We've all joked about Gwyneth Paltrow's *candle.* But does this boho Hollywood elitist girlboss ever go too far? (As in, cult leader far?) This week, Amanda and Isa unpack the charismatic movie star’s ever-roastable wellness empire, Goop, and how its "cult" status may be a cause for concern, with extremely special guests Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan, hosts of the Gloss Angeles podcast ( glossangelespod.com / @glossangelespod). Head to FentySkin.com and use code CULT20 for 20% off a Start'rs Bundl...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast If you don’t worship at the altar of this week’s “cult,” then simply sashay away! One of the most intense, vicious, fabulous reality TV fandoms in history is that of the competition show that put drag queens on the mainstream map: RuPaul’s Drag Race. Season 6 and All-Star queen BenDeLaCreme joins Isa and Amanda to offer an inside look at the most cult-like aspects of Drag Race, from the time she was physically stalked by a fan to the producers’ truly bonkers manipulation techniques. The tea is p...
Sep 20, 2022•56 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know Dr. Phil is not actually a medical doctor?? When “physicians” like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, and Dr. Drew are elevated to TV star status, followers flock to their “wisdom” to feel safe in a society whose healthcare system is seriously lacking. But should doctors really be treated like rock stars? In pursuit of fame and fortune, these famous medical professionals def find themselves in a borderline cult leader-ish role. This week, Isa and Amanda chat with Buzzfeed culture reporter and host o...
Sep 06, 2022•51 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Weddings: Filled to the brim with ritualistic ceremonies, patriarchal traditions, power abuse, bank-breaking costs, conformist uniforms, and false promises galore...sound familiar? Sounds like a freakin CULT to us. This week: Amanda and Isa discuss wedding ceremonies and the lengths people will go to for the "best day of their life" with writer, author of "Trick Mirror," and professional wedding critic, Jia Tolentino. This is Isa's Parent's flower business! danisaflowers.com Dipsea is offering a...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to our life-changing, missional, intentional ministry for young people from all walks of life to strengthen their faith in Christ while having soooo much fun!! Evangelical youth groups (think: Young Life, Teen Mania Ministries, etc.) love-bomb vulnerable adolescent recruits into joining the Christian “cool” kids—a place where they’re promised to find both earthly acceptance and heavenly salvation—only to manipulate and indoctrinate them with oppressive, homophobic, legitimately terrifyin...
Aug 23, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast The Kardashians: a harmlessly entertaining reality TV family or a dynastic conformist controlling cabal of K-named cult leaders? In this ~intense~ episode, Isa and Amanda chat with comedian and New Yorker writer Meg Indurti to unpack the cult-like influence of America’s most (in)famous family. Major Devil’s Avocado energy this week! Grab your Liquid I.V. in bulk nationwide at Costco or you can get 15% off when you go to LiquidIV.com and use code cult at checkout. Get Honey for FREE at JoinHoney....
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast We’re in for a shocking one this week: The Troubled Teen Industry has for decades promised parents to reform their “problem-causing” kids through 8-12 week “wilderness therapy” and other military-style schools. But kidnappings, isolation, punishment, secrecy, and abuse are all a part of the equation, resulting in the separation of families and years of trauma. Yikes doesn’t even begin to describe this unregulated cult-like industry, which was originally inspired by the destructive cult Amanda’s ...
Aug 09, 2022•54 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast For the last week of Cult Girl Summer, another juicy bonus episode: This time, Isa and Amanda are listening and reacting to unaired voice messages from our loyalest listeners—our beloved “culties”—who called into the show to comment on our Season 2 cults of the week (from Disney Adults to theatre kids). We’ll be back with regularly slated episodes next week, but in the meantime, check out Isa’s live comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (details on Instagram @isaamedinaa) and Amanda’s boo...
Aug 02, 2022•44 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast A much-requested Part 2 to continue Cult Girl Summer. Our 12-Step Program episode sparked much debate, and we quickly determined we’d need to continue the conversation about how “culty” these addiction recovery groups can be. Inspired by our most engaged culties, here is our first-ever follow-up episode. Many thanks to the listeners who generously called in for this one! For further reading on this subject, check out the study, “Exiting Alcoholics Anonymous disappointed: A qualitative analysis o...
Jul 26, 2022•43 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast How much would you risk in pursuit of perfection? It’s another installment of “Cult Girl Summer” bonus content. This week, Amanda and Isa speak candidly (like reallllllly candidly) about a glamorous and life-threatening industry that sucks you in with promises of beauty and never lets you out: Plastic surgery—featuring very special guest, Emmy-nominated comedian/actress, Sydnee Washington! Dipsea is offering an extended 30-day free trial at DipseaStories.com/CULT Everlywell is offering listeners...
