Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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The Real Secret of Success—Be a Likable Badass Nov 19, 2024

How can you get the status you need and deserve? What makes people WANT to work with you?

As a professor of organizational behavior at University of North Carolina Alison Fragale, the author of Likeable Badass, is trying to help women figure out how to gain the status we deserve. It’s easy to feel powerless at work and at home. But there are strategies we can use to boost our status with coworkers, potential employers, audiences and even our own kids.

We're also going to dive into negotiation techniques that work every time.

Order Modern Friendship here.

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Create Stronger Friendships and Get Rid of Toxic Ones Nov 14, 2024

Friendships are the backbones of many of our lives. But they also feel harder than ever to maintain and nurture. We need more strategic approached to our friendships and we also need a blueprint for how to cull toxic friends from our lives. Here to give us all of it is Anna Goldfarb, the author of Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections. Anna argues that we need to update our approach to friendships in a way that accounts for the hyper-fluid society we live in. The key to forming a lasting bond is what Anna calls “Wholehearted Friendship”―proven strategies to enhance enthusiastic connection.

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Debunking the Myths of Traditional Motherhood Nov 12, 2024

What is a good mother? What is a bad mother. What is a traditional mother? Let's sit with all those questions for just a hot second and then realize that there's no right answers. Humans lived for 95% of our existence as hunter-gatherers: we raised children communally and in a way that was dramatically different from contemporary post-industrial societies.

What can we take away from historical models of caregiving to help us get rid of the guilt and shame that social media heaps on us?

We discuss it all with science writer Elena Bridgers including:

Modern mothering lacks historical precedent.
Current parenting models are harder on mothers.
Leisure time is crucial for mothers' well-being.
Community support significantly aids parenting.
Myths about traditional motherhood need debunking.
Understanding evolutionary biology can inform modern parenting.
It's important to explore alternative parenting options. Having different options and being able to talk through what might work for you is key.
The conversation should focus on maternal mental health, not just children's well-being.
Moms are struggling with guilt and burnout from balancing work and childcare.
Social isolation is a significant issue for modern mothers.
The traditional models of motherhood are not representative of our evolutionary past.
Children in hunter-gatherer societies had more autonomy and playtime.
Parenting skills are often learned through experience, not instinct.
Teenagers used to play a significant role in childcare, which has diminished.
The structure of modern society contributes to feelings of loneliness among mothers.
We need to rethink the support systems for mothers to improve mental health.

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How to Talk to Your Kids About the Election and Trump AND EVERYTHING Nov 07, 2024

I woke up Wednesday morning in a sheet cake and red wine coma, floating in confusion, grief and fury. And yet I still had to parent. We still have to be the leaders and teachers our children will so desperately need for the strange and uncertain future. So how do we talk to our kids about what is happening?

Today I'm joined by Amanda White, the Executive Director of the Therapy For Women Center and Julia Hitch of the Seattle Clinic to answer all of your questions.

Binge all of the episodes of We've Got Issues Here.

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You Deserve All the Hope Nov 05, 2024

Take some time for yourself to enjoy this election day....to enjoy the fact that you got to vote for a woman for president. We get to savor that. And you know what I have a lot of optimism. Here to share in the joy with me are Glynnis MacNicol and @EmilyinYourPhone.

You can binge all of the Frugal Friends episodes here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Frugal Friends Nov 03, 2024

Let's take a break from election doom scrolling to clean out our closets. And while we do it why not try out a new podcast called Frugal Friends all about how to shift from a mode of overconsumption to one of underconsumption (and enjoy doing it).

Subscribe to In Pursuit of Clean Countertops here.

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A Very Influencer Halloween with Sara Petersen Oct 31, 2024

Influencers who hate Halloween, influencers who make you feel like you're failing Halloween (no more boo baskets people), plus a little Ballerina Farm brand extension for good measure.

Grab The Kids Are All Right here.

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Can a Poem Have a Punchline? With @MaryOliversDrunkCousin Oct 29, 2024

Why can't I do a back walkover as a 44 year old woman? That is the central theme of this hilarious episode with Lyndsay Rush, AKA @MaryOliversDrunkCousin. Sure we talk about poetry and existential dread, but mostly back walkovers and grudge holding against people who have no idea who we are.

Lyndsay's new book of poems A Bit Much just came out and it is such a joy to read. Order it here.

You can subscribe to our newsletter and join our community at Over the Influence.

You can pre-order a personalized copy of the trashiest trad wife murder mystery of all time, EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU right here.

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The Kids Are All Right With Gabrielle and Ben Blair Oct 24, 2024

Parenting is a long game. After parenting six kids for the past twenty-eight years Gabrielle and Ben Blair know that better than anyone. I love advice from other parents, especially ones that I respect as much as Gabrielle (@DesignMom) and Ben.

Today we’re getting into all the advice from their new book The Kids Are All Right including the importance of emotional authenticity, building a family culture, the benefits of low-stakes activities and embracing the crappiest of moments.

Living in the world is stressful enough. As parents we don’t need to impose even more stress on our lives.

Here are some more highlights:

Building a family culture is an ongoing process that shapes the future of our relationships.
Emotional authenticity is crucial; kids should feel free to express their feelings.
Parenting is about shared experiences that create lasting bonds.
The long view of parenting helps maintain relationships beyond childhood.
It's important to embrace challenges as part of family life.
Parents should focus on creating a safe and loving home environment.
Kids need to learn that it's okay to not be happy all the time.
Low-stakes activities help children learn without pressure.
Sports should be enjoyable, not a source of stress.
Parents should focus on building relationships with their children.
Manufactured stress can harm family dynamics.
Engaged parents are a sign that kids will be fine.
It's okay for kids to experience a range of emotions.

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Legislating Utah Mom Influencers, FINALLY! Oct 22, 2024

In the wake of the Ruby Franke scandal, Utah is finally considering legislation to protect and compensate the children of influencers. Joining us today is journalist Fortesa Latifi to talk about this breaking news AND the brand new tell-all book about the dangers of family vlogging from the eldest Franke child Shari Franke. Some of these influencers kids are helping their parents to make millions of dollars. McMansions and Mercedes are being bought from the labor. They deserve better and they just might get it.

Read Fortesa's latest piece in the Washington Post here.

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Spicy Sex and Smart Ladies Oct 17, 2024

There are 30 million romance readers in the United States and 50% read a book a week. That is a lot of books my friends! Today we are talking to our friends Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo about their brand new romance publishing venture 831 which is delivering sexy, smart and spicy romances for the modern woman. I’m obsessed with their first book Big Fan which not only features a kind male protagonist that you will definitely want to do it with, but also touts universal basic income in a very organic way. They also have a no asshole policy in their books which I adore. I want more kind men, hot sex, progressive policies that will save the planet spicy margaritas of romances in my life and I think you will too.

Order Big Fan here.

Listen to Frugal Friends here.

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The Cost of Scrolling—Free Yourself From Impulse Spending This Holiday Season Oct 15, 2024

There's a fine line between marketing and creating false desires and influencers stomp all over it. Influencers often convince women they have problems that can only be solved by buying things. But this holiday season we don’t have to give in. Today we’re talking about the historical context of marketing and its impact on consumer behavior, emphasizing the emotional triggers behind impulse purchases.

