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PODCAST

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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

society & culture personal journals

All Episodes

29:18

An Influencer's Child Died and the Internet Came For Her

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/27

When a tragedy happens to a mother online, does it still belong to her—or does it belong to all of us?After beloved TikTok mom influencer Emily Kaiser’s 3-year-old son tragically drowned, the internet didn’t wait for confirmation. Strangers started playing detective, matching Zillow screenshots to TikToks, scouring Arizona death records, and demanding answers before her family had time to grieve. This week, journalist Fortesa Latifi—who’s been doing some of the sharpest reporting on influencer

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42:23

Sunday Nice Things: On Drugs, from Other People’s...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/25

Sharing something special with you this week, it’s an episode of Other People’s Problems, from CBC. Normally, therapy sessions are totally confidential — but this podcast opens the doors. On this season, the host Dr. Hillary McBride explores the transformative power of psychedelics in a therapeutic setting. With her psychological expertise, Dr. Hillary leads clients through drug-assisted therapy, guiding them to new heights on their healing journeys. You’ll experience these real, unscripted sessions

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38:14

Is Motherhood Hard Everywhere, or Just in America?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/22

Is it possible to raise a child without losing yourself—if you live in a country that actually supports parents?In this episode, we sit down with journalist and author Abigail Leonard to talk about her powerful new book Four Mothers, a narrative that follows four women across four countries through the highs and heartbreaks of their first year of motherhood. From Finland’s robust family leave to Japan’s intense cultural expectations, from a grieving new mom in Kenya to an American mother who steps

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52:34

Is Your Kid an Asshole or Just a Kid? With Melinda...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/20

Ever feel like gentle parenting only works for gentle children—and yours were born throwing punches? Same. That’s why this week, I sat down with science journalist and parenting sanity-saver ⁠Melinda Wenner Moyer⁠, author of ⁠How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes⁠ and the new book ⁠Hello, Cruel World: How to Parent with Hope in an Era of Anxiety and Doom⁠.We’re diving deep into the hard stuff: screen time panic, why discipline doesn’t mean dictatorship, and how to build actual resilience (hint:

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34:00

Sunday Nice Things: How to Write a Good Book with...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/18

What do writing a thriller, running a marathon, and raising small humans have in common? At some point, you’re convinced you’re doing it all wrong.This week on Sunday Nice Things I down with bestselling author Andrea Bartz (The Last Ferry Out) to talk about the messy middle of any creative process—when everything feels like garbage and your brain is screaming “just quit.” If you've ever felt stuck in the middle of something hard—writing a book, parenting, being a human in the world—this episode

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57:10

Where's the F*cking Village?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/15

We were told there’d be a village. A built-in crew of support, solidarity, and sanity that would show up the minute the baby did. But what if the village never comes? In this episode, Jo talks to Melissa Wirt—mother of six, founder of Latched Mama, and author of I Was Told There’d Be a Village—about what it means to build connection in a culture that isolates mothers by design. They dive into the science of loneliness, the labor of making friends as a grown woman, and why an adult swim team might

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50:49

What If You’re Not Sure You Want Kids?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/13

What happens when you're not 100% sure you want to become a mother—but you go ahead and do it anyway? In this episode, we explore the space between certainty and regret, love and ambivalence, and what it means to mother without a clear road map.Host Jo Piazza sits down with journalist and author Ruthie Ackerman, whose new book The Mother Code unpacks her own winding path to motherhood—through egg freezing, fertility treatments, donor eggs, and a lot of self-doubt. They talk about why our culture

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22:56

Sunday Nice Things: Your New Favorite Kid Podcast

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/11

If your kids are into listening to podcasts (mine are...we are massive Greeking Out stans) then you are going to want The Ten News in your rotation. The Ten News podcast explores topics that kids care about most including events, sports, science, gaming, pop culture, entertainment, and more! With new episodes bi-weekly on Wednesday, it’s a great way for you and your family to stay connected with what’s going on in the world. The Ten News also features some pretty awesome guests; LEGO Masters Judge

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51:32

How to Raise Successful Kids with Susan Dominus

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/08

What do a novelist, an Olympic triathlete, and a healthcare entrepreneur have in common? In some families, they share a childhood. Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Susan Dominus joins us to talk about The Family Dynamic, her riveting new book on how multiple high-achieving siblings emerge from the same home—and what that means for the rest of us. We talk about the science of sibling influence, the myth of perfect parenting, and why stepping back might be the best thing you can do for your kid’s

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49:27

Raising Good Humans Without God: A Secular Parenting...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/06

What happens when your kids start asking the Big Questions—about death, morality, and the meaning of life—and your only answer is... "I don't know"?This week we sit down with the anonymous duo behind The Family Skeptical podcast—two parents raising their children without religion in a world where Christian values are increasingly entangled with politics, community, and parenting culture. They dive into what it means to teach critical thinking instead of catechism, how to build moral frameworks

