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Amanda Montell

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  • Linguist and Expert in Language & Contemporary Culture
  • Critically Acclaimed Author of ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking,’ ‘Wordslut,’ & ‘Cultish’
  • Host of the Award-Winning Podcast 'Sounds Like A Cult'

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Amanda Montell is a New York Times-bestselling author and iHeart Radio Award-winning podcaster. Her nonfiction books include Cultish, Wordslut, and The Age of Magical Overthinking—an instant New York Times Bestseller and Indie Bestseller. Montell’s books have been praised by The Atlantic, The Economist, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, and others. Her podcast Sounds Like A Cult was named a best podcast of 2022 by Vulture, Esquire, and Marie Claire and won the 2023 iHeart Radio Award for Best Emerging Podcast. Her newest podcast, Magical Overthinkers, premiered in May 2024 and landed on both Apple and Spotify’s charts of the Top 10 Society & Culture podcasts in the USA. Montell shares her research to give audiences a new approach to handling stress, anxiety, and overthinking that can provide a positive, refreshing new perspective.

Amanda’s writing has been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, and elsewhere. Speaking about her work, she has appeared in documentary series including Netflix’s How to Become A Cult Leader and Vice TV’s True Believers. Montell has delighted audiences at The Strand, the LA Times Festival of Books, the Live Wire Radio Festival, the Books in Bloom Festival, and many more.

 


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Past Hosts Include:
  • Iowa State University
  • Des Moines Public Library
  • Oregon State University
  • Planet Word Museum
  • Rights & Religions Forum
  • Rocky Mountain Sex Summit
  • Fall for the Book Festival
  • TEDx
Rave Reviews About Amanda Montell
“
I've been the onsite staff for Amanda's events at Iowa State. Her talk last night was fantastic! We filled a room with journalism and women's studies majors, had a lengthy Q&A discussion, and Amanda squealed when she saw the line of students waiting for her to sign their books. I'm confident our University Book Store will sell out of the copies they purchased for her events before her lecture begins tonight.

”
Amanda Montell on The Secret Language of Cults: Crash Course Lecture - Get Sharable Link
Talks & Conversations with Amanda Montell
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Author Talk: ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’

In this conversation, AMANDA MONTELL draws from her instant New York Times bestseller, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, to make sense of today’s senselessness. By combining razor-sharp, deeply funny stories with scientific research, critically acclaimed author, linguis ...

In this conversation, AMANDA MONTELL draws from her instant New York Times bestseller, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, to make sense of today’s senselessness. By combining razor-sharp, deeply funny stories with scientific research, critically acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host Montell provides audiences with a window into our minds – delving into the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains. Join Montell as she explores our cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking.

Information on book buys and signings is available upon request.

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.

How to Build a Cult(ish)

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 in unexpected places, especially social media, the workplace, and, of course, loyalty programs. Business le ...

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 in unexpected places, especially social media, the workplace, and, of course, loyalty programs. Business leaders in any industry can benefit from Montell’s perspective on how words wield power and influence human behavior. 

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Speaker News

Linguist Amanda Montell tells the story of language as culture

Storyteller and linguist AMANDA MONTELL is an expert on the intersection of linguistics and culture. Montell speaks with accessibility and enthusiasm on timely topics shaping language, identity, and society. 

As a thoughtful and creative cultural critic, Montell adeptly perceives and breaks down the hidden rules governing society. By openly interrogating the world we live in, she brings audiences on a journey of creative self-discovery backed by scientific thought and historical precedent answering why things are the way they are. Montell has delighted crowds across the world with this presentation, selling out tickets for book festivals and library series, universities and high schools, corporate events, and TEDx.

Watch Amanda Montell’s keynote at Avid Presents >>

Watch Amanda Montell in conversation on The Minimalists podcast >>

Amanda Montell explores cognitive biases, restoring agency amid chaos in her book ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’

Critically acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host AMANDA MONTELL explores our cognitive biases and the power of magical thinking in her instant New York Times bestseller The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Building on her earlier explorations of language and culture, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: a Feminist Guide to the English Language, Montell showcases the power of what we tell ourselves.

In The Age of Magical Overthinking, a personal and electrifying work, Montell turns her erudite eye to the inner workings of the human mind and its biases. As she illuminates these social and psychological concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s empowering message is one of hope, empathy, and forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves.

Watch Amanda Montell’s keynote at Avid Presents >>

Watch Amanda Montell in conversation on Pretty Smart podcast >>

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Books by Amanda Montell
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality

The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language

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Press & Media
If Everything Is ‘Trauma,’ Is Anything? - New York Times
Ep. 190 Getting Cultish with Amanda Montell - The Stacks Podcast
Feminism and the English Language with Wordslut - Stuff Mom Never Told You Podcast
Are You In A Cult? This Podcast Can Tell You - Vulture
A Podcast Taught Me That We're Probably All in Cults, and It's (Mostly) Fine - Jezebel
Amanda Montell is One of Those (Occasionally High) Coffee Shop Writers - Interview Magazine
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Ideas for the Meeting Planner
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Biography

Amanda Montell is a New York Times-bestselling author and iHeart Radio Award-winning podcaster. Her nonfiction books include Cultish, Wordslut, and The Age of Magical Overthinking, an instant New York Times Bestseller and Indie Bestseller. Amanda’s books have been praised by The Atlantic, The Economist, NPR, and others and have been shortlisted for prizes including the Non-Obvious Book Awards and GoodReads Choice Awards. In addition to creating and hosting the hit podcasts Sounds Like A Cult and Magical Overthinkers, Amanda has written for publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Esquire, and Harper’s Bazaar. Speaking about her work, she has appeared in documentary series including Netflix’s “How to Become A Cult Leader,” HBO’s “Breath of Fire,” and Complexly’s “Crash Course.” Amanda holds a degree in linguistics from NYU and lives in Southern California.

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