We have insights from Jen Smith of the Frugal Friends podcast and the author of Buy What You Love Without Growing Broke on how to navigate the overwhelming influence of social media and marketing during the holidays and practical tips for making more intentional financial decisions.

You can binge all the episodes here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Life Beyond Stay-at-home Motherhood Oct 13, 2024

For today's Sunday Nice Things we are dropping in an episode of Mom to More.

Join Sharon Macey, former SAHM and mother of 3 as she dives deep into conversations with inspiring moms who successfully reinvented themselves, forging impressive next acts. If you're seeking practical tools, actionable tips and that loving kick in the pants to create your "MORE," this show is for you. Get ready for a supportive and motivational exploration of life beyond raising kids as Sharon helps you unpack the question: What Do You Want To Do When Your Kids Grow Up? Today's episode contains an interview with the always inspiring Lee Woodruff.

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The Kids Aren't Alright—Getting Rid of Toxic Achievement Culture Oct 10, 2024

Why is everyone so burnout? Modern parenting has shifted towards a focus on status and achievement, often at the expense of genuine happiness and well-being. How did we get here? How did our kids' childhoods end up so different from our own? Can we find some kind of middle ground between overstressed parents killing themselves to help their kids achieve and our own parents who drove us around in a station wagon with no seatbelts. Journalist and author Jennifer Wallace joins us to talk about her brilliant book Never Enough where she dissects toxic achievement culture and gives parents a framework for something different. Social media makes it all so much worse, but there is hope! We CAN do better.

Order NEVER ENOUGH here.

Subscribe to Bobbi's newsletter Financial Wellness here.

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$$$Mormon #MomTok Money$$$ Oct 08, 2024

The Mormon #MomTok ladies are making serious bank and I want to talk about it. Many of these women are the breadwinners in their families and that is shaking up the patriarchy of the Mormon Church. Joining us today is Bobbi Rebell of Financial Wellness to talk about everything from product placement to brand integration to royalties. Money has given these women options and power in spite of their husbands and their community and that is what we should really be talking about when it comes to this show.

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Owning Your Own Story with Lauren Sisler Oct 03, 2024

Lauren Sisler’s journey of overcoming the shame of losing her parents to opioid addiction hasn’t been easy, but she has allowed it to give her purpose and help her find resilience. In her new book Shatterproof the ESPN sideline reporter details how her mother and father died within hours of each other, victims of their hidden battle with prescription drug addiction. Today we're talking about her path to writing that book and letting go of the shame of her parents' story so that she can honor their memories.

A few things we cover in this episode:

Your story is what ultimately helps you find purpose.
It's important to own every single chapter of your life.
The journey of healing is not linear.
Shame can prevent us from asking important questions.
Stories have the power to inspire and create change.
We often hide our struggles to fit societal norms.
Finding purpose can come from sharing our pain.

Order SHATTERPROOF here.

Follow Lauren on Instagram here.

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How Digital Beauty Standards Are Messing Us Up with Elise Hu Oct 01, 2024

What has digital culture done to our standards of beauty and to our wallets when we have to spend to reach those standards of beauty. The proliferation of all digital media has wildly influenced how we perceive ourselves and our bodies, often to our detriment. Today we're joined by Elise Hu, a journalist and author who used her time as an NPR correspondent in Korea as a launching pad to explore the brave new world of absurd beauty standards. We also talk about why meat on a stick is the best food group and what we want on our tombstones.

Listen to Elise on TED Talks Daily here.

Listen to Elise on Forever 35 here.

Order her book Flawless here.

Subscribe to Over the Influence, the newsletter here.

Buy yourself a Sicilian Inheritance for all of your friends here.

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Sunday Things: True Crime with RedRum Sep 30, 2024

So many of you have been asking me for true crime podcast recommendations and I have a few I can drop in the feed. Let's start today with REDRUM.

REDRUM is a podcast focusing on the true victims of crime. Each episode focuses on a new story. Real life, real victims, real crime presented by Grace Cordell.

REDRUM True Crime is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Spotify link

Apple link

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The House in Habit of it All Sep 26, 2024

This is our first episode taking a look at the rise of "independent journalist" Jessica Reed Kraus through the lens of the recent RFK Jr. sexting scandal with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. What does it mean to be an independent journalist and how is House in Habit impacting the news cycle. This is an excerpt from my new show with @EmilyinYourPhone We've Got Issues. So much more on this topic to come.

You can binge all the episodes of We've Got Issues Here.

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Who Gets to Write History with Sharon McMahon Sep 24, 2024

As a former history and government teacher Sharon McMahon thought she could do something to help combat all the misinformation and confusion she was seeing online in 2020. Since then her social media presence @SharonSaysSo has filled a vital need for clarity during complex times. Sharon cuts through the outrage, online vitriol and B.S. Her new book The Small and the Mighty is a hopeful and inspiring portrait of twelve ordinary Americans whose courage formed the character of our country.

In this episode we'll be talking about:

How Sharon grew from 12k Instagram followers to an audience of millions by giving people what they need and want.
How to bring others around to the right side of history.
How to influence people for the good.
How to give people the space to change and grow without being deleted or blocked.

Order Sharon's book The Small and the Mighty here.

Subscribe to our newsletter Over the Influence here.

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The Secret Life of a Real Life Mormon Trad Wife Sep 21, 2024

When we see images of #tradwives on social media we see beautiful images of domestic bliss. Young women looking at this content could be easily tricked into believing this is a more aspirational path than getting an education or their own work experience. But the real women who have escaped real tradwife situations paint a very different picture of abuse, submission and control. Today's guest was married and pregnant at eighteen. Her husband forbid her from going to school, getting a job or even buying a kindle so she could read. When she tried to leave it felt impossible because she had none of her own money. Now, as many of us are watching the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives we need to talk about the actual reality.

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The Deeper Meaning in Mormon #MomTok Trash Sep 17, 2024

Let's take a deep dive into the intensely dramatic and overly scandalous new reality show The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Joining me today is New York Times columnist Jessica Grose to dissect the deeper meanings behind all the Botox, swinging scandals and brattiness. Like them or not, these women are attempting to dismantle the patriarchy in their own way and they've gained a ton of power and money through social media. Come for the trash, stay for the insights into gender and religion.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter and join our community here.

Read Jess's excellent NYT piece here.

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We've Got Issues Sep 12, 2024

It's Jo's 44th birthday. We've got a little advice, a little hilarity and a brand new podcast to share with you. Jo has been working on a new show with @EmilyinYourPhone called We've Got Issues. It's a politics show that will actually give you some hope again, will make you laugh a little and will help you start hard conversations with friends and loved ones about this insane election.

This week we are talking about the realities of the Trump and Republican agenda on IVF and how it will impact all of us. ENJOY.

You can binge all of the episodes of We've Got Issues here. They'll be up weekly. More on influencers (including the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) next week.

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Anti-Consumer-tok! Thrifting Advice from TikTok? Sep 10, 2024

Raised by a single mother in Dayton, Ohio, Macy Eleni began thrifting at age 12 out of financial necessity and to help escape anxiety from bullies and an estranged relationship with her father. Over a decade later, Macy has built a massive TikTok platform around her love of second hand and vintage finds, and the belief that authentic self expression is crucial for mental health.

Macy has created a sustainable niche amidst the hyperconsumerism of influencer culture, creating authentic personal style outside an algorithmic trend cycle that promotes microtrends and overconsumption. Buy less. Thrift more. Love life :)

Follow Macy here. TikTok | Instagram

Grab Macy's Book Second Chances here.

