WHAT DO CELEBRITY megachurches, a cappella groups, nonprofits, and Trader Joe’s have in common? According to author Amanda Montell and comedian Isabela (Isa) Medina-Maté, they’re all cults. In their hilariously informative podcast, Sounds Like A Cult, launched in 2021, these are just a few of the groups they eye with suspicion. Across episodes, the duo focuses on a group, institution, or brand with a fanatical following and ask, “This group sounds like a cult, but is it really?”
Whether they are calling out the hypocrisy of Starbucks’ refusal to let their workers unionize or critiquing the ways Taylor Swift weaponizes her loyal fan base to dismantle outlets that might portray her negatively, no brand, organization, or person is safe. They often have guests who have escaped (or sometimes still are in) said “cults,” and at the end of each episode, Medina-Maté and Montell share whether that week’s subject fits under one of three categories: a “Live Your Life” cult, a “Watch Your Back” cult, or a “Get the [Expletive] Out” cult. Listening to them is akin to eavesdropping on a conversation between friends, and the tone can switch from serious to breezy in the same breath. “All billionaires are cult leaders, period,” Montell says in an episode about Starbucks. In an episode about church camps, she notes that camps are great at “weaponizing endorphins and calling it the Holy Spirit.” The hosts are alternately analytical, easygoing, and earnest, but they never belittle their subjects for the sake of laughs.
My main critique of the podcast is the casual use of the word “cult.” I’m more reluctant to use the word since hearing investigative journalist Sarah Ventre speak at the 2023 Religion News Association Conference. Ventre shared that casually labeling groups as cults can slot members of said groups into the binaries of “omnipotent cult leader” and “brainwashed follower.” Additionally, author and scholar Megan Goodwin noted that using the word “cult” to label religious or social groups that we don’t like or that we consider strange often marks those same communities as “targets of state surveillance and violence.” The term “cult” has serious political and societal implications that perhaps don’t apply to SoulCycle fans or fine wine connoisseurs. I’d like to hear Medina-Maté and Montell explore the nuance around even using the term.
Yet, I love how their podcast challenges me to be mindful about the ways I devote my time, energy, and resources. How might my dedication to Trader Joe’s Chocolatey Coated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers blind me to the fact that this massive brand tries so hard to give the verisimilitude that it is a small family-run grocery store? Listening to these episodes makes me think more deeply about the human tendency to form connections and communities out of shared interests, and Montell and Medina-Maté’s willingness to go after their own darlings is a sobering reminder to fight against the blind devotion of fanaticism. For Sojourners readers who interrogate their own devotions, Sounds Like A Cult is a lighthearted yet informative cult to join podcast to dive into.
Zachary Lee is a former online editorial assistant at Sojourners and part of the inaugural Sojourners Journalism Cohort. You can find him on Letterboxd @zlee729.
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