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.
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Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
The Cult of Dancing With The Stars
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 i
Oct 6 42 min
The Cult of Dog People
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 stea
Sep 29 1 h 04 min
The Cult of Theo Von
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 w
Sep 22 52 min
The Cult of Shrek
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
Sep 15 52 min
The Cult of Incels
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,
Sep 8 1 h 16 min
The Cult of Bellum Entertainment
This week, Chelsea and Iman investigate The Cult of Bellum Entertainment, the true crime production company whose founder, Mary Carol McDonald, allegedly spent years buil
Sep 1 59 min
The Cult of Celebrity Wellness Brands
This week, Reese dives into The Cult of Celebrity Wellness Brands, where skincare, mental health, spirituality, supplements, and good old-fashioned celebrity worship have
Aug 25 1 h 07 min
The Cult of Dark Tourism
This week, Amanda is joined by author and travel writer Sheila Yasmin Marikar (@sheilaym) to descend into The Cult of Dark Tourism, the booming travel industry built arou
Aug 18 1 h 05 min
The Cult of Lush
Prepare to be love bombed by a bath bomb. This week, Iman follows her nose into the aggressively fragrant Cult of Lush with the Scam Goddess herself, Laci Mosley (@divala
Aug 11 52 min
The Cult of Sister Wives
This week, Chelsea, Reese, and Iman dive into The Cult of Sister Wives. Join us as we entice you with a little TLC chatter, before diving a bit deeper into the actual bel
Aug 4 48 min
The Cult of Y2K
Grab your flip phone, frost those lips, and feed your Tamagotchi. This week, Amanda, Reese, and Iman are (be kind) rewinding to The Cult of Y2K with PEN15 co-creator and
Jul 28 1 h 01 min
The Cult of Charity Scams
If you've ever donated to a GoFundMe after reading one heartbreaking Instagram caption... this episode is for you. This week, Chelsea and Iman are joined by bestselling a
Jul 21 1 h 02 min
The Cult of Conversion Therapy
If you thought conversion therapy disappeared sometime around low-rise jeans and flip phones, you'd be very, very wrong. This week, Amanda and Reese are joined by Timothy
Jul 14 51 min
The Cult of Women for Trump
She's blonde. She's patriotic. She's wearing a Bible verse on her T-shirt while telling immigrants to go back where they came from. She's voting for Trump. This week we'r
Jul 7 1 h 02 min
The Cult of Gooning
Today's episode is brought to you by Incognito Mode. This week, Amanda, Reese, and Iman descend into one of the internet's strangest corners: The Cult of Gooning. Joined
Jun 30 56 min
The Cult of Enneagram
You're not controlling, you're a 1. You're not dramatic, you're a 4. You're not avoiding your problems, you're a 7. This week, certified 3's, Reese and Iman investigate t
Jun 23 49 min
The Cult of MAHA
What do seed oils, vaccine skepticism, beef tallow, and a guy with a dead bear in Central Park have in common? Welcome to the Cult of MAHA. This week, Amanda, Reese, Chel
Jun 16 1 h 15 min
The Cult of Theater Camp
Maybe you hated the kids who went. Maybe you were just mildly annoyed by them. Maybe, you were one of them. No matter your relation, most people have encountered today’s
Jun 9 1 h 03 min
The Cult of The Sims
Sul sul, culties. Remove the pool ladder and cancel your real-life plans, because this week Reese is joined by guest host Amanda Kohr (@amandamkohr) of This Feels Bi to u
Jun 2 46 min
The Cult of Chess
The timer starts now, cultie. This week’s cult is one that some find boring, some find thrilling, and some particularly fell into via a certain Netflix show starring Anya
May 26 49 min
Chart trend
Position in the Society & Culture chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#95#189JulAugSepOct
#20
all-time peak
23
days in the top 50 since Jan 2025
Chart positions
Where Sounds Like A Cult ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Oct 7, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
It took longer than usual for me to decide whether “Sounds Like A Cult” is a podcast for me. I typically fangirl passionately, am a bit of a completist (I’m all in or I’m not at all interested), and usually know fairly quickly whether something is for me, but I wasn’t sure about “Sounds Like A Cult” for a while, for a myriad of personal reasons, none having to do with the wonderful hosts. Thankfully, the audio quality is pretty great, which is my baseline for a regular listening podcast! During an extremely difficult time, when I just needed a background distraction to get through the workday, I ended up compulsively listening to every single episode of “Sounds Like A Cult.” Nonstop. So I think I am officially a fan! Now I am going back through and replaying the ones I especially enjoyed and considering joining their Patreon. I think “Toxic Relationships” is my favorite episode, as far as how enlightening and helpful it was. Thank you, Amanda and Isa!
Update: This podcast has really declined. I can’t put my finger on why, but it’s just not the same anymore.
SilkChiffonLeatherOn · Aug 2026
It’s such a smart group of women who get together and dissect some of the biggest stories and topics in our society - but presented in a way that feels like you’re hanging with your friends. I love it!
Acappellafan2234 · Jun 2026
This podcast has given me a total confidence that the next generation of women is going to rule the world! You are so articulate, intelligent, and inspiring to listen to. I absolutely love this podcast.
catwalkkelly · Jun 2026
The older episodes of this show are really enjoyable and informative. I enjoyed the episodes with Isa and the season where Amanda had a guest host come on was great because they brought their knowledge about the subject matter to enrich the episode. The quality has really decreased, unfortunately, in the newest season with the new hosts that have been added. It is a lot of giggling and joking and very little information. I unfollowed. I think the new hosts and new tone might be designed to reach a younger demographic, which might be more suited to other listeners. I just preferred the way it was before.
MLV35 · Dec 2024
I have very rarely come across a podcast that is as low effort and judgy as this. I went into this expecting nuanced exploration of various “fringe” groups, and instead was met with essentially prejudiced and one-sided “yes, this is a cult and it’s bad”. I started by listening to the Waldorf episode and within the first few minutes they were writing their own definitions of what anthroposophy is to say that the indoctrination of children is the primary purpose, which is bizarre and irresponsible, but whatever it was probably a fluke. Nope. Every episode I tried was essentially the same. “Look how spooky and weird this is! Everything is a cult if it’s not mainstream!” Very disappointing.
MeghanAngier · Sep 2026
I am a longtime listener and fan of Amanda Montell’s work, and I’m very loyal to the few podcasts I listen to, so I am very disappointed by the decline in quality in this show. It seems like Amanda has totally handed over the reigns to the other hosts, and it was her research and unique perspective that really enriched the discussions. It sounds like the hosts are reading straight off a script written by ChatGPT. I have given it several tries in the last few months, and legitimately can’t make it through an episode. It makes me sad because it also makes me question Amanda’s commitment to her craft if she’s willing to let this slip this far… will her other works also just become low effort cash grabs for undiscerning audiences? It gives the ick, I fear.
j.ess. · Aug 2026
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