According to 2023 Pew Research, nearly half of social media users have been politically active on their platforms of choice in the last year. In an era when Instagram, TikTok, and the app formerly known as Twitter aren't just venues for brunch pics and cat memes but have turned into sites for collective action and grassroots organizing, social media activism has become a powerful tool... and a major source of internal conflict. Is engaging in Instagram activism actually effective, or does it just create the illusion of impact? How much of it is just performative, and is performativity always bad? And what about the pressure? If we post, are we overbearing? If we don’t, are we complicit? To help untangle these thought spirals, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) sits down with Leah Thomas (@greengirlleah), an environmental author and creator who has built a massive platform for environmental justice online. Together, they discuss the complexities of social media activism, how "spiritually bankrupt" the space has become, and how we can engage meaningfully—without losing our peace in the process. 

Further reading: The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet by Leah Thomas

Pew Research Study: Americans’ views of and experiences with activism on social media by Samuel Bestvater, Risa Gelles-Watnick, Meltem Odabaş, Monica Anderson, and Aaron Smith

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Is gossip just a petty pastime, or a tool to empower the marginalized? Or both? From ancient hearsay to celebrity blind items to the group chat’s hottest tea, gossip has always been a part of how humans connect, but why does it carry such a negative (gendered) reputation? Host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by journalist, novelist, and Normal Gossip creator Kelsey McKinney (@mckinneykelsey) to unravel the fascinating etymology and moral gray areas of gossip in the digital age. Together, they explore if gossip can be an "addiction," how to get people to gossip with us *more*, if the internet has corrupted gossip's original aims, and whether it’s actually possible to be a good person and still enjoy a little harmless chatter.

Further Reading: Kelsey McKinney’s You Didn’t Hear This From Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip (out on February 11th, 2025). 

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Sharing another podcast we can’t get enough of: Your Mama’s Kitchen. It’s a show about

cuisine and culture, ingredients and identities, and the meals and memories

that make us who we are. Host Michele Norris talks to Michelle Obama, Glennon

Doyle, José Andrés and so many other guests about the complexities of family

life and how their earliest culinary experiences helped shape their personal

and professional lives. And of course, each guest shares a recipe for a

favorite dish from their youth so you can taste a bit of their story. In this

episode, Late Show host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie reminisce on their

romcom-worthy meet cute, they share the food they ate growing up in Charleston,

North Carolina (hint: lots of seafood), and some of the cooking hiccups they

faced as a new couple in their first kitchen. Plus, Stephen teaches us how to

make his version of his mama’s fudge – a recipe none of his siblings can agree

on.

You can find more Your Mama’s Kitchen at https://lnk.to/yourmamaskitchenMA

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Delicate does not even begin to describe this week's topic, and we're so thankful for the vulnerable thought spirals listeners submitted for discussion. The concept of fertility is often surrounded by an overwhelming mix of mystery, pressure, shame, fear, and misinformation—and, if you're fortunate to find it, hope and solidarity, too. From decoding hormones to navigating the emotional and societal complexities of "trying" (or choosing not to), there’s no shortage of material to overthink about. Host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Lisa Hendrickson-Jack (@fertilityfriday), certified fertility awareness educator, holistic reproductive health practitioner, and author of three bestselling books on fertility and menstruation. Together, they unpack how fertility awareness can empower us, challenge long-held myths, and shift the way we view reproductive health in the modern world.