Jul 19, 2022•54 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast A flirty little topic for another installment of Cult Girl Summer: five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are airing unfiltered cult conversations, behind the scenes tidbits, much-requested Part 2s, and more. This week, Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, co-hosts of the bachelor recap podcast Love to See It, are joining for a truly *cathartic* conversation about a group that reels in its members with the promise of love and human connection, only to deceive them and make it next to impossib...
Jul 12, 2022•52 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome to Cult Girl Summer, five weeks of bonus episodes where Isa and Amanda are sharing unfiltered cult convos, footage from the cutting room floor, much-requested Part 2s, and more. Kicking off this juicy summer vibe is an episode to help listeners get to know the “cult” of Sounds Like A Cult a little bit better: This week, Amanda and Isa are answering your most frequently asked questions: Who we are, how we make the show, what “cults” to expect in future episodes, and beyond.
Jul 05, 2022•35 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Known to her loyalists as the “spiritual catalyst” but to her critics as the “suicide catalyst,” New Age influencer Teal Swan is a controversial 30-something self-help guru who some say has saved lives and others say has ended them. Having launched a social media career in the mid-2000s (and still going strong), Swan doesn’t post about beauty products and travel inspo but rather spiritual-meets-“scientific” teachings on a wide range of topics from addiction to chakras to vaccines to suicide. Som...
Jun 28, 2022•1 hr•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast From his Jesus-like hair, erratic on-set antics, and fanatical 30 Seconds to Mars music fandom to his glazed-over sexual assault allegations and literal in-person cult compound, Jared Leto basically represents every possible meaning of the word “cult,” from the cheeky to the gravely serious. He may have Hollywood’s support in the way of an Oscar and desirable roles like the Joker, and many of his music stans worship him enough to follow him off the grid, but Jared Leto might be...
Jun 14, 2022•35 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast From The Yale Whiffenpoofs to Pitch Perfect’s Barden Bellas, a cappella groups are not just your average band, they are a *family*, like a cross between fraternities and theatre kids. Crooning Top 40 covers in tight harmonies might sound like the most innocent way to commune... but can these seemingly wholesome, aggressively punny groups be sketchier than they seem? Amanda and Isa chat with an aca-mazing guest, Dani Calleiro—ex-member of the cult-followed YouTube a cappella band, Cim...
Jun 07, 2022•54 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast Anonymity, prayers, sitting in a circle and sharing your deepest secrets and traumas, an intimate mentor program… is it a cult or a 12-step program? This week, Isa and Amanda are joined by comedian JF Harris to discuss groups like AA, NA, and OA whose ritualistic approach to addiction recovery is definitely culty… but is it a LYL, a WYB, or a GTFO? In honor of Sounds Like A Cult's one-year anniversary, we're hosting our very first ever live show! It's virtual, meaning anyone from a...
May 31, 2022•48 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast From voraciously consuming gruesome podcasts by the dozen to amateur sleuthing gone wrong to fetishizing dangerous killers, the world of true crime definitely has a cult following… but does it ever go too far? This episode was chosen by our listener giveaway winner and features New York Times true crime columnist and author Sarah Weinman to discuss the good, bad, and the culty of fanatical true crime fandom. (P.S. Amanda and Isa have newfound respect for true crime podcasters… turn...
May 24, 2022•1 hr•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Fast Fashion (think: brands like Forever21, Zara, and Shein) could be described as an industry that takes high-end clothing designs and makes them quick and cheap for the masses. Or, if you look at it from a cult angle, it could be described as an international conspiracy that preys on the dreams, insecurities, and pleasure-seeking brain chemistry of mostly young women, while weaponizing social media to create a bottomless sense of co-dependence in order to make as much money as possible and wil...
May 17, 2022•56 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Co-host Isa joined the “cult” of stand-up comedy four years ago in LA but didn’t realize until we started this podcast how culty it really was. Recorded live at the first-ever Netflix Is A Joke comedy festival, this week’s long-awaited episode features Isa and Amanda interviewing a very special guest—comedian and creator/star of “Feel Good” on Netflix, Mae Martin—about the hidden hierarchies, secret due-paying, exclusion, delusion, silencing, in-gr...
May 10, 2022•44 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast The New York Times described him as “at once a capitalist hero, a glossy magazine celebrity and a bomb-throwing troll.” Multi-billionaire tech tycoon Elon Musk, best known for his high-stakes investments in companies from PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX to Neurolink, is seen as not just a businessman to his nearly 90 million Twitter followers, but as a rockstar, influencer, and Christlike savior sent from the heavens to save the world. On the heels of his fancy new purchase of Twitter, Ama...
