Sounds Like A Cult
Episode: The Cult of Podcast Hosts
Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Amanda Montell, Chelsea Charles, Reese Oliver
Podcast: Sounds Like A Cult
Overview
This special end-of-year episode of Sounds Like A Cult takes a meta turn, as hosts Amanda Montell, Chelsea Charles, and Reese Oliver reflect on podcast hosting itself as a “culty” phenomenon. Through listener-submitted questions, the trio explores the nuances, in-jokes, power structures, and shared vocabulary of the podcasting world—drawing connections to traditional cultish behaviors and examining their own dynamic. The format is looser than usual (“unfiltered, unhinged,” as Amanda says), with plenty of behind-the-scenes stories, rapid-fire responses, and playful admissions of their own cultish temptations.
Key Discussion Points
Introducing the Meta-Cult: Podcast Hosts
- Amanda frames the episode: "Sometimes your very own favorite parasocial disembodied voices can be cult leaders." (03:06)
- The hosts acknowledge that podcasting creates an exclusive-feeling world, “an obligation to have to kind of get into it, but… I know you just won’t get it. That’s what I feel is culty.” – Chelsea (05:20)
- Amanda: “There is a lot of clownery on this show… The girls who get it, get it. And that statement alone makes Sounds Like a Cult a cult.” (06:27)
- Emphasis on laughing with the audience rather than at sensitive topics, but sticking staunchly to their comedic (and sometimes controversial) tone.
Behind the Scenes: Host Dynamics & Origin Stories
- Chelsea: “I slid up in Amanda’s DMs after being a cult listener for a while... It was just one of those kismet situations where I was like, I’m going to put myself out there. And now here we are.” (09:08)
- Reese: Came up via fan interactions and live shows. “I, too, was just but a humble listener and a reader of the books... An intern was needed. I stepped up. The rest is history.” (10:38)
- Discussion about their age differences and genuine chemistry, despite having met through the podcast.
- Chelsea: “Yes, New Friends!” (13:06) – Upending Drake’s old mantra.
Cults They've Secretly Wanted to Join
- Amanda admits to being tempted by “witchier, more spiritual cults,” e.g., Etsy witches. Later reverses her stance on “Labubu,” a whimsical mascot. “I like reverse indoctrinated myself… groups like that where it’s ultra feminine, mystical.” (13:07–14:55)
- Chelsea: Boarding schools—“It made me so sad that I didn’t get to partake because of all the rituals. Y’all know I’m the most susceptible to cults in our fabulous trio.” (15:44)
- Reese: “Van life and roller derby. I think both of those things sound incredibly fun, even though both roller skating and driving terrify me.” (16:44)
- Amanda: “The cult is always greener…” (17:42)
How They Pick Topics & Assign Hosts
- Amanda explains their topic selection calculus: “Certain cults are too easy to categorize… Some are too polarizing. Some are just too on the nose… There’s a certain tone that we’re trying to capture with every single episode.” (23:07)
- Preference, niche interests, pop-culture timing, and listener suggestions all play a role.
- “If we suggest a topic, it’s kind of implied that we’d like to cover it.” – Reese (25:12)
- Listener persistence pays off, e.g., the long-requested “marching band” episode (26:00).
TV, Documentaries, and Cult Content of the Year
- Praise for cult-heavy series:
- Wayward on Netflix—Amanda consulted for the show (21:07)
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, The P. Diddy documentary, and Mormon wives drama (22:08)
- “Just recording our episode on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders made me more obsessed with them.” – Amanda (22:08)
- “Oh my God, there’s so much Mormon wives drama happening right now... I do feel like for the first time, I’m kind of getting the Housewives thing.” – Reese (22:11)
Most Unhinged Conspiracy Theories (26:51)
- Chelsea: “The chicken wing industry has been infiltrated by quail.” (28:27)
- Reese: Musicals based on movies are really just “being made to sell performance rights to high schools and middle schools.” (29:10)
- Amanda: “My favorite conspiracy theory that I believe in is that Hitler had a micropenis. Without a doubt, the evidence is there.” (30:14, with Chelsea’s resounding agreement at 30:14)
Regretting Cult Ratings?
