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 d ...
…
continue reading
Jo Piazza Under The Influence Podcasts
Hosted by Laura Cathcart Robbins, a writer and a recovery thriver and survivor, Laura found herself in an all too familiar position. In September 2018, she was the only black woman in the room at Brave Magic, a famed writer’s retreat. After it was over, she wrote about her “only one” experience in The Huffington Post and comments started flooding into her DM. These comments were from people from all races, ethnicities, creeds, and nationalities who had felt “othered”. Laura beautifully inter ...
…
continue reading

1
Content Creation Is a Business. Grace Atwood Treats It Like One.
46:31
46:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:31There 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 t…
…
continue reading

1
Sunday Nice Things: The Messy Parts with Katie Sturino
50:19
50:19
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:19While 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 …
…
continue reading

1
The Smart Woman’s Guide to Escaping Into Reality TV With Kate Casey
46:14
46:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:14Reality 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 t…
…
continue reading

1
Friend Breakups Will Stick With You Forever
40:11
40:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:11We 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, sti…
…
continue reading

1
Sunday Nice Things: Mental Health Rewritten
1:03:40
1:03:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:03:40Mental Health Rewritten, is a recently released nonfiction narrative podcast tackling stigma in mental health head on. Host Dominic Lawson and his guests are challenging narratives around sex, suicide, and cultural identity. Here's the first episode, which covers sex addiction and porn. Listen to Mental Health Rewritten here. Join our newsletter co…
…
continue reading
Carla Sosenko grew up with a rare vascular disorder, a body that didn’t conform and a deep love of fashion that helped her feel seen. In this intimate conversation, the author of the new memoir I'll Look So Good in a Coffin opens up about navigating shame, self-worth, and beauty standards in a culture obsessed with thinness. We talk about what it m…
…
continue reading

1
She Turned Geology Into a Content Goldmine
55:06
55:06
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
55:06There’s an influencer for everything—including the intersection of geology, volcanology, academia, and queer joy. This week, we are chatting with Denali (@dykanite), a PhD student and science communicator with nearly 300k Instagram followers whose viral posts make earth science funny, fierce, and deeply human. They dig into how a geology joke launc…
…
continue reading
Many years ago I made a podcast about the bad ass women left out of too many history books. Today I am dropping Fierce in your feed. This episode is about Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress. Years before the United States ratified the 19th amendment, a woman from Montana had already infiltrated Capitol Hill. Jeannette Rankin rose…
…
continue reading

1
All of Our Thoughts on Poop Cruise with Nick Aster
24:25
24:25
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
24:25The number one show on Netflix right now is Poop Cruise. What happens when a Carnival cruise ship loses power in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and thousands of passengers are left with no food, no working toilets, and no way out? You get a poop cruise. In this special episode we break down the gloriously grotesque Netflix documentary Trainwreck:…
…
continue reading
We get real about weight loss drugs in this episode—no shame, no BS. Journalist Kara Baskin joins me to talk side effects, societal judgment, and the weird, wonderful, often infuriating experience of being a woman in a changing body. This isn’t about chasing skinny. It’s about reclaiming comfort, confidence, and control in a culture that tells us w…
…
continue reading

1
It’s Giving Junior Varsity Tradwife: The Viral Pipeline Grooming Gen Z Girls
45:43
45:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:43This week, we're talking to journalist EJ Dickson of The Cut about what really happens at Turning Point USA’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit, where thousands of Gen Z girls gather to hear influencers tell them the future is feminine, submissive, and off the grid. But here’s the twist: it doesn’t look extreme. It looks aspirational. It looks like a…
…
continue reading
Today I am dropping an episode of my new mini-series (Re) Committed here. (Re) Committed dives into stories of love lost and found again when people least expect it. This series was inspired by Christine Pride's new novel, All the Men I've Loved Again, which is based on her own second chance romance when she fell in love with the same two men in he…
…
continue reading

1
The PBS Kids Crisis: It’s Not Just About Sesame Street
40:14
40:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:14What happens when the U.S. government slashes one-third of PBS Kids' funding? Shows get canceled. Summer camps disappear. The most vulnerable kids lose access to free, educational media. Today we're talking with Sara DeWitt of PBS Kids about what Trump's recent cut what that means for shows like Daniel Tiger and Molly of Denali, and why public medi…
…
continue reading

1
The Quiet Influence and Power of Dolly Parton
50:54
50:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
50:54Dolly Parton might be the last thing Americans agree on. In this episode, we talk to Will Bonfiglio, the WashU lecturer behind a wildly popular college course on Dolly, about how the country icon became a cultural unifier across politics, class, gender, and generations. From Dollywood to “9 to 5” to her million-dollar vaccine donation, this is a …
…
continue reading
There are too many movie podcasts. That’s why I only bring you the ones that are actually worth your time. That Aged Well is one of them. Hosts Paul and Erika are pop culture savants who rewatch the movies we all thought were perfect and lovingly tear them apart. They ask the real questions, like: “How guilty should I feel for still loving this?” S…
…
continue reading

1
Father’s Day Shouldn’t Be a Hallmark Holiday—It Should Be a Reckoning
54:31
54:31
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
54:31What if dads stopped “helping” and just…parented? Today I am talking about flipping the script of the patriarchy with @Tidy Dad (Tyler Moore). We talk paid leave, emotional vulnerability, and why men need to start showing up in the ways that matter most. Get Tyler's book Tidy Up Your Life here. Subscribe to Tyler's Substack here. Join our newslette…
…
continue reading

1
How to Get Published: A Literary Agent Tells All
51:30
51:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
51:30You’ve got a book idea—but how do you go from blank page to published author? Literary agent and author Kate McKean of the Agents & Books substack joins us to demystify the publishing process from query letters to advances, platforms, rejection, and all the weird feelings in between. This is the real talk every aspiring writer needs. What does a li…
…
continue reading

1
Sunday Nice Things: Glamorous Trash
1:14:21
1:14:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:14:21Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 2 Analysis (with Jo Piazza) Chelsea is joined by author and podcaster Jo Piazza for a Season 2 analysis of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” They break down what made this season so hauntingly wonderful, from the plastic surgery Utah waves alchemy to Taylor's mom getting her 15 minutes of fame in her new AI bot…
…
continue reading

1
Welcome to the Cult of Skinny with EJ Dickson
46:30
46:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
46:30Influencers are selling women starvation and calling it empowerment. Today we talk to Cut reporter EJ Dickson about her viral investigation into SkinnyTok and the Skinni Société, a subscriber-only Instagram group where thousands of young women are encouraged to obsess over calories, steps, and how to be the “skinniest girl at graduation.” Together,…
…
continue reading

1
MAGA Makeovers and the Death of Individuality
40:29
40:29
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:29Close 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…
…
continue reading

1
Sunday Nice Things: The Secret Lives of Debt Heads
44:49
44:49
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
44:49Today 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 mone…
…
continue reading

1
Motherhood Has Been Hacked With Amanda Hess
53:47
53:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:47What 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 pro…
…
continue reading

1
An Influencer's Child Died and the Internet Came For Her
29:18
29:18
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
29:18When 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 deman…
…
continue reading

1
Sunday Nice Things: On Drugs, from Other People’s Problems
42:23
42:23
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
42:23Sharing 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. Hil…
…
continue reading

1
Is Motherhood Hard Everywhere, or Just in America?
38:14
38:14
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
38:14Is 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 …
…
continue reading