Press

Select media appearances and press coverage

Photo: Sela Shiloni

TV & RADIO 

NPR Fresh Air Internet Brain & The Age of Overthinking

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”

KUOWHow to Rethink Gendered Insults 

Sex With Emily on SiriusXM Amanda Montell Is a Wordslut   

Amanda Montell

THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING REVIEWS

Kirkus starred review

“Montell’s take on how irrationality went mainstream is informed by erudite wit and an eye for telling images.”

Bookpage

“Reading The Age of Magical Overthinking feels like listening to your smartest friend give excellent advice. Hopefully, we’ll take it.”

Booklist

“Refreshingly entertaining and informative…[Montell] exemplifies the power of compelling stories by employing her own memorable metaphors and disclosures as an invitation to consider more deeply what we choose to consume and share.”

BookRiot

“In her signature combination of wit and humor, Amanda Montell examines how society’s belief in magical thinking is more common than we might think.”

Nylon

“Anyone who’s ever been trapped in their own head can find solace in Amanda Montell’s latest work.”

CULTISH REVIEWS

Booklist starred review

“Montell’s masterful translation of our need to belong will mesmerize.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Engaging… provocative… A fascinating, enthusiastic narrative on the loaded language of cults.”

The Atlantic

“Savvy, enlightening… Montell… is a breezy writer and an empathetic guide to the various corners of American subcultures.”

The Washington Post

“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.”

The Globe and Mail 

“Wildly compelling… absolutely fascinating.”

WORDSLUT REVIEWS  

Kirkus Reviews

“Just the kind of sharp, relevant scholarship needed to continue to inspire the next generation of feminist thought.” 

Publisher’s Weekly

“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

“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.”

Time Magazine

“In sharp and energetic prose, Montell makes readable deep dives into vocabulary.” 

Harper’s Bazaar

“Amanda Montell’s uproarious, whip-smart guide to destigmatizing gendered language … [is] achingly relevant.” 

PODCAST APPEARANCES

Normal Gossip “Emily in Paris” Meets “Parasite” with Amanda Montell

Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain Cultish, A Talk with Amanda Montell

Offline with Jon Favreau How Cognitive Bias Explains Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, and Internet Malaise

iWeigh with Jameela JamilThe Age of Magical Overthinking with Amanda Montell

Be There In FiveMagical Overthinking (with Amanda Montell)

Fluently Forward Stans, Conspiracy Theories, and Tradwives with Amanda Montell

Savage LovecastCult Wedding With Amanda Montell

The StacksGetting Cultish With Amanda Montell

A Little Bit CultySounds Cultish With Amanda Montell

Sentimental GarbageThe Word ‘Like’ With Amanda Montell

Here’s Where It Gets InterestingHow to Tell When You’ve Joined a Cult with Amanda Montell

Stuff Mom Never Told You Feminism and The English Language with Wordslut

The Jordan Harbinger ShowAmanda Montell: Cultish The Language of Fanaticism

Feminist Book Club: The Podcast Amanda Montell, author of Wordslut

INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

ElleAmanda Montell Invites You to The Age of Magical Overthinking

Marie Claire Amanda Montell Has a Theory for Why Everything Feels So Hard Right Now

The Boston GlobeAmanda Montell lays bare your ‘mental magic tricks’ in ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’

The LA TimesA little too obsessed with Taylor Swift? It might be a coping mechanism

Salon From conspiracy theories to manifesting: How to navigate the age of “magical overthinking”

BookPage Amanda Montell – Putting the ‘cult’ in culture

Interview Magazine Amanda Montell is One of Those (Occasionally High) Coffee Shop Writers

Publisher’s Weekly – End Notes: The Age of Magical Overthinking

Flaunt Magazine Sounds Like A Cult print feature

Vulture Are You In A Cult? This Podcast Will Tell You

Literary Hub How-and Why-Americans Become Susceptible to the Toxic Allure of Cults

Parade Why Do People Join Cults? Linguist and Cultish Author Amanda Montell on the ‘Invisible Power of Language’

Apartment Therapy – Author Amanda Montell’s LA Rental House Is a Little California Cottage-Core, a Bit ’70s Cult-y

BOOK EXCERPTS 

Marie Claire (TAOMO) – Why We’re Obsessed With the Handmade

Literary Hub (TAOMO)Information Overload: How Overthinking Feeds Our Innate Superstitions

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