

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
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 everyone (but mostly women and mothers) a little insane.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Apr 4, 2024 • 43min
Bite-Sized Bits of Mindfulness
Twenty minutes a day of mediation seems pretty out of reach for most moms. Frankly five minutes of meditation seems pretty out of reach. Today we are talking to clinical psychologist Kathryn Barbash about ways to bring mindfulness into your daily life that will actually work for you as a busy parent.Follow Kathryn's substack Mindful in the Mud here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 2, 2024 • 41min
Embracing Uncertainty in Life and Parenting with Maggie Jackson
Is a daily dose of uncertainty exactly what we need? Is embracing uncertainty instead of fearing it the answer to happier and more curious parenting?I believe that my guest today is one of the most interesting writers and thinkers talking about social trends and technology's impact on humanity today. Maggie Jackson's new book Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure has shaken up my brain in many new and wonderful ways. Today we discuss how we can be challenged by uncertainty and also really thrive in it. Learn more about Maggie and order Uncertain and Distracted here.Grab your copy of The Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 31, 2024 • 32min
Sunday Nice Things: Parenting with Empathy, from Pop Culture Moms
Sharing an episode of another podcast Jo is loving: Pop Culture Moms. Andie and Sabrina are toddler moms and best friends of 20 years. They’re taking their obsession with TV and movies to the next level by talking to celebrities, writers and fellow “scholars” of pop culture about what they can learn from the fictional moms they love most. In this episode: Some of the best moms on TV right now are cartoons. We hear from Deena Margolin and Kristin Gallant, the moms behind parenting resource Big Little Feelings and co-hosts of the podcast, After Bedtime, about what the mothers in Bluey and Daniel Tiger are doing right. Listen to “Pop Culture Moms” HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 30, 2024 • 40min
White Lotus Meets Only Murders in the Building — The Sicilian Inheritance True Crime Podcast
It's finally here! The true-crime podcast where I try to solve my great great grandmother Lorenza's murder that The Sicilian Inheritance is based on. DO NOT WORRY there are no book spoilers. These were created to be enjoyed together...companions, not spoilers.Journalist Jo Piazza’s family has been playing a hundred year long game of telephone about the murder of her great great grandmother Lorenza Marsala. Family members who have gone back to Sicily to discover the truth, including Jo’s dad have been shut down by authorities and threatened by seemingly supernatural forces.But Jo is determined, maybe even a little obsessed, to cut through the stories, the lies and the mythologies to find out the truth, even if her family members don’t want her to.If you love this and want more subscribe to The Sicilian Inheritance podcast here.Order copies of the book The Sicilian Inheritance for everyone you know!OH and did I tell you there is also a Sicilian Inheritance Olive Oil? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 28, 2024 • 43min
Midlife Career Switching to be a Post-Partum Doula
Today kicks off our miniseries of women who have switched careers in midlife. My friend Corynne Cirilli used to be a gossip columnist and entertainment journalist with me. After having kids she took a career pause and then trained to be a post-partum doula! We dig into how Corynne decided she was passionate about post-partum care and how she used that passion to make a massive change in her own life after taking a career pause to have her babies.ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE TODAY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 26, 2024 • 49min
Magical Overthinking with Amanda Montell
Why do human beings make terrible decisions? Is it our fault or is technology programming us to be irrational? Let's get into it with Renaissance Woman Amanda Montell, podcaster, linguist and author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Why do we develop parasocial relationships with influencers and celebrities? Why do people have a baby to save a marriage? We may not have all the answers, but we do offer a little bit of hope for a more rational future.BUY AMANDA'S BOOK HERE - The Age of Magical OverthinkingORDER THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 22, 2024 • 36min
Who Wants to Work at Buckingham Palace?
All the latest on the dumpster fire coming out of Buckingham Palace. Apparently the royals think NOW is a good time to hire a new communications assistant. And Jo has applied for the job! Also Donald Trump has weighed in on Kate-gate and he has thoughts....thoughts that might surprise you. All that and more with our resident Kate expert Caro Claire Burke. Follow Caro HERE.Order your Sicilian Inheritance HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 21, 2024 • 45min
Facing Setbacks and Fostering Ambition
Today we're going to talk about two things that we don't talk about nearly often enough—career setbacks and women's ambition. And these things have way more to do with one another than we might think. I genuinely believe that our ambition only increases or has the potential to increase after a setback. That's one of the reasons I wanted to bring on both of today's guests. We will be hearing from business strategist and all over hype woman Amanda Wagner about why ambition should never be considered a dirty word. We need to be allowed to be ambitious in all of the things—our careers, our parenting, our relationships and even our gardening if that is our jam. We are also chatting with the author and journalist Amy Shoenthal. whose book The Setback Cycle is all about working through life's inevitable setbacks and coming back stronger than ever. ORDER THE SETBACK CYCLE HEREFOLLOW AMANDA HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 19, 2024 • 32min
#FarmLife in Real Life with Sayer Palmer
A lot of things get fetishized on Instagram and #farmlife is one of them. Farm life on social media is often portrayed as hazy, beautiful, aspirational leisure. We rarely, if ever, see the hard actual work that goes into farming, the backbreaking labor and the intense costs of maintaining a farm. We do see a lot of chickens and beautiful blue eggs, but never the dirt under the fingernails or the fields that have failed due to unpredictable weather patterns. We don't see these things because they aren't always pretty and perfect. And social media thrives on pretty and perfect. Today we're talking about what it's really like to be a woman farmer. What it's really like to work your land and what it's really like to depend on your farm for a living. Our guest is Sayer Palmer, a vegetable farmer and a mom who tries to juggle work-life with mom life. This is the beautiful reality of living on a farm, not the dream of it. Follow Sayer here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 17, 2024 • 1h 4min
Sunday Nice Things: Back to the Babysitters Club
Who wants to enjoy a little bit of nostalgia this Sunday morning? Join Jo on the magical and wonderful happy-making Stuck in Stonybrook podcast where they revisit our favorite childhood series through a modern (and often feminist) lens. Subscribe to more Stuck in Stonybrook here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices