Sounds Like A Cult

Latest Episodes:

The Cult of Self-Help Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

In 2005, this week's guest Sarah Edmondson joined what she thought was a personal development program devoted to helping her overcome her "limiting beliefs." Little did she know it'd turn out to be one of the most notorious and scrutinized groups of all time, NXIVM. "Self-Help" is a distinctly optimistic American pursuit and a majorly profitable industry. Sooo many culty groups start out with the innocent promise of helping their members become their best self. This gray area between positive self-improvement program and dangerous sect is exactly what hosts Isa and Amanda discuss on this week's can't-miss episode with Sarah, host of the podcast A Little Bit Culty and star of The Vow on HBO (Season 2 streaming now!).

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

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

Sounds like a Cult is sponsored by BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/CULT today to get 10% off your first month.

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

The Cult of The Boy Scouts Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Allegations of right-wing dogma, unquestioned power dynamics, charismatic leaders, freaky rituals, and physical abuse... are we talking about a serious cult or the Boy Scouts of America? Potato, po-tah-toe? That's the question on the docket this week, as Amanda and Isa dissect this prestigious but potentially sinister after-school organization for all-American boys.

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 sponsor, ZocDoc!

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

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

The Cult of Momfluencers Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

Motherhood is hard, lonely, and exhausting... except, apparently, if you're a momfluencer. Since the mid-2000s, a crop of seemingly perfect, all-knowing mommy goddesses in billowy tunics have emerged on social media—and we can't help but feel that their highly monetizable (often misinformation-ridden) internet presences basically exist to make other moms feel less than. This week, with the help of journalist and real-life mother Sara Petersen, author of the forthcoming book MOMFLUENCED, Isa and Amanda spill the (organic, non-toxic, totally baby-safe) tea about how famous internet moms have become their own kind of 21st Century cult leader.

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 sponsor, Modern Fertility!

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

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

The Cult of Preppers Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

The end of the world... but make it cute and consumerist! "Preppers" are the latest iteration of doomsday survivalists, who band together on social media to talk canning, stockpiling, and first aid, but also multi-million-dollar bunkers in rural New Zealand?? Um, yeah, there are also billionaire preppers, and if the apocalypse weren't coming already, these guys are definitely speeding up the process. This week, Isa and Amanda are unpacking the so-called "doom boom" to judge how cultishly bananas (freeze-dried, obvi) modern-day "prepping" has gotten.

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 sponsor, Cerebral!

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

The Cult of Apple Jan 17, 2023

Show notes

The stigma around the green text bubble alone could ruin a man's life. How has Apple's secretiveness, superiority complex, and (admitted) marketing genius put our culture's social dynamics and behaviors in such a chokehold? In this week's much-anticipated 'sode, Amanda and Isa analyze how Apple built not just a multi-trillion-dollar tech business, but a "cult" (allegedly!!!), and spoiler alert: We're all a part of it, whether we like it 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!

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

The Cult of Diet Culture Jan 10, 2023

Show notes

We’re baaaaaaack! We can barely record an episode of this podcast without a snack, so how are millions of people supposed to escape the "cult" of dieting when its mission is to keep everyone hungry, tired, and riddled with self-loathing? Let's count the red flags: a strictly controlled eating regimen, shame and peer pressure up the wazoo, false promises, hidden costs, viciously addictive cycles that offer no exit strategy... um, how is diet culture *not* a cult? In our highly requested relaunch episode, Amanda and Isa analyze the dangerous (and highly profitable) "cult" of dieting with special guest, actress and host of the I Weigh podcast, Jameela Jamil.

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 sponsor!

Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE

Diet Culture Resources:

Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings: https://nyupress.org/9781479886753/fearing-the-black-body/

What We Don't Talk about When We Talk About Fat Aubrey Gordon: https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-we-don-t-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-fat-aubrey-gordon/14443277

The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor: https://www.sonyareneetaylor.com/the-body-is-not-an-apology

I Weigh Community: https://iweighcommunity.com/

Hooked by Michael Moss: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/246273/hooked-by-michael-moss/

NRP diet culture article: https://www.npr.org/2021/12/23/1067210075/what-if-the-best-diet-is-to-reject-diet-culture

Diet culture podcasts: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/27/arts/podcasts-diets-healthy-living.html

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

The Cult of Starbucks Nov 08, 2022

Show notes

Remember the Juniper Latte? Wasn't it just about the strangest thing you ever tasted? Yet, you still came back. Some might say you couldn't help yourself. This week, Amanda and Isa *roast* Starbucks’s “cult following”—the coffee religion with a church on every street corner—from its savvy marketing tactics and insider-y vocabulary to its addictive beverages and behind-the-scenes corporate ~vibes~. With a Starbucks cup in hand, comedian Jade Catta-Preta adds an extra shot of espresso to this episode as our very special guest.

Tickets to Isa's Live Shows in NYC & DC: https://linktr.ee/isaamedinaaTickets to Sounds Like A Cult Live in LA, Sunday, Dec. 4: https://www.dynastytypewriter.com/events-calendar?loxi_pathname=/sounds-like-a-cult-live-3418

Thank you to our sponsors:

Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.

Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE

For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50

Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/cult.

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

The Cult of The Supreme Court Nov 01, 2022

Show notes

A cabal of black-robed elites who preside, unquestioned, over all our rights and freedoms… hmmm… sounds like a dang cult to us! Isa and Amanda are getting *judicial* this week to analyze the “cult” of The Supreme Court with NYU law professor and host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, Melissa Murray. Just in time for voting season! Check out voting resources below for this year's upcoming midterm elections.

Register to vote, learn about your local elections, and make a plan – resources below! Midterms cheat sheet: https://www.generatorcollective.com/

Vote Save America: https://votesaveamerica.com/be-a-voter/

Get tickets to see Sounds Like A Cult live and in-person in Los Angeles on 12/4! https://www.dynastytypewriter.com

Link to Isa's upcoming NYC comedy show here!

Thank you to our sponsors:

For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT

Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.

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

The Cult of Hell Houses Oct 25, 2022

Show notes

Happy Cultyweeeeeeen! Our favorite holiday at Sounds Like A Cult is here, and to celebrate the spooky season, we’re asking: What could be more frightful than a haunted house dedicated to pushing an oppressive right-wing religious agenda onto high school kids just trying to have a good time? That’s the topic on Amanda and Isa’s minds this week for our very festive ‘sode on the “cult” of Hell Houses, a phenomenon that is somehow even scarier than it sounds….

Get tickets to Sounds Like A Cult’s first live in-person show in Los Angeles, Sunday, December 4th! https://www.dynastytypewriter.com/events-calendar?loxi_pathname=/sounds-like-a-cult-live-3418

Thank you to our sponsors.

Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE
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 Cult of Taylor Swift Oct 18, 2022

Show notes

I was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes: If Taylor told her Swifties to kill a man, they would. They would kill a man for Taylor, because her music means *that* much to them. But the "cult" of country-pop sensation Taylor Swift is not just about the music. It's about the Swiftie community, the rituals, the beliefs, the aesthetic, and (of course) Taylor's cult of personality. This extreme fandom definitely seems classically culty, but is it dangerous just because it's fanatical? That's the question on Amanda and Isa's agenda today, and they've solicited pop culture connoisseur Jill Gutowitz, author of the essay collection GIRLS CAN KISS NOW, to help them figure it out.

Go to DAILYHARVEST.com/cult to get up to forty dollars off your first box!
Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or get 15% off when you go to LIQUIDIV.COM and use code cult at checkout.
Frame your photos or send someone the perfect gift today at Framebridge.com.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected