Sounds Like A Cult - The Cult of Disney Adults (With Bonus Q&A!)

Episode Date: August 29, 2023

Before we return with regularly structured episodes next week (stay tuned for the "cult" of Burning Man!), here's another ad-free bonus episode featuring a rerun of our most-listened to episode of all time, The Cult of Disney Adults. Re-listen and/or skip to the 52-minute mark for a bonus Q&A with your hosts, Amanda and Isa! Get Tickets to Isa's comedy show in NYC September 22nd - Get Tix here!  To support Sounds Like A Cult, keep up with our live show dates, see Isa's live comedy, buy a copy of Amanda's book Cultish, or visit our website, click here! Or follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod @isaamedinaa @amanda_montell

The views expressed on this episode, as with all episodes of Sounds Like a Cult, are solely host opinions and quoted allegations. The content here should not be taken as indisputable facts. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Hey listeners, we are going to be back with regularly structured episodes next week, but we're releasing a couple of ad-free bonus episodes for the time being. This week we're re-airing our episode on the Cult of Disney adults, one of our most listened to episodes of all time, and also a host favorite.

And then stick around or skip ahead because we're going to be airing a bonus Q&A right afterwards where we answer some frequently asked questions from our listeners. Okay, onto the episode. Hi, my name is Shawntie. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I know a lot of Disney adults in my life and I always think it's super fucking weird that people are Disney adults and spend hundreds of dollars to go to a children's park. People still celebrate this company that's pretty fucked up and has a way too much

fucking money. That don't get it. I am a Disney adult and we're never really given a fair shake by people who aren't Disney adults. Nobody has a gun to your head saying that you need to love Disney stuff or go to the parks with us. We just tend to wear what we like on our sleeves. We don't need to be told that Disney is problematic. Chances are we know about how Disney is problematic in ways that you don't. There is no entry cost, there is no exit cost,

and nobody's forcing us to do this. My family are all Disney adults. We have a Disney vacation club, membership since we've had since the 50s. It's like been a family vacation for years and years. The cultiest thing about it is my mom's the only one who likes it. All of her daughters and her daughters-in-law have been assigned a Disney princess, and we get various Disney princess paraphernalia at each holiday according to who we are. This is Sounds Like a Cult. A show about the modern day cults. We all follow. I'm Eesa Medina and I'm a comedian. I'm Amanda Montel, author of the book Cultish the Language of Fanaticism. Every week here

on our show, we discuss a different fanatical fringe group from the cultural zeitgeist, from astrology to trader joes to try and answer the big question. This group sounds like a cult, but isn't really. To join our cult, follow us on Instagram at SoundsLikeAkultPod. I'm on IG at eSamadena, ISA, M-U-D-I-N-A. And I'm on Instagram at Amanda underscore at month hell. We also just launched our YouTube page, which is just sounds like a cult podcast. We have video now.

Yeah, we do. And it's really special, especially on this episode. You'll see what we mean. You get a little something extra when you listen with your eyes. Also for bonus materials, juicy cult discussions and more, feel free to hit us up on Patreon at patreon.com slash sounds like a cult.

Now are you ready to take a magic carpet ride into this week's topic? Ha ha ha. Zoom or maybe an elevator? Yeah, the Twilight Zone. Oh, it's different now. What is it? Guardians of the Galaxy is the theme of the

ride. What was it before? Twilight Twilight Zone. I love that ride. Me too. It's my favorite one. I love to feel like I'm plummeting to my death. Yeah and in like an artsy fashionable way because that's what Disney's all about. It's beautiful. It's not just a ride. It's also a magical experience. Obviously. It's a world. I can show you that world. Girl, show it to me. So if you don't know what a Disney adult is, I don't know where you've been living and I don't know how you're listening to this episode

because you might just not have internet. No, no, we had one comment on our Instagram post about this being like, wow, this is truly the first episode topic you're covering where I have no idea what you're saying. That's amazing, right? Yeah, live on the moon. I think that actually is a great position to be in

because you're not going to come at it with preconceived judgments. Yes, and it's also somewhat self-explanatory. Yeah, adult who loves Disney. Yeah, but I think it's like a person who's like, has a full-time job. They go to the parks at least a couple times a year. They buy all the merch.

They are obsessed with the movies. Maybe even go to the midnight premieres. It's a person who just is obsessed with everything that Disney does. Think of your hardest core Taylor Swift Swiftie, but for Disney. And this way I think it's easier to say not what a Disney adult is, but what they do. Yeah. But what do they do? They go to the parks. Yeah. They dress up. They collect merch. They want

to have access to the most exclusive Disney fun facts and paraphernalia. Yeah, they even go as far as to sometimes make it, you know, their job in that they become influencers in the space, which stay tuned for the end of the episode. We have a very fun guest. I would sort of classify a Disney adult as a person who, um, I guess, Disney follows them outside of the park and outside of the movie theater into their everyday life. We're not trying to figure out whether or not being a Disney adult is weird. It is pretty weird. We're trying to figure out whether or not it is harmful. Yeah, exactly. And we also want to make sure that everyone understands like, we're not talking about Disney the corporation. We're trying to figure out whether or not it is harmful. Yeah, exactly. And we also want to make sure that everyone understands, like, we're not talking about Disney, the corporation. We're not going to see if the corporation is cold here

or not, because obviously, if it's like a multi-billion dollar corporation, something's going off for sure. Of course, Disney's HQ culture is going to inform the fandom, but we're not going to talk about the experience of working at Disney, we're talking about the experience of worshiping Disney. Exactly. I do think that there's one more final bullet point

to differentiate a Disney adult from just like an adult who like sometimes goes to Disney Landel, which to me I think is someone who doesn't have children because I, or sometimes Disney adults hide behind their children and force their children to dress up and force them to go to the parks. But I do think a healthier version of that is like a adult who doesn't have children and they're not hiding behind anything.

They're just like, I love this because I became obsessed with it at some point in my life and now it is part of my life. Oh, I see. Okay. So the equivalent is like, you think it's healthier to discover your love of Disney on your own, uh, maybe based on your childhood, but not because you were forced into it, but some families sort of like want to live vicariously through their children. Yeah. Like I feel like they, they were already obsessed and then they have kids and they're

like, I'm going to have a kid because then I can take them to the park. Oh, it reminds me of toddlers and tiaras. Exactly. That's why metaphor was gonna be, it reminds me of sports dads. Yes, but I love your toddlers and dads. That is a gender binary right there. It's like whether you're forcing your kid into pee-wee football or you're forcing your daughter into pageants.

Exactly. When you're forcing your child into the universe of Disney, that's kind of the convergence of those two pages. When you're pushing your child into the bar, you know, literally get in there, kid. You're gonna love it, or you're gonna fucking love it. Yeah, eat that ice cream, shaped like a mouse to power that bread bowl.