CORRECTION:

A couple of points made in this week’s interview—namely, the study about birth control pills disrupting pheromones and the implication that hormonal IUDs and birth control pills can cause the same side effects—are debated. Listen to Science Vs the Pill to learn more. Thanks for your listenership and thoughtful engagement! Overall, we hope this episode inspires more critical conversation and self-advocacy, and less shame, about the thought spiral-inducing subject of fertility ❤️

Further Reading: Lisa Hendrickson-Jack’s The Fifth Vital Sign

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Why do some of us feel the overwhelming urge to say yes, smooth things over, and keep everyone around us happy—even at our own expense? And why does it sometimes feel... kind of manipulative? Is people pleasing just kindness in overdrive, or is there something deeper (or even darker) at work? Host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) invites author, former therapist, and self-proclaimed sociopath Patric Gagne (@patricgagne) to untangle the messy knot of motives behind people pleasing. With the help of listener-submitted thought spirals, they explore the fine line between compassion and control, the traumas that might fuel this behavior, and how to rid your life of "pathological over-accommodation" once and for all.    

Further Reading: Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne 

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Have you ever scrolled through LinkedIn or Instagram, and someone you know—a peer, an ex-coworker, a high school nemesis—just landed a dream job, got a promotion, or launched a project. And with one post, which objectively has little to do with you, that sinking sour feeling of career jealousy sends you into a self-worth spiral. Is career jealousy inevitable in the age of curated success stories? And is it something we can overcome? Host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by seasoned HR expert Daniel Space (@danfromhr) to break down this all-too-relatable phenomenon, offering both practical advice and thought-provoking insights on managing career FOMO and reclaiming your own unique path.

Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

Head over to https://Masterclass.com/MAGICAL for the current offer, up to 50% off.

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Making friends as an adult can be confusing, awkward, and—let's be real—embarrassingly hard. Why is it that something that came so naturally on the playground feels like pulling teeth now? Is it just a symptom of getting older and more curmudgeonly, or does it reveal something deeper about our culture, our priorities, and even our fears? To help us untangle the magical overthinking of adult friendships, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Anna Goldfarb (@annagoldfarb), journalist and author of Modern Friendship. Together, they discuss why so many grown-ups feel friendless and what we can do to bounce back in a time when community is more important than ever. *Sends “friendship calendar invite.”

Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

Head over to https://Masterclass.com/MAGICAL for the current offer, up to 50% off.

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What could be more ripe for thought spirals than the concept of tiny, invisible poisons secretly lurking in our food, clothes, and the air we breathe? With such mystery, misinformation, and conspiracy surrounding "toxins"—everything from forever chemicals in our sparkling water to carcinogens in our skincare—it's impossible not to overthink about them. To help soothe our noxious spiraling on the subject, we're pleased to welcome a very special guest Dr. Denise Montell, a cancer researcher at the University of California Santa Barbara and host Amanda's (@amanda_montell) very own mother. Mother Montell joins the pod to answer a plethora of unfiltered, listener-submitted questions on the relationship between our bodies and the environment, and what we can do to limit our "toxic" exposure while protecting our precious mental health.

Get an additional 15% off any annual membership at https://masterclass.com/MAGICAL

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Big question: Is life in the ever-disembodied digital era changing our attitudes toward death? Already, Americans' relationship to mortality is terribly distant—but how do phenomena like social media, the brandification of the apocalypse, and technology-assisted modes of "cheating death" further widen that divide? Just in time for Halloween, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by a personal idol of hers, Sloane Crosley, New York Times-bestselling author of several books including the recent memoir Grief Is for People, for the ultimate magical overthinker's discussion of death in the Information Age.  

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/MAGICAL and get on your way to being your best self.

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Is it just us, or do thought spirals about the forthcoming American presidential election seem to hum in the background of nearly every quotidien conversation these days? When asked to submit their overthinkiest thoughts on the matter, listeners had lots to say: Is it wrong to feel hope? Is it wrong to feel fatalistic? Would a Kamala Harris win provoke civil war? Why are we still tolerating the two-party system? How can we communicate with our family members who plan to vote differently or not at all? Are we screwed either way? Do we need to move to Canada? To help dial down the temperature on our election-centric magical overthinking, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by former Obama speechwriter, Crooked Media co-founder, and host of the podcasts Pod Save America and Offline, Jon Favreau (@jfavs). Further Reading: How Trump Could Ban Abortion 

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Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

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

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- 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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