The New York Times bestselling author of The Age of Magical Overthinking and Wordslut analyzes the social science of cult influence: how “cultish” groups, from Jonestown and Scientologists 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.
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Nonfiction books examining pop linguistics, cognitive biases, and cultish social behaviors have reshaped how modern readers understand the relationship between everyday language and human psychology. Amanda Montell is an author and linguist whose work dissects the hidden power dynamics of speech in books like Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism. Her writing explores how subtle linguistic cues and shared vocabularies shape group identity, modern belief systems, and social influence across digital and offline spaces.
Born on February 16, 1992, in Baltimore, Maryland, Montell earned her degree from New York University before working as a beauty writer and editor. She later transitioned into pop linguistics and cultural commentary as a full-time author and media creator. Her prose and reporting have appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The Guardian, Esquire, and Harper's Bazaar. In addition to writing books, she co-created and hosted the podcast Sounds Like A Cult and created Magical Overthinkers, shows that have garnered over 40 million downloads and earned accolades including a Webby Award and an iHeartRadio Podcast Award.
Montell blends sociolinguistic research, behavioral psychology, and personal anecdotes to analyze how language reflects and reinforces societal structures. Her work focuses on female-oriented speech patterns, language bias, high-demand group jargon, and common cognitive illusions that prompt irrational thinking in modern life. By combining academic research with accessible cultural critique, she helps readers identify the psychological mechanisms and subtle speech choices that influence everyday human behavior.
