• Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

  • By: Jo Piazza
  • Podcast

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

By: Jo Piazza
  • Summary

  • 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
    Show more Show less
Episodes
  • We Survived Girls Gone Wild Just to Get Tradwives?
    Apr 29 2025
    What do Britney Spears, American Pie, Girls Gone Wild, and the rise of trad wives on TikTok all have in common? More than you think. In this episode, we dive into the cultural stew of the late ’90s and early 2000s with Atlantic critic Sophie Gilbert, author of Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves. From foam fingers to foam parties, we unpack how the sparkly, bedazzled, and disturbingly sexist pop culture of that era shaped millennial womanhood—and how it's all come back in a new package labeled "soft girl aesthetic." We talk Britney, the Spice Girls as proto-influencers, and what it means that the same culture that objectified Monica Lewinsky now celebrates trad wives on TikTok. This is a conversation about memory, marketing, media—and what happens when we mistake sexualization for empowerment. Read Sophie's great piece in The Atlantic here. You can grab her book Girl on Girl 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
    Show more Show less
    48 mins
  • Sunday Nice Things: Normal Curves
    Apr 27 2025
    Dropping a great new podcast in your feed today. Normal Curves is a podcast about sexy science & serious statistics. Ever try to make sense of a scientific study and the numbers behind it? Listen in to a lively conversation between two stats-savvy friends who break it all down with humor and clarity. Professors Regina Nuzzo of Gallaudet University and Kristin Sainani of Stanford University discuss academic papers journal club-style — except with more fun, less jargon, and some irreverent, PG-13 content sprinkled in. Join Kristin and Regina as they dissect the data, challenge the claims, and arm you with tools to assess scientific studies on your own. Join Regina Nuzzo and Kristin Sainani as they dissect the infamous Sweaty T-Shirt Study and the stats behind sex, smell, and mate choice. Find all the episodes of Normal Curves 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
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 7 mins
  • Will Your Kid Have to be a Brand to Survive?
    Apr 24 2025
    What do you want to be when you grow up? For Gen Alpha, the answer might just be: a brand. This week, we enter the world of the Sweet Sisterhood—a so-called “content house” made up of girls aged 8 to 12 with a combined following in the tens of millions. Think ring lights, sassy videos, and moms-turned-managers. But behind the sequins and smiles is a bigger, messier question: Is this the future of childhood? Will every kid need a personal brand just to survive the job market of tomorrow? We're talking to Teen Vogue reporter Fortesa Latifi about the rise of child influencers, the growing legislation trying to protect them, and the very real existential dread of parenting in a world where social media clout might just be more valuable than a college degree. From influencer economics to the changing definition of a “job,” we ask: what are we preparing our kids for—and would it be bad for them to unplug? Read Fortesa's article in Teen Vogue 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
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_webcro768_stickypopup

What listeners say about Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.