- All agree: “No. Because they’re not that serious.” – Amanda (30:31)
- The hosts discuss the subjectivity and context behind their “Live Your Life / Watch Your Back / Get The Fuck Out” scale and how listeners get defensive over the ratings.
- Amanda: “It’s just for fun. It’s kind of a framework to better understand and discuss. It’s also just a technique to get people to listen all the way to the end of the episode. It’s really not that deep.” (31:48)
- Chelsea: “None of us purport to know everything… we learn new information every single fucking day.” (32:56)
Favorite Cults (34:31)
- Chelsea: “Cult of Beyoncé. I just feel super connected to her. That is a cult that I am so proud of.” (34:39)
- Reese: Nickelodeon—it shaped her sense of humor, but “I’m not condoning any problematic behaviors…” (34:50)
- Amanda: The most fascinating: Synanon (her dad grew up in it), but also “wherever evangelicalism and pop culture intersect”: purity culture, Christian pop music, megachurches. (35:18)
Lightning Round Q&A
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“Do you tell people in your life if you think they’re in cults?”
- Amanda: Depends on the person, generally prefers a gentle approach. (39:42)
- Chelsea: Lost a friendship over being brutally honest about a friend’s cult involvement; now approaches it more delicately. (40:53)
- Reese: Loves to call out “slacky type cults” in new acquaintances, but is sensitive to beliefs “near to someone’s worldview.” (41:56)
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“Cult more people should join?”
- Amanda: “Something in person that has to do with nature… a community garden…” (37:55)
- Reese: “The cult of mutual aid” (38:11)
- Chelsea: “Cult of Pilates. Community, hotness, stability, core strength.” (38:25)
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Favorite Italian food in LA? Amanda: Felix (Venice), Spina (Atwater Village) (47:15)
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Fashion Styles:
- Chelsea: “A mix of troubled teen and cat fight at a bar.” (45:50)
- Reese: “If I had all the money, period accurate outfit from 1955–1985 every day.” (46:05)
- Amanda: “Brunch Princess, Professor Coquette, and little Orphan Boy.” (46:39)
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“Is this podcast a cult?”
- All: “Live your life”—hosting is “a great life… What a year it has been.” (47:45)
Notable Quotes & Moments
- “I feel kind of like a wizard behind a curtain, but also, there’s literally no way to show you what’s behind here.” – Amanda (05:48)
- “If you can’t laugh at yourself, then… it’s just hitting a little close to home for you.” – Amanda (07:44)
- “My favorite thing, and honestly, this might be the cultiest thing about hosting this podcast, is when listeners take the cult classification system so seriously…” – Amanda (30:48)
- “Joining the cult of a community garden.” – Amanda (38:01)
- “Community, hotness, stability, core strength. Who doesn’t need it?” – Chelsea (38:30)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 03:06 – Podcast hosts as potential cult leaders, show format for this episode
- 05:20 – “Culty” feeling of podcasting; cultural vocabulary and exclusivity
- 09:08 – How Chelsea joined the show (DM sliding lore)
- 10:38 – Reese’s entry to the team via fan-to-intern pipeline
- 13:07 – Cults the hosts almost want to join, including Labubu and boarding schools
- 23:07 – Deep dive: How topics and host assignments happen
- 26:51 – “Most unhinged conspiracy theory you believe in?” rapid fire
- 30:31 – Regret any cult ratings?
- 34:39 – Favorite cults covered on the show
- 39:42 – Do you confront friends about their cults? Where’s the line?
- 45:50 – Hosts’ fashion sense: Letting their aesthetic colors show
- 47:45 – Is the podcast itself a cult? Yearly reflections and tease for 2026
Tone & Language
The conversational tone is loose, invited, and irreverent, with a "wink and nudge" attitude toward both cultishness and their audience. Banter is affectionate and self-aware, peppered with Internet in-jokes, quick-witted asides, and a clear message: self-mockery is key to self-awareness.
Conclusion
This episode blurs the line between host and content, embracing the meta-cult of podcasting with warmth, vulnerability, and humor. Whether discussing the magnetic draw of in-group rituals, the not-so-seriousness of their ratings, or the surprising depth of fandom, Amanda, Chelsea, and Reese reveal both the potential dangers and immense joys of building “culty” communities—even when you’re the ones behind the mic.