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Amanda Montell is a New York Times-bestselling author and iHeart Radio Award-winning podcaster. Her nonfiction books include Cultish, Wordslut, and The Age of Magical Overthinking—an instant New York Times Bestseller and Indie Bestseller. Amanda’s books have been praised by publications including The Atlantic, The Economist, and NPR and shortlisted for prizes including the Non-Obvious Book Awards and GoodReads Choice Awards. Her podcast Sounds Like A Cult was named a best podcast of 2022 by Vulture, Esquire, and Marie Claire and won the 2023 iHeart Radio Award for Best Emerging Podcast. Her newest podcast Magical Overthinkers premiered in May 2024 and has ranked among Apple and Spotify’s Top 10 Society & Culture podcasts in the USA.

Amanda’s writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and elsewhere. Speaking about her work, she has appeared in documentary series including Netflix’s “How to Become A Cult Leader” and HBO’s “Breath of Fire.” Amanda holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Los Angeles. Find her on Instagram @amanda_montell or Substack at amandamontell.substack.com. (Photo: Sela Shiloni)