Sounds Like A Cult

Weekly analysis of fanatical groups and subcultures to examine cult-like AI summary

Studio71 Visit website › Society & Culture · EN · 243 episodes · latest 2026-11-10

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What it is about

Putting the “cult” in culture… Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about the Royal Family? What about Disney Adults? Or spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like A Cult, an iHeart Radio Award-winning podcast that analyzes a different fanatical group every week to try and answer the big question: This ~sounds~ like a cult, but is it really? Created and hosted by New York Times-bestselling author Amanda Montell, co-hosted and produced by Chelsea Charles, Reese Oliver, and Iman Hariri Kia. For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com We want to make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
2026 Amanda Montell & Studio71

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Latest episodes

The Cult of Mel Robbins E

2026-11-10 · 1 hr 9 min

Culties, it’s time to count down from five and press play. This week, Chelsea, Reese, and Iman investigate Mel Robbins, a polarizing lawyer-turned-life-coach who built a cult-like following through motivational…
The Cult of College Football E

2026-11-03 · 1 hr 18 min

What group, other than a cult, convinces you to wear the same colors every Saturday, learn secret hand signals, plan your life around a weekly gathering, and develop an irrational hatred of strangers because they went…
The Cult of Reborn Dolls E

2026-10-27 · 1 hr 6 min

BOO! We’re bringing back one of our favorite Halloween episodes from the SLAC crypt. This week’s re-air takes us back into the deeply uncanny world of reborn dolls with Corrine Vien (@corrinevien) and Sabrina Deana-Roga…
The Cult of TikTok Sleuths E

2026-10-20 · 59 min

This week, Amanda and Chelsea get into the cult of TikTok Sleuths, where people fall down conspiratorial rabbit holes and rally around theories that inspire a whole new level of group-think. The Lindsay Clancy case and…
The Cult of Influencer Snark E

2026-10-13 · 1 hr 7 min

When does hate following become its own kind of devotion? This week, Amanda and Iman descend into the anonymous world of influencer snark, where strangers gather to dissect creators’ relationships, bodies, businesses,…
The Cult of Dancing With The Stars E

2026-10-06 · 43 min

This week, Reese and Iman cha cha slide straight into the surprisingly culty world of Dancing With the Stars, where celebrities come for career rehab, pros become stars in their own right, and millions of viewers…
The Cult of Dog People E

2026-09-29 · 1 hr 4 min

This week, Amanda and Chelsea enter The Cult of Dog People, from pup birthday parties and breed evangelists to raw-feeding wars, “adopt don’t shop” morality, and the steadfast conviction that your dog can detect bad…
The Cult of Theo Von E

2026-09-22 · 52 min

What happens when your cool older stepbrother gets a mullet, a microphone, and millions of impressionable young men listening to him yap for three hours at a time? This week, Reese finds out while covering The Cult of…
The Cult of Shrek E

2026-09-15 · 52 min

Grab your onions, this week, Reese and Iman are entering The Cult of Shrek, a fandom that somehow evolved from a beloved children’s movie into an online religion (or dare we say... cult). Joining them are Bechdel Cast…
The Cult of Incels E

2026-09-08 · 1 hr 17 min

We’re taking a little holiday break this week, but unfortunately, incels are not. With the “male loneliness epidemic” becoming a bigger part of the cultural conversation, we’re revisiting one of the internet’s darkest…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed: 05/2021 · over 5 years
Typical length: 55 min
Format: Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone

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