The Cult of Waldorf Schools: Hippie Haven or Color-Coded Cult?

If you’ve ever met a kid who could knit a scarf before they could read, you might already be familiar with this week’s “cult.” With their dreamy, arts-infused approach to education (think: seasonal festivals, storytelling over standardized testing), Waldorf schools promise a ~holistic utopia for young minds~. But behind the fairy tale façade lurks a past (and present) steeped in, oh y’know, anti-science ideology, claims of clairvoyance, weird “karma” stuff, problematic hierarchies, and a suspiciously rigid devotion to its 1920s founder, Rudolf Steiner. And that’s just the beginning! This week, Amanda and Reese break down the culty undercurrents of Waldorf Schools with the help of former Waldorf educator Maggie Smith, who was kicked out of the movement and lived to tell the tale. Is Waldorf a harmless hippie haven? Or an expensive lesson on us vs. them dynamics? Tune in as we unravel its hand-spun, naturally dyed, organic threads!


👽 About Sounds Like A Cult Podcast 👽
Putting the “cult” in culture… Do you think SoulCycle is a cult? What about the Royal Family? What about Disney Adults? Or spiritual influencers? Is Instagram itself a cult? We’re Sounds Like A Cult, a podcast that analyzes a different fanatical group every week to try and answer the big question: This sounds like a cult, but is it really?

Sounds Like A Cult premiered in June of 2021 and has since been downloaded over 30 million times. It was named a best podcast of 2022 by Vulture, Esquire, Wired, Marie Claire, and others. The pod won the 2023 iHeart Radio “Best Emerging Podcast” Award and has been praised by The New York Times and other publications.

New episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

✨Your Co-Hosts ✨
Amanda Montell   / amanda_montell  
Chelsea Charles-McClure   / chelseaxcharles  
Reese Oliver   / reesaronii  

Stay connected with us! ⬇️
Subscribe for new weekly episodes!    / @amandamontellpodcasts  
Instagram   / soundslikeacultpod  
Patreon   / soundslikeacult  

#soundslikeacultpodcast #cult #shenyun #cult #podcast