Yeah, the food is kind of legit. And it's just like, and we've been talking about this episode for so long How stavar that bread bowl. Yeah, I tell you. The food is kind of legit. It doesn't even work. Okay, and we've been like talking about this episode for so long that I've been like a craving Disneyland food. Their corn chowder is not, not delicious. If you have it on your birthday. Yeah, I did. That's when I got these ears for those watching on YouTube

and wondering what the fuck is going on. Yeah, Amanda gave me my ears, so yeah, you can keep those. And they kind of actually match my outfit. They really do, yeah. So let's go ahead and articulate some of the things that we find cultiest about Disney adults. We're not going to be able to cover everything, just the things that we find most salient. We're going to talk about different themes, so we're going to talk about exclusivity in group out group. We're going to talk about entry level costs.

Are there any exit costs? We're going to talk about capitalism. We're going to talk about conformity. And we're going to talk about undue judgment of Disney adults, because there's a lot of that. I think that Disney adults are people who just right off the top, I'm going to say it. I'm going to say, I think Disney adults are people who just right off the top, I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna say, I think Disney adults are people who have a hobby. And I kind of admire that they go out into the world and live their hobby rather than just watch it on TV.

Yeah. Because that's what a lot of people do these days. Commit. It's actually- Commit to the bit. It's commit to the bit. It's so true, they have committed shamelessly. And the word shameless has this negative connotation, but it's like, what do we want these people to have more shame? Yeah. What kind of message is that?

Shame literally only makes bad, situation worse. I know, it's like shame is how you get, get the fuck out level cults, like the fundamentalist Mormons. Exactly, shame is how you get like priests fundamentalist Mormons. Exactly. Shame is how you get priests in Boston. Literally. Yeah. All right. So the first thing. Yeah. I think that, like you mentioned earlier, the corporation does influence the way that Disney adults create exclusivity within themselves.

So I think Disney has created this sense of VIP, this idea that there's always a next level that you can access. And they've done that with their passes, they've done that with clubs within Disney. There's Club 33, which costs like tens of thousands of dollars to become a member of. I think it's 25 to 33k up front to join and 10 to 5k yearly to maintain membership. That is so much money. When I saw Club 30, I was like, okay, like maybe a couple hundred bucks a year? Yeah. The club is essentially just like an airport area for Disneyland.

That's what I'm getting the vibe. Well, that's the funny thing about the feeling of exclusivity and coldishness. It's not even about the content. It's not even about what you access. It's about the feeling. Yeah, it's about telling people. It's like about going around and being like, oh yeah, like I was just a club 33. A lot of people talk very much so. But already to access Disney at the lowest level is very expensive. You cannot talk about Disney

without talking about the cult of capitalism, you know? And they're constantly pushing you to spend, spend, spend. And spending is the equivalent to reaching enlightenment in the Disney world. And I think it's important to highlight how a lot of people who are Disney adults are normal Americans who have a couple a holidays a year that they can spend away from work. And they're not like millionaires who should be spending

like tens of thousands of dollars on visiting parks. And so I do think it's kind of a risk for some of these families or people to spend so much of their money on this hobby, but at the same time, if it makes them happy. Yeah, I mean, they're doing it consensually. Nobody is forcing them to, you know, fork over all of their money in the way that say the cult that my dad spent his teenage years in. You had to, in order to be in this exclusive group,

pay all of your salary to the leader. And the other thing is that sometimes in a really destructive cult, you'll spend your money thinking you're gonna be getting one thing and then it's beaten, switched or misused on something else. And I don't really think that's going on here. With Disney, they're like,

this is exactly what you're getting and this is what's gonna happen. But they have like a lightning pass thing. Okay. But in order to get a lightning pass, you have to download their app, which is called like Disney Genie, and it's $20 a day to act as a lightning pass.

Yeah. Okay, so that's just, I feel like maybe run of the mill corporation. A charging, you know? Not necessarily culty in the way that, like, you think you're spending $20 a month to get a meditation app, and then all of a sudden you're in a sex cult.

Yeah, that's so true. They're not like asking you for nudes in exchange. I think when it starts to get cult-y, is when Disney adults start to attribute the amount of money they're spending with their worth in this group. And that's when we start to talk about the Facebook groups and the closing and we can talk about that next. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪

My name is Rose and I'm from Orlando. I think one of the cultiest things about Disney adults is specifically Disney influencers. They are impossibly pretty, impossibly coordinated, sets people up for unrealistic expectations of their Disney vacation, and then make people feel better about that. Hey, this is Tim from the Stevens Point, Wisconsin. The absolute cultiest thing about Disney adults is just how quickly they snap when you say you don't like this character or you don't like that character. I'm Kay from Sacramento and I think the coldiest thing about Disney adults is the god-like pedestal that Walt Disney is placed upon to this day.

He is talked about as if he wasn't all-knowing visionary. One of the Facebook groups that they have is Disney Adults Without Children. It is over 130,000 members. They also have like that Disney Adult dating app. What's it called? Oh, called a mouse mingle. Which is like a really cute name. I mean, what is the difference between having mouse mingle and J-Swipe, which is like the Jewish dating app? I completely agree.

Or having mouse mingle and like, the league. I would say the league is worse than that. The league is worse than mouse mingle. Or farmers only, you know? Like, what's wrong with dating someone that you know shares this thing that's very important to you? Yeah, exactly. I think that people are finding other people

with like similar hobbies and similar interests to them that they like. Yeah. But when things get involved in your love life, especially with like weddings too, because we all know there's Disney adults who get married and the number of proposals that happen at the Disney parks every year.

It's like you're spending one of the most meaningful moments of your life in front of this children's castle. And then there are even adults who like get married to a Disney adult. There was a acquaintance of mine that got divorced from her spouse because she was too into Disney and then got remarried to another Disney adult and is much happier. And then I have another friend who called it and he was like, I don't know if this was particular to my ex, but believing the characters are real. I guess like marriage isn't necessarily like a religious thing anymore.

It really like doesn't have to be. But I do think that it has an association to live. Traditionally, for sure. Yeah. So I think it does get into that level of your connected to the park and you're connected to the company in a more spiritual way. I completely think that the way people interact with the Disney brand is completely akin to a religion. I reference this sometimes, but there's a Theologian and journalist named Tara Isabella Burton, who says that it's hard to define what a religion. Like I refer to this sometimes but there's a theologian and journalist named Tara Isabella Burton who says that it's hard to define what a religion is but it's easy

to define what a religion offers people and it's to offer community, ritual, identity and meaning. That is what Disney offers people. It is completely a full blown religion for some. Also in our research I saw that a lot of Disney adults are obsessed with Walt Disney himself. Yeah. And they debate his thoughts and they debate his ideologies. But he's dead. But he's dead.

Who does that remind you of? God. Jesus. I don't know. I grew up Jewish. I don't really know. Yeah. Jesus.

