Amanda Montell

Montell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, to a Jewish family; she attended Hebrew school as a child.^[1][2] Montell studied linguistics at New York University^[3] and her writing has appeared in Time,^[4] Nylon, Cosmopolitan,^[5] Glamour, Domino,^[6] and Marie Claire. She previously worked as a beauty and features editor at Byrdie and Who What Wear. She also created a web series, The Dirty Word,^[7] for Joey Soloway's now defunct platform, Wifey.^[8][9]

Montell's debut book, Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, was released in 2019 and received positive reviews from critics.^{[10][11][12][13]} It was named one of the best books of May 2019 by Popsugar,^[14] Marie Claire,^[15] and Cosmopolitan.^[16]

Montell's second book, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism, was published in 2021 and also received positive reviews from critics.^[17][18][19] The book was partially inspired by Montell's father, who spent his teen years in the cult Synanon.^[20] Montell is also a cohost of the weekly podcast Sounds Like a Cult, which examines the cult-like aspects of various groups from across the cultural zeitgeist.^[21]

Montell's third book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, was published in April 2024.^[22][23] The book explains how cognitive biases warp our actions.

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