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How Moms can Make Friends and Dinner with Caroline Chambers Sep 05, 2024

When you're a mom two things can feel impossible, making new friends and making dinner. In today's episode we are joined by NYT bestselling author Caroline Chambers of the What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking substack to talk all about her book of the same name. We're digging into how hard it can be to build community, but how wonderful it is when you do it. We will also chat about how Caroline took a rejected cookbook idea and turned it into the best food substack in the world by catering to exhausted parents, and THEN turned that newsletter into a bestselling cookbook.

Subscribe to the OVER THE INFLUENCE substack here.

Order Caroline's book What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking here and subscribe to the substack here.

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Murder, Sex and Crazy Panties in the Galapagos Sep 03, 2024

Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. Let's dive into a gothic true tale of murder, sex, jealousy and mayhem in paradise. In Eden Undone Abbott Kahler tells the story of the German ex-pats who tried to build themselves a utopia in the Galapagos Islands with dire consequences. This story has so much to tell us about fame and infamy and the pursuit of both. Just like today's homesteading influencers who claim to go off the grid in pursuit of a simpler life, these settlers also chased their version of likes and accolades from around the globe. The desires for attention ultimately destroyed all of them.

Buy Eden Undone here.

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Sunday Nice Things: A Look Back at Wilder Sep 01, 2024

It's been a year since the release of the Wilder podcast about the life and legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder! Thousands of people have listened to the Wilder podcast and continue to keep the dialogue about Laura’s life and legacy alive. Glynnis and Jo published books. But perhaps most importantly, the Little House on the Prairie TV show turned 50! To prepare for this momentous anniversary in early September (and Glynnis’ 50th birthday), Glynnis and our producer Emily got together to share memories from the road and reflect on the lessons we learned from making this show that we still think about every day. Plus, they share never before heard clips from the road trip that started it all and from interviews with some of the most beloved Little House actors who still play a huge role in keeping Laura’s legacy alive.

Binge all the Wilder episodes here.

Buy Glynnis' book, I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, and Jo's book, The Sicilian Inheritance!

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Can Astrology Give us Hope for the Future? Aug 29, 2024

Astrology is all over the social medias, for better or worse. Here to guide us through it today is a woman who has been reading the stars for women's mags since before Facebook was a glimmer in Zuck's eye. We're joined by Ophira Edut, one half of the AstroTwins, the official astrologers for ELLE magazine and the matchmakers on Amazon Prime Video’s Cosmic Love.

What can astrology tell us about what is happening right now and how we can handle it? What can we read in the stars to figure out this weird world we live in in 2024 and did these identical twin sister astrologists really predict the trad wife trend?

Follow everything AstroTwins here.

Buy The Astrology Advantage here.

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Real Men Cry, Deal With It Aug 27, 2024

In light of the recent attacks on Gus Walz for showing a beautiful display of emotion when his dad took the stage at the DNC we are discussing how dangerous it is when men are not allowed to show a wide range of emotions. Too many men are taught that they can't experience anything except for rage and that is simply unacceptable. Today we are joined by our husband in residence Nick Aster to talk about how to raise boys to have all the feelings, our favorite song from Free to Be You and Me and the strangely tender moments in Goonies and Footloose.

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The True History of the Trad Wife Aug 15, 2024

Do #TradWives have any real basis in American history? Are they nostalgia or mythology? Here to unpack it is journalist Clara Bingham, the author of The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973.

What made #TradWives so popular in the 50s and 60s? Was it real or was it advertising? Aren't today's social media #TradWives just performing and creating advertisements of domesticity for brand deals? Let's dig in!

You can order Clara's book The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America 1963-1973 here.

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Add a Chicken to It (Let's Talk Henfluencing) Aug 13, 2024

Never forget that if it exists in the world there is an influencer for it. Welcome to the world of HENFLUENCERS where people dance and drink and sing with their chickens for their millions of followers. They're selling $20 chicken coops and shipping baby chickens through the mail. Once you go down the henfluencing rabbit hole you might not come back and culture reporter Tove Danovich is here to tell us everything. Tove is the author of UNDER THE HENFLUENCE where she explores the lives of these quirky, mysterious birds who stole her heart the moment her first box of chicks arrived at the post office.

Order UNDER THE HENFLUENCE here.

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The Future Under the Christian Patriarchy with Tia Levings Aug 06, 2024

What will the future really look like under Project 2025? Tia Levings escaped an abusive marriage and has since transformed her life through years of trauma therapy. With her new book, A Well-Trained Wife, she's shedding light on the dangers of the Christian patriarchy and its insidious infiltration into American politics. Complacency is not an option. Whether you're a die-hard feminist or just beginning to question patriarchal norms, Tia Levings’ story is a powerful testament to resilience and the necessity of taking action.

Buy A Well Trained Wife today!

Subscribe to Tia's Newsletter here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Kelly Corrigan Wonders Aug 04, 2024

Today's Sunday Nice Things manages to combine two of my favorite women to listen to—Krista Tippett, the journalist and creator of On Being and Kelly Corrigan, NYTimes bestselling author, radio host and all around funny and brilliant lady. This is an episode of a truly wonderful podcast called Kelly Corrigan Wonders. This is a place for people who like to laugh while they think and find it useful to look closely at ourselves and our weird ways in the hopes that knowing more and feeling more will help us do more and be better.

You can listen to more of Kelly Corrigan Wonders here.

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Media Addiction is Reshaping Childhood—Here's What We Can Do About It Aug 01, 2024

How can parents save their kids from social media addiction? What can we be doing right now to make the digital world better for all children? The answer is that there is so much we can be working on. Today we're chatting with Julie Scelfo, the founder of MAMA. MAMA is a grassroots group of parents standing up to big tech and reclaiming the power of parents to fight media addiction in our homes, our schools and our communities. You are going to want to listen and re-listen to this episode about how media addiction is reshaping childhood and how we can actually make change happen.

Learn more about MAMA here.

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Redefining Ambition and Success with Liz Tenety of Motherly Jul 30, 2024

Being a woman in the world isn't easy. Being a mom isn't easy. How do we find time for ourselves when we're caring for everyone and everything around us? Today's we're talking to Liz Tenety, co-founder of Mother.ly about the impossible standards society places on mothers and how to redefine success and ambition while juggling tiny humans.

Follow all things Mother.ly here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Good Advice Jul 28, 2024

Here are 43 pieces of good advice that do not suck, gleaned from a life that is aging like a fine cheese.

Read the original 43 pieces of advice for 43 years newsletter here.

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The Ballerina Farm Master Plan Jul 25, 2024

A new interview with the CEOs of the Ballerina Farm brand reveals startling never-before-heard details about their lives together, their courtship and their plans for the future. But it also reflects strict conservative political views that directly mirror those expressed at the recent Republican National Convention. Come with us as we go deep into the latest on the Ballerina Farm brand with momfluencing expert Sara Petersen.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here to discuss this episode and all our topics with the rest of our community.

Get Sara Petersen's wonderful newsletter In Pursuit of Clean Countertops here.

Buy The Sicilian Inheritance here.

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Other Women's Bodies Jul 23, 2024

Join Glynnis and I as we talk about our aging and changing bodies and the wildly popular books that dive into perimenopause and menopause. We talk about middle-aged women in the starring roles of our own life and why we need more steamy sexy TV shows and movies with real women with real bodies in their forties and fifties.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here.

