Amanda Montell

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  • Linguist and Expert in Language & Contemporary Culture
  • Author of Critically Acclaimed Books 'Cultish' and 'Wordslut'
  • Host of the Award-Winning Podcast 'Sounds Like A Cult'



Critically acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host Amanda Montell is the author of two bestselling nonfiction books, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language. Cultish was named a best book of 2021 by NPR and is currently in development for television. She is also the creator and co-host of the hit podcast, Sounds Like A Cult, which won "Best Emerging Podcast" at the iHeart Radio Podcast Awards, and has been praised by The New York Times, Vulture, Wired, Esquire, Marie Claire, and more. Amanda has given keynotes all over the world for book festivals and library series, universities and high schools, corporate events and consulting, and TEDx.

Amanda is an expert in language and contemporary culture, able to speak with accessibility and enthusiasm on timely topics from how cult language secretly shows up on social media and in the workplace, to how to make your company language more gender inclusive, to cognitive biases in the modern age. She is currently at work on her third book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality (to be published by OneSignal, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in 2024). The book is an exploration of contemporary delusion — how cognitive biases show up in our personal lives, on social media, and in public policy.

 

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A Sample of the Groups That Have Hosted Amanda Montell
  • Des Moines Public Library
  • Oregon State University
  • Planet Word Museum
  • Rights & Religions Forum
  • Rocky Mountain Sex Summit
  • Fall for the Book Festival
  • TEDx
WORDSLUT: Sexist Words and how they shape us | Pretty Smart Podcast [40:11] - Get Sharable Link
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Creating Inclusion Through Language

Acclaimed author Amanda Montell is an expert in language and contemporary culture and shares incisive and eye-opening strategies for creating inclusion through linguistic choices. Moving effortlessly between history, science, and popular culture, Montell’s irresistible humor shines through – making ...

Acclaimed author Amanda Montell is an expert in language and contemporary culture and shares incisive and eye-opening strategies for creating inclusion through linguistic choices. Moving effortlessly between history, science, and popular culture, Montell’s irresistible humor shines through – making linguistics approachable, hilarious, and profound for any audience.

Cults & The Fanaticism of Modern Culture

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Amanda Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” and how cult language secretly shows up on social media and in the workplace. ...

Through juicy storytelling and cutting original research, Amanda Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities “cultish,” and how cult language secretly shows up on social media and in the workplace.

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Amanda Montell is a critically acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host living in Los Angeles, who has given keynotes all over the world for book festivals and library series, universities and high schools, corporate events and consulting, and TEDx.

Amanda is an expert in language and contemporary culture, able to speak with accessibility and enthusiasm on timely topics from how cult language secretly shows up on social media and in the workplace, to how to make your company language more gender inclusive, to cognitive biases in the modern age. She is the author of two bestselling nonfiction books, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism (HarperWave, 2021) and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language (HarperWave, 2019). She is also the creator and co-host of the hit podcast, Sounds Like A Cult.

Amanda's books have earned praise from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Kirkus Reviews, and more. Cultish was named a best book of 2021 by NPR, was shortlisted for several prizes including the getAbstract International Book Award and Goodreads Choice Awards top 5 finalist, has been translated into seven languages, and is currently in development for television. Sounds Like A Cult is one of the most popular podcasts in the country, won "Best Emerging Podcast" at the iHeart Radio Podcast Awards, and has been praised by The New York Times, Vulture, Wired, Esquire, Marie Claire, and more.

Amanda is currently at work on her third book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality (to be published by OneSignal, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in 2024). The book is an exploration of contemporary delusion—how cognitive biases show up in our personal lives, on social media, and in public policy. Amanda was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and holds a degree in linguistics from NYU. Find her on Instagram @amanda_montell.