Jesus. Jesus himself. Jesus himself. Completely Walt Disney is this idol that they're worshiping and so is Mickey Mouse. I was just gonna say, I feel like Walt Disney is Jesus and like Mickey Mouse and all the characters are like, it's apostles.

Oh, it's apostles. I thought you were gonna say the Holy Spirit. Oh no, really are just very true. I just don't know about the Christian analogs, but very true. They hypothesize about what Walt would think of, say, changing the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy, would he approve?

The fact that they sit down and are essentially analyzing his scripture, which is his movies and his cartoons. Mm-hmm. Walt Disney's cartoons are his scripture. Controversial opinion, I'm gonna say it in public, but I personally find biblical stories and Disney stories to be equally fictitious. Oh, that's my, that's my like Disney earring.

You're like hot tank. Well, the hot tank. I mean, if you're looking to Disney movies for a script by which to follow your life, and I think everyone who grew up with Disney does this to some degree, like I definitely look to Disney movies to see what I thought about relationships, et cetera.

Totally. When you look to that content to figure out how you wanna live your life and to figure out who you are, that is not that dissimilar to looking to the Bible. And in this way, it is almost a new religious movement. It doesn't involve a God per se, but the deceased or animated figures

that are providing this inspiration for your life serve that God-like role. People who grew up watching Disney movies is like, you learn what's right or wrong from those movies. And this, and this is what a lot of non-Disney adults will say is culty about Disney adults is that they worship this brand that's super problematic.

And I think that is valid. I think that is valid, but also like, are the people who are critiquing these Disney adults saying they blindly worship this brand, looking into the people who worship the brand? Because I actually think a lot of Disney adults are pretty vocal about things that they don't like. It's just that idea of where you spend your dollar

and there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. So truly, you can't, who among us does not patronize and or stand a brand without problematically. Yeah, you know? It's like people in glass houses can't throw stones. Like, you know, we all need to criticize the problematic brands that we're repping before we start criticizing problematic brands that other people are repping.

So, like, let them be happy. Yeah, I mean, we'll hear from our guest. She was a member of the LGBTQ plus community and who has actively advocated for Disney to be more inclusive, everything needs a grassroots movement. For sure. So I think if these Disney adults are speaking on important issues, then it's important for those avenues to be open, especially like our guest today.

If he's like an influencer in the space, that could affect like the way that people spend at the parks. A thousand percent. I mean, that's what his title is. He has the capacity to influence. That's what he does. And a really destructive cult would say, take someone off a press list or take someone off their media list if they expressed pushback, but they're not doing that to our guest in

those like him. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Again, we're not defending the corporation in any way. No, not at all. We're just, in part defending some of these Disney adults who are the subject of such harsh judgment, I think the judgment comes from what you said earlier, which is like, it is a little weird, right?

Like, we look at these parks and we think these parks were made for children, but when Walt Disney made the park, he was an adult. Yeah. He made the park as an adult and there was never a time where he explicitly said that the parks were for children. People are like, you're into Disney as an adult, grow up. Why? Because you're projecting, because you grew out of it, so you think everyone else has to

do. Why? So they can go join a more adult type of cult and displace their fanaticism onto Q&N on conspiracy theories Yeah, if someone has that zeal in them They're going to find an outlet for it and I think comparatively Disney. It's not that fucking bad It's not here's the thing is like during times of crisis We always turn to nostalgia right? It's like why during the pandemic, all these reboots and reunions of old movies

were happening, we romanticized the past in a way to have hope about the future. Yeah. Literally the same parts of our brains light up when we dream about the future as when we romanticized the past. The way that you say that, like in pink, in your life. I contain multitudes as Walt Whitman once said,

and I can wear Disney ears and talk about neuroscience at the same time. Go off. I do think we need to talk about the cold to your aspects of it. Like any community that doesn't have a system of monitoring or a universal way of like making sure that everyone is safe. There are going to be some toxic figures in the space. Hey, you said Amanda. I'm Sarah calling from Arlington, Virginia. I think the

coldest thing about Disney adults is how many engagements you see at Disney parks, like the most important moment of your life has to be Disney related. Hi, I'm Sydney and I'm from Portland and the cool thing about Disney adults is definitely the the attire, the focus on what adults are wearing to Disney, as well as the flooded secondary market of things like home decor, coffee mugs that are all definitely geared towards adults. So the Coltiest thing about Disney adults is the debt they will put themselves into in order to continue to go for every celebration or to purchase anything marked limited edition. The Mickey Mouse ears, some people like to collect all of them

and some of the collector's editions are upwards of a thousand dollars of care, which is crazy. Another culty aspect of Disney adults is the specialized lingo. There are whole glossaries of in-group terminology. You can find online acronyms. Actually, I found a website called allears.net that had, oh, I don't

know, maybe a hundred Disney specific acronyms like EMH, which stands for extra magic hours. GAP, gold annual pass, so many more. There are terms like hidden micky's, which are like Easter eggs planted around the parks, mouse keeping, a synonym for housekeeping, which kind of reminds me how the cult of we work would have highfalutin terms like weeo instead of CEO. And then of course, there's Disney's tagline, the most magical place on earth, which, you know, promises don't really get more hyperbolic than that. The other word that's kicked around is Disney bounding when Disney adults who know they're not allowed to dress as characters in the park will come up with this very clever way of dressing to sort

of hint at Disney characters. Yeah, and they try and push the boundaries because there are literally rules in the park that you're not allowed to dress like a character. And one of the most recent dramas is that there were Disney adults who were going to the park trying to crack the actual characters. They were going around on TikTok and taking videos of like the Disney adult characters and trying to get them to go out of character or try to make the fourth wall.

Yeah, exactly. Which they're not allowed to do. Or else they'll get in trouble. Yeah, and so one of the Disney characters who works at the park, they make like minimum wage. They are truly just there because like it's a job for them, was like stop doing that. Like we don't like it when you do that.

We don't want you to do that. And some Disney adults have gotten kicked out and like banned from Disney. So there was this drama between those who work at Disneyland and Disney World and those who are fans and make content about Disneyland and Disney World. Yeah, so it does get clicky as any passionate community does. There are two elements of being a Disney adult that I think take it into a different league and that is Storyville and the Disney

College program. I was going to say the Disney College program. If you don't know what the Disney College program is, it's actually just an internship program. It's not a college at all. And it's like, I think that's already misleading. And I think it's like a little predatory. The Disney College program is this education, professional development, and paid internship program, kind of like study abroad, but the abroad is Disney. Yeah, they are not

in a credited program, but you can earn college credit by basically like working in entry-level job at Disneyland. Yeah, but you already like have to be at a separate college or university institution in order to get that. And so I think it's a little predatory that they say that it's a college program. So it's a little overblown. It's like, why does Disney need to weasel its way into our education system? Exactly. The last thing we think makes it very quality

is story living. Their communities where you can literally live. Yeah, there are these residential communities for Disney lovers. It's basically like living in a gated community, but Disney themed. And this is actually not the first time that Disney has tried to create communities. Walt Disney

tried to open one in the 90s. Oh! And it failed. We weren't ready for that. I think it says a lot about how CultaShare Culture has become that we're ready for it now. It also did just come out like a month ago. So we'll see how long it lasts. True. So the first location is in Rancho Marage. That's where Walt Disney himself used to own a house. They've got estates, single family homes, condos, retirement communities. And it's this, you know, voluntary club membership

where you get access to curated experiences and entertainment. And each community is operated by Disney cast members. I think the reason we saved the story living for the end is because like in all notorious cults, like the final step is to like physically move somewhere. Well, and you don't even have to move to story living to have Disney effect where you move. Plenty of people, including our guests,

uprooted their life and moved to either Southern California or Orlando just to be close to the parks. Yeah, it's now not just like you're moving to a neighborhood near the parks, you're moving into the literal neighborhood that is made and created by the parks and you're living. It's the next level.