Buy The Sicilian Inheritance here.

Order Glynnis's book I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself here.

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Sunday Nice Things: The Only One in the Room Jul 21, 2024

This week on Sunday Nice Things we are bringing you an episode of The Only One in the Room, a podcast by writer Laura Cathcart Robbins about what it is like to be the "only" in a variety of situations. In this show comedian and writer Jodi Miller discusses being the only single mother in the room. Jodi tells the story behind adopting her daughter, which included a last minute and unexpected phone call from her lawyer instructing her to fly out to Kentucky the following day, during COVID, to pick up her child. This leads to a realization of just how hard it is to be a single parent to a young child.

Listen to all of the episodes of The Only One in the Room here.

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When Judy Blume Was a Struggling Housewife Jul 18, 2024

Before Judy Blume was JUDY EFFING BLUME she was a mother of two searching for purpose outside of her home in 1960s suburban New Jersey.

Today we're talking to Rachelle Bergstein, the author of the new book The Genius of Judy: How Judy Blume Rewrote Childhood For All Of Us about how the story behind how Judy transformed her life after having her kids, how she dealt with early rejections and nasty reviews and why she remains so damn relevant to all of us today.

Buy The Genius of Judy today!!!

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Victoria Hunter's Viral Tradwife Video Jul 16, 2024

Victoria Hunter went viral on Instagram for her unconventional depiction of a 'trad wife.' Dressed in a long modest dress, Victoria identified herself as a bisexual advocate of trans rights whose husband does all the cooking. The Internet went crazy for it.

But Victoria doesn't consider herself a tradwife. She just likes the aesthetic (as does every woman who shops at Doen) and she used that viral moment and her increase in followers to talk about what she really wants to talk about, being an autistic woman who was diagnosed late in life.

The interview delves into the dynamics of social media, its impact on mental health, and the importance of authenticity online. Victoria also shares her personal journey with her autism diagnosis and how it shapes her life and parenting style.

You can follow Victoria here.

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Sunday Nice Things: How to be Fine Jul 14, 2024

Welcome to Sunday Nice Things! Introducing, HOW TO BE FINE. Half advice show, half reality show. Join podcast besties Kristen Meinzer and Jolenta Greenberg as they seek advice from experts, and then put that advice to the test. All this season they’re focusing on the loneliness epidemic and the struggles of friendship - from making new friends to breaking up with BFFs. Their goal? To help get you a little closer to fine.

Listen to all the episodes of HOW TO BE FINE here.

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Who is a Worthy Mother with Gretchen Sisson Jul 11, 2024

What makes a worthy mother and who gets to decide that? It's a question that is often considered when we think about things like adoption, abortion and the foster system at large. This episode explores the often overlooked perspectives of birth mothers, the socioeconomic challenges they face, and the trauma associated with relinquishment. Based on sociologist Gretchen Sisson's extensive research, including over 100 interviews detailed in her book 'Relinquished', this discussion sheds light on the broader failures of societal and governmental support for mothers and families and how popular culture has shaped how we view adoption in this country.

Order Gretchen's book RELINQUISHED here.

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Motherhood and Creativity with Eye Mama Project Jul 09, 2024

This week we dive into the transformative power of motherhood on creativity. Join us as we chat with photographer and filmmaker Karni Arieli about her inspiring Eye Mama Project, a collection of raw and gorgeous images of motherhood collected from around the world.

Eye Mama captures both the beauty and struggles of motherhood, aiming to provide a truthful, empathetic portrayal of the invisible aspects of motherhood.

Learn more about the Eye Mama Project here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Committed, Because I Love Ya Jul 07, 2024

Today's Sunday Nice Things is Jo's OG podcast, Committed. Levi and Jared are ready to get engaged. But Levi has been keeping his relationship with Jared a secret from his family and that has to change if they want to move forward. This is a story about being honest, completely and radically honest, with yourself and the people you love before you get married. I asked Levi if he was scared, scared to tell his story in such a public way, if he wanted to use a pseudonym. He didn't. He’s trying so hard to be brave, to be honest. Levi wants to tell his love story now....all of it.

You can listen to all the episodes of Committed here.

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Life as an OG Influencer Jul 04, 2024

Julia Dzafic has been in the influencing game for 15 years, making her what I like to call an OG influencer. She has been a blogger and an Instagrammer and now she is an author. Today we're digging into what life is like behind the filtered curtain for creators.

How do you separate your identity from what you do for work? If you're an influencer how do you separate your real life from your online brand?

We will also chat about the imposter syndrome and shame that seem to only infect women, especially women who are intensely online.

Order Garden Grown here.

Subscribe to our newsletter Over the Influence here.

Follow Julia here.

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Escape from the Christian Patriarchy Jul 02, 2024

With all the chatter about #tradwives and #homesteading and #homeschooling we need to be talking about the realities of some of the highly Christian Patriarchal norms and rules behind these things. Raised in the Christian patriarchy movement, Cait West was homeschooled and expected to live at home as a stay-at-home daughter after she turned 18, until her father allowed her to marry a man he chose for her. No college and definitely no career. She was trained to serve the men around her, and her life would never be her own. Growing up, she was told she was set apart, holy, she belonged to God. In her mind, she was blessed. She was quick to follow the rules and judged anyone who didn’t live by the same black and white beliefs. She knew that if she disobeyed, she would be cast out forever. But as she grew older something deep inside Cait told her this wasn’t how life was supposed to be.

Order Cait's memoir RIFT here.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence substack here.

Corin Lines-Stray on LinkedIn

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Sunday Nice Things: The Creative and the AI Jun 30, 2024

Dropping a new show into your feeds today for Sunday Nice Things. The Creative and the AI is a journey through how artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the creative process. We are at the beginning of a creative revolution that is sweeping over a content hungry world. In technology and the arts, AI is set to change everything.

For creators the fear and hope is palatable, as they look to a future where AI is part of everything they do. From replacement to ruin, collaboration to co-existence, and everything in between, join Corin Lines-Stary, on a journey to discover what artists, creatives and technologists think about AI and their practice.

Mike Russell on LinkedIn

Music Radio Creative Website

Mike Russell on Youtube

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Stop Giving All the F*cks AND What to Read Right Now Jun 27, 2024

Today, I am joined by the hilarious Laura Belgray, an award-winning copywriting expert and the true queen of libing unapologetically. Laura's book Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You're the F-ing Worst empowers you to live life authentically and honor your unique timeline.

She's hilarious and a massive dork and I love her.

We are also joined by Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling to talk about their wonderful new summer novel, The Memo, a book I like to call Sliding Doors for a new generation with a better haircut.

Buy TOUGH TITTIES here.

Buy THE MEMO here.

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Let's Take Back Masculinity From the Douchebags! Jun 25, 2024

Online culture has been defining very specific ways to be masculine and feminine. So does culture at large. Masculine is often thought of as dominant, strong, powerful and fierce while feminine is seen as soft and emotional and beautiful and caring. I'm so curious if we could flip that narrative. I think about it all the time as the mom of a boy. What if we assigned other characteristics to "masculine," things like caring and nurturing, warm, kind, supportive, joyful and respectful. What if we thought of these as male traits? And maybe you already do, but I don't think that most of our culture does. Here to talk to me about all of it is someone else who has been thinking about masculinity and femininity for a very long time. Catherine Connors is the former head of content for Disney Interactive, and she used to call herself a princess hacker because part of her job was figuring out what characteristics a Disney princess should have. Catherine believes in the power of fairytales and the power of storytelling to flip the narratives we've traditionally been told about what is masculine and what is feminine.

