How Cults Use Language to Control | Otherwords

Video Description

Vote this episode for a Webby Award! Voting is open until 4/17: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/video-film/general-video-film/how-to-explainer-diy If there's one thing cult leaders do, it's talk. A LOT. Language is an integral part of how cults keep their members bonded, isolated and obedient. Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and finds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fields of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human. Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D. Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham Writer: Andrew Matthews Producer: Katie Graham Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews Executive Producer: Amanda Fox Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell Stock Images from Shutterstock Music from APM Music Otherwords is a production of Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios. © 2024 PBS. All rights reserved. sources: "Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism" by Amanda Montell. 2021. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/leaders-talk-more-babble-hypothesis/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1048984320300369?via%3Dihub https://oxfordre.com/communication/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-436 https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/language-socialization-across-cultures/EFFEC1798E06EDF3C89940150139E28F#history https://medium.com/@markgregorski/how-you-can-persuade-control-and-exploit-people-with-carefully-chosen-words-73852b986abd https://www.esquiremag.ph/culture/books-and-art/cultish-amanda-montell-cult-language-a2738-20220213-lfrm https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1348722.pdf https://www.vox.com/culture/24062406/tiktok-trends-slang-terms-coining https://conceptbureau.com/21-the-secret-language-of-cult-brands/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkbyEHja410 https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/06/review-cultish-amanda-montell-language-fanaticism/619165/ https://leading.business.columbia.edu/main-leadership/leadership/jargon-language-status https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597820303666 https://www.thecut.com/article/amazon-scam-call-ftc-arrest-warrants.html