In this like fantasy, for sure. Which, if you're not harming anyone and you can leave whenever you want, yeah, that's the thing you can leave whenever you want. It's not like Jonestown where they'll shoot you. Yeah. If you leave, harming anyone and you can leave whenever you want. Yeah, that's the thing. You can leave whenever you want. It's not like Jonestown where they'll shoot you. Yeah. If you leave. Yeah, I mean, we'll find out in a couple months.

I know it's gonna come out. But I think that this kind of leads perfectly into our guest. It can tell us more because he uprooted his life to move next to a park. Our guest today is Francis Dominic. He is a Disney adult. He doesn't use that term, I don't think, but he wasn't offended by it. He wasn't offended by it. He's not like it's a slur. Yeah, he did move to a neighborhood near Disneyland to be closer, but he goes to all of the events. He speaks on their movies and merch. He's a professional Disney influencer, that's the way he makes his living.

Exactly, and he's gonna tell us a bit more about his experience, why he got involved with Disney to begin with, and he's gonna tell us the tea. Yeah, he's gonna expose the inner life of a true Disney adult. So. So. Do you wanna let our guests know who you are and how you became such a hardcore Disney fan? Hi everyone, my name is Frances Dominic. I'm here in your ears to tell you

about a little bit about my life story with Disney. So I've actually been in love with Disney since I was born because I have pictures of me wrapped in a Mickey Mouse baby blanket. The moment I came out of my mom. So it was solidified from that point on. Through my mom's love through Disney, she kind of just ingrained that into all of us and then manifested into this huge, giant phenomenal career that I've just been able to hone in and be

a part of this circle. So it's been a wild ride since. So you grew up with Disney as like your religion, basically. Yes, yeah, I was saying hi to Mickey Mouse before, like any kind of religion was even based on upon me. So, cute. It's like you chose him, he didn't choose you. Yeah, yeah. Or maybe.

Yeah, or maybe you never know. My mom was just like this one. And all you need to access heaven is to buy an annual pass. Exactly. Can you please explain what is a Disney adult exactly? What I would say a Disney adult is is someone that embodies and loves Disney theme parks,

animations, fashion, or even just past influences. I mean, there are so many things that Disney can delve into now like it's not even just animated things or like princesses and prints like we literally have Star Wars Marvel and all of the live action and even just from design aspect of it that you can appreciate because Disney's always in the forefront So there's a lot of like niches that fit into this giant small umbrella because some people just see Disney as like the parks but some people see Disney as like for the kind of cult following that it has in a sense. People don't want to say it's a cult but but essentially it is. It is. You heard it for your it is. I'm like, you've heard of your first books. You lowkey worship a mouse, you visit a castle as much as you can.

There's no difference in going to church and worshiping a man in the sky. Being a Disney adult is just having fun with it, not taking it seriously. You can be as big of a fan as a small as a fan. You're a so disney adult. I don't care if you're just a theme parker or a movie watcher. I'm like, baby, if you love it, you love it all. Green flag. You can be any level that you want. Yeah. Yeah.

So can you explain your journey into becoming a disney adult because before we started recording, you were talking about how you moved to Orange County. Like, this is your career now. Can you explain all of that? So I was raised in New York and then we moved to Orange County. Like, this is your career now. Can you explain all of that? So I was raised in New York and then we moved to the Bay Area. And so Disney was only six hours away from us. And with that kind of love, I kind of just

egged everyone to drive to SoCal with me as much as we can to enjoy Disney. And I took my love further and applied for this program in internship called Disney College Program. and I took my love further and applied for this program an internship called Disney College Program. And it was one of the best times of my life. Like can you just imagine living at Disney World from eight to 12 months of your life? And all you do is work, eat, sleep, play Disney.

That's it. That's all you do and you got paid. That's your dream. Yeah. And you got paid to do it. And then so that's what I did first. And then after I finished that internship, I went back home, did more schooling,

and then I did another internship in Disneyland. And then so I worked with them during the 60th anniversary in 2015, and then I stayed on and then became a tour guide and worked in guest relations. And then after guest relations, I noticed that a lot of people started following me through my entire Disney journey. I didn't know I was an influencer before

even the influencer term came out because I was already inspiring and like setting trends on like how to wear certain things or like what to wear to the parks and that the parks can also be your runway. And then I became a Disney influencer and now I just get to do all these fun things with Disney, whether it be going to premieres or being flown out

and like experiencing like new things. The most recent thing I did with it was the Galactic Star Cruiser, which was the new Star Wars hotel in Orlando and that was insane. So that was just like a short version of my entire life with Disney and how much it's made my life so much better in every aspect.

That's so fun. I feel like, I feel like the reason I don't allow myself to indulge in that kind of stuff is because I, like again, this is like the whole theme of the podcast. I would like fall into the world and then like think that I actually was Peter Pan. Like I, I, you know, I wouldn't want to leave. That's the thing that you would have to work on though,

you know, like people can separate that. But that's a personal problem. We're in therapy. But also, I mean, like you can do it. You can just, you can have as much or as little fun as you can with it. There's no rules to it. Sure, there will be some noise,

but that's up to you to listen, so you don't have to. How do you think that Disney can take over your life in both good and potentially not so good ways? In other words, what positive effects can be from the cult of Disney on your life, and what are the hardcore Disney fans? Do you think they ever go too far? Oh, absolutely.

So I'm gonna start with the con first because it's better to start with that and then end with a positive note. Some of the cons, like some of these people are, I don't know if I can say it, but it's like, they're like, batshit and sane. Like, there are, like, you think I'm a hardcore fan. There's literally people out there

who are bigger fans than me and I know that's Hard to believe but some of them are just go full on out and sometimes Those can like manifest into like a negative aspect where like people are like oh like I'm a bigger Disney fan than you So your thoughts and your opinions about this are invalidated and so that could be like a toxic toxic aspect of it One of the positive aspects I do is that as, even as a Disney adult, it's so hard to make friendships in our adulthood, especially when we leave our homes.

