The author of the widely praised Wordslut analyzes  the social science of cult influence: how cultish groups from Jonestown  and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the  ultimate form of power.

What makes “cults” so intriguing and  frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us  binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes  researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a  satisfying explanation for what causes people to join - and more  importantly, stay in - extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could  it happen to me? Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it  already has....

Our culture tends to provide pretty flimsy  answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague  talk of “brainwashing”. But the true answer has nothing to do with  freaky mind-control wizardry or Kool-Aid. In Cultish, Montell  argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and  us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive ways and  shadowy ones, cultish language is something we hear - and are influenced  by - every single day.

Through juicy storytelling and cutting  original research, Montell exposes the verbal elements that make a wide  spectrum of communities “cultish”, revealing how they affect followers  of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade our  modern start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. Incisive  and darkly funny, this enrapturing take on the curious social science of  power and belief will make you hear the fanatical language of “cultish”  everywhere.