This week, Reese dives into The Cult of Celebrity Wellness Brands, where skincare, mental health, spirituality, supplements, and good old-fashioned celebrity worship have melted together into one extremely Instagrammable belief system. From Goop and Rhode to Rare Beauty, Kardashian supplements, children's skincare, and the spectacularly messy rise and fall of Selena Gomez's mental health startup Wondermind, Marketing critic and Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults author Dr. Mara Einstein (@drmaraeinstein) joins us to unpack parasocial trust, brand cults, wellness grifts, scarcity marketing, and why the most effective sales pitch is just convincing you that something is wrong with you first. Enlightenment is only a 12 step skincare routine, GLP-1-adjacent supplement, and celebrity approved app away.
The Cut: What Happened at Wondermind by Angelina Chapman
Subscribe to Sounds Like A Cult on Youtube!
Follow us on IG @soundslikeacultpod, @amanda_montell, @reesaronii, @chelseaxcharles, @imanharirikia.
Pre-order Iman's new book, Once in a Timeline, here! Your pre-order helps make more books possible!
Sounds Like A Cult is coming to you LIVE from The Elysian in LA on October 15th! Get tickets at soundslikeacult.com!
Thank you to our sponsors!
- Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns at https://Quince.com/slac
- Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at https://MINTMOBILE.com/cult
- Download the Vinted app for free and start listing. With no seller fees, you keep every dollar you earn, https://www.vinted.com/
- Save 20% Off Honeylove by going to https://honeylove.com/SLAC #honeylovepod
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
