Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

Linguist Amanda Montell argues that cults are built on language, not charisma. Jonestown, Scientology, NXIVM, multi-level marketing, and CrossFit all use the same rhetorical tricks (in-group jargon, thought-terminating cliches, loaded terms) to make leaving feel like a category error rather than a choice. The clearest modern framework for the rest of the cult canon.