pretend to have fun. Has Coachella just become obnoxious or something more like a cult?? As we come down from the festival hype this month, with the help of no-holds-barred listener call-ins, Isa and Amanda aim to find out!

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy,buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

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The Cult of Heterosexuality Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

One of our fav episodes to date tbh. The promises include acceptance, stability, and fertility, but the reality = rigidity, conformity, and oftentimes outright shunning. Thinking about heterosexual culture as a "cult" might seem far out at first, but teasing it out with comedian Ashley Gavin, whose hilarious comedy special is viewable April 23 on YouTube, Isa and Amanda unpack sooooo much culty oppression that comes with our society's narrow standards for sexual expression (and also how the insidious "cult" of hetersexuality empowers some of the most f*cked religious cults of all time)!

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy,buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

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The Cult of Corporate America Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

It's time to dynamically synergize mission-critical alignments. Let's go ahead and fungibly communicate client-centric potentialities. If you can even half-way understand either of these sentences, then you might be a member of this week's "cult": Corporate America. With the help of special guest, Jamie Jackson of the cult-followed @humorous_resources Instagram account, Amanda and Isa are picking apart corporate culture's hyper-controlled rules, rituals, and hierarchies to tease out if this "leading-edge, credibly cultivated, turnkey market" is a life-ruiner or not.

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy,buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

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Visit ritual.com/CULT to start Ritual or add Synbiotic+ to your subscription today.

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The Cult of The Real Housewives Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

Fame, wealth, fraud, backstabbing, plastic surgery, hidden power hierarchies... are we talking about one of reality television's most successful franchises or a full-blown cult??? Host of the Reality Life podcast Kate Casey, an unscripted TV connoisseur who's been analyzing The Real Housewives for years, joins Isa and Amanda this week to unpack the inner workings and potential damage of this notoriously clique-y "cult."

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

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The Cult of Fine Wine Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

Pinkies up and wallets out for this week's quaffable "cult": the elitist, jargon-packed, ritual-soaked world of fine wine. Amanda and Isa were always highly intrigued but knew very little about this top-shelf "cult" until chatting with special guest Cristie Norman, certified sommelier, Wine Enthusiast's "educator of the year," and creator of The Online Wine Course. The fine wine world is certainly mysterious and exclusive, but how "dangerously culty" is it? Drunk on Cristie's insights, we're ready to find out...

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

Visit article.com/CULTfor $50 off your first purchase of $100 or more.

Visit AURA.com/CULTfor a 14 day free trial.

Get 10% off your first order sitewide with code CULT at OSEAMalibu.com.

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The Cult of Wall Street Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

Stocks? The economy?? Don't get us started! Look, any industry that allowed the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, aka Bernie Madoff, to literally *thrive* is an automatic sounds like a cult to us. Members willing to "sell their soul" to Wall Street in exchange for the American Dream enter a world ripe for corruption, deception, and exclusivity, and this week, ex-trader turned "finfluencer" Vivian Tu (aka, Your Rich BFF) joins Isa and Amanda to spill all the *insider trading* on what makes Wall Street such a cult. Be sure to check out Vivian's new podcast, Networth and Chill, dropping March 22nd!

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

Get 20% off your first order of $40 or more at NextEvo.com/podcast and use promo code cult.

Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT.

Get 50% off your first DoorDash order up to a twenty-dollar value when you use code CULT at checkout.

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The Cult of Church Camp Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Kayaking, friendship bracelet making, and oh yeah, threats of eternal damnation! What better way for a kid to spend the summer than at church camp? These pricy summer experiences for God-fearing kiddos might look all wholesome from the outside (a little *too* wholesome, in fact), but there have been enough allegedlys over the years to make Amanda and Isa think church camps might be serving up their 'smores with a side of cultiness. But are Christian summer camps a Live Your Life, a Watch Your Back, or a Get the Fuck Out-level cult? Actor, writer, and former church camper Joel Kim Booster joins this week's episode to help us figure it out!

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you to our sponsors!

Go to Zocdoc.com/CULTand download the Zocdoc app for FREE.

Visit ritual.com/CULT to start Ritual or add Synbiotic+ to your subscription today.

Download SmartNews for free today in the app store!

Sounds Like A Cult listeners get 20% off your first Liquid Death apparel purchase available exclusively at LiquidDeath.com/CULT.

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

The Cult of Beauty Pageants Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

As Keenan Thompson said in a recent SNL parody of the Miss Universe pageant, "Welcome back to Miss Universe, one of several shows still on the air where we rank women. But it's not what you think—we do it based off of looks." Welp when you put it that way :/ In our humble little opinion, it's hard to believe that the conformist, objectifying, and sometimes downright exploitative "beauty contest" business—perpetuated by the likes of Donald Trump and P.T. Barnum (yep, the circus guy)—is still a thing. Beauty pageants can be prettyyyyyyy cringe, but are they dangerously cultish? This week, Amanda and Isa aim to figure that out!

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

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

The Cult of Peloton Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Did the first episode of HBO Max's Sex And The City reboot turn you off of Peloton? That makes one of us. This week, Amanda and Isa unpack the fanatical riders, worshipped instructors, and dystopian nature of the highly fetishized fitness brand that has been described as “SoulCycle via Zoom.” Peloton is definitely hardcore, but does that make it dangerous? With the help of insightful listener call-ins, your hosts explore just that.

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here!

Thank you so much to our sponsors!

To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to modernfertility.com/CULT.

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

The Cult of Child Stars Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, and Daniel Radcliffe are all survivors of today's "cult," and so is our guest, Mara Wilson, star of 1990s cinematic classics like Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire. Mara was only five years old when she started appearing in major commercials, and the next ten years of her life were a dream come true—full of glamour and accolades... and intense pressures, isolation, creepy stalkers, and other shocking experiences that make the world of child stars seem VERY culty. This week, with Mara's help, Amanda and Isa attempt to figure out if this secretive wing of the entertainment industry—responsible for what former child star Alyson Stoner once called the "toddler to trainwreck pipeline"—is as cult-like as it seems.

To support Sounds Like A Cult on Patreon, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, donate to Isa’s fundraiser or visit our website, click here!

Thank you so much to our sponsors!

Download SmartNews for free today in the app store!

To receive 50% or more off your first month of therapy, go to cerebral.com/cult.

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

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