Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Close your eyes. Picture a woman with lashes so long they could reach across the aisle. Lips plump enough to bounce a quarter off. Matte foundation, pageant curls, a bold lip, and a jawline that could cut glass. Now ask yourself: Is she a Real Housewife or a member of the Trump administration? This week, we’re digging into MAGA Beauty—the algorithm-fueled, hyper-feminized aesthetic dominating the right-wing political sphere. From bulletproof vests and barrel curls to a full-face glam that's become the new uniform of power, this is strategic, not superficial. New York Times columnist Jessica Grose joins us to unpack her viral piece on the look that screams “conservative” before a word is spoken. Then, we talk to Mother Jones editor Inae Oh, whose searing essay In Your Face breaks down how this plasticized performance of womanhood fits into a larger project: rebranding femininity in Trump’s America. Spoiler: It's giving Real Housewives of CPAC. This is the face of a new political era. One where you can’t run for office unless you can run an eyeliner wing sharp enough to wound democracy itself. Read Inae Oh's Mother Jones piece here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m dropping a brand new, really unique podcast into your feed and it's all about money.  “Debt Heads” is a very funny, surprisingly cathartic, extremely relatable investigation into the American economy from two people in debt. In the pilot episode we meet our two co-hosts, Jamie & Rachel, who dig into the reasons why so many people find money so hard to discuss, why we think we’re happier when we keep our secrets hidden, and how powerful it can be to come clean. After Jamie fesses up to Rachel about her years of hidden debt, we go on a journey to uncover why such a wide-spread problem is so often made to feel like a personal failing.  You can listen to more Debt Heads 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 thing you bought to keep your baby safe was actually preparing them for a lifetime of being watched? This week we sit down with New York Times critic and author Amanda Hess to talk about the dark underbelly of parenting tech. From the SNOO to the Owlet sock to that creepy CGI fetus in your pregnancy app, we unpack how modern devices promise safety while quietly feeding our data, and our kids’ data, to the algorithm gods. Amanda’s new book Second Life traces how technology has crept into every corner of motherhood, from tracking ovulation to surveilling toddlers, and how it’s reshaping what we think of as “good” parenting. We talk about the eugenic roots of menstrual tracking, how pregnancy apps manipulate your emotions, and what it means to grow attached to a hologram of a baby who isn’t yours. This episode is for anyone who’s ever googled “is my baby breathing” at 3 a.m. Get Amanda's book Second Life 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

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 culture for Rolling Stone—joins me to talk about the parasocial fallout. We dig into what it means to build a brand around motherhood, the impossible expectations placed on grieving women, and why the internet’s obsession with owning someone else’s story is more dangerous than we want to admit. It’s emotional. It’s infuriating. And it’s a mirror we might not want to look into, but probably should. Read Fortesa's Rolling Stone piece 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

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 firsthand as they unfold, and get an unprecedented look at therapy using psychedelics and psychoactive drugs, demystifying this often misunderstood practice as a powerful tool in trauma recovery. In this episode, we hear from Brandi, who has social anxiety because she grew up in a cult where members gathered regularly around her family’s dinner table to talk about mortality and sin. To cope, Brandi hid at the top of the stairs in silence, afraid to even go get a snack. In this session using cannabis, she imagines herself and Hillary bulldozing into the room, taking a stand on the kitchen table together, and demanding freedom. You can listen to more Other People’s Problems 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

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 away from the religious community that raised her, these stories reveal how deeply the system shapes our experience of becoming a parent. We dig into what Leonard learned by reporting across cultures, why so many mothers feel like they’re doing it alone, and what it might take to build a better way forward—wherever you are in the world. If you've ever wondered whether motherhood is universally hard or just made harder by policy, geography, and culture—this one’s for you. Get ⁠Four Mothers⁠ 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

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: let your kid be bored). Melinda brings research, realism, and a refreshing amount of empathy to the parenting chaos. We also unpack why most parenting influencers should probably be legally required to disclose their lack of qualifications—and why your 8-year-old flipping you off at school pickup doesn’t mean you’ve failed. ⁠Subscribe to Melinda's substack 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 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 is for you. Check out Andi's newsletter here. GET IT WRITE 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

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 just save your sanity. It’s equal parts cultural commentary, raw confession, and parenting survival guide—complete with a backseat birth story, a breakdown of small business politics, and a plea for real community in and out of the workplace. If you’ve ever wondered where your people are—or how to find them—this episode is your blueprint. Follow Melissa on Instagram here. Order her book 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 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 demands total clarity from women about becoming mothers, how shame and silence shape that decision, and what it looks like to write your own "mother code" instead of following the one handed to you. Get Ruthie's book The Mother Code 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