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Cultish
- The Language of Fanaticism
- Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about Cultish
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 2021-11-05
Phenomenal book but wish the author did narration.
Paradigm shifting book! I have heard the author speak on podcasts and wish she read her own book as she presents very well. Highly recommend this book!
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- Anonymous User
- 2021-09-02
A fascinating look at modern day cults
I'm always fascinated by cult stuff, and this is a really interesting study into what a cult means in the times of the internet; QAnon conspiracy theories, bossbabe hashtags, instagram gurus, Gideon investigates how and why cultish language and behaviour has entered into our everyday lives
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-04-06
Cult and linguistic in a easy to listen book
Very good book if you want to learn more about cults from a linguistic perspective. The author is serious with a bit of whimsy from time to time. Her expertise is adding a new angle to the subject. Easy to listen.
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- Rose
- 2023-01-20
A Sobering Account of Society
Spot on! I was in a cult, two MLMs, and Bikram Yoga. Now I see how my orientation made me easy fodder for these activities. No more. That ends here and now. Thanks for your research and perspective. Good to know how others disentangled themselves from this mess.
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- Laura W
- 2021-10-15
Awesome book that I wish I’d read instead
This book was amazing. I learned so much and was so engaged by it the whole way through.
The reading though was not very good. A robotic voice with SO many pronunciation errors, it didn’t flow. The performer was just reading word by word, not sentence by sentence — no understanding of or willingness to COMMUNICATE what she was delivering. I’d like to revisit this book but will do so myself, on the page.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2022-07-02
Enjoyed this from start to finish
Easy listening, enjoyable and very well read. I'm sure you yourself or someone you know can relate to a cult(ish) story covered in this book. Highly recommend.
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- ilke
- 2023-04-21
Excellent!
This is book is great. It’s entertaining and informative. Written so well- I couldn’t stop getting back to it.
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- Never received the product
- 2021-09-16
well put together, okay narration
loved the content. great connections. narration sounded a little robotic in tone and I don't know if it was the recording or my earbuds but the sound occasionally dropped from my right ear, which they've never done before.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-06-21
Must read in our 2023 world!
This book is a must read especially with the way technology has evolved to involve us all.
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- Bumo Mgabe
- 2023-06-29
Thoroughly enjoyed this book
Fascinating topic discussed in a nonjudgmental way. I’m eager to read more books by Amanda now!
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