Save the #BossBabes: MLMs, Get-Rich-Quick Schemes, and the Prosperity Gospel

When Amazon Prime dropped the LuLaRich documentary in 2021, it was one of the first times the population at large got to peek behind the curtain at one of the largest multilevel marketing companies in the world—and boy, did it take internet voyeurs by storm.

The timing of (and snark generated by) such an explosive exposé was especially interesting, given the other pyramid scheme-y thing playing out in 2022: NFTs, shitcoins, and meme stocks.

It feels like we should’ve learned our collective lesson by now—but are the get-rich-quick schemes that plague our DMs and Twitter feeds evolving faster than we are? What’s a Boss Babe to do?

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Transcripts can be found at podcast.moneywithkatie.com.

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Mentioned in the Episode

• Amanda Montell's Cultish: https://bookshop.org/a/90396/9780062993151
• LuLaRich: https://www.amazon.com/LuLaRich-Season-1/dp/B09CFXPNSX
• LuLaRich trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIkcrQzTr8w&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideoUK
• How LuLaRoe worked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4411N0nAELY&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideoUK
• The Sam Dee on YouTube, sharing their experience as a LuLaRoe retailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-TO2-d10S0&ab_channel=TheSamDee
• The Dream podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e1-wanna-swim-in-cash/id1435743296?i=1000420324159
• The Airplane Game from the 1980s: https://apnews.com/article/7894d03521da555b7ea45e6f78323fbb
• "Blessing Loom" scam alert: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/22255-bbb-scam-alert-easy-money-blessing-loom-nope-pyramid-scheme
• Benjamin M. Friedman's Religion and the Rise of Capitalism: https://bookshop.org/a/90396/9780593311097
• Protestant ethic, per the Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestant-ethic
• James Jani on YouTube, sharing about the prosperity gospel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTfKpAWkgJY&t=771s&ab_channel=JamesJani

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