Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

What happens when filtered faces look more real than real ones? This episode dives into the strange collision of plastic surgery, social media, and AI. Why are celebrities suddenly confessing to nose jobs and boob lifts? And how is the algorithm shaping what we think we’re supposed to look like? We talk to top plastic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Zelken about what’s actually possible—and what’s pure fantasy. When perfection is everywhere, it’s hard not to feel like your perfectly good, perfectly human self somehow isn’t enough. Learn more about Dr. Zelken here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the entire wellness internet—bee venom facials, jade eggs, raw dairy—could be traced back to one woman? Gwyneth Paltrow didn’t just win an Oscar and marry a rock star. She built Goop, turned luxury wellness into a global machine, and maybe even helped create the Maha influencer pipeline. Journalist Amy Odell, author of the brand-new biography Gwyneth, spent three years and 200 interviews uncovering Gwyneth’s meteoric rise, the media’s obsession with tearing her down, and how she rewrote the rules of modern fame. Order GWYNETH here. Follow Amy on Substack here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So many of us are wondering why our government is not working for us today. Why our representatives are so ineffectual - simple bills that would protect so many vulnerable children from lead exposure like The Lead Paint Right to Know Act get stuck in committee and never brought to the floor for a vote regardless of the fact that it passed the assembly with the largest margin yet: 106 to 40. You're about to listen to LEAD, an audio drama made by a mom who's son suffered from extensive lead poisoning and what's she doing to make sure it doesn't happen to more children. Listen to more episodes of LEAD here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a candid conversation, Dr. Kim Einhorn, an OB-GYN and founder of The Menopause Collective, tackles the often-taboo topic of perimenopause. She reveals the reality behind symptoms like sleepless nights and shifting hormones. Dr. Einhorn emphasizes the need for better healthcare communication and empowers younger women with knowledge to navigate their own experiences. From hormone therapy options to the importance of sleep, she advocates for proactive health management and open dialogue about this natural life stage.

Today, we're diving into the untold history of four women who risked everything to fight fascism in WWII Italy. Author Suzanne Cope joins Jo to talk about her new book Women of War, which profiles badass resistance fighters who smuggled weapons, organized underground strikes, and wrote radical newspapers while the men were often hiding in the hills. These women didn't wait for permission to lead—they just did it. Jo and Suzanne explore what made them so effective, why history has buried their stories, and how their legacy might just be the blueprint we need right now. Order Women of War here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unladylike is an absolute delight. Host Cristen Conger dissects the myths, messes, and media shaping modern womanhood—and un-womanhood. From bisexual imposter syndrome to tall girl therapy, gun culture to birth control backlash, she gets into it all—backed by deep research, sharp interviews, and just enough unseriousness to demystify the uncanny valley of 21st-century patriarchy without doomspiraling. I'm actually on this episode talking tradwives, but if you want to binge something else check out their whole feed here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are very few influencers who can actually influence me these days, but Grace Atwood is one of them. And that's because I trust her. The business of influencing has changed a lot and Grace has been navigating those changes for 15 years. From Blogspot to Substack, affiliate links to brand deals, she’s built a full-fledged media brand by being transparent, trustworthy and having impeccable taste. In this episode, we talk about the evolution of content creation, the emotional labor of staying “authentic,” and why influencers are still underestimated, even as they’re driving millions in revenue. If you’ve ever wondered how the business really works, Grace is here to break it all down with a whole lot of candor. Read Grace's blog The Stripe here. Follow her on Substack here. Find her on Instagram here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While social media feeds overflow with‬‭ polished success stories, a new‬ ‭ podcast is asking: what if the biggest career breakthroughs come from the moments we’re least‬‭ likely to share? The Messy Parts cuts through the highlight reel to explore‬‭ the raw, unfiltered reality behind achievement.‬ Host Maryam Banikarim, a powerhouse executive with 20+ years in the C-Suite at Nextdoor,‬‭ Hyatt, NBC Universal, and Univision, created the show after growing tired of the facade. “I’ve‬ ‭been 'successful’ by most measures, and it’s messy as hell,” says Banikarim. “There are days‬ ‭even the people who 'have it all’ can barely get out of bed. We want listeners to know they’re not‬‭ losing their minds alone.” ‭The premiere episode features Katie Sturino, founder of Megababe, discussing building a‬ ‭self-funded brand, the real struggles behind Instagram gloss, and how “letting the messy parts‬ ‭hang out” became her superpower.‬ ‭  Listen to more episodes of The Messy Parts here. Buy Katie's book Sunny Side Up here. Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reality television isn’t just escapism—it’s a sociological goldmine. In this episode, Reality Life host Kate Casey breaks down why the smartest people she knows are watching Love Undercover, Jury Duty, and The Keepers. Plus: the archetype of the aspiring influencer, what Mariska Hargitay’s new doc reveals about legacy and loss, and how Jeff Bezos turned his wedding into an extravagant PR stunt. This is your sharp, funny, wildly satisfying guide to what to watch when the world feels like a dumpster fire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We don’t have rituals for breaking up with friends.  Romantic breakups come with scripts—we know how to mourn them, process them, even joke about them. But when a friendship falls apart, we’re left in a strange cultural vacuum. I still think about the women I’ve lost as friends more than the men I’ve dated. I still stop myself from texting them, still wonder if they think about me, still carry the unresolved ache of the loss. Their absence haunts me in a way that lovers never have. Why is this? Why don’t we talk about the grief of losing a close friend—especially another woman? Is it because we still undervalue platonic love, or because the intimacy of female friendship is too complicated and layered to fit into a clean narrative? And why do so many of us carry this particular heartbreak quietly, without naming it? Our guest today is Susan Shapiro Barash, author of Estranged. Inspired by the emotional undercurrent of my new novel Everyone Is Lying To You, this conversation dives deep into why friendship breakups hit harder than romantic ones, the red-flag friendships to look out for, and why it's time to admit that not all friendships are meant to last forever.  Join our newsletter community here. Pre-order EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices