Sounds Like A Cult

When we first aired this episode, the “tradwife” trend felt like a bizarre internet niche. Two years later, tradwife culture has only exploded.  This week, we’re revisiting our episode with culture reporter Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelenpetersen) , alongside then SLAC intern turned permanent co-host and producer of the show, Reese Oliver, in her debut episode! Together, they unpack the aestheticized world of “traditional womanhood,” where hyper-curated domesticity collides with political extremism, anti-feminism, and the growing influence of manosphere ideology online. What once looked ironic or fringe now feels deeply embedded in the zeitgeist. So while the Sounds Like A Cult team takes a much deserved break, we’re falling back down the tradwife rabbit hole.

Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia. 

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Have the events of recent years made you want to walk off into a grassy meadow, never to return? Does the idea of being in touch with nature, totally separate from the digital rat race of modern life appeal to you? Have you ever wanted to learn how to install a DIY sewer system for greywater? Then you’re a perfect candidate for today’s ever-growing cult. This week, Chelsea and Reese are getting their hands dirty and getting into the nitty gritty of Homesteading. Tradwives and rock climbers alike romanticize the nomadic lifestyle, touting freedom, survival skills, and an inner peace unachievable from civilization. But is the self-sustaining choice all it's cracked up to be, or does shoveling manure eventually become a little too culty for comfort? Come along with us as we learn from ex-homesteader Kirsten Lie-Nielsen (@kirstenlienielsen) just what homesteading is actually all about.

Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia. 

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Hear ye, hear ye! These culty wenches doth have-est a new episode for thine ears. Grab your turkey legs and your chainmail because we are galavanting into the culty lair of Renaissance Faires! Amanda and Iman are joined this week by the fair maidens of Morbid (@morbidpodcast), Alaina Urquhart (@alainatothemax) and Ash Kelley (@ashkell83) to discuss the cult-like rituals, language, and charismatic leaders of the Ren Faire, from ye olde accents to full on immersive experiences. We’re talking the tight knit communities, the rules of the realm, and asking the real questions like: when does cosplay become identity? How many “huzzahs” does it take before you’re fully indoctrinated? And why is Mark Hamill here? Is this a Live Thine Life, Mind Thy Back, or Get Thee to a Nunnery?

Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia. 

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Cancel your frown lines and lean in… because this week on Sounds Like A Cult, Amanda and Chelsea are getting into the wrinkle relaxing world of Botox. What started as a medical treatment for eye twitching has evolved into a beauty mainstay, one that promises to erase your crows feet... for 3 months. From preventative Botox in your 20s to the normalization of injectables as routine maintenance, we’re unpacking how this once taboo procedure became a beauty baseline. We're trying to answer the question a lot of people are asking but not always saying out loud: are we doing this for ourselves, or because everyone else is? Is Botox just modern self-care, or is it giving cult?

Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia. 

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What if the right words could rewire your brain… or at least make you feel like they did? This week, Amanda is joined by journalists and hosts of the podcast Mind Games,  Alice Hines (@alicehines_) and Zoë Lescaze (@zoelescaze), to unpack the cult of neurolinguistic programming, the self-improvement framework that promises transformation through language, mindset shifts, and a little bit of psychological sleight of hand. They dig into how NLP showed up inside NXIVM and explore why these techniques can feel genuinely helpful in everyday life, and how the line between self-help and manipulation often comes down to who’s in charge. Amanda even tries an NLP session herself, which is equal parts intriguing and slightly unsettling and begs the question: is NLP a useful set of tools… or a very persuasive vibe?

Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia. 

Come see Sounds Like A Cult LIVE at The Bell House in New York on April 21st! Tickets at amandamontell.com/events

Thank you to our sponsors!

To Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain, Head to ⁠⁠https://www.squarespace.com/CULT

Tear. Pour. Live More. Go to https://LIQUIDIV.COM and get 20% off your first purchase with code CULT at checkout.

Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at https://BollAndBranch.com/slac with code slac. 

Download the Whatnot app today and get free shipping on your first order.

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