And so finding people who are like-minded and love the same things as you do, you are able to develop this insane and already deep connection, just because you have such a passion and love for the brand like Disney already. And so it's up to you on whether you want to wage with the light side of the dark side, but you can either be a villain or a hero on your own Disney story.

And I am a force. Yeah. There are some people who are very negative and they only want to spew negative negativity, but there's also so much more bright light within the fandom as well. So it really just depends on how you want to go about it. Yeah. Do you think that like with the the people who can get a little toxic or like it sounds kind of like gatekeepery like I know more than you have vibes. Do you think that anyone has ever gotten into like a culty situation from like being competitive and being like I'm gonna take it to the next level? Yeah, I think there's a lot of things in a Disney community right now because

of social media about being the first. They want to be the first in everything. And I feel like the faster the people learn that not to be the first at everything, the more peaceful their lives will be because it is just, it is just crazy how some of these people just like, well, like sharpen their elbows and like get their way to the front, like metaphorically, like not literally, to just to just be like the first has something. Yeah. And it's like, it's not a competition on experiences because these things aren't going to go away. I mean, like, I can understand it from like a merchandise point of view, but like, from an experience point of view, I'm like, there's always going to be time unless like a date has been like

said that this is going away. So that's I think one of the biggest extremes is like the first culture of being like the one to do it first. And are they competing for like cloud followers success or is it more like spiritual than that? They do it, I think, just so that they have the most coverage and their stuff gets shared the most so that they'll be the ones out there speaking on the personal experience aspect of it. So people just want to be the first at it. That's like the cult of capitalism all bubbled up to the cult of social yeah. Yeah, yeah. There's no ethical consumption under capitalism, but we're all under its spell. Exactly.

Are there any cult vibes coming from like Disney HQ? Like what is your relationship with like the Disney gods? It's scary, like that some people who have high influences and power can like sway sway the entire brand. Just with the drama too, with the Don't Take, the Don't Take, Gable, I'm with Cheypeg. I'm like, Iger was full on LGBTQ, like he was so positive and he was so all about inclusion.

And now I was in a new CEO, he's like, yeah, we donated money, but you're gonna deal with it. That, just the two differences in power, that's crazy, he's like, yeah, we donated money, but like, you're going to deal with it. Like, that like, just the two differences in power, like, that's crazy. And that's ways like, how the entire brand looks, like one person can really be that damaging or that good to the company. So it's imperative of like, who gets to be up there. But it's also sad too, because it's like, like, there's so many people in this company who are trying to like break barriers and Try to like be more inclusive and more diverse, but like a wide-angle on top could just ruin it all, you know? Yeah, yeah

Do you think that like as Disney adults especially like with a following? Do you think that you guys have like any kind of power to like get attention from them to change things in it like bottom up? I feel like we do because at the end of the day, I'm like we're we're the money. We're the ones that pay them. And so if enough people, if enough people like back it up and like stand up, then like they'll take notice, you know? And I really do believe that change can happen from the bottom no matter what size your platform is. I'm like everyone has a voice.

If you have one to 100 followers or even like a thousand to a hundred thousand, like you have a following, like someone's always willing to listen. And the more that you cause a string of movement, the more your voice gets heard and the more that people will resonate with it and be like, hey, that's not freaking cool. Let's do something about it. Frances for president.

I was like, I have a lot of strong beliefs. That's what we like. This is actually like you for president is exactly what American needs right now. Like we all just need to like relax and have a good time Do you have any stories of like the most extreme things you can think of the Disney adult doing for the fandom? And what do you think of storyville? I feel like I'm an extreme person myself when I used to work at Disney I used to help with Disney proposals too and so one of my favorite things was

Setting up this proposal inside Tower of Terror. I think one of the biggest, biggest things that like a Disney $1 Disney fan can do is visit or go to the D23 convention, which is the biggest Disney convention. I don't know if you guys heard of it, but it is literally a three day convention full of Disney convention. I don't know if you guys heard of it, but it is literally a three-day convention full of Disney fans and this is where we get introduced to the new movies, to the new theme parks, to whatever new thing they're doing, and

what's crazy is that all the celebrities show up. Like the last D23, the entire cast of every single Disney movie showed up, including one of the biggest ones was for Disney Infinity Endgame. Oh my God, they were just naming each person of the cast and they all came out on stage. And we all watched the trailer for the first time together in this room. You don't get those experiences anywhere, except when you go to these conventions. So those three days are like the biggest,

it's like Disney adult Olympics. Like this is the time to be like the first one to know what all the first time to get the merch, the first time to get the limited edition things and the first time to know all the information that can happen and it will happen. And it only happens like every two years. So it's happening this year in September, I believe.

So if you guys want to go to the park food, I wish they did, but they want you to like go to the parks after because the convention ends every day at six. So they'll like, I don't know if they used to do this, but they used to sell twilight tickets, which would be from like five to closing, and you'd pay like half the price of it. So you'll be able to enjoy the parks after the convention. Oh, that's cool. I feel like that would be like perfect for me because it's like afternoon, it's cooler out. It's... Yeah. I'm like hungry just thinking about Disney.

So do you think there are any clicks or different types of Disney adults? Is there ever any drama amongst Disney adults? I've touched on it a little bit. Girl, there's so much drama. I just try it to be blissfully unaware because I just like to fade into the background and watch all of it unfold. Because it has nothing to do with me,

but we all know we love watching a good drama that doesn't involve us. It's like, it's like, oh my God, a car crash. But like, you can't look away, you know? Oh, cars. Yeah, like it literally makes traffic when someone crashes a car because everyone's like looking oh my God, a car crash. But like, you can't look away, you know? Oh, cars. Yeah, like it literally makes traffic when someone crashes a car because everyone's like looking out their window. They're rubber-necking.

I mean, we rubber-necking get clothes without naming names. Can you think of an example of like some hardcore Disney drama? I think one of my favorite Disney dramas is in like early, early middle 2010s. They used to have like these like Disney gangs is in early middle 2010s. They used to have these Disney gangs that would show up in Disneyland and like gene jackets. They were like a biker gang,

but you go to the parks together and they all have each own hangout spots in the park and they can get territorial. And they were like, no, like this is this is like my side of the park. Yeah, like, yeah, like Disney got Disney heard of it so bad that they're like, no, you guys aren't allowed to do this anymore, but you should have seen these like Disneyland games. Like they were serious. If you go to Disney on Sunday, some of them like still like show up, but they can't like be a game, you know, like they still show up, but they can't be a game.

They're called social. They can't be affiliated. There's so many different versions of clicks and niches in Disney that it can hit any kind of aspect. We really are all children at heart. It's in the playground when you would form your little clicks and you think you're close because you're surrounded by your friends. If you think you're cool, then maybe you are cool. We're going to ask one more question and then we're going to play a quick game. Why do you think outsiders think adults who love Disney

are cultish? I think it's because it's one of the most louder and prominent ones. A lot of people are always judgment of being like, oh dude, you're such a child for wanting to spend time at a theme park. I'm like, babe, if you can watch guys bounce around balls or throw balls, I'm not gonna judge you for what you want to do. But I'm not hurting anyone, but we all have our own niches and different things that we like. But this one is just easier to like

bully on. We all do the same things. We all pay for the things that we want to do. We all go to the places that we want to do. I'm like, if people want to pay like a thousand dollars for like a certain artist they want to see or like a certain game that they want to watch, I'm like, people can go to a theme park and pay thousands of dollars to vacation. I'm like, if people are just labeling it because it's easy for them to crucify in a sense. We love problematizing sports on this podcast. Getting that intense about a little game where you're throwing around a little ball, that's child age two or MMA fake fighting that people go watch. I'm like, that's actually theater.

fake fighting that like people go watch. I'm like, that's actually like theater. Like, what are you talking about? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? It's just a masculine version of theater. You're still paying money to see it, but I'm not, I'm not shitting on you for liking Diz and underwear

and putting on a show to fight for you. Like, yeah, I'm not gonna, yeah, I'm not gonna like project that onto you. Like, go ahead and enjoy that. And I'm like, if you like sports and you like Disney, I'm like, Disney literally owns ES. And I'm like, if you like sports, and you like Disney, I'm like, Disney literally owns ESPN. I'm like, if you're watching baseball, I'm gonna fall. Oh!

You're also a Disney adult. I don't care what you say. I'm like, I don't care what sports team you rap. You're still a Disney adult. You're still giving my need to ESPN. Like, you're not slick. So now we're gonna play a little game. It's just a classic, what would you rather, Disney cult edition?

Okay, let's do it. Would you rather have to live in the new Disney story living neighborhood for the rest of your life or live in a commune of flat earthers for one month? I would rather live in Storyville just because it's so beautiful. And it's like a paywall version of Epcot and what Walt Disney wanted to do.

So if I was gonna live here and in Palm Springs, well, then so be it. That's so what? It'll be so far. You're like easy. I want to live in Storyville. Easy. Yeah. Okay, next question.

Would you rather have to spend a month on the abandoned Discovery Island? You have food and shelter, but you can't access the outside world or join the Church of Scientology for one year. Oh, no, I would go to the Discovery Island because sometimes I need to disconnect from all these mother's, so I'm gonna do it. I have food in shelter. One perfect. One mind. We're softballing you. We're softballing you for sure. Yeah, I was like, guys, these are so easy.

Yeah. Would you rather only be allowed to use social media to interact with Disney conspiracy groups on Facebook and Reddit or have a regular social media use but you're not allowed to post about Disney. Oh shit. It's been hard. That's hard, that's a good one.

I'd rather debacle with people on Facebook and Reddit. I feel like that would be easier because I still wanna post about Disney. So, sure, my mental health might deplete a little bit, but that's what therapy is for. That's the cost. That's the cost. That's the cost of posting. Okay, would you rather attend the D23 Expo for full three days without being able to sleep

or take a break from the activities at all, or spend one week living as a practicing Mormon? I've already done the D23 every two years since it started, so I will gladly do it again. With how sleep or break. Yeah, you have no idea, but I slept in those parking lots so that I can go into those convention rooms. Literally, it would end at six. I would not even go to the parks. I would go straight. We would have inflatable, like those inflatable swim things. And we would lay them out in this cold cement

so that we'll be able to sleep, so that we can have access to these panels in the morning. You should see it in the holding rooms for Disney. It's cold as hell. It's also meant and it's all bright light. So I've done it before. I've done no sleep, no breaks. I'm like, this is literally Disney Olympics.

This one is unfaith. Would you rather have to wear a pair of Mickey Mouse ears 24-7 including two important meetings, interviews, et cetera, for the rest of your life or give up getting your nails done? Wait, how long do I have the ears for a year or for the rest of my life? The rest of your life.

Oh my god, I have to give up the nails then. Oh, trust it. I have to give up the nails. I know, they're done up right now. They're like half dark, half light. Oh, so cute. I would have to say goodbye to nails. I can't do ears for the rest of my life.

Everyone's gonna have to follow you even if they don't care about Disney, which first of all, how dare, but they'll follow you for the hell's alone.. Everyone's gonna have to follow you, even if they don't care about Disney, which first of all, how dare, but they'll follow you for the whole alone. Thank you, thank you. All right, last question. Would you rather never be able to visit Disney again, but you get to live a normal life or you have to live in a frat house full of in cells,

but they go on a group trip to Disney once a year. Oh my gosh, okay, so I consider myself as a really good influencer. So give me those Frappboy in cells. I will literally turn them into men. I have no problems doing so. I have no problem doing so. That's the best answer you could have ever come up with. I have no problems.

I have no problem turning these boys into men. I'm like, babe, let's go ahead. If you're gonna give me one trip to Disney every year versus no trips to Disney, let me go ahead and shape these men up. Okay, I love that. You're like doing a deed for society at the same time. Exactly. Exactly. My first lesson has risen. Yeah, my first lesson will be is like let's learn the difference between consent. Yes and no. learn the difference between consent. Yes and no.

Listen, this has been a delight beyond compare. If folks want to follow you and just like join your cult, where and how can they do that? All of my socials are under Frances Dominic. Frances Dominic and the last eye has two eyes. So you can find me all of that in Instagram and the TikTok and just anywhere else. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ So Amanda, in those ears, can you tell me out of the three cult categories, do you think that Disney adults are a live your life? A watch your back?

Or a get the fuck out? [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Level cult. You know, all of the things that people feel most passionate about complaining about regarding Disney adults, the aesthetic and the movies and constantly going to, blah, blah, blah. I think all of that is a live your freaking life. Amanda. If you can't tell by me, like earnestly wearing these ears right now, all of that is like, who are they hurting?

Yeah. What are the exit costs? Like, you're not signing away your life to anything. If you lose interest in Disney for whatever reason, no one is going to shun you, you're not gonna be physically harmed. Yeah, I feel like the reason Disney Adults bothers people is kind of like, I was thinking about this on the way here.

Yeah. I feel like Disney Adults gets under people's skin because it's like bright and colorful and it gets a reaction out of them. It's kind of like when you like go past the like salad section in a menu, you're like, oh, this is annoying. Yeah, people just think it's obnoxious,

but it's like, what? Then you go away. Look away, go move on to the burgers and fries. Yeah. To get a salad. For us to talk about something on this podcast, there's obviously going to be a level of cultiness. Of course.

But it's what level. And I agree, I think that Disney adults are a live your life. And again, with the disclaimer that you have to always be watching out for your health, yourself, your finances, your finances, and your friend groups. But that's just general life advice, like always. We read your comments, you guys, but these are our opinions and some might see differently of the Disney adult community. But we think Disney super fans are kind of like

the cult of feet. It's basically just a wholesome daytime kink and who are we to judge if it's not turning us on. You know what I mean? As long as it's consensual, all is good. All's to say, we looked at Disney adult, we went in the forums, we talked a little bit about the drama, you know, there's Talks to City and everything. We heard all your lists

are calling. We heard all your lists in our college. We heard from our guest, but we ultimately think as fun as it is to like pick at some people who do little funny weird things. Disney adults is low hanging fruit. It is and we think it's a live your life and I want to go to a park because we won't shut the fuck up about it. I know it is actually hell of fun. Yeah. Anyway, that's our show. Thanks for listening.

We'll be back with a new call next week. But in the meantime, stay cozy. But not too cozy. Hey, thanks for listening to the end of the episode. Now onto our bonus Q&A. Welcome to another episode of bonus b****s. Oh, shit, is that our new intro? Yeah.

Wow, we are feeling Lucy Goosey. We're talking about sex, drugs, rock and roll. Not making out. Yeah, mostly making out. We're just talking about making out. Where's some wholesome girl? Not with each other, I say. With like other people. Not making out. Yeah, mostly making out. We're just talking about making out. We're some wholesome girls. Not with each other, I say.

With like other people. Well, that's what this Q&A is all about. Will they won't they? I'm just kidding. This is, this is, sounds like a cult. A show about the modern day cults we all follow. I'm Amanda, author of, oh god, I should say my last name. I'm Amanda Montel, author of the book, cultish.

I'm Esa Medina and I am a comedian, believe it or not, every week on our show. We discuss a different zeitgeist group that puts the cult in culture from literal Taylor Swift stands to the royal family to try and answer the big question. This group sounds like a cult, but is it? Really? Oh my god. I just turned this into a game show. I did. I did.

I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did.

I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. I did. This is inside the cult bonus edition, Q&A. We are here to answer your questions. And I'm not going to lie, you guys always start with the same one,

but we'll get into it in a second. First, we're going to pitter powder around the fact that my love life is in shambles, Amanda. It's popping off. No, no, no. It's not in shambles. I did make out with someone the other day, on Sunday.

Okay, believe the name, but who? BEEP. It's a girl who I'm friends with, and we've hooked up before. Have I met this person? I think you met her at my birthday party at that bar in Silverl, at the park. At Ruby's room.

No, not Ruby's room. Oh, no. No last year, my birthday last year. At Barapart. No, not really free. Oh. No last year, my birthday last year. At our flores. Yeah, yeah. That was the first time I met her. And then we hooked up after a gay astrology. And then we stopped talking for a while

because I didn't want a relationship and then now we're friends again. And then we were just watching succession kind of vibing. And I was like, why not? I'm trying to make out with more people. Is the moral of the story. That's a great hobby. That's a live your life.

Yeah. Yeah. I was just telling Amanda that like when I was a virgin, I would make out with everyone. Like it was like a handshake because there was no expectations because I had like a hard line in my head. And now I feel like I rarely hit on people because I'm like, I don't want to have sex with you.

And it's like, we can just make out. Yeah, yeah. And people love when you don't have sex with them because then they will just constantly think about what it will be like to have sex with you. And that's a cult leader move. That's a cult leader move. Leave them questioning.

Oh, leave them questioning. Leave them questioning. Leave them questioning. I'm gonna make out with every one of our listeners. I'm just kidding. That's what these bonus episodes are all about. Is love bombing. Yeah, and also just like these bonus episodes are for you

to get to know us. Not all of our listeners want to hear us chitchat about our personal lives for like forever. So we Amanda and I will literally chitchat for like 20 minutes and talk about our lives and then we'll kind of start the episode so we feel warmed up. And I feel like in these bonus episodes, you can listen to us talk about our lives and then we'll kind of start the episode. So we feel warmed up and I feel like in these bonus episodes, you can listen to us talk about our lives,

but also bonus content. And we don't have to chop it out for those people who are out there just wanting us to talk about cults. Sorry, I hold for Simon. Actually, we don't need to hold for Simon. It's a bonus episode. You get to hear it all. Yeah.

OK, so the first question is the question that we get all the time, but we're happy to continue talking about it. It's from pretty good plant mom. These handles are amazing. And it's just how did y'all meet? We were at a party and Amanda used to volunteer at the Trevor project with a friend of mine,

and that's how she met my friend, and then we all ended up at a pregame together, and then Amanda and I met, and we just like fived. We ripped. Yeah, we were riffing and also like, before I knew what that was. You were just like, you guys were like, even though you're like a straight couple,

I was like, they're queer. You know, well yeah. It was like, we were just like all vibing and. Well, we could have a threesome and then we, no, we started a podcast. No, that we did the worst option. We really fucked that up. That's so LA.

We can have a really authentic connection. No, let's start a podcast. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's a thing. That's what you do with chemistry. You either have a three summer start a podcast. You either fuck it or monetize it.

Yeah. During a pandemic, what else were we supposed to do? Listen. So yeah, we met there and then there was like a dinner party we were at where there were like long tables and gulping fistfuls of wine. We were singing a song, we were doing a chant. It was, it was culty from the start.

It was like the excitement of like a new friendship and getting to know someone. And I actually have mentioned this in person when people ask, but we kind of captured our new friendship within those first 10 episodes. Like we got to know each other on the air. Yeah, we were getting to know each other and some more listeners kind of like joined in on that friendship.

And it's like we were all getting to know each other. Yeah. Okay, next question. Does not rhyme with carrot, asked. These are such funny handles. I love the handles. Asked, does this podcast make you more optimistic or pessimistic about the world?

That's actually a great question. I feel like it goes back and forth honestly on how I'm feeling that way. Yeah, when I like started covering cults, I thought it would make me super missin' throbic, everyone's just trying to exploit everyone else all the time, everything's a cult, blah, blah, but I would say ultimately if I had to choose

between optimism and pessimism, I would say it has made me, if not more optimistic, then more compassionate toward the inherent irrationality and dreaminess and communalism that people have. You know? Yeah, I also think that maybe I feel a little more pessimistic when we get into our echo chamber of worst-case scenarios. When we do that with episodes, I'm like, oh no, does everything have a worst-case scenario?

