Overthinking About Gaslighting

Magical Overthinkers

Amanda Montell & Studio71

Education, Science, Society & Culture

4.3 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can you be trained by a gaslighter to gaslight yourself? This week, Amanda (@amanda_montell) is joined by Harvard historian and sociologist Rebecca Lemov (@rebeccalemov) to overthink gaslighting, a word that’s become part of our everyday vocabulary, but whose origins and implications run deeper than we realize. Together, they trace gaslighting’s roots in psychology, politics, and culture, and explore how this slow erosion of truth can shape our relationships, our self-trust, and our collective understanding of reality.A quiet spiral about doubt, distortion, and the radical act of believing yourself. Further Reading: The Instability of Truth: Brainwashing, Mind Control, and Hyper-Persuasion by Rebecca Lemov - Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at https://SHOPIFY.COM/magical Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/MAGICAL to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Get this new customer offer and your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at https://MINTMOBILE.com/magical Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey listeners, it's Amanda. I want to tell you about another podcast that I think you'll enjoy.
0:05.5	It's called Deep Cover, The Truth About Sarah. In this season of Deep Cover, you'll hear the story of Sarah Kavanaugh.
0:13.1	Sarah was many things to the people she met, a decorated veteran, a Marine who saved her comrades, a young woman fighting cancer.
0:20.3	Sarah was everything people wanted her to be,
0:22.9	until she wasn't. Turns out, no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades, not her wife, no one.
0:30.4	On this season of Deep Cover, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jake Halpern, and acclaimed investigative
0:36.0	journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year
0:39.7	deception that upended lives of countless people. Listen to deep cover the truth about Sarah
0:45.6	wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, Coltys. Sorry. I was going to try to do this promo
0:53.4	in a British accent and I've just now decided
0:55.9	against it. Culties is your host, Amanda Montel. And despite my cold feet about the accent,
1:01.0	I am so excited to announce that sounds like a cult live is coming to London. A live version
1:08.5	of this very podcast is coming to London's gorgeous Bush Hall on November 24th.
1:14.3	It's going to be a night of culty conversations of juicy special guests, unhinged PowerPoint slides,
1:21.2	and yes, a live podcast recording that you get to be a part of. There's also going to be a book signing,
1:26.6	a meet and greet, an unfiltered Q&A,
1:29.2	and I'll be doing a special live reading from my book, Cultish, the Language of Fanaticism.
1:33.1	Tickets are on sale now, either at Sounds Like a Cult.com or Amanda Montel.com slash events.
1:38.4	Grab yours before they disappear.
1:40.3	And come join the little Sounds Like a Cult cult across the pond.
1:44.0	Hope you follow me in London on November 24th.
1:52.6	Welcome to The Magical Overthinkers podcast, a show for thought spirulers, exploring the subjects we can't stop thinking about.
	...

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