Sounds Like A Cult

Episode: The Cult of Duolingo

Hosts: Amanda Montell, Chelsea Charles
Guest: Zaria Parvez (Global Social Media Manager at Duolingo)
Release Date: August 19, 2025

Overview

This episode of Sounds Like A Cult dives into the unexpected zealotry surrounding Duolingo, the viral language-learning app known for its persistent owl mascot and highly gamified interface. Hosts Amanda Montell and Chelsea Charles—joined by Duolingo’s social media manager Zaria Parvez—break down whether devotion to Duolingo is just quirky fandom or something more cultish, examining the app’s rituals, shame tactics, community features, and internal culture. The episode seeks to answer: Does Duolingo merely sound like a cult, or is there something deeper at play underneath those streaks and push notifications?

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Why Duolingo? The Cult Framework

• Cult Categories Introduction (03:55):
  Amanda and Chelsea introduce their three categories for “cultiness”:

  • Live Your Life
  • Watch Your Back
  • Get the Fuck Out
    They explain that cults can be benign, sinister, or merely intense hobbies, setting the stage for Duolingo’s place on this spectrum.

• Listener Requests Spark the Episode (05:47): Amanda recounts an “alarming” listener email detailing obsessive behaviors around streaks and the social features of the app—underscoring that many see it as cultish in its grip.

• What Makes Duolingo “Culty”? (03:01, 09:29):
  Discussion centers on the app’s use of gamification, ritual, and shame—with its mascot Duo “shaming” users and community dynamics enforcing engagement.

2. The Ritual of Streaks & Push Notifications

• App’s Behavioral Hooks (02:47, 32:30):
  Amanda notes:

  “We have to talk about the push notifications and the streaks. Duolingo users are obsessed with their streaks.” (02:47)

  Zaria Parvez (32:30) explains:

  “It’s literally based off of gamified apps […] If we personalize it, if we are pushy and we’re passive aggressive, which is not what normal push notifications did at the time, then people will come back. 'Cause it’s personal. It feels like a personal attack.”

• Shame & Love-Bombing (20:56, 33:38):
  Chelsea shares how she felt emotionally manipulated by Duo’s messages.

  “I honestly felt like Duo loved me, but I also did feel a little sense of shame associated with that.” (33:38)

• Sunk Cost Fallacy (33:38):
  Chelsea highlights:

  “…a little sunk cost fallacy, like, sprinkled into that, which is, obviously, we know one of the main tenants of many of the cults that we talk about…”

3. Origins & Gamification Strategy

• App History Recap (10:09):
  Amanda traces Duolingo’s origins from a Carnegie Mellon research project to gamified app and, eventually, cultural phenomenon. Co-founder Luis von Ahn (of CAPTCHA fame) initially envisioned internet-scale translation crowdsourcing, with gamification (like streaks and leaderboards) quickly becoming core.

• The Mascot as Cult Leader (13:13, 25:31):
  Chelsea and Amanda joke about the owl being charismatic and almost religious:

  “Duo transcends anything earthly.” (13:28)
  “Before I thought that Duo was our charismatic cult leader. But now with further research—Zaria, you are the culty charismatic leader. You took the Krusty Owl out of the office, made them twerk online. You are the mastermind. You're the cult leader.” (25:31)

4. Community, Competition, and Social Pressure

• Competitive Structure (15:29, 38:15):
  Chelsea describes leaderboards, nudges, “friend streaks”:

  “There are ledger boards that you can build with strangers on the internet...but it's people you actually know and are in community with that's like, hey, you missed a day. Get on your zoom.” (15:29)

• Social Media and Fandom (23:17, 29:12):
  Zaria discusses Duolingo’s explosion as a brand and community—cultivated on TikTok with Duo as a cheeky, meme-friendly character, and how user-generated fan art, memes, and even tattoos have emerged.

  “People are obsessed with their streaks. They're always making fan art. If you type in Lily fan art, you're gonna get some weird shit.” (23:17)

5. Corporate Culture & Internal Rituals

• Duolingo’s Internal Culture (44:28, 46:13):
  Zaria opens up about employee “quirkiness,” internal lingo (“Duos”), annual “duiversity,” and how the company purposely hires for personality fit:

  “I think there is the quintessential Duolingo employee…it's going to be hard for them to fit in here…” (44:28) “We have this thing called duiversity where every year it's our birthday...it’s a very duolingo type thing.” (46:13)

6. Ethics, Expansion, and Limits

• Gamification Ethics (43:07):

  “If eyeballs and streaks and fanaticism and shame is profitable, what incentive is there to roll it back?” (43:07)

• Expansion Beyond Languages (41:30): Zaria details Duolingo’s foray into chess, math, music, and more:

  “...it's like, how do we like, take over education and make it a cult but make it fun?” (41:30)

• Comparison to Religion & Other Cults (27:24, 28:43): Amanda draws parallels to religious imagery and community-building, suggesting Duolingo’s cast of characters is like the “12 disciples.”

