Cultish
The Language of Fanaticism
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Cultish
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Narrated by:
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Ann Marie Gideon
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By:
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Amanda Montell
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 PublishersWhat listeners say about Cultish
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Madeline Bradley
- 14-07-2021
Such a good listen
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Aisling
- 21-07-2022
Fantastic
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Solomon Wilks
- 10-10-2022
A must read! (Or, listen)
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.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- TG
- 10-02-2022
Fascinating!
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 18-09-2023
Inspiring
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!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- Melanie Nicholls
- 18-02-2023
accessible and insightful
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
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 07-02-2022
Fascinating Book
I had a great time listening to this book, the narration was great and the discussion regarding cultish language was both informative yet engrossing.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 20-05-2022
amazing... I'm going to listen again and again
loved it! I am going to listen again and again... funny.... fascinating and feminist. excellent use of science and anectodes.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- angus mcpherson
- 10-01-2023
engaging overview
I had listened to podcasts covering almost all of the subjects discussed in this book, but this book offers an interesting new lense.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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- Dale Dedman
- 08-05-2024
The world is a cult
I feel like I know more than I did before but the voice sounded like a TikTok text to speech AI, which made it difficult to be absorbed.
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