The Secret Language of Cults: A Crash Course Lecture is out now!

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Words hold tremendous power. Cult leaders know that all too well — but so do fitness instructors, celebrities, and corporate leaders. In our world today, we are increasingly exposed to, and influenced by, complicated mazes of buzzwords, mantras, euphemisms, clichés, and redefinitions: in short, language that’s just a little bit cultish. 

It turns out, these linguistic tricks are so effective because our brains are hardwired to fall for them. And now, evolutionary features that served us for millennia are clashing with the modern era. Social commentator and author Amanda Montell presents this Crash Course lecture about linguistics, culture, and belonging, available now on the Crash Course channel!