What if the United States wasn’t just influenced by cult-like thinking, but shaped by it from the very beginning?

This week on Simplify, Caitlin Schiller speaks with journalist and author Jane Borden, whose book Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America explores how cult dynamics show up across U.S. history, politics, consumer culture, and self-help. From Puritan theology to superhero movies, Borden argues that cults aren’t fringe phenomena—they’re extreme versions of patterns baked so deep into American culture that they came over in the metaphorical sourdough starter brought over on the Mayflower. 

Together, Caitlin and Jane unpack why Americans are so drawn to comfort, certainty, and strongmen—and what it costs us when we give up agency in exchange for reassurance.

You'll also hear about Caitlin's new least favorite figure in history (spoilers: it's the compunctionless Edward Bernays), dismantle the stories about power we're told, learn how the desire for comfort slowly erodes democracy, and where we should turn—if not to a singular outside "hero"—to save the day.  

Resources

Cults Like Us by Jane Borden
The American Monomyth by Robert Jewett & John Shelton Lawrence
Caitlin's rec: The Hardest Job in the World by John Dickerson
Ben's rec: Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam

Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter here—this week, a take on hero worship & Bad Bunny. You can email us at [email protected]

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and Ody Constantinou in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.

Strategy. It can sound abstract, intimidating, and vaguely corporate. So who better to help demystify it than Seth Godin?

Seth returns to Simplify to talk about his book This Is Strategy, and to reframe strategy not as a rigid plan or a set of tactics, but as a philosophy of becoming. In this conversation, Caitlin Schiller and Seth Godin explore what strategy really is, why tension is not only inevitable but necessary, and how pricing, trust, and generosity fit into long-term thinking about work.

If strategy has ever felt overwhelming, or if you’ve been told to “be more strategic” without anyone explaining what that means, this episode is for you.

______

Resources

Seth's Blog (going strong for 30 years without missing a day!) and his new book, This is Strategy
Caitlin's rec: Considered Chaos, Substack of Eugene Healey
Ben's rec: Good to Great by Jim Collins

Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Email us at [email protected]

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and Ody Constantinou in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.

Simplify is back! When you leave the doctor with a protocol for what ails you, do you wonder where the knowledge behind your prescription came from? In fact, we know how to treat today's woes thanks to the bodies of people who suffered—and nowhere is that data more inexact and editorialized than in women's health. Feminist cultural historian Dr. Elinor Cleghorn, who specializes in women’s health and its history, is just the person to set the story straight. 

Her book, Unwell Women, demystifies myths around women’s health—stories about what women's bodies are for, whether pain is just a necessary side effect of being a woman, and why women's bodies have been policed and traded as political capital, yet we still have to fight to be believed about our own bodily experiences. Women's bodies aren't mysteries—they are our own to care for and make decisions about.

In this episode, Caitlin Schiller talks with Dr. Cleghorn about the relevance of this history today, as women's sexuality and reproductive freedoms are being redefined in response to a threatened patriarchy and budding pronatalist movements across the west.

In the Bookend, Ben and Caitlin make reading recommendations and discuss Simplify's new, independent era. 
Caitlin's rec: Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Ben's rec: The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins

Let us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on instagram at @simplifypod on instagram. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Email us at [email protected]

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and Ody Constantinou in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media.

Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features one of Caitlin's favorite-ever interviews, with Kathryn Mannix.

To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get ready for Monday: you’ll hear from a cultural historian who will change the way you interact with the medical system. 
 

Sign up for our new newsletter, follow us on instagram. See you there!

Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features Liz Fosslien.

To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get ready for Monday: you’ll hear from a cultural historian who will change the way you interact with the medical system. 

Sign up for our new newsletter, follow us on instagram. See you there!

Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. This episode features Eli Finkel, and it's one of our personal favorites.

To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get ready for Monday: you’ll hear from a cultural historian who will change the way you interact with the medical system. 

Sign up for our new newsletter, follow us on instagram. See you there!
 

Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. 

To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get ready for Monday: you’ll hear from a cultural historian who will change the way you interact with the medical system. 

Sign up for our new newsletter, follow us on instagram. See you there!

This one features Tiffany Dufu, it's one of our most-downloaded episodes ever.

Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. 

To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our favorite episodes. So, catch up on the great ideas you might’ve missed and get ready for Monday: you’ll hear from a cultural historian who will change the way you interact with the medical system. 

Sign up for our new newsletter, follow us on instagram. See you there!

This is one of our most popular ever episodes, featuring David Allen. We sound so young... 

You know a magical connection when you feel it—that undeniable magnetism that pulls you together for a fit that's as much like home as it is an adventure.  We see these sorts of connections in romcoms all the time, but they're not just relegated to the romcom realm. Magical connections happen in friendships, too, and Rhaina Cohen wants to dignify them. 

This conversation with the  writer and NPR Embedded producer/editor draws on some key stories and insights from her new book: The Other Significant Others: Reimagining Life with Friendship at the Center. Caitlin and Rhaina talk about why it can be beautiful and beneficial to distribute the "significant other" title across many people, what it looks like to treat friendships more like life partnerships, the  friendship tradition and where we might have lost passionate platonic significant otherships, and the important work of letting the ones who love us see our mess.

In the Bookend, Ben and Caitlin discuss friendship, awkwardly thank each other for their friendship, and make further learning and reading recs. And thank you, listeners, for bein' a friend. :)

Caitlin's Rec: Rituals Roadmap by Erica Keswin 
Ben's Rec: Caitlin's Guide on Adult Friendship and The Lonely Century by Noreena Hertz

Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/simplify\][2], tapping on Try Blinkist at the top right, and entering the code friendship.

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi! Find Caitlin on instagram at @cschills https://www.instagram.com/cschills/[2], Ben at @bsto https://twitter.com/bsto [3]. You can write us all an email at [email protected] [4].

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, Maria Levacic & Stéphane Obadia at Blinkist
 

Here's a chilling thought: experts are saying that we may soon be sustaining 100-year work lives. If that's true, then how many careers might we have? How will we know where to upskill? And how will we keep bagged lunches interesting for so many years? 

Michelle R. Weise, researcher and author of Long Life Learning: Prepare for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet, offers ways to think through and prepare for the long life of work ahead. She outlines five principles for the educational ecosystem that can support the future workforce, offers ideas on how AI can actually help you become more marketable, and gives a super straightforward framework for knowing which skills you should develop to stay relevant in your job. 

You'll also learn about what it means to become a "skills translator," able to showcase to future employers your unique aspects that lend a competitive edge over AI. Plus: listen up for why we all really need to stay alert to our discomfort on the job—it might be telling us something important. 

Caitlin's Rec: Farai Chideya’s Simplify Episode
Michelle's Website

Try Blinkist for free for 14 days by going to [https://www.blinkist.com/simplify\][2], tapping on Try Blinkist at the top right, and entering the code reflect.

Let us know what you thought of this episode, or just come say hi on Twitter! Find Caitlin at @caitlinschiller https://twitter.com/caitlinschiller [2], Ben at @bsto https://twitter.com/bsto [3]. You can write us all an email at [email protected] [4].

This episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, Maria Levacic & Stéphane Obadia at Blinkist