Follow Catherine on Instagram at HER BAD MOTHER.

Subscribe to Catherine's Substack HOLY DOODLEBUG Here.

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Sunday Nice Things: You Probably Think This Story's About You Jun 23, 2024

New podcast alert! Today we are bringing you a show called You Probably Think This Story's About You.

You Probably Think This Story’s About You is an exploration of love, betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of one man’s deceit, told through the eyes of the women whose lives were irrevocably changed by it.

Brittani Ard wants to understand how the man she once believed to be her soulmate could have deceived her so deeply. Devastating revelations unfold.

Listen to all the episodes of You Probably Think This Story's About You here.

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We Are All Burnt Out on Politics! Here's Some Hope (And a Wagon Full of Penguins) Jun 20, 2024

What is a Cute-servative? It's an adorable nickname that conservative women are giving to themselves online as part of the Barbie-rific branding of the conservative party to young women. And this brand is working!

Join us as we discuss the current political burnout many women are feeling and the critical need to stay engaged. Our guest,

Emily Amick of the Instagram account @EmilyInYourPhone, explores how conservative forces are successfully courting young women through social media. We dive into the importance of keeping hope alive in politics, the impact of effective messaging, and the necessity of local political involvement. The conversation also touches on Emily's personal battle with thyroid cancer and the power of community support.

ORDER DEMOCRACY IN RETROGRADE HERE.

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Find all of the Opt Out Family Resources and order the Opt Out Family book here.

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Could Your Family Opt out of Technology? This One Did! Here's How. Jun 18, 2024

What if we opted out of technology? What would it look like? Who would we be? Let's find out. Founder of global tech-free movement The Opt-Out Family, Erin Loechner is a former social media influencer who walked away from a million fans to live a low-tech lifestyle—and is now teaching others how to do the same.

Spoiler alert: Forget parental control apps, time limits, or reward charts. This revolutionary path takes us into the heart of the beast itself: the social media algorithm. Erin has seen the perks and pitfalls of social media usage, and she knows how to hack the strategies of tech wizards and platform experts so you can borrow their billion-dollar playbook to engage your family in meaningful ways away from screens.

Today she gives us practical encouragement and creative ideas to transform your family's relationship with today's ever-evolving technology. We WILL find a way to be more interesting and engaging than the algorithm.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here.

Follow Sara's wonderful Substack In Pursuit of Clean Countertops here.

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Sunday Nice Things: We Are the Great Turning Jun 16, 2024

Today we have just a taste of a new series called We Are the Great Turning that is truly bringing me hope and resilience when it comes to talking about the climate crisis. The show shines a light on 95-year-old legendary eco-spiritual teacher, Joanna Macy, in heartfelt, intimate dialogue with her friend, activist Jess Serrante. Together, they explore what it truly takes to stay resilient, joyful, and motivated while confronting the climate crisis. You can listen at WeAreTheGreatTurning.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Who is Nara Smith and is she a #TradWife? Jun 13, 2024

Nara Smith cooks Oreos and cereal from scratch in her pristine kitchen filled with SMEG appliances. She is a 23-year-old mother of three married to her teenage sweetheart Lucky Blue? She regularly broadcasts from her kitchen to more than six million social followers and until last week I had no idea who she was. But Nara Smith is a woman with power and influence so I wanted a whole primer on her brand. Here to give it to me is Momfluenced author Sara Peterson. We are going deep into the Nara Smith world and also diving into whether she is a #TradWife and whether we are all going too far in labeling any woman who does anything domestic as trad.

Follow our newsletter Over the Influence Here.

Order Momfluenced here.

Order The Sicilian Inheritance (for everyone you know).

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Women Hold Everything Together. What If We Stopped? Jun 11, 2024

Other countries have social safety nets. America has women. We are holding it all together at the seams even as we are often falling apart. Today I am talking to the brilliant sociologist Jessica Calarco about her new book Holding it Together. We talk about how the United States leans on the unseen and unappreciated labor of women to keep the country running. We can no longer accept that as the default. Women’s labor is the reason we’ve gone so long without the support systems that our peer nations take for granted because women’s work maintains the illusion that we don’t need a net. We also dive into the popularity of #tradwives and how it relates to all of this.

Order Holding it Together here.

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Let's Go Fly a Plane with Nick Aster Jun 09, 2024

Fresh out of the cockpit. I am joined by Nick Aster for a fun little bonus session to debrief on our new flying hobby. Somehow we also talk about how he wears khaki shorts to the gym and how he believes I steal all of his socks. Which is not a true thing.

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Beach Reads to Grab Now (Spice and Thrills and No Throbbing Members) Jun 06, 2024

For mom summer is often the season of no affordable childcare. But it is also the season of trying to ignore your children at the beach or public pool. So today I am joined by my friend Jane Rosen, author of the new hit beach read Seven Summer Weekends, to talk about what we plan on reading this summer. We are also joined by some very special author guests to chat about their books AND we are talking about the very cool thing Jane and other authors with books launching on June 4th did to support one another. Life takes a village people!

Order Seven Summer Weekends here.

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ADHD Help for Women on Social Media: The Good and the Bad Jun 04, 2024

As we know, there is an influencer for everything. And ADHD (particularly ADHD for women) is one of those things that now has a ton of influencers. There is a lot of misinformation and a lot of useful information. Many women are telling their own stories of ADHD for the first time ever on social media which is incredible. Today we are joined by Meredith Carder, whose account Humming Bird ADHD has more than 170k views. Meredith only found out she had ADHD when her daughter got diagnosed. After that she took courses to become an ADHD coaching course to help other women in her situation. We are talking about what makes someone an ADHD coach or an ADHD influencer, what kinds of content on social may be helpful for women with ADHD and what might be hurtful.

Follow Meredith here.

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Confessions of a Recovering Helicopter Mom May 30, 2024

Today we are talking to a self-described "recovering helicopter mom," to discuss the challenges and transformations in her journey away from "perfect" and overprotective motherhood. From dealing with childhood trauma to striving for supermom status, Cari Fund shares her poignant story of how she faced her toxic childhood straight on and vowed to be a different kind of parent to her own kids. We're talking healing, self-care, and redefining what it means to be a mother in a society that often demands unrealistic perfection.

Learn more about Cari here.

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Is Social Media Breaking Our Brains? Let's Ask a Neuroscientist! May 28, 2024

Screens and social media are allegedly giving us anxiety, shortening our attention spans and changing our brains in ways that may be irreversible....at least according to the articles I have read. But I want to parse fact from fiction and click-bait headlines from actual scientific studies. Here to answer all of my burning questions about whether social media is breaking my brain and if so how I can fix it is our new resident UTI neuroscientist Brett Abrahams.

Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here.

Buy yourself a copy of The Sicilian Inheritance here.

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How to Help Kids Navigate the Dangers of Social Media and Screens May 23, 2024

Today we have a no B.S. guide to what is happening right now with kids and teens and screens and social media. Joining us is Dr. Alison Yeung, a physician and mom who is giving parents a balanced, data-driven approach to the effects of social media and screens. From the alarming trends in kids' mental health to the impact of smartphones on young minds, we explore the complexities of parenting in the digital age without being judgey or preachy..

Follow Alison on Instagram here @thesmartphoneeffectmd

Follow our newsletter Over the Influence here.

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Does Instagram Ruin Travel? May 21, 2024

A small town in Japan is trying to build an Instagram block wall to keep tourists from overrunning their village to take the "perfect" Instagram shot. This seems to be happening more and more lately. Social media doesn't just hurt locations that can't handle thoughtless social media posters, it can also cause disappointment and anxiety for travelers.

Join me and award-winning travel writer Jordi Lippe as we delve into the intersections of travel, social media, and the quest for authentic experiences. This episode explores the transformative power of travel, the impact of social media on our travel expectations and experiences, and how to navigate the digital world responsibly.

Want to be a part of our coven? Sign up for the Over the Influence newsletter today.

Follow Jordi here and PAK Rêve here.

Order nine copies of The Sicilian Inheritance today!

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Sunday Nice Things: Magical Overthinkers with Amanda Montell May 19, 2024

Is it just us, or does American culture have narcissismfever? Between 2004 and 2016, the volume of Google searches for the word “narcissist” grew exponentially. Thanks to factors like the rise of therapyspeak, TikTok mental health diagnoses, and badly behaving reality stars-turned-world leaders, discourse about this buzzy, yet poorly understood phenomenon has exploded. Are we as a society becoming more narcissistic? Or are we now over-using and misusing this term to the point of meaninglessness? Wait, is obsessing about other people's narcissism its own kind of narcissism?? In an effort to soothe these thought spirals, host Amanda (@amanda_montell) settled in for an illuminating chat with her debut guest, psychologist Dr. Ramani Durvasula (@doctorramani), author of the New York Times bestseller "It's Not You" and one of the world's foremost narcissism experts.

Tune in for a relatable, brain-tingling, and clarifying discussion about this confounding topic, complete with questions submitted by the "Magical Overthinkers Club" and bits of wisdom to help us overthinkers get out of our own heads.

- Join the "Magical Overthinkers Club" by following the pod on Instagram @magicaloverthinkers.

- To access early, ad-free episodes and more, subscribe to the Magical Overthinkers Substack.

- Pick up a hard copy of Amanda's book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, or listen to the audiobook.

- Sources:

What Is Narcissism? Science Confronts a Widely Misunderstood Phenomenon

Time grows on trees: The effect of nature settings on time perception

Therapist Aisha's Instagram

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Harrison Butker and the TradWives with Emily in Your Phone May 16, 2024

Let's talk about Harrison Butker's viral graduation this week where he informed women graduates that their highest career calling was to be a wife and mother. If you got #tradwife vibes from that sentence, you aren't alone. The Internet is not happy and here to dissect the politics and the culture wars of it all is none other than Emily Amick, author of Democracy in Retrograde and the guru behind the account @EmilyinYourPhone.

We also explore the broader context of Christian patriarchy, authoritarianism, and the pushback against progressive gender narratives. Additionally, we touch on the emotional labor and societal expectations imposed on women, the allure and pitfalls of the 'Trad Wife' lifestyle, and the rise of polarizing ideologies in digital spaces.

Sigh.

ORDER DEMOCRACY IN RETROGRADE TODAY.

Watch MY Graduation speech here.

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Women and Pleasure with Glynnis MacNicol (PLUS All the thoughts on The Idea of You) May 14, 2024

The new hit romance The Idea of You has everyone buzzing about so-called middle-aged women and the pursuit of pleasure. What kinds of pleasure do we deserve? Which ones are taboo, and who decides? Today we talk all about the movie with resident lady pleasure expert Glynnis MacNicol of the new book I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself.

BUY I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself today.

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Sunday Nice Things: The Magic of Audiobooks May 12, 2024

For today's Sunday Nice Things I get to chat with Rachel Hirsch, one of the incredible audiobook narrators of The Sicilian Inheritance. I love audiobooks. I often toggle between the audio book and the print version for efficiency. I also sometimes listen to the audio book AFTER I finish the print version because it is simply relaxing. I love chatting with Rachel today about how audio books get made and the incredible actors behind them.

You can get The Sicilian Inheritance audiobook here.

And learn more about Rachel here.

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Help! My Therapist is on TikTok May 09, 2024

What would you do if you discovered your therapist was on TikTok? And worse than that...what if they were talking about things YOU told them in therapy. Today we are talking with Bustle writer Kate Lindsay about her reporting on the mental health TikTok stars and the patients who are concerned. There are so many ethical and practical issues surrounding mental health content on social media these days and we are going to dive into all of it.

To read Kate's Bustle piece go here.

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Genealogy Influencing is a Real Thing with The Barefoot Genealogist May 07, 2024

If it exists in the world there is an influencer for it. And Genealogy and family research is no exception. I found Crista Cowan (The Barefoot Genealogist) while I was trying to solve my great great grandmother's murder for the Sicilian Inheritance true crime podcast and I became fascinated by how she uses her platform and her position as Ancestry's Corporate Genealogist to help people climb their family trees, but more importantly to help them shape their identities and how they move in the world.

Learn more about Crista's work as The Barefoot Genealogist here.

Listen to The Sicilian Inheritance true crime podcast here.

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Meatfluencers with Nick Aster May 03, 2024

Let's journey into a strange corner of social media filled with uncomfortably buff men chowing down on raw meat. Yes, meatfluencing is a thing. My special guest is Nick Aster, my very own husband, who I will try to convince to become a meatfluencer to put our kids through college.

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Messy Women and Money with Jean Chatzky May 02, 2024

There is a prevailing narrative around women and money that says women are a mess financially. It isn't true! And we are talking about that today with Her Money podcast host and personal finance guru Jean Chatzky. We dispel the myths that women aren't good with money. We talk about how to save for college and retirement and we dive into why influencers can create dangerous expectations when it comes to investing.

Follow everything Jean does over at Her Money.

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Taping Your Mouth Shut and Influencers in Books Apr 30, 2024

For a long time every novel I read or rom com that I watched contained a lady journalist, or a hard-hitting ad executive. And about two years ago all those characters became influencers. Now about every other novel I read has an influencer character and I don't know if I like it. Today I talk to the journalist and novelist Sheila Marikar about her decision to write influencers into her new book Friends in Napa. I also have a bonus conversation from the car (DRIVING IN CARS WITH JO) with Glynnis MacNicol about why she is taping her mouth shut when she sleeps. The answer has to do with Gwyneth Paltrow.

Buy Friends in Napa here.

Buy I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself here.

And order nine copies of The Sicilian Inheritance here.

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Touched Out with Amanda Montei Apr 25, 2024

I'm touched out. I say that all the time. Before I became a parent I didn't know that was possible. But once I became a mom my body was no longer my own; it belonged to my children. But I didn't have a way to talk about the feeling of being touched out until I read the stunning book by Amanda Montei of the same name—TOUCHED OUT. There is an expectation gap between what we imagine motherhood looks like and what it actually is and the cultural script for motherhood has often been written by men.

Today we get into the loneliness and alienation of motherhood, what it means to be touched out and what sex looks like after becoming a mom.

Grab Amanda's book here!

Subscribe to our newsletter Over the Influence here.

