Podcast
Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
Hosted by Jo Piazza · EN
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.
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MAHA Moms, the Influencer Election and What the Hell Will Happen With Midterms With Emily Amick
5d ago00:38:53Tap to summarizeThere’s a reason so many people are tuning out politics right now. Every day feels like another terrible headline, another scandal too big to process, another moment where you wonder whether we live inside The Onion. But while everyone is overwhelmed and exhausted, the right has built one of the most sophisticated media ecosystems in modern history. Emily Amick returns to the podcast to talk about Trump’s new loyalty settlement fund, the influencer-to-political operative pipeline, why “independent” MAGA creators are shaping public opinion more effectively than traditional media, and whether the MAHA moms are gonna jump ship. Buy Emily's book Democracy in Retrograde here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →The Burnout Beneath Ambition
1w ago00:35:54Tap to summarizeWhy does success still feel so empty for so many women? Executive coach Brooke Taylor says the answer is something she calls “the success wound”: the pain that comes from tying our self-worth to achievement, productivity, perfection, and external validation. In this episode, we unpack why so many high-achieving women are burned out, anxious, over-functioning, and terrified they’re never doing enough. We get into Google hustle culture to addiction, motherhood, ambition, burnout, and the panic spiral that starts with one weird email from your boss. We also talk about the deeper cultural forces shaping women’s relationship to work, why so many women are rethinking ambition in midlife, and how we raise daughters who know they are worthy even when they fail. Order The Success Wound here. Follow Brooke here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →We Need to Talk About Spencer Pratt
2w ago00:47:04Tap to summarizeYears ago, Spencer Pratt was dismissed as a fame-hungry reality TV idiot with frosted facial hair and a crystal obsession. But looking back? He may have understood modern media better than almost anyone else on television. Now he’s running for mayor of Los Angeles. Jo digs into the strange pipeline from reality TV to political power, why audiences are drawn to “outsider” candidates they already feel connected to, and how the attention economy changed politics forever. Because as ridiculous as Spencer Pratt for mayor sounds, it also feels deeply, painfully American. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →What to Read After Yesteryear and the History of Tradwives
2w ago00:48:48Tap to summarizeIf you loved Yesteryear — or absolutely hated it — a lot of you have been asking the same question: what should I read next? This week on Under the Influence, we’re diving into the ultimate post-Yesteryear reading list, from influencer thrillers and feminist rage novels to nonfiction deep dives into tradwives, Christian patriarchy, mommy influencers, and the very real cost of turning domesticity into content. We’re talking The Stepford Wives, A Well-Trained Wife, Like, Follow, Subscribe, Such a Bad Influence, The Mad Wife, and why Little House on the Prairie still has a chokehold on all of us. And because so many listeners are newly entering the tradwife discourse, we’re also resurfacing an older episode from the archives that you might have missed: a fascinating conversation with journalist Clara Bingham about the real history behind the tradwife fantasy. Together, we unpack the myth of the happy 1950s housewife, the backlash against feminism, Phyllis Schlafly’s political machine, and why so much of today’s influencer culture is recycling old propaganda in aesthetically pleasing beige linen packaging. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Pregnancy in the Age of Social Media
3w ago00:38:43Tap to summarizeSocial media has changed pregnancy in a big way. Between picture-perfect bumps, “effortless” births and endless advice, it’s easy to feel like you’re not measuring up. But it’s also made space for more honest and authentic conversations—the parts of pregnancy that aren’t camera-ready. In this episode, we talk with journalist Fortesa Latifi, author of Like, Follow, Subscribe, and Ayla Woodruff, an influencer and mom with millions of followers, about the realities of sharing your pregnancy and motherhood online, from deciding what to share to curating your feed to protect your mental health. Featuring Ayla Woodruff and Fortesa Latifi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Why Does the World Hate Ambitious Women?
3w ago00:40:54Tap to summarizeThere's a very specific kind of rage that comes from realizing that the rules were rigged against you the entire time. As women, we were told that we could have ambition, careers, power, money, independence, all of the things, that we could have it all, but only if we managed to pursue all of it while we also remained endlessly agreeable, attractive, maternal, selfless, accommodating, emotionally available, and completely non-threatening to men. Even if we checked all the boxes, we still weren't gonna get all the things. Today we're chatting about the new book, The Ambition Penalty, with Stephanie O'Connell. Buckle up, this one is a wild ride. Order The Ambition Penalty here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →A Sneak Peek of THE PARISIAN HEIST
3w ago00:16:29Tap to summarizeHappy weekend! Here's a sneak peek of the first chapter of Jo van Gogh's story in The Parisian Heist. Just in case you needed a little taste before getting your orders in. In the past timeline of this book we are telling the untold story of Jo van Gogh, Vincent's sister in law who inherited his hundreds of worthless paintings and dedicated her life to making him a household name. She is the reason you know him so well today. ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE PARISIAN HEIST TODAY Join our newsletter community here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Hating on the 3-Hour Mom—We'd Never Do This to a Man
4w ago00:39:30Tap to summarizeA Wall Street Journal headline about a powerful female executive spending “only” three hours a weekend with her kids turned into an internet blood sports. So we unpack why. In this episode, we get into the outrage around Skims executive Emma Grede, the impossible standards put on mothers, and why no one ever asks dads to account for every minute they spend parenting. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Visit Ballerina Farm With Me
4w ago00:50:48Tap to summarizeWhat happens when you step inside the internet? In this episode, we head to the Ballerina Farm farm shop in Midway, Utah and the Ballerina Farm Dairy (and get a tour with none other than Daniel Neeleman himself). Come, watch and listen in real time as the branding does exactly what it’s designed to do: make you believe that if you just buy the gingham tote or the sourdough starter or the beef tallow, maybe your life could look like this too. Then we go to the dairy. And here’s where it gets complicated. Because behind the prairie dresses and soft-focus Instagram lies a highly technical, data-driven farming operation with robots, trackers, and a whole lot of money powering the dream. It’s not Little House on the Prairie. It’s Silicon Valley with cows. The reality is both more interesting and less idyllic than the feed suggests. Also, yes, everything has protein now. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcribe →Art is For Everyone With Liz Lidgett
Apr 3000:45:47Tap to summarizeArt has a branding problem. Somewhere along the way, we decided it was only for rich people, or academics living in their ivory towers Liz Lidgett is changing that. Liz opened a gallery right before the world shut down during the pandemic, started putting art on Instagram when no one could leave their homes, and built a following by making the art world feel way more human. We talk about how to live with art instead of being intimidated by it, how to figure out what you like, why your first piece doesn’t need to be expensive. And why the best art is usually the one you can’t stop thinking about, not the one that matches your couch. We also detour into perimenopause. Briefly. Promise! Can't stop, won't stop. Buy Liz's book here. Follow her here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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