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Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

By: Jo Piazza
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 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.Jo Piazza Parenting & Families Relationships Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Motherhood Has Been Hacked With Amanda Hess

    Motherhood Has Been Hacked With Amanda Hess
    May 29 2025
    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
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    54 mins
  • An Influencer's Child Died and the Internet Came For Her

    An Influencer's Child Died and the Internet Came For Her
    May 27 2025
    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
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    29 mins
  • Sunday Nice Things: On Drugs, from Other People’s Problems

    Sunday Nice Things: On Drugs, from Other People’s Problems
    May 25 2025
    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
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    42 mins
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