Learn more about Elle and buy all of her books here.

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Blowing Up Your Life (To Follow Your Dreams) with Elle Cosimano Apr 23, 2024

Bestselling author Elle Cosimano (of the famed Finlay Donovan series) was miserable in her job working in real estate. Then her mother offered to care for her children for the summer and take on the physical and mental load of parenting so that Elle could try to write her own book. That moment of receiving permission to do something for herself, completely changed Elle's life and put her on the path to writing her first book, to finding an agent, to publishing a book and then many books and then hitting the bestseller lists.

And along the way Elle connected with other women who were also blowing up their lives to switch careers to become authors. Those women inspired her every single day to keep going.

This is about women lifting each other up and supporting one another unconditionally. It is about the fear and shame and guilt many of us have about doing something that seems selfish, that is for ourselves.

Elle Cosimano has inspired me so much on my own journey and I know that she is going to inspire you.

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Order your Sicilian Inheritance here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Sex and Cheese in Paris with Glynnis MacNicol Apr 21, 2024

On today's Sunday Nice things we have an episode of the podcast Your New Life Blend with my dear friend, soul mate and constant companion Glynnis MacNicol talking all about her new memoir about eating all of the cheese and delicious food and having all of the sex in Paris with host Shoshanna Hecht.

Glynnis MacNicol spent the long stretch of COVID lockdown mostly alone in small Upper West Side apartment, mostly without really touching another person. So by summer 2021, after vaccines had rolled out and restrictions were finally lifting, she jumped at the chance to stay at a friend's apartment in Paris, and immediately bought a plane ticket out of her pandemic-imposed solitude. Landing in Paris she found a city just waking up from its own lockdown, and felt in Parisians all around her the same urgent, greedy desire to enjoy every pleasure life had to offer - food (cheese, croissants, chocolate), community (in-person, Zoom be damned), and connection (very much in person, very pleasurable, very much enjoyed). She recounts it all and then some in her joyful, decadent, and insightful new memoir, "I'm Mostly Here To Enjoy Myself: One Woman's Pursuit of Pleasure in Paris," coming in June, which dares to suggest that women have the right to enjoy themselves - and their choices - fully and gloriously, without needing permission. In this episode of "Your New Life Blend," Glynnis talks to host Shoshanna Hecht about how seeking & claiming pleasure is actually a radical feminist act; the power of a free woman freely making her own choices; the joys of embracing your life unfolding at any age; and why we all deserve to truly enjoy ourselves.

Subscribe to Your New Life Blend Here.

Order Glynnis's book I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself HERE.

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Default Parenting and the Mental Load with Renee Reina Apr 18, 2024

Renee Reina worked on her PhD in psychology for ten years. Then the pandemic happened and she started making TikToks and podcasts about mom life with her eighteen month old. When that started making money she decided to pursue content creation as a career path instead of what she refers to as a "real job." Why don't we consider what women do online a "real job?" That's just one of the things we are diving into today.

Renee talks about ambition and guilt and shame and mental load and I would argue she is still using her PhD every day to help women and mothers. She simply isn't using it the way white men have used PhDs for the past 200 years. Just a little bit of what we are touching on in this episode:

How can we enjoy our lives more?
Does being the default parent make it harder to enjoy life?
Are a lot of the things that cause us stress self-inflicted?
Why do clean houses on social media piss me off the most?

Follow Renee on all the things here.

Subscribe to the Mom Room podcast here.

Get our newsletter OVER THE INFLUENCE here.

Pick up The Sicilian Inheritance here.

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Trad Dads and Dad Guilt Apr 16, 2024

Sam Dogen offered himself up to me as a sacrificial lamb when he wrote to me and told me that he was the male equivalent of the trad wife. He was kidding. But Sam is a stay-at-home dad who is the primary caregiver for his children and today we talk about the stigma and judgement he feels for having taken on that role.

Learn more about Sam and The Financial Samurai brand and content here.

Order a copy of The Sicilian Inheritance here, here and here.

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Sunday Nice Things: LORENZA Apr 14, 2024

Dropping the Sicilian Inheritance true crime podcast into your feeds while she is hot. This show is a gonzo adventure. It is White Lotus Meets Only Murders in the Building and I am Selena Gomez and Nick is Steve Martin and Charlie is Martin Short.

Here is the official fancy description of episode two. Journalist Jo Piazza’s family has been playing a hundred year long game of telephone about the murder of her great great grandmother Lorenza Marsala. Family members who have gone back to Sicily to discover the truth, including Jo’s dad have been shut down by authorities and threatened by seemingly supernatural forces.

But Jo is determined, maybe even a little obsessed, to cut through the stories, the lies and the mythologies to find out the truth, even if her family members don’t want her to.

Subscribe to The Sicilian Inheritance podcast here.

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The Great Bookstagram Revolution with Jordy's Book Club Apr 11, 2024

I love book influencers! They're my biggest hype people. And my guest this week is Jordan Moblo, but you might know him better as Jordy's Book Club.

Jordy's Book Club has more than 140,000 followers. That is a lot of influence and clout my friends. And I don't think it's giving him too much credit to say that Jordy's recommendations, really can help an author find new readers. I love our conversation today because we're really gonna dig in to how we can create more respect in the book influencing ecosystem. How can we all meet one another's needs? And how can we value the people who are selling books for publishers and authors? And also, what can we all learn from book influencers about growing our own personal brands online and how to share our passions with the world?

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Nice Things: Healthy Screen Habits for Families Apr 09, 2024

Hillary Wilkinson found the need to take a big look at technology when her children began asking for their own devices. Quickly overwhelmed, she found that the hard and fast rules in other areas of life became difficult to uphold in the digital world. As a teacher and a mom of 2, Hillary believes the key to healthy screen habits lies in empowering our kids through education and awareness.

We are the first generation to parent while balancing screens, life, and family. Each episode on the Healthy Screen Habits podcast features insights, tips, and takeaways to help parents make informed decisions on how to help their family live a healthy digital life.

Parenting is hard. Technology can make it tricky. Hillary uses this podcast to help bring these areas together to help all families create healthy screen habits.

For more on Healthy Screen Habits and to listen to all the episodes check them out here.

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Bite-Sized Bits of Mindfulness Apr 04, 2024

Twenty minutes a day of mediation seems pretty out of reach for most moms. Frankly five minutes of meditation seems pretty out of reach. Today we are talking to clinical psychologist Kathryn Barbash about ways to bring mindfulness into your daily life that will actually work for you as a busy parent.

Follow Kathryn's substack Mindful in the Mud here.

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Embracing Uncertainty in Life and Parenting with Maggie Jackson Apr 02, 2024

Is a daily dose of uncertainty exactly what we need? Is embracing uncertainty instead of fearing it the answer to happier and more curious parenting?

I believe that my guest today is one of the most interesting writers and thinkers talking about social trends and technology's impact on humanity today. Maggie Jackson's new book Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure has shaken up my brain in many new and wonderful ways. Today we discuss how we can be challenged by uncertainty and also really thrive in it.

Learn more about Maggie and order Uncertain and Distracted here.

