Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
by Jo Piazza
Latest episode
We Need to Talk About Pregnancy Loss and the Workplace
We Need to Talk About Pregnancy Loss and the Workplace
About this podcast
Under the Influence is a deep dive into social media, a place haunted by aspirational marketing where it feels like every other person is a social media influencer trying to sell you something, all while posed in perfect houses that never seem to get messy. And behind this airbrushed perfection is money, so much money. Billions and billions of dollars. Journalist and mom Jo Piazza looks at how we got here, what it all means and how the commodification of every single aspect of our lives is driving everyone (but mostly women and mothers) a little insane.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 448 episodes
- We Need to Talk About Pregnancy Loss and the Workplace · 42 minWe spend a lot of time on this show talking about the ways this country fails mothers, and every time we think we’ve found all the holes, another one shows up that makes us want…
- What the Hell Do We Do With All This Rage? With Gemma Hartley · 42 minGemma Hartley, author of No One Loves an Angry Woman: An Ex-Vangelical Coming of Rage Story, joins us to talk about why women have been taught to swallow their anger, what…
- Democracy, It Works: A Midterm Postmortem with Katie Harbath · 44 minHas democracy been saved? Did it need saving in the first place? Can we finally feel hope again? We almost don’t know what to do with all this hope. We recorded this the morning…
- Is Adult Reading Camp Is the Answer to Loneliness? Plus Croatia! · 46 minWhat if the best way to make friends as an adult is to go to summer camp? Think cozy cabins, excellent books, whitewater rafting, crafting, and hundreds of women who share yourn…
- Katie Sturino on “I’m Fine,” Midlife, and Not Giving the EFFs - PLUS A COVER REVEAL FOR THE LAST RIDE!!! · 44 minWe’re kicking off with a cover reveal! People magazine debuted the cover of The Last Ride, our new murder-for-hire thriller set at a high-end Wyoming dude ranch. Think…
- Can We Go Back to the Office Without Losing Our Flexibility? · 40 minWork is broken for most of us. The modern office was built for men with stay-at-home wives. School lets out at 3, childcare costs a fortune, and we’ve all gone a little feral…
- The Wild Courage to Go After What You Want (with former Google Exec Jenny Wood) · 45 minWhat does it really take to ask for what you want—and actually get it? Jenny Wood, former Google executive and author of Wild Courage, breaks down why fear of judgment, failure…
- We’re Done Smiling Through It, with Hillary Frank · 33 minThis week we talk with Hillary Frank, the creator of The Longest Shortest Time, a podcast that got us through the miserable, sleepless, who-is-this-tiny-alien early days of…
- Let's Get More Moms in Office!! Chatting With Vote Mama · 41 minWhat if moms were in charge? This week we sit down with Liuba Grechen Shirley, founder of Vote Mama, who ran for Congress in 2018 while nursing two toddlers and became the first…
- Men Who Call Women Whores Are Pathetic (with Nick Aster) · 38 minWe had a whole different episode planned, and then Shane Gillis stood up on SNL and called women who wear shorts to the gym whores. So we’re doing another emergency episode, and…
- Everything Bookish: How to Read More, Find Great Books, and Write Your Own · 56 minToday we're talking about one of our favorite things in the world. BOOKS. Lauren and Garri from The Everygirl Book Club join us to talk about how to build a more bookish life…
- Are You Ready to Run for Office? · 42 minAmanda Litman, co-founder of Run for Something and author of When We’re in Charge, joins us to talk about what the hell we can actually do when everything feels terrible. How do…
- The Truth About Sex and Money After 40 (The Midlife Plot Twist Part Two) · 47 minWhat if you're not having less sex because of perimenopause? What if you're just tired of your husband and the pile of dirty laundry on your bed? And while we're at it, how the…
- In the Wake of the Cornell 7, How Can We Raise Good Men? · 42 minWhat happens when boys learn about masculinity from the internet before they learn how to understand their own emotions? Jo talks with Peggy Orenstein, author of Boys & Sex…
- You Don't Have to Burn It Down: The Midlife Plot Twist, Part One · 43 minThis week we start a two-part series on how not to blow up your life in midlife, with Gabrielle Moss, co-author of The Midlife Plot Twist: How to Reboot Your Life Without Burning…
- The Last Free Women of Afghanistan · 41 minRebecca Blumenstein helped get 124 people out of Kabul when the city fell. Diana Kapp had been reporting on Afghan girls since 2012. Their new book, The Last Free Women, follows…
- Chasing Cozy: The Birthday Episode With Jane Green · 42 minWe’re coming to you poolside on Jo's birthday from Marrakech with bestselling author Jane Green for a conversation about the things we learn as we get older, wiser and more bad…
- Can a Chatbot Love You Back? · 45 minBridget Todd used to read the headlines about people proposing to ChatGPT and write those people off as sad and strange. Then she heard tech leaders describe AI companionship as…
- The Lone Liberal on Fox News Wrote the Book on Disagreeing Better · 48 minJessica Tarlov has one of the strangest jobs in American media. Five days a week she sits at a table on Fox News' The Five as the lone liberal, arguing in front of millions of…
- How Can We Save Child Stars ? Would You Buy Sydney Sweeney's Underwear? And a New Royal Tell-All · 46 minWe're dropping an episode of a brand new celebrity news podcast in your feed today. Celebrity Intelligence: The Lowdown. Jo's a lead producer and host on this one and she's…
- "How Not to Look Like Shit": Bobbi Brown on Makeup, Aging, and Being Scrappy Forever · 44 minBobbi Brown started Bobbi Brown Cosmetics out of her garage while pregnant in 1990. Four and a half years in, Estée Lauder called and said we want to buy you, and she said okay…
- Sunday Nice Things: Did Emily Ruin Paris? · 34 minToday we're sharing an episode from another podcast I think you'll enjoy: The Global Story from the BBC. The question they’re tackling is a great one: Did Emily Ruin…
- The Tradwife Era Is Over. So Why Are We Still Obsessed? · 38 minWhy are smart, progressive, left-voting women are still watching tradwife content? Even after the trend has peaked? Author Claire Swinarski has also written a tradwife novel…
- An OBGYN's Cheat Sheet for Getting Taken Seriously · 38 minDr. Tracy Shevell is an OBGYN who has spent 25 years in women's intimate spaces, and she has watched the system fail women over and over. Her goal is to help women get them…
- Pour Yourself a Cup of Ambition: Remembering Dolly · 50 minDolly Parton died on Tuesday at 80, and she may have been the last thing Americans agreed on. We're replaying this episode in her honor. Our conversation with Will Bonfiglio, the…
- Why We Need Paid Leave Right Now · 36 minThe United States is basically the only country in the world without paid family and medical leave, and we are not okay with it. This week, Dawn Huckelbridge of the Paid Leave…
- Sunday Nice Things: A New Book You'll Absolutely Love · 19 minThis week on Under the Influence Sunday Nice Things, we have a book rec you will LOVE. Jennifer Herrera’s Siren Says, a magical, sexy, gloriously witchy novel about embracing…
- Why We Keep Underestimating Conservative Women · 41 minFor years we've been laughing at tradwives. We've mocked the prairie dresses, the sourdough starters, the "submit to your husband" content, and the endless parade of blonde…
- The Joy of Giving Fewer F*cks · 46 minWhat happens when good girls grow up and stop apologizing? For generations, women have been rewarded for being agreeable, being accommodating and being grateful for what they…
- The Dark Side of Being a Good Girl · 38 minFor years, women have been told that success means being chosen. Chosen by a partner. Chosen for the promotion. Chosen by everyone except ourselves. This week we're joined by…
- Grudges, Revenge, MLMs and Book Recs with Emily Paulson · 44 minThis week on Under the Influence, bestselling author and recovering MLM insider Emily Paulson joins us for a rage-filled chat about revenge fantasies, influencer culture…
- Book Tour Brain & Majoring in Influencing · 37 minIt's been a blurry week. Jo and Nick share behind-the-scenes moments from The Parisian Heist tour, announce the Catskills Book Festival, and talk about what' books Jo is working…
