[SOLD OUT] The Big Magical Cult Show with Amanda Montell

This event is sold out. No additional tickets will be released.

In her new book “The Age of Magical Overthinking” Amanda Montell, author of “Wordslut” and “Cultish” and host of the podcast “Sounds Like a Cult,” now tackles the world of touchy-feely science and irrational thinking, like the belief that one can stave off cancer with positive vibes, or thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches.

Join Montell for "The Big Magical Cult Show," featuring a candid conversation with "Strange Customs" podcast host Sasha Sagan about how we can restore sanity amid chaos, calm our anxiety-riddled souls and make sense of the senseless. Plus, there will be a drag burlesque performance from Rara Darling & Theydy Bedbug, live music from Daphne Gale, merch and books for sale from our bookstore partner Brookline Booksmith. Montell will sign books after the event.

CitySpace Tickets
Book bundle: SOLD OUT
General: SOLD OUT
Student: SOLD OUT

Ways To Save
WBUR’s Legacy Circle, Murrow Society, Sustainers and Members save $5.00 on in-person tickets to this event. To apply the discount to your ticket purchase online, you’ll need to enter a promo code. You can get your code by emailing membership@wbur.org.

Registrants may be contacted by CitySpace about this or future events.

About “The Age of Magical Overthinking”
“Magical thinking” can be broadly defined as the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect unrelated events in the external world: Think of the conviction that one can manifest their way out of poverty, stave off cancer with positive vibes, thwart the apocalypse by learning to can their own peaches or transform an unhealthy relationship to a glorious one with loyalty alone. In all its forms, magical thinking works in service of restoring agency amid chaos, but in “The Age of Magical Overthinking,” Montell argues that in the modern information age, our brain’s coping mechanisms have been overloaded, and our irrationality turned up to an eleven.

In a series of razor sharp, deeply funny chapters, Montell delves into a cornucopia of the cognitive biases that run rampant in our brains, from how the “Halo effect” cultivates worship (and hatred) of larger than life celebrities, to how the “Sunk Cost Fallacy” can keep us in detrimental relationships long after we’ve realized they’re not serving us. As she illuminates these concepts with her signature brilliance and wit, Montell’s prevailing message is one of hope, empathy and ultimately forgiveness for our anxiety-addled human selves. If you have all but lost faith in our ability to reason, Montell aims to make some sense of the senseless. To crack open a window in our minds, and let a warm breeze in. To help quiet the cacophony for a while, or even hear a melody in it.