The Cult of Beauty Pageants
As Keenan Thompson said in a recent SNL parody of the Miss Universe pageant, "Welcome back to Miss Universe, one of several shows still on the air where we rank women. But it's not what you think—we d...
7 Mar 202354min
The Cult of Peloton
Did the first episode of HBO Max's Sex And The City reboot turn you off of Peloton? That makes one of us. This week, Amanda and Isa unpack the fanatical riders, worshipped instructors, and dystopian n...
28 Feb 20231h
The Cult of Child Stars
Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, and Daniel Radcliffe are all survivors of today's "cult," and so is our guest, Mara Wilson, star of 1990s cinematic classics like Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire. Mara was onl...
21 Feb 202354min
The Cult of Self-Help
In 2005, this week's guest Sarah Edmondson joined what she thought was a personal development program devoted to helping her overcome her "limiting beliefs." Little did she know it'd turn out to be on...
14 Feb 202355min
The Cult of The Boy Scouts
Allegations of right-wing dogma, unquestioned power dynamics, charismatic leaders, freaky rituals, and physical abuse... are we talking about a serious cult or the Boy Scouts of America? Potato, po-ta...
7 Feb 202354min
The Cult of Momfluencers
Motherhood is hard, lonely, and exhausting... except, apparently, if you're a momfluencer. Since the mid-2000s, a crop of seemingly perfect, all-knowing mommy goddesses in billowy tunics have emerged ...
31 Jan 20231h 8min
The Cult of Preppers
The end of the world... but make it cute and consumerist! "Preppers" are the latest iteration of doomsday survivalists, who band together on social media to talk canning, stockpiling, and first aid, b...
24 Jan 202348min
The Cult of Apple
The stigma around the green text bubble alone could ruin a man's life. How has Apple's secretiveness, superiority complex, and (admitted) marketing genius put our culture's social dynamics and behavio...
17 Jan 202352min
