Why does looking back feel so sweet, so painful, and so irresistible this time of year? In this special short episode, Amanda takes a moment to reflect on the year of Magical Overthinkers from the fan favorite episodes to the conversations that changed us. Then she reads her Los Angeles Times essay on nostalgia, exploring why we cling to the past, how memory both comforts and distorts us, and what it means to long for a version of life that never quite existed the way we remember it. A gentle closing spiral for the year, filled with gratitude, bittersweetness, and a little hint of what’s coming next season.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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Why does it feel like every time we open our phones, something is begging us to get angry? This week, just in time for Thanksgiving, host Amanda is joined by theologian, ethics professor, and No Small Endeavor host Lee C. Camp (@leeccamp) to overthink about ragebait; the outrage optimized content designed to divide us, drain us, and keep us doomscrolling. Together, they explore how polarization has turned irritation into entertainment, why we’re so easily pulled into cycles of collective fury, and the surprising antidotes. A reflective spiral about anger, attention, and the radical act of meeting each other beyond the algorithm.

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- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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Amanda is joined by wellness educator and founder of The Being Method MJ Renshaw (@beingmethodbreathwork) to gently spiral about crying: the science, the stigma, and the quiet relief that comes after the tears.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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If the algorithm knows what we want before we do… who’s really in charge? This week, host Amanda Montell(@amanda_montell) is joined by linguist, creator, and internet culture observer Adam Aleksic (@etymologynerd) to spiral deep into the invisible yet all powerful force shaping our attention, creativity, politics, and identities: The Algorithm. Why do we talk about it like it’s a god, a ghost, or an ex? Why does it shove us into hyper specific digital rabbit holes no matter how much we resist? And what happens when our digital realities start to diverge so wildly, we can’t agree on the same version of truth?

Further Reading: Algospeak by Adam Aleksic   

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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We’re all “holding space,” “setting boundaries,” and “doing the work”, but when does the language of healing start to feel like another script we’re performing? This week, host Amanda Montell is joined by writer and therapist Joe Nucci (@joenuccitherapy) to overthink therapy speak, the vocabulary of mental health that’s seeped into everyday life and the internet alike. Together, they explore how this language can empower us to name our needs, but also how it can flatten complex emotions, mask avoidance as self care, and turn genuine vulnerability into content. A soft spiral about self-awareness, semantics, and the messy truth hiding underneath all those polished words for pain.
Further Reading: Psychobabble: Viral Mental Health Myths & the Truths to Set You Free by Joe Nucci, LPC 

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical

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Why does walking into a room, saying the wrong thing, or laughing too loud feel like the end of the world? This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by journalist and audio producer Alex Sujong Laughlin (@alexlaughs) to spiral about social awkwardness and the tiny stumbles and silences that can feel so major in our heads. Together, they explore what awkwardness reveals about vulnerability, belonging, and the impossible standards we hold ourselves to in social spaces. Is awkwardness a flaw to overcome or proof that we’re trying, reaching, and wanting connection? A gentle spiral into shame, empathy, and the small, crooked ways we show up as ourselves. 

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

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Revenge is one of our oldest fantasies. It's sharp, seductive, but rarely as satisfying as it promises to be. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by lawyer, author, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, James Kimmel Jr. to overthink our obsession with revenge: why it feels so good in theory, why it rarely delivers in practice, and what it reveals about our deepest wounds and longings. Together, they explore how the brain processes revenge almost like an addictive substance - flooding us with momentary relief, then keeping us hooked in a cycle of suffering. From the neuroscience of vengeance to the quiet, radical possibility of letting go, this conversation opens up a gentler path through pain. A soft spiral into anger, control, and the sacred art of breaking the cycle.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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“Ditz.” It’s a word that sounds harmless, silly, soft-edged, even cute. But underneath it is a long, messy history of gendered judgment. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by journalist and author Koa Beck (@koabeck) to gently spiral about the cultural construction of ditziness: where the word came from, who it’s been used against, and what it reveals about how we punish femininity for being either too much… or not enough. Together, they unpack how "ditzy" became shorthand for whiteness, blondness, and a very specific kind of Southern California-coded femininity, despite the fact that the so-called “ditz” in pop culture (Elle Woods, Cher Horowitz, Regina George) is often brilliant, strategic, and socially powerful. Is ditziness a stereotype, a defense mechanism, a flirtation tool, or all three? What happens when smart women lean into softness? And how do internalized misogyny and impossible expectations make it feel safer to play dumb than to risk being called bossy, smug, or shrill? A quietly radical spiral into language, performance, and the politics of not being taken seriously on purpose or by accident.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

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Can you be trained by a gaslighter to gaslight yourself? This week, Amanda (@amanda_montell) is joined by Harvard historian and sociologist Rebecca Lemov (@rebeccalemov) to overthink gaslighting, a word that’s become part of our everyday vocabulary, but whose origins and implications run deeper than we realize. Together, they trace gaslighting’s roots in psychology, politics, and culture, and explore how this slow erosion of truth can shape our relationships, our self-trust, and our collective understanding of reality.
A quiet spiral about doubt, distortion, and the radical act of believing yourself.  

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

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Should I move or stay where I am? Take the job or turn it down? Text back or disappear into the ocean? This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Vicki Tan (@vickiheart), a digital product designer and author, to gently spiral about indecision: why it’s so hard to choose, what’s actually hiding underneath all that back-and-forth, and how much of it is really fear dressed up as logic.
Together, they unpack the mental clutter, perfectionism, and quiet grief that decision making so often stirs up, and ask what it would feel like to choose without trying to be perfect. A spiral into possibility, analysis paralysis, and the sacred mess of not knowing what comes next.
Further Reading: Ask This Book A Question by Vicki Tan

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

Head to https://Greenchef.com/50MAGICAL and use code 50MAGICAL to get 50% off your first month, then 20% off for two months with free shipping.

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