Overthinking About Parasocial Relationships

Magical Overthinkers

Amanda Montell & Studio71

Education, Science, Society & Culture

4.3 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the digital age, the people we feel closest to sometimes don’t even know we exist. This week, host Amanda Montell (@amanda_montell) is joined by Jessica Zier and Lizzie Li, PhD students at Northwestern University who study parasocial relationships, to spiral about the emotional life of one-sided intimacy. Together, they explore how digital closeness blurs the line between connection and projection, and why it makes perfect sense that we feel so seen by people who’ve never met us. A soft spiral into loneliness, identity, and the very human instinct to reach for connection, even through a screen. - 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to The Magical Overthinkers podcast, a show for thought spiralers, exploring the subjects we can't stop overthinking about, from social media comparison to people pleasers.
0:18.1	If you ever get the feeling that despite living in the information age,
0:22.8	the world only seems to be making less sense, then you're in the right place. This podcast is here
0:28.5	to soften the clash between our innate human mysticisms and the overwhelm of this time,
0:35.7	to help us quiet the cacophony in our brains for a little while,
0:40.2	or even hear a melody in it.
0:43.1	I'm your host, Amanda Montpell.
0:45.4	Today, we're overthinking about parasocial relationships.
0:52.6	Hey, listeners, it's Amanda.
0:54.5	I want to tell you about another podcast that I think you'll enjoy.
0:58.6	It's called Deep Cover, The Truth About Sarah.
1:02.1	In this season of Deep Cover, you'll hear the story of Sarah Kavanaugh.
1:05.9	Sarah was many things to the people she met, a decorated veteran, a Marine who saved her
1:10.5	comrades, a young woman fighting cancer. Sarah was everything people she met. A decorated veteran, a Marine who saved her comrades, a young woman
1:11.9	fighting cancer. Sarah was everything people wanted her to be, until she wasn't. Turns out,
1:18.1	no one knew the real Sarah. Not her comrades, not her wife, no one. On this season of deep cover,
1:25.2	Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jake Halpern and acclaimed investigative
1:28.8	journalist Jess McHugh unravel an epic six-year deception that upended lives of countless
1:35.1	people. Listen to Deep Cover, The Truth About Sarah, wherever you get your podcasts.
1:41.0	Hello, Coltys. Sorry. I was going to try to do this promo in a British accent, and I've just now decided against it.
1:49.6	Coltis is your host, Amanda Montel. And despite my cold feet about the accent, I am so excited to announce that sounds like a cult live is coming to London.
2:00.6	A live version of this very podcast is coming to
	...

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