Sounds Like A Cult

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/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 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 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

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 FREEDiet 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

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-3418Thank you to our sponsors:Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.Go to Zocdoc.com/CULT and download the Zocdoc app for FREEFor 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code cult50Learn more and save 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/cult. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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.comLink 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/CULTGet Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

Summer 2022, it seemed like everyone and their cult leader was *devouring* the TV show The Bear: an inside look at the hierarchical, co-dependent, misfit-ridden, sometimes downright abusive—but also totally transcendent—“cult” of restaurant kitchen culture. This week, Amanda and Isa are chatting with Matty Matheson, a big-time chef and cast member of the show, for a no holds barred analysis of the culty power dynamics and rituals found in the world of knives, remoulades, shift drinks, “family meal,” and everyone screaming “behind!!!!”Get Tickets to Isa's Live Comedy Shows Here: https://linktr.ee/isaamedinaaAttend Amanda's Live Book Events: http://amandamontell.com/events/Thank to our sponsors:Dipsea:Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial at: DipseaStories.com/CULTHoney:Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/cult.​BetterHelp:​When you want to be a better problem solver, therapy can get you there. Visit BetterHelp​.​com​/​CULT today to get 10% off your first month​.Daily Harvest:Go to DAILYHARVEST​.​com​/​cult to get up to forty dollars off your first box!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices