Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Check out our sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the OVER THE INFLUENCE newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence Newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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!!! Subscribe to the Over the Influence Newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence Newