The Age of Magical Overthinking
Thursday, 24 Apr 2025 at 6:00 pm – Great Hall, Memorial Union
Annual Goldtrap Lecture & Quentin Johnson Lecture in Linguistics Amanda Montell is an acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host based in Los Angeles. She speaks at various events worldwide, covering topics such as cult language in social media and the workplace, gender-inclusive language, and cognitive biases.Amanda has authored two bestselling books, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, and co-hosts the popular podcast Sounds Like A Cult. Her work has been praised by major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Cultish was named a best book of 2021 by NPR and is being developed for TV.Amanda is currently writing her third book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, due in 2024. Originally from Baltimore, she holds a degree in linguistics from NYU. This lecture will be recorded and available for two weeks on the Available Recordings page approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the event.Annual Goldtrap Lecture & Quentin Johnson Lecture in Linguistics Amanda Montell is an acclaimed author, linguist, and podcast host based in Los Angeles. She speaks at various events worldwide, covering topics such as cult language in social media and the workplace, gender-inclusive language, and cognitive biases.Amanda has authored two bestselling books, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language, and co-hosts the popular podcast Sounds Like A Cult. Her work has been praised by major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Cultish was named a best book of 2021 by NPR and is being developed for TV.Amanda is currently writing her third book, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, due in 2024. Originally from Baltimore, she holds a degree in linguistics from NYU. This lecture will be recorded and available for two weeks on the Available Recordings page approximately 24-36 hours after the conclusion of the event.
Stay for the entire event, including the brief question-and-answer session that follows the formal presentation. Most events run 75 minutes.
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