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63:28

Sunday Nice Things: The Family Skeptical

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/04

Dropping an episode of The Family Skeptical in your feed today. It's a show by a married atheist couple talking about raising kids in non-belief.They talk about navigating the challenges and joys of raising open-minded, compassionate kids in a world where religious beliefs often take center stage and dive into topics such as teaching critical thinking, fostering empathy, celebrating diversity, handling religious questions, and much more. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS

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49:04

The Wild Courage to Go After What You Want (with...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/05/01

What 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, and uncertainty keep so many people stuck. This episode dives into the surprising science of ambition, why women are still penalized for being "bossy," how guilt and comparison steal more from us than failure ever could, and why being a little shameless might be the smartest move you make. Plus: what chasing a stranger off a

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48:18

We Survived Girls Gone Wild Just to Get Tradwives?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/29

What do Britney Spears, American Pie, Girls Gone Wild, and the rise of trad wives on TikTok all have in common? More than you think.In this episode, we dive into the cultural stew of the late ’90s and early 2000s with Atlantic critic Sophie Gilbert, author of Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves. From foam fingers to foam parties, we unpack how the sparkly, bedazzled, and disturbingly sexist pop culture of that era shaped millennial womanhood—and how it's

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66:59

Sunday Nice Things: Normal Curves

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/27

Dropping a great new podcast in your feed today. Normal Curves is a podcast about sexy science & serious statistics. Ever try to make sense of a scientific study and the numbers behind it? Listen in to a lively conversation between two stats-savvy friends who break it all down with humor and clarity. Professors Regina Nuzzo of Gallaudet University and Kristin Sainani of Stanford University discuss academic papers journal club-style — except with more fun, less jargon, and some irreverent, PG-13

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41:13

Will Your Kid Have to be a Brand to Survive?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/24

What do you want to be when you grow up? For Gen Alpha, the answer might just be: a brand. This week, we enter the world of the Sweet Sisterhood—a so-called “content house” made up of girls aged 8 to 12 with a combined following in the tens of millions. Think ring lights, sassy videos, and moms-turned-managers. But behind the sequins and smiles is a bigger, messier question: Is this the future of childhood? Will every kid need a personal brand just to survive the job market of tomorrow? We're

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46:20

Lessons from Spring Break: Trashtasic Vegas With...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/22

Ten days. Six bags. One baby screaming about her missing keys, her cell phone and how much she hates shoes and pants. Spring break in Vegas, Zion and Bryce had it all—drunk fairy godmothers in Vegas, kids veering dangerously close to canyon edges, and a toddler who staged daily protests against wearing pants.These are our lessons learned and a survival guide to chaotic family travel: overpacking regrets, road trip rules, the underrated joy of traveling with another family that you love so damn

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81:47

Is Megan Markle a #TradWife?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/17

This week, we're asking the question on the Internet's bitchy lips: is Meghan Markle a tradwife? To get to the bottom of it, I'm dropping in a special crossover episode with Off With Their Headlines where I try to answer that very question. We unpack what “tradwife” actually means, why Meghan’s branding is smart (not submissive), and how capitalism, feminism, and influencer culture collide in unexpected ways. Plus, a little tea on royal family PR strategy, birth control conspiracies,

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65:08

Bridget Jones, Real Lady Necks, and the Golden Age of...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/15

Why does Bridget Jones still hit us right in the feelings—decades later? Because she’s all of us. A little messy, a little lost, and still trying to figure it out.This week, we’re diving into the joy, the grief, the chaos, and the sexy normalcy of the new Bridget Jones movie—and why romantic comedies are finally having a moment again (and thank God for that). It’s a full-on love letter to the rom-com: from waxing mishaps and mom life meltdowns to why we need more midlife love stories and fewer

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55:46

Sunday Nice Things: Parenting in the Digital Age with...

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/13

Today I'm dropping an episode of These Packs Puck.Anyone who's a parent knows how chaotic life with kids can be — but being a professional athlete and a parent comes with its own unique challenges. On their podcast, These Packs Puck, Madison and Anya Packer, professional hockey players and moms-of-two, speak candidly about their life on and off the ice. This episode happens to feature Jo talking about social media and parenting. You can find more episodes of These Packs Puck here. Join our

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41:36

Did You Think Life Would Be Better Than This?

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza ·

2025/04/10

What happens when your life falls apart—and the Internet is watching? Jessica Turner had the husband, the kids, the career, and the perfectly curated feed. But when her husband came out as gay, everything she thought she knew about her life, her marriage, and herself shattered. In this raw and deeply honest conversation, Jessica opens up about what it really looks like to rebuild from the ground up—navigating grief, rewriting your worth, dating again, and raising kids with integrity in the

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335 results

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