May 03, 2022•42 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast POV: You work at Denny's. It's 12 AM. You want to go home. And from outside you hear it... your worst nightmare: 40 pairs of hungry footsteps and an acapella intro to Grease's Summer Nights. In this episode, with the help of stage actor and Tik Tok sensation Tyler Joseph Ellis, Isa and Amanda dig into Theatre Kid (yes, spelled “re”) culture—the rituals and superstitions, the cliques and power structures—to see just how far a teenager will go to live out their High School ...
Apr 26, 2022•58 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Lavender can cure headaches and tea tree oil can clear your acne (and heal Covid/your whole life)? The cult of essential oils blurs the line between fact and fiction and this week, Amanda and Isa team up with a special guest, Buzzfeed reporter Stephanie McNeal, to learn about these controversial little potions, their “cult following,” and the snake oil salespeople who weaponize them. Head to MeritBeauty.com/CULT to get their free signature reusable makeup bag with your purchase. ...
Apr 19, 2022•49 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast The life-changing magic of tidying up gave a shiny new rebrand to age-old ideas that owning less stuff can be connected to enlightenment... but are there people taking the "cult" of *minimalism* too far? Can stripping down your material possessions actually cure the sorrow and ennui of contemporary existence? Isa and Amanda chat with Joshua & Ryan, "cult leaders" of The Minimalists website, podcast, and documentary, and more to find out... https://www.theminimalists.com/ For a l...
Apr 12, 2022•41 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Did you know PhD actually stands for “Probably Heavily in Debt” and “Pretty Heavily Depressed”? Jk (or are we?). This week, Isa and Amanda delve into the mahogany-walled “cult” academia, where hierarchies, elitism, financial exploitation, hidden crimes, false promises, and weird robes are just part of the gig. Comedian, writer, and PhD adjunct professor Amy Silverberg joins us to discuss her experience being both a leader and a follower of this prestigious &ld...
Apr 05, 2022•42 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Blackout dates, Genie lines, Magic Keys, Storyliving, DCP, D23... If any of these terms got you feeling some kind of way, you're likely in "cult" of Disney Adults. Grownups who worship an iconic mouse have established themselves as one of the most fanatical fandoms out there, but how dangerously culty are these Disney-inspired behaviors and rituals, *really*? To find out, co-hosts Amanda and Isa solicit the help of many passionate listener call-ins and special guest, cheeky Disney influencer Fra...
Mar 29, 2022•52 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Serums, lasers, influencer skincare routines, oh my! There seems to be no end to how many expensive products and techniques are promised to keep us looking “eternally youthful”... but are these products *really* the miracles they claim to be? Do we *need* skincare at all? And isn’t the promise of aesthetic immortality kinda culty in the first place? This week, co-hosts Amanda (recovering beauty editor) and Isa (often forgets to wash her face) are joined by skincare critic Jessi...
Mar 22, 2022•35 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Veganism isn’t just a diet, it‘s not just a lifestyle, it’s a whole identity, aesthetic, community, religion, and even a career for some people… like our special guest, Lauren Toyota, creator of “hot for food,” a vegan blog, YouTube channel, and series of cookbooks. Veganism has a cultish reputation, but with Lauren’s help, Amanda and Isa unpack all the upsides and downsides of this seemingly “extreme” way of life to determine what the culti...
Mar 15, 2022•35 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Defrauded Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has become the subject of countless books, podcasts, documentaries, and now the brand new scripted Hulu series, The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried. Holmes's cult of personality—everything from her sociopath-chic Steve Jobs cosplay to her roster of Star Wars quotes (delivered in that mysteriously affected low voice) to her tyrannical lying and exploitation—has made her more than just your dime-a-dozen tech bro scammer. How did Holmes cultivat...
Mar 08, 2022•36 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast This week, with the help of special guest Dan Savage (relationships advice columnist and host of the Savage Lovecast), Isa and Amanda are talking about cults of one: toxic relationships. How are toxic lovers (and friends and bosses) similar to cult leaders? What cult-like tactics do these “charismatic” abusers use to lure people in and make them stay? This illuminating episode proves all you need to understand followers of groups like NXIVM and Scientology, is what it feels like to f...
Mar 01, 2022•41 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast A 2015 Harvard Divinity School study reported that among many young people, CrossFit has become a bonafide new religion. So much more than a gym, these dark-walled “boxes” full of jacked Paleo dieters flipping tires have become sites of community and transcendence (and a source of billions in revenue). But... how did CrossFit gain such a “cult” following? And what are the dangers? This week, Amanda and Isa discuss the fitness phenomenon’s hulking appeal. Get ...
Feb 22, 2022•38 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast 