- The Art of an Adventurous Life · 42 minThis week, we're sharing a special crossover episode with Get a Life, the new podcast from Jo's best friend, women's wellness coach and positive psychology practitioner Jackie…
- Get Out of the Waiting Room of Your Life · 49 minJess Ekstrom, the author of Making It Without Losing It: How to Stay Motivated in a World Where We Are Never Done, grew up in the shadow of one of the biggest financial scandals…
- The Best Ideas Come at 3 in the Morning with Allison Winn Scotch · 39 minNobody talks honestly enough about the 3 a.m. wake-up—the sweating, spiraling and sometimes creative genius that strikes women in the wee hours of the morning. This week we’re…
- How to Thrive Through Life's Plot Twists · 50 minEliza Reid never expected to become the First Lady of Iceland. The Canadian-born writer and mother of four was living a hectic, but totally normal life when her husband launched…
- Why We Keep Falling for Paris · 48 minWhy are we so obsessed with Paris? It is the f*cking best, but long before Instagram convinced us that a destination could transform our lives, Paris had already perfected the…
- Heists, Billionaires, and the Untold Story of Jo van Gogh · 39 minThe art market is one of the most secretive, least regulated wealth machines on the planet. Billions of dollars change hands between billionaires, oligarchs, and dynasties with…
- Laura Ingalls Wilder is Getting Her Due on TV · 1 h 3 minWilder is back in the Under the Influence feed. A brand new Little House on the Prairie just landed on Netflix and obviously Glynnis and I had thoughts. I talked to Executive…
- The Art of the Heist: Why We Root for Thieves · 42 minWhy do we all root for art thieves? This week we're joined by Anthony Amore — director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the heist expert behind the heist in…
- Life After Ambition: The Midlife Crisis We Weren't Prepared For · 55 minWe were promised that if we worked hard enough, checked all the right boxes, and built successful careers, we'd eventually arrive at some stable version of adulthood. So why do…
- How to Actually Relax This Summer · 43 minSummer is supposed to be relaxing, so why does it feel like five summers' worth of stress before July even hits? This week, we're pushing back on the algorithm's demands that we…
- Why We're All Binging Parks and Rec Right Now—The Most Hopeful Show on Television Was Almost Canceled · 44 minWhy does Parks and Recreation feel more necessary now than when it first aired? We're chatting with bestselling author and pop culture journalist Jennifer Keishin Armstrong…
- What Should We Be Watching Right Now? With Kate Casey · 43 minKate Casey, host of Reality Life with Kate Casey returns to the show with recommendations for what to watch right now, from buzzy new documentaries to true crime rabbit holes and…
- Ballerina Farm Gets Real With Steph McNeal · 32 minOur friend Stephanie McNeal wrote a truly great piece for Vulture this week called BALLERINA FARM IS HAPPY WITH HER CHOICES. Steph went to the farm and sat down with Hannah…
- Jane Green on Rewilding, Reinvention, Mushrooms, Tattoos and Midlife Freedom · 49 minBestselling author Jane Green spent decades looking like she had the perfect life: a beautiful house, a successful career, a long marriage, children, stability, all of it. But…
- Sad Beige Babies With Sad Beige Parents · 43 minSad beige motherhood helped inspire this podcast. This week we're diving into the internet aesthetic that convinced an entire generation of mothers that parenting should look…
- Girls Gone Wild Go Feral—Behind the Scenes of the Show That Shaped a Generation · 51 minWhat if the women from Girls Gone Wild finally got the mic? This week we go all the way back to the horrifyingly normalized misogyny of the early 2000s with author and podcaster…
- Sunday Nice Things: Family Money · 31 minSo excited to drop Family Money from Babylist into your feed! Having a baby comes with real money questions, no matter where you're starting from. Welcome to Family Money, a new…
- Royals Were the Original Reality Television Stars · 45 minBefore there were influencers, there were royals. For centuries, the British royal family has provided the world with fashion trends, family feuds, public scandals, doomed…