But then we do bonus episodes like these or like our listener stories that we just read. Like there was a listener who said, thank you for the podcast and for Amanda's book to like help them realize that it's not shameful to have been a part of a cult. That made me super optimistic because I'm like, oh wait, we are like low key helping people realize

that there's like no shame in any game. Totally. Yeah, I mean, we said it in that bonus episode and we'll say it again. This is a jockey podcast, but we truly want to communicate that we are all just out here trying to have a meaningful life. And if you get swept up in a culty group that ends up harming you in that process. All that matters is that you are

able to find community in a healthy way afterwards. And yeah. It reminds me, I feel like the way I feel about a lot of things due to the podcast is kind of like the movie everything ever we're all at once. Like I kind of become like the everything bagel. Sometimes that's the pessimistic version of it where I feel everything so much that I numb myself when you're like, everything is a cult, you feel numb, but that's why I kind of have to take yourself out of that hole and be like, oh no, these feelings and emotions are good and everything is

joking about it helps. And joking about it truly does help. Here's a question from LO underscore raw.c for Issa favorite Colombian food. Because isa's Colombian food. Yes. Well, when I go to Colombia,

something I have literally every day, if I can, is an adepa de weiwol, which is like an adepa, but it's deep fried with an egg inside. And it's so fucking good. It's like a coastal food. So it's like if you're at like a coastal part of the country is where they're really popular.

But when I'm in Bogota, I would say like a hiako or like fried plantains. But it sounds fucking New York. It's so good. And like I miss Colombian. Every time I go to New York, I always have Colombian food because they have such good Colombian food.

LA is more of like a Mexican, Central American food hub and so it's nice to try and not try have Colombian food when I'm in New York. Have you ever had Colombian food? Amanda, I don't actually think I ever have, which is a fence. I should make you a hiako when you come back, which is like a really good soup. It does have chicken in it, but I can make it without chicken. Okay, amazing. We should throw another one of those

Coltty dinner parties and gulp fistfuls of wine and have delicacies from the homeland. Oh yeah, and like passion fruit juice. Mm, yum. Okay, so good. Wow, love that question. Next question, I'll ask it to you. It's questioned by South Fork Baking.

Can Amanda speak a bit about linguistics? Schooling, career path, anything would be fascinating. Oh gosh, well, I'll summarize briefly, I guess. As a child, I was obsessed with language, foreign languages, dialects, accents, what I would later learn was a field called sociolinguistics. I just was obsessed with the relationship between language, identity, power. I got to college. I learned that there was a whole field dedicated to this stuff. And so I decided to become a linguistics major. I

really wanted to pursue creative writing. So when I was like 20, I started telling people that I wanted to write about linguistics for general audiences. And I was met with a I started telling people that I wanted to write about linguistics for general audiences And I was met with a lot of head scratching people were like that is not a job babe Fuck off and you were like watch me bitch. No, I was like you're so right. I'm an idiot. I will find something else to do But the long the short of it is that Language and why people talk the way we do and what it says about who we are is fascinating. It's just normally kept on the high shelf of

academia, Coltie. And so I know it's a total dream, but I do get to write about linguistics for people who might not otherwise pick up a book about linguistics and it's nerdy and I'm obsessed. I also think like I don't know why I like never thought about it this way, but it's really cool that like you can break down how to communicate too, because I feel like that's something a lot of people like struggle with. And like when you break it down for like someone,

they can communicate their way out of a toxic relationship or communicate their way into a loving relationship or communicate with their boss or like, I just feel like it's really cool that like with language you can teach people things. For sure, and like, LOL. With language you can teach. That like teaching people how to,

I think that's more the work of like a speech coach or like a dialect coach or something like that. And actually when I was in college and people were like being a linguistics writer isn't a thing, I very seriously considered becoming an onset dialect coach for like films and stuff. But linguistics is the study not of how people should talk but of how people do talk.

And when you're able to peel back the veil on, you know, like why is it that when a young woman says like every other word we perceive her as ditsy? Or why is it that when a cult leader says this phrase, I instantly stop questioning them. Like, when we can look at why people use language the way we do, why we use language the way we do, then we can make better choices about it. That's what I was going to say. I feel like even though you're not like giving a list on how to, providing the history allows people to then make their own better decisions.

It's like why politicians study history, because they're like, oh, how has politics made decisions in the past, and how can we change that in the future? And it's like, no one is really doing that. We've been talking about having no chill, and I am just so enthusiastic about it, and I feel like a lot of academics,

because of the nature of academic writing, they keep their voice very close to the vest, and I'm just like, so, I'm giddy about it, so I think, I don't know, that's fun. Yeah, it's fun. I mean, it comes through. Thanks, thanks. All right, we'll do a couple more questions.

This question comes from Amy underscore B. Do you ever worry about the reaction from a cult when an episode comes out? I would say 100%. There are some unared episodes. We did want it. We wanted to do an episode on the cult of Kanye and we kept like, sent her to our school.

Well, the Donda School. The Kanye Donda School. Yeah. Yeah, we wanted to do an episode on the Kanye of Kanye and we kept like, centering ourselves. Well, the Kanye don't do school. Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah, we wanted to do an episode on the Kanye don to school, like, right when it was closed down and it was not really fun listen. And it also wasn't really fun to record because we kept censoring ourselves. You know, we've learned how to select our topics.

Carefully how to cover them more carefully, allegedly, allegedly, allegedly. But I would say, do we ever worry about the reaction from a cult? Not as much. And I wouldn't say I necessarily worry, but the most fanatical reactions that we get to any given topic will be from people who don't understand the concept of our show. And think it's like absurd to talk about, you know, Disney adults or Taylor Swift in the context of Colddishness. Yeah, I also think that like the reason we don't

deeply worry is, is, LOL, my pronunciation is coming out weird. The reason we don't deeply worry, like we have a little bit of worry, but it's because we're ultimately protected by the premise of our show. We are literally saying that everything is occult. And so one specific subject can't come after us because that's the joke. Yes, well, truly the word cult has no official or legal definition.

So it's like we can call whatever we want, a cult. Yeah, if the brand is in on the joke, even if we're critiquing them harshly, that is just gonna bode well for them and reflect well on them, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, let's do one more.

What is your most requested cult to cover? Ooh. Oh my gosh, I mean, we have so many. I don't know, do you know? I know, people. I feel like it also comes in goes in waves, like depending on what's popular in the zeitgeist. Like people will become obsessed with a subject

and then it will pass and then more people will request. Yeah, there was a moment when everybody was like, do the cult of love is blind. Cause that's when love is blind. Yeah, I was airing. And then actually right now, oddly, a lot of people are requesting the cult of ballet. Oh yeah, which we do. Which we do want to do.

There was a list, but for one, I don't even know. For soon actually, and there are some ballet podcasts whose host we could tap to be our guest. Be our guest, be our guest. But one that people were requesting constantly for a while was the Cult of Crypto, which we will cover and meant to cover, but it's so, it's side-tasticated on that. Yeah, so hard.

Because like, there are different worlds within crypto. There's different like, cryptocurrencies. And then every cryptocurrency has like their own mini cult within them. And so I feel like maybe when we cover crypto, we can do a little bit of basic analysis up top and then go into one specific group because there are actually people meeting in person

and starting real life cults. Oh my God, on islands. Exactly. Well, those are all our questions. We will be back with the normally formatted episode next week. Thanks for sticking around. Well, those are all our questions. We will be back with the normally formatted episode next week.

Thanks for sticking around.