Press
Select media appearances and press coverage:
Photo: Sela Shiloni
TV & RADIO
Netflix – How to Become a Cult Leader
Discovery+ – The Rise and Fall of LuLaRoe documentary
Vice TV – True Believers documentary series (episodes 2 & 4)
The David Pakman Show – Could You be Sucked Into A Cult? With Amanda Montell
BBC Radio 4 “Word of Mouth” – Cultish Language
KERA “Think” – How Language Keeps Cults Together
WGN News Chicago – Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
NPR: Wisconsin Public Radio – Linguist Explores How Cults Gain Followers
WNYC “All Of It” – The Language of Fanaticism
RadioWest – Amanda Montell On “The Language of Fanaticism”
KUOW – How to Rethink Gendered Insults
Sex With Emily on SiriusXM – Amanda Montell Is a Wordslut
CULTISH REVIEWS
Booklist – 5/15/21 *starred review
“Montell’s masterful translation of our need to belong will mesmerize.”
Kirkus Reviews – 4/18/21
“Engaging… provocative… A fascinating, enthusiastic narrative on the loaded language of cults.”
The Atlantic – 6/10/21
“Savvy, enlightening… Montell… is a breezy writer and an empathetic guide to the various corners of American subcultures.”
BookPage – 6/8/21 *starred review
“Cultish demonstrates that we are all more susceptible to joining the in-group than we may realize.”
The Washington Post – 6/12/21
“Engaging and fun to read, ‘Cultish’ offers plenty of jaw-dropping details about life inside cults. But the book isn’t all voyeuristic pleasure. As Montell teases out the universality of cultish influence, she upholds the humanity of the people who do get swayed.”
Buzzfeed Books – 6/15/21
“Phenomenal… Montell balances thorough anthropological analysis with personal anecdotes and interviews to create an illuminating read that will leave you wiser.”
LA Review of Books – 11/26/21
“I read Montell’s book feverishly, underlining whole paragraphs. It arrived like divine intervention as I’ve been churning over this cultural moment.”
The Globe and Mail – 8/31/21
“Wildly compelling… absolutely fascinating.”
The New Republic – 6/28/21
“I think most people who read Cultish will feel convinced they have, at some point in their lives, been in a cult.”
The Economist – 8/5/21
“Being aware of how language is used to reroute or shut down thought within organisations is a powerful tool.”
The Believer – 6/15/21
“I credit Cultish with … connecting my cult membership with my love of language. Words traumatized me, but now they can heal me, too.”
WORDSLUT REVIEWS
Kirkus Reviews – 6/4/19
“Just the kind of sharp, relevant scholarship needed to continue to inspire the next generation of feminist thought.”
Publisher’s Weekly – 5/22/19
“Montell projects an infectious glee about linguistics and feminism, foregrounding both their fun and their cultural relevance. Readers seeking a fresh, intellectually stimulating take on feminism will enjoy this one.”
The New York Times – July 30, 2019
“Her delivery is light and humorous … but the lesson is serious and cannot be overstated: In countless ways, gender affects how we talk and how others hear us.”
“Montell is entertaining, passionate, and widely read.”
Time Magazine (print) – 6/3/2019
“In sharp and energetic prose, Montell makes readable deep dives into vocabulary.”
Manhattan Book Review – 10/2019
“Wordslut is smart, evocative, and intelligently written, not to mention scathingly funny.”
Cosmopolitan – 5/2/19
“After you devour it in one sitting, you can whip out facts from its fascinating pages to shut down mansplainers at parties.”
Harper’s Bazaar – 4/18/20
“Amanda Montell’s uproarious, whip-smart guide to destigmatizing gendered language … [is] achingly relevant.”
CNN– 7/26/19
“You may find yourself rethinking your word choices once you wrap up this nonfiction superstar.”
INTERVIEWS & PROFILES
Interview Magazine – Amanda Montell is One of Those (Occasionally High) Coffee Shop Writers
Jezebel – A Podcast Taught Me That We’re Probably All in Cults, and It’s (Mostly) Fine
Flaunt Magazine – Sounds Like A Cult print feature
Vulture – Are You In A Cult? This Podcast Will Tell You
Salon – From Workplaces to Politics to Instagram Influencers, “Cultish” Language is Everywhere
The New York Times – If Everything Is ‘Trauma,’ Is Anything?
BookPage – Amanda Montell – Putting the ‘cult’ in culture
Literary Hub – How-and Why-Americans Become Susceptible to the Toxic Allure of Cults
Apartment Therapy – Author Amanda Montell’s LA Rental House Is a Little California Cottage-Core, a Bit ’70s Cult-y
New York Post – Book Describes How Trendy Fitness Studios Use Cult-like Tactics to Attract Followers
Rewired.org – We’re All a Little ‘Cultish’: How Cults Use Language to Influence People
The Mary Sue – Cultish Author Amanda Montell Reveals Cult-Like Phenomena in Our Everyday Lives
Hello Giggles – Uptalk, vocal fry, and using the word “like” are signs you’re linguistically savvy-this book proves why
HerCampus – How to Work at a Magazine All Day & Write a Book by Night, According to Amanda Montell
Women’s Media Center – This Author Explored the Concept of “Cultish”
PODCAST APPEARANCES
iWeigh with Jameela Jamil – Cults with Amanda Montell
Savage Lovecast – Cult Wedding With Amanda Montell
The Stacks – Getting Cultish With Amanda Montell
A Little Bit Culty – Sounds Cultish With Amanda Montell
The Minimalists – What Would Make Minimalism A Cult?
Be There In Five – I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buttery! (with Amanda Montell)
Sentimental Garbage – The Word ‘Like’ With Amanda Montell
Here’s Where It Gets Interesting – How to Tell When You’ve Joined a Cult with Amanda Montell
Conspirituality Podcast – Learning Cultish with Amanda Montell
Just Between Us – Linguist Amanda Montell, Keeping the Spark Alive, and Abortion
Stuff Mom Never Told You – Feminism and The English Language with Wordslut
Betches Not Another True Crime Podcast – Wait… Am I In A Cult? Ft. Amanda Montell
Gloss Angeles – Is the Beauty Industry A Cult? Linguistically, Maybe
The Jordan Harbinger Show – Amanda Montell: Cultish The Language of Fanaticism
IndoctriNation – Too Cultish for Comfort w/ Amanda Montell
Feminist Book Club: The Podcast — Amanda Montell, author of Wordslut
Vocal Fries – Word Slut
Bad With Money – Being Sold a Better You During COVID-19 with Amanda Montell
Fully Booked – Amanda Montell
BOOK EXCERPTS
The Daily Beast (Cultish) – Why Do We Believe In Cults? Hint: It’s Not Brainwashing
Time Magazine (Wordslut) – Why Saying ‘Like’ a Lot Is Like, Actually a Good Thing
Medium (Wordslut) – A Cultural History of Feminine Nouns Turned Into Insults
LitHub (Wordslut) – On the Great Old White Guy Vocal Fry Panic of 2013