7. Who Joins the “Cult” of Duolingo?

• Archetypes & Appeal (40:01): Zaria explains the diversity of use cases—from grandfathers convinced the owl is sentient, to teenagers drawn by memes, to “hardcore” language fans—making a single archetype impossible.

8. Mission, Wholesomeness, and Final Verdict

• Mission as a Lure (31:04):
  Amanda connects Duolingo’s “wholesome” mission (accessible education) to cultish tendencies, and Zaria discusses how it makes users feel good, productive, and virtuous.

  “It makes you feel good about yourself…” (31:29)

• Cult Category Decision (53:32):

  • Chelsea: “I am Live your life with duo A thousand percent.” (53:44)
  • Amanda: “It's a Live your Life. But I think one of the cultiest things about it is the false promise that this is an app for language learning. It's not. It's just an iPhone game.” (54:13)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Streak Addiction & Pushiness:

  “If we personalize it, if we are pushy and passive aggressive—which is not what normal push notifications did at the time—then people will come back because it’s personal. It feels like a personal attack.”
  — Zaria Parvez (03:01, 32:30)

• On Love/ Shame from the App:

  "I honestly felt like Duo loved me, but I also did feel a little sense of shame associated with that."
  — Chelsea Charles (03:10, 33:38)

• On Ritual & Escapism:

  "It has become super ritualistic for her. So like, at the top of the day, she does Duolingo. It's become as much a part of her morning as coffee or brushing her teeth."
  — Chelsea Charles (14:37)

• On Mascot Origins:

  “Duo is green because one of our co-founders hates the color green and they made him green just to troll him.”
  — Zaria Parvez (26:37)

• On the Company Culture:

  "I think we are a cult. But that’s fine. We’re all cults in our own way, right? That’s what they tell themselves, right?"
  — Zaria Parvez (45:51)

• On Duolingo’s Social Success:

  “Every time there’s a viral video, we're getting new users. So, like, keep shaking that ass, mascot.”
  — Zaria Parvez (43:21)

• Summing up Duolingo’s Mission:

  “Even if it is just an iPhone game, it’s an iPhone game that is trying to introduce people to new ideas and a new way of seeing the world in a very lighthearted, low temperature way.”
  — Amanda Montell (48:56)

Timeline & Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:55] — Cult Categories Introduction
• [05:47] — Listener Email Highlights Duolingo's Cult Features
• [10:09] — Duolingo’s History and Gamification Roots
• [13:13] — The Rituals and Mascot as Cult Leader
• [20:56] — The Power of Personalized Push Notifications
• [23:17] — User Fandom and Social Media Strategy
• [25:31] — Zaria Outed as the "Cult Leader"
• [29:12] — Tattoos, Fan Art, and Meme Fandom
• [32:30] — Gamification and Shame Mechanics
• [33:38] — Sunk Cost Fallacy and Emotional Manipulation
• [38:15] — Competitive Features and Community
• [41:30] — Expansion into Other Domains
• [44:28] — Hiring Practices and Internal Rituals
• [53:32] — Hosts Decide Duolingo’s Cult Category

Tone and Language

The tone is playful, sassy, self-aware, and gently irreverent. The hosts blend social critique with humor, encouraging listeners to reflect on their own “culty” behaviors while remaining non-judgmental and inclusive.

Final Verdict

The Cult of Duolingo:

• Live Your Life
  Amanda and Chelsea agree that while Duolingo leverages plenty of classic cult tactics—ritual, shame, charismatic leadership (the owl, Zaria!)—its “cult” is fundamentally benign, even wholesome. It’s more iPhone game than genuine school, and while it keeps users hooked, it ultimately promotes a fun, accessible form of self-improvement.

“If you want to play an iPhone game, live your life. If you want to learn a language, find a meetup… That’s free too.” — Amanda Montell (54:13)

Where to Find Zaria Parvez

• LinkedIn newsletter
• (Trying to migrate to Substack!) (53:03)

Recommendation

Duolingo: Fun, community-building, and maybe a little “cultish”—but in all the best ways. Supplement for real fluency, but enjoy the rituals (and the memes) guilt-free.

“Stay culty—but not too culty.”