Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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What's Worse Than The Glass Ceiling? The Broken Rung! Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

You've earned the degree, landed the job, and crushed your first assignments—so why aren't you moving up? The shocking truth: it's not you, it's the system. "For every 100 men at the entry level that get that first big promotion, only 81 out of 100 women make the same leap." Join us as McKinsey senior partner Lareina Yee, co-author of "Broken Rung," reveals why the first step on your career ladder might be sabotaging your entire professional journey—and what you can do about it.

Our guest, a McKinsey senior partner and co-author of "Broken Rung," shares startling insights about this persistent issue that has remained stubbornly unchanged over the past decade. Learn the warning signs that you might be stuck on this broken rung and discover tactical strategies to actively manage your career from day one.

The conversation explores:

How to recognize when you're stalling in your early career years
The concept of "experience capital" and why the first 5-7 years are critical
Why choosing a company culture matters more than choosing a job
How technology skills can future-proof your career
Practical ways successful women can help others climb past the broken rung

With 12 million occupations expected to shift and change by 2030, this episode offers essential guidance for women at any career stage—whether just starting out or pivoting industries. Discover why success isn't a solo act and how building strong networks with both mentors and sponsors can make all the difference in navigating today's rapidly evolving workplace.

Learn more about Melissa and get Enough here.

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Will You Ever Be Enough? A Chat With Melissa Arnot? Mar 27, 2025

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In this deeply personal episode, we sit down with extraordinary mountaineer Melissa Arnot, whose achievements include multiple Everest summits including one without supplemental oxygen. But this conversation goes far beyond climbing mountains.

Melissa's new book explores the universal struggle many women face: never feeling like we're enough despite accomplishments that prove otherwise. From her tumultuous upbringing to becoming an elite mountain guide while balancing motherhood and relationships, Melissa shares her journey of overcoming the relentless inner critic.

This raw, honest discussion resonates with anyone who's ever felt inadequate despite "doing all the things." Like the bestseller "Wild," this isn't just a story about outdoor adventure—it's about discovering what it truly means to be enough in a world that constantly demands more.

Join us for a powerful conversation about self-worth, impostor syndrome, and finding peace with who we are rather than what we achieve.

Listen to all the episodes of Too Much Money here.

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Are Influencers Ruining Italy? Mar 25, 2025

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From wine windows that went viral during the pandemic to churches becoming TikTok sensations, we unpack how influencer culture is changing the way we experience historic and cultural sites all over the world, but particularly in Italy. Plus, we tackle that other burning question: with so many Americans dreaming of escaping to Italy, is it actually feasible? And would those same people just become part of the problem? Is all of it just a social media induced fever dream for most Americans?

Listen to Fosca's excellent podcast here and learn more about all of her excellent Italian services here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Too Much Money Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

Today on Sunday Nice Things I'm dropping in an episode of the show Too Much Money that I made with my friend Doree Shafrir. The show is a wild ride through the crazy ways that billionaires spend their money. And now that we live in a world with a billionaire ruling class it's a more interesting listen than ever.

This episode is about why billionaires love to buy media properties and then ruin them. In this ep we discuss the various billionaires (Jeff Bezos, Patrick Soon-Shiong, Mort Zuckerman, Sam Zell, etc.) who have bought media properties, what happened next, and who suffered (hint: not them!).

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America Gets a Failing Grade in Women's Health—SURPRISE! Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

The misinformation about birth control and women's rights on social media has reached a fever pitch. The other day I was served a reel telling me that taking birth control will both give me cancer and make me more attracted to my cousin. How can we fix this? With information. Can a report card help save reproductive rights in America? This week, I'm chatting with Jennie Wetter from ePROs Fight Back to discuss their groundbreaking report card grading all 50 states on reproductive health and rights. As the US earns its sixth consecutive failing grade, they break down the current landscape of abortion access, sex education, and maternal healthcare state by state. A crucial listen for understanding reproductive rights at the local level—where the real fight is happening.

Jennie is the director of the rePROs Fight Back initiative and leads the creation of the report. She also hosts a weekly podcast that is a go-to resource for keeping up with the devastation happening to reproductive rights.

Get Digital Girlhoods here.

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What if Social Media Were Good for Tween Girls? Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

Professor Katherine Phelps is shattering the stereotype that social media is purely destructive for young girls. After spending a ton of time with these young women and interviewing them about their online habits for her new book Digital Girlhoods she's discovered that social media plays a valuable role in community building and identity formation.

Katherine discusses the complex dynamics of online bullying, privacy, and visibility, as well as the broader societal influences that shape young girls' digital lives. Maybe it isn't social media that is failing girls, but our society, our culture and even us.

You can follow Susie on Instagram here.

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Navigating Grief and Grief Influencing Online Mar 13, 2025

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Today we're talking to Susie Shaw, a mother who bravely shares her journey through the devastating loss of her child, William. Susie recounts the harrowing day William went missing during a family ski vacation and the aftermath of that tragedy. Our conversation delves deep into the challenges of grieving, the dire need for better bereavement support, and the role of grief influencers online, both the good and the bad.

Learn more about William's Be Yourself Challenge and The Green House here.

Grab Olga's Book, Me But Better, here.

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Can You Change Your Personality? Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

Have you ever wondered if you could stop being so neurotic, or become more of an extrovert? Are our personalities set in stone when we are born or can we adapt them over time? To find out Atlantic journalist Olga Kazan set out on a year-long experiment to become more extroverted, less neurotic, and more agreeable.

Discover how Olga successfully changed aspects of her personality through simple practices like meditation, social activities, and volunteering. She debunks the myth that personality is "set like plaster" and reveals how our traits can be nudged in positive directions in as little as a few weeks.

The conversation explores:

How much of our personality is genetic versus changeable
The surprising link between happiness and social connection
Practical strategies for changing different personality traits
Why experiencing difficult times often creates our strongest memories

Read her viral Atlantic cover story here.

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Sunday Nice Things: How Do I Balance My Hormones? Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

I'm a little obsessed with this week's Sunday Nice Things. I am very excited to bring you the CRAMPED podcast. Cramped is one nerd’s quest to find out why we know next to nothing about period pain. Tired of suffering from "death cramps" with no diagnosis for 20 years, Kate Downey has to look for her own answers. What she finds will change how you think about your own body and the medical system. Because having a microphone gets you more answers than having a uterus.

In this episode Kate gets sucked down a rabbit hole of "hormone balancing" content on TikTok, and wonders...this whole time, have her cramps just been due to a hormone imbalance? She talks with Alex Sujong Laughlin (Normal Gossip, Defector) about her experience trying to balance her hormones with info from TikTok, and then gets real answers from Dr. Thara Vayali on hormone function, cortisol, and how our hormones ACTUALLY work.

Read the transcript for this episode here.

Listen to episode one of CRAMPED here.