Sounds Like A Cult

How much would you risk in pursuit of perfection? It’s another installment of “Cult Girl Summer” bonus content. This week, Amanda and Isa speak candidly (like reallllllly candidly) about a glamorous and life-threatening industry that sucks you in with promises of beauty and never lets you out: Plastic surgery—featuring very special guest, Emmy-nominated comedian/actress, Sydnee Washington!  Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A flirty little topic for another installment of Cult Girl Summer: five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are airing unfiltered cult conversations, behind the scenes tidbits, much-requested Part 2s, and more. This week, Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, co-hosts of the bachelor recap podcast Love to See It, are joining for a truly *cathartic* conversation about a group that reels in its members with the promise of love and human connection, only to deceive them and make it next to impossible to leave. The cult of dating apps, of course! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Cult Girl Summer, five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are sharing unfiltered cult convos, footage from the cutting room floor, much-requested Part 2s, and more. Kicking off this juicy summer vibe is an episode to help listeners get to know the “cult” of Sounds Like A Cult a little bit better: This week, Amanda and Isa are answering your most frequently asked questions: Who we are, how we make the show, what “cults” to expect in future episodes, and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Known to her loyalists as the “spiritual catalyst” but to her critics as the “suicide catalyst,” New Age influencer Teal Swan is a controversial 30-something self-help guru who some say has saved lives and others say has ended them. Having launched a social media career in the mid-2000s (and still going strong), Swan doesn’t post about beauty products and travel inspo but rather spiritual-meets-“scientific” teachings on a wide range of topics from addiction to chakras to vaccines to suicide. Some of her most committed adherents follow her down to Costa Rica to experience her shady self-actualization techniques IRL. Swan is the subject of the new Hulu docuseries The Deep End, based on the fascinating 2018 podcast The Gateway, which was created and hosted by this week’s guest, Jennings Brown, who’s here to talk with Amanda and Isa about the fanatical “cult” Swan has built online. Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult. For listeners of the show, Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/CULT. For listeners of the show, Everlywell is offering a special discount of 20% off an at-home lab test at Everlywell.com/CULT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From his Jesus-like hair, erratic on-set antics, and fanatical 30 Seconds to Mars music fandom to his glazed-over sexual assault allegations and literal in-person cult compound, Jared Leto basically represents every possible meaning of the word “cult,” from the cheeky to the gravely serious. He may have Hollywood’s support in the way of an Oscar and desirable roles like the Joker, and many of his music stans worship him enough to follow him off the grid, but Jared Leto might be inching from “cult-followed” celebrity closer to full-blown cult leader. This week, with the help of listener tips, Isa and Amanda are here to untangle the story. In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com and enter code CULT50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Yale Whiffenpoofs to Pitch Perfect’s Barden Bellas, a cappella groups are not just your average band, they are a *family*, like a cross between fraternities and theatre kids. Crooning Top 40 covers in tight harmonies might sound like the most innocent way to commune... but can these seemingly wholesome, aggressively punny groups be sketchier than they seem? Amanda and Isa chat with an aca-mazing guest, Dani Calleiro—ex-member of the cult-followed YouTube a cappella band, Cimorelli—to get to the base note (sorry) of this week’s “cult.” In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! For listeners of the show, 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

Anonymity, prayers, sitting in a circle and sharing your deepest secrets and traumas, an intimate mentor program… is it a cult or a 12-step program? This week, Isa and Amanda are joined by comedian JF Harris to discuss groups like AA, NA, and OA whose ritualistic approach to addiction recovery is definitely culty… but is it a LYL, a WYB, or a GTFO? In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult Helix is offering up to 200 dollars off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our listeners at HelixSleep.com/cult   For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult Go to HelloFresh.com/cult16 and use code cult16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From voraciously consuming gruesome podcasts by the dozen to amateur sleuthing gone wrong to fetishizing dangerous killers, the world of true crime definitely has a cult following… but does it ever go too far? This episode was chosen by our listener giveaway winner and features New York Times true crime columnist and author Sarah Weinman to discuss the good, bad, and the culty of fanatical true crime fandom. (P.S. Amanda and Isa have newfound respect for true crime podcasters… turns out, violent butcherings are easy enough to listen to, but almost impossible to talk about in public without wanting to puke a wee bit.) (P.P.S! In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from anywhere in the world can attend. On June 15th at 9 pm ET, join Isa and Amanda to ask questions, play games, hear us talk about never-before-discussed cults, and dive into alllllll other things culty. Details and ticket info can be found at momenthouse.com/soundslikeacult) Go to DailyHarvest.com/cult for up to forty dollars off your first box! Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney.com/CULT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fast Fashion (think: brands like Forever21, Zara, and Shein) could be described as an industry that takes high-end clothing designs and makes them quick and cheap for the masses. Or, if you look at it from a cult angle, it could be described as an international conspiracy that preys on the dreams, insecurities, and pleasure-seeking brain chemistry of mostly young women, while weaponizing social media to create a bottomless sense of co-dependence in order to make as much money as possible and will stop at nothing—worker exploitation, environmental destruction—in order to keep people in that profitable vicious cycle. Which one is closer to the truth? This week, Isa and Amanda interview Leah Thomas, the founder and author of The Intersectional Environmentalist, to find out… Listeners can get 65% off their first month of medication management and care counseling at Cerebreal.com/Cult Head to MeritBeauty.com/cult to get a free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase.  For listeners of the show, 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

Co-host Isa joined the “cult” of stand-up comedy four years ago in LA but didn’t realize until we started this podcast how culty it really was. Recorded live at the first-ever Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival, this week’s long-awaited episode features Isa and Amanda interviewing a very special guest—comedian and creator/star of “Feel Good” on Netflix, Mae Martin—about the hidden hierarchies, secret due-paying, exclusion, delusion, silencing, in-group lingo and rituals, AND (of course) the hilarity, magic, and close community of stand-up comedy.  Go to Grove.com/Cult to get a free gift set worth up to fifty dollars with your first order. For listeners of the show, Calm is offering an exclusive offer of 40% off a Calm Premium subscription at Calm.com/cult 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