Magical Overthinkers

About Magical Overthinkers

Are you an overthinker? Prone to thought spirals? Do you wonder why, despite living in the "Information Age," life only seems to be making less sense? From extreme celebrity worshippers to people with master’s degrees basing their real-life choices on Mercury’s whereabouts, there seems to be a lot of delulu out there these days. More than ever, in fact. Enter: This relatable, thought-provoking podcast for curious overthinkers. Every other week, tune in as host Amanda Montell, author of the New York Times bestselling book The Age of Magical Overthinking and host of the Sounds Like A Cult podcast, interviews a brilliant expert guest about a buzzy, confounding, anxiety-provoking topic. Think: narcissism, nostalgia, polyamory, social media comparison, "millennial cringe." Complete with heart-on-their-sleeve personal stories, thought-provoking conversations, and actionable takeaways for how chronically online listeners can get out of their own heads, this podcast is here to make some sense of the senseless. To help quiet the cacophony in our brains for a while. Or even hear a melody in it. For advertising opportunities please email PodcastPartnerships@Studio71us.com We wanna make the podcast even better, help us learn how we can: https://bit.ly/2EcYbu4 Privacy Policy: https://www.studio71.com/terms-and-conditions-use/#Privacy%20Policy

Publisher

Amanda Montell & Studio71

Category

education · science · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 May 2024

Latest episode

16 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

55 of 62 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   16 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Overthinking About AI Boyfriends

   Host Amanda discusses with Bridget Todd, author of "Love at First Prompt," the complex emotional landscape of AI relationships and their impact on intimacy.

2. 

   2 Sept 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Overthinking About Dream Jobs

   Host Amanda chats with Tiger Sisters podcast hosts Cherie Brooke and Jean Luo about redefining dream jobs and embracing ambition's ebb and flow.

3. 

   19 Aug 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Overthinking About Human Connection

   Host Amanda chats with ICU nurse and author Hunter Prosper about navigating the complexities of human connection and overcoming the fear of initiating social interactions.

Inside a recent episode

Overthinking About AI Boyfriends

Published 16 Sept 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Actually, perhaps I did feel an emotional investment in my use of this bot. I remember meeting somebody in an open AI forum online who said, It is as if overnight my friendly buddy at work got replaced with a terse secretary that just spits out answers at me. This friendly pal that I had in my pocket the whole time is now gone and I miss it. And so that's when I realized. The story that we have about intimacy with AI, we go right to the extreme story of like this person wanted to marry AI or this person is in love with AI or thinks AI is real. And we sort of miss the ways that all of us can sort of be implicated in this. […]

Who has been a guest on Magical Overthinkers

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Bridget Todd
• Cherie Brooke
• Jean
• Hunter Prosper
• Stefanie O'Connell

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

626,690

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.3 / 5

623 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

1,019 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 60 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

46

Social presence

0

YouTube

86

Engagement

99

Pitching Magical Overthinkers

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting pitches.

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• 

  Sounds Like A Cult

• 

  Maintenance Phase

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  American Hysteria

• 

  You're Wrong About

• 

  If Books Could Kill

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  Normal Gossip

Questions about Magical Overthinkers