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Cultish

The Language of Fanaticism

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Cultish

By: Amanda Montell
Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
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About this listen

The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.

What makes “cults” so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has....

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing”. But the true answer has nothing to do with freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear - and are influenced by - every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish”, revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish” everywhere.

©2021 Amanda Montell (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
Communication & Social Skills Gender Studies Linguistics Personal Development Religious Studies Social Sciences Funny Thought-Provoking
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This kept me interested & fascinated the entire way through. It’s written in such an accessible way and everything was thoroughly explained.
I’l definitely be viewing people who have gotten caught up in Cults with a lot more compassion than I would have before hearing this book and also be a lot more cautious around fanaticism language in future. This book was actually fascinating, thank you Amanda Montell.

Such a good listen

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This is really informative and eye opening. The many different sources, stories and types of ‘cult’ that are looked at gives a really wide view of the language that draws us in. I love the narration style too. The slight change in tone and pattern of speech makes it feel more alive. It helps distinguish the interviews and study’s that are being quoted from the rest of the book and makes it really enjoyable.

Fantastic

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sharp & insightful & likely to change the way you perceive language, society and yourself (or at least offer a perspective you may not have previously considered)
This book should be recommended reading for pretty much everyone, 5/5.

A must read! (Or, listen)

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This book has been written so well. It is fascinating and captivating, the author has researched the topic excellently.
Especially I found listening to the Jonestown and Heaven's Gate murder/suicides the most interesting.

Fascinating!

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This book has inspired me to study cults and cult language as my career.

Cultish is an eye-opening look at the language we use and how we normalise cult language every day.

Amanda has also written Wordslut. if you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it!

I can't wait for her next book!

Inspiring

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If you're interested in cults, sociology or still reeling from the last five years of cultish groups and personalities, this is a really entertaining way to absorb that

accessible and insightful

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I had a great time listening to this book, the narration was great and the discussion regarding cultish language was both informative yet engrossing.

Fascinating Book

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loved it! I am going to listen again and again... funny.... fascinating and feminist. excellent use of science and anectodes.

amazing... I'm going to listen again and again

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I had listened to podcasts covering almost all of the subjects discussed in this book, but this book offers an interesting new lense.

engaging overview

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A must read for everyone. Well written, well researched, engaging, and thought provoking. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend this to anyone interested in learning about what makes people tick.

Good Read

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