Grab your copy of The Sicilian Inheritance here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Parenting with Empathy, from Pop Culture Moms Mar 31, 2024

Sharing an episode of another podcast Jo is loving: Pop Culture Moms. Andie and Sabrina are toddler moms and best friends of 20 years. They’re taking their obsession with TV and movies to the next level by talking to celebrities, writers and fellow “scholars” of pop culture about what they can learn from the fictional moms they love most. In this episode: Some of the best moms on TV right now are cartoons. We hear from Deena Margolin and Kristin Gallant, the moms behind parenting resource Big Little Feelings and co-hosts of the podcast, After Bedtime, about what the mothers in Bluey and Daniel Tiger are doing right.

Listen to “Pop Culture Moms” HERE.

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White Lotus Meets Only Murders in the Building — The Sicilian Inheritance True Crime Podcast Mar 30, 2024

It's finally here! The true-crime podcast where I try to solve my great great grandmother Lorenza's murder that The Sicilian Inheritance is based on. DO NOT WORRY there are no book spoilers. These were created to be enjoyed together...companions, not spoilers.

Journalist Jo Piazza’s family has been playing a hundred year long game of telephone about the murder of her great great grandmother Lorenza Marsala. Family members who have gone back to Sicily to discover the truth, including Jo’s dad have been shut down by authorities and threatened by seemingly supernatural forces.

But Jo is determined, maybe even a little obsessed, to cut through the stories, the lies and the mythologies to find out the truth, even if her family members don’t want her to.

If you love this and want more subscribe to The Sicilian Inheritance podcast here.

Order copies of the book The Sicilian Inheritance for everyone you know!

OH and did I tell you there is also a Sicilian Inheritance Olive Oil?

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Midlife Career Switching to be a Post-Partum Doula Mar 28, 2024

Today kicks off our miniseries of women who have switched careers in midlife. My friend Corynne Cirilli used to be a gossip columnist and entertainment journalist with me. After having kids she took a career pause and then trained to be a post-partum doula! We dig into how Corynne decided she was passionate about post-partum care and how she used that passion to make a massive change in her own life after taking a career pause to have her babies.

ORDER YOUR COPY OF THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE TODAY

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Magical Overthinking with Amanda Montell Mar 26, 2024

Why do human beings make terrible decisions? Is it our fault or is technology programming us to be irrational? Let's get into it with Renaissance Woman Amanda Montell, podcaster, linguist and author of the new book The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality. Why do we develop parasocial relationships with influencers and celebrities? Why do people have a baby to save a marriage? We may not have all the answers, but we do offer a little bit of hope for a more rational future.

BUY AMANDA'S BOOK HERE - The Age of Magical Overthinking

ORDER THE SICILIAN INHERITANCE HERE

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Who Wants to Work at Buckingham Palace? Mar 22, 2024

All the latest on the dumpster fire coming out of Buckingham Palace. Apparently the royals think NOW is a good time to hire a new communications assistant. And Jo has applied for the job! Also Donald Trump has weighed in on Kate-gate and he has thoughts....thoughts that might surprise you. All that and more with our resident Kate expert Caro Claire Burke.

Follow Caro HERE.

Order your Sicilian Inheritance HERE.

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Facing Setbacks and Fostering Ambition Mar 21, 2024

Today we're going to talk about two things that we don't talk about nearly often enough—career setbacks and women's ambition. And these things have way more to do with one another than we might think. I genuinely believe that our ambition only increases or has the potential to increase after a setback. That's one of the reasons I wanted to bring on both of today's guests. We will be hearing from business strategist and all over hype woman Amanda Wagner about why ambition should never be considered a dirty word. We need to be allowed to be ambitious in all of the things—our careers, our parenting, our relationships and even our gardening if that is our jam. We are also chatting with the author and journalist Amy Shoenthal. whose book The Setback Cycle is all about working through life's inevitable setbacks and coming back stronger than ever.

ORDER THE SETBACK CYCLE HERE

FOLLOW AMANDA HERE

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#FarmLife in Real Life with Sayer Palmer Mar 19, 2024

A lot of things get fetishized on Instagram and #farmlife is one of them. Farm life on social media is often portrayed as hazy, beautiful, aspirational leisure. We rarely, if ever, see the hard actual work that goes into farming, the backbreaking labor and the intense costs of maintaining a farm. We do see a lot of chickens and beautiful blue eggs, but never the dirt under the fingernails or the fields that have failed due to unpredictable weather patterns. We don't see these things because they aren't always pretty and perfect. And social media thrives on pretty and perfect. Today we're talking about what it's really like to be a woman farmer. What it's really like to work your land and what it's really like to depend on your farm for a living. Our guest is Sayer Palmer, a vegetable farmer and a mom who tries to juggle work-life with mom life. This is the beautiful reality of living on a farm, not the dream of it.

Follow Sayer here.

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Sunday Nice Things: Back to the Babysitters Club Mar 17, 2024

Who wants to enjoy a little bit of nostalgia this Sunday morning? Join Jo on the magical and wonderful happy-making Stuck in Stonybrook podcast where they revisit our favorite childhood series through a modern (and often feminist) lens.

Subscribe to more Stuck in Stonybrook here.

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Influence, Books and Bookclubs with Zibby Owens Mar 14, 2024

How do YOU discover new books that you love? I think that people want to read what other people are reading. I think we are desperate for water cooler conversation about books, the kind we used to have before everyone had Stanley Cups. Today we are digging into the world of book influence with Zibby Owens (AUTHOR OF THE NEW NATIONAL BESTSELLER BLANK). Zibby has been at the forefront of getting books to people for the past decade as a podcaster of Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books, as an event planner and content creator and now as a publisher and bookstore owner. She freaking does it all. And today we are digging into it all, including spilling a little tea on how those celebrity book clubs actually work.

She's done all of the things. She's been a podcaster, a content creator and event planner. And now she's a publisher and a bookstore owner. This woman lives and breathes books.

ORDER ZIBBY'S BOOK BLANK HERE

And order your copy of The Sicilian Inheritance TODAY right here.

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What the Heck is Happening with Kate Middleton with Caro Burke Mar 13, 2024

Very important topic today in this emergency episode—what the heck is going on with Kate Middleton? We do a deep dive into all the conspiracy theories (and how the Swifties are involved), the specifics of the photo manipulation, why people even give a flying eff and most importantly what this has to do with how we treat women in the media.

We also have to talk about how we cover brands, because make no mistake the Royal family is a celebrity brand that is failing spectacularly at their crisis management right now.

And of course...the question everyone is asking...is Kate Middleton a tradwife?

Here to give us a primer and some incredibly astute commentary is none other than Caro Claire Burke, the only person I actually follow on TikTok.

Follow Caro here!

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How to be Fabulous at Every Age with Lyn Slater Mar 11, 2024

"If we weren't so afraid of being old, we could have a vision in our head of what we could be when we are an older woman." — Lyn Slater

In 2014, Lynn Slater became an accidental icon when she started a fashion blog and Instagram account in her early sixties. The media went wild and all of the stories focused on how she was an older woman who dared to talk about style and fashion and put it out there on the Internet. Lyn rode the influencing wave for nearly a decade before she decided she wanted to take more control of her narrative. As she approached her 70th birthday she began writing her new book How to Be Old. I love this book. I love that Lyn is taking the piss out of everyone that only wanted to describe her as an old woman. And I gained so much knowledge about how now in my forties, I can start to plan for who I want to be in my fifties and my sixties and my seventies. This book is filled with so much wisdom for women of all ages and we talk about all of it on today's episode.

Order HOW TO BE OLD here.

Subscribe to Lyn's substack here.