Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Latest Episodes:

Why We Need Paid Leave Right Now Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

The United States is basically the only country in the world without paid family and medical leave, and we are not okay with it. This week, Dawn Huckelbridge of the Paid Leave for All campaign joins us to break down what paid leave actually is (no, FMLA doesn't count), who it's really for (everyone — parents, the sandwich generation, gig workers, you), and why it's a winning issue with 91% of Americans behind it. We bust the biggest myths, including the lie that it hurts small businesses, celebrate the wins in 42 states and DC, and talk about why paternity leave might help fix the male loneliness crisis. Plus: raising boys in the age of the manosphere, AI anxiety, and exactly how to hold your elected officials' feet to the fire.

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Sunday Nice Things: A New Book You'll Absolutely Love Aug 23, 2026

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This week on Under the Influence Sunday Nice Things, we have a book rec you will LOVE. Jennifer Herrera’s Siren Says, a magical, sexy, gloriously witchy novel about embracing your power and finding your confidence as a woman. We have a quick chat with Jennifer about the ancient story that inspired the book, botanical magic, the wisdom women pass down through generations, and why so many of our myths about powerful women have been lost or overlooked. Plus, spell jars, the power of belief, and why we could all use a little more magic and sparkle right now. If you love Practical Magic, fierce women, gentle men, plant magic, mythology, and a delicious escape from the dumpster fire of the news, add this one to your fall reading list.

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Why We Keep Underestimating Conservative Women Aug 20, 2026

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For years we've been laughing at tradwives.

We've mocked the prairie dresses, the sourdough starters, the "submit to your husband" content, and the endless parade of blonde influencers telling women to embrace traditional femininity.

Meanwhile, conservative women have been building one of the most effective political movements in modern American history.

Today's guest, sociologist Katie Gaddini, spent nearly a decade embedded with Christian conservative women across the country. What she found challenges almost everything we think we know about who these women are and how they wield power.

We chat about the influencer ecosystem shaping political beliefs, the pageant-to-politics pipeline, why appearance can be a political strategy, and why reducing conservative women to tradwives may be blinding us to what's actually happening.

Because while everyone was busy making fun of the aesthetic, these women were building institutions, winning elections, shaping culture, and changing the country.

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The Joy of Giving Fewer F*cks Aug 18, 2026

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What happens when good girls grow up and stop apologizing?

For generations, women have been rewarded for being agreeable, being accommodating and being grateful for what they have instead of asking for more.

And yet many women reach a certain age and find themselves less interested in being nice.

Our guest is comedian, storyteller, and longtime public radio host Ophira Eisenberg, whose new comedy special is called I Used To Be Nicer. We're chatting about the cultural expectations placed on women, the pressure to be endlessly grateful, and why so many of us are pushing back against the idea that being pleasant should be our highest calling.

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The Dark Side of Being a Good Girl Aug 13, 2026

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For years, women have been told that success means being chosen. Chosen by a partner. Chosen for the promotion. Chosen by everyone except ourselves.

This week we're joined by Sabrina Bendory, author of The Feminine Code, for a conversation about self-worth, attachment styles, toxic relationships, and the ways women are conditioned to over-give, over-accommodate, and lose themselves in pursuit of love and validation.

We talk about why so many smart, successful women stay in unhealthy relationships, what Sabrina calls "light" and "dark" feminine energy, the mother wound, people-pleasing, and how childhood experiences shape the way we show up in adult relationships.

Along the way, we unpack anxious attachment, avoidant attachment, why emotionally unavailable people can feel so magnetic, and what it actually takes to build healthy relationships without abandoning yourself in the process.

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Grudges, Revenge, MLMs and Book Recs with Emily Paulson Aug 11, 2026

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This week on Under the Influence, bestselling author and recovering MLM insider Emily Paulson joins us for a rage-filled chat about revenge fantasies, influencer culture, tradwives, motherhood, social media lies, and the absolute exhaustion of watching terrible men fail upward forever.

Plus: a huge stack of summer reading recommendations, including books about momfluencers, bad mothers, feminist rage, internet culture, and the patriarchy’s long, weird history of ruining everything.

Grab Emily's new novel The Revenge Party.

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Book Tour Brain & Majoring in Influencing Aug 06, 2026

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It's been a blurry week. Jo and Nick share behind-the-scenes moments from The Parisian Heist tour, announce the Catskills Book Festival, and talk about what' books Jo is working on next. Then Nick leaves to pick up the kids and Jo digs into Arizona State's groundbreaking degree in content creation and why she actually thinks it is a brilliant idea. (And they should hire her to be a professor).

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The Art of an Adventurous Life Jul 30, 2026

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This week, we're sharing a special crossover episode with Get a Life, the new podcast from Jo's best friend, women's wellness coach and positive psychology practitioner Jackie Cascarano. Together, they explore the forgotten women who inspired The Parisian Heist, the myth of the male genius, why travel has shaped Jo's life and writing, and how curiosity, creativity, and adventure can help women build richer, more interesting lives.

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Get Out of the Waiting Room of Your Life Jul 28, 2026

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Jess Ekstrom, the author of Making It Without Losing It: How to Stay Motivated in a World Where We Are Never Done, grew up in the shadow of one of the biggest financial scandals in American history. After her family lost everything to Bernie Madoff, she eventually sat across from him in prison and asked him why he did it.

His answer was slightly heartbreaking and it became the lynchpin of Jess's personal transformation.

What if the next promotion, bestseller list, milestone, or parenting phase isn't the thing that's finally going to make you happy?

This week we're talking about the pressure women feel to constantly strive for more and to achieve external validation. We chat about the "arrival trap" that keeps so many of us convinced that real life begins after the next achievement, why motherhood can completely upend our sense of identity, and how to stay ambitious without tying your self-worth to your accomplishments.

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The Best Ideas Come at 3 in the Morning with Allison Winn Scotch Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Nobody talks honestly enough about the 3 a.m. wake-up—the sweating, spiraling and sometimes creative genius that strikes women in the wee hours of the morning. This week we’re joined by bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch to talk about insomnia, midlife, creativity, and how all of it inspired her latest novel, The Insomniacs.

What starts as a conversation about melatonin, mouth guards, indica gummies, and why husbands seem biologically engineered to sleep through anything turns into a much bigger discussion about ambition, burnout, publishing, found family, and why some of the best ideas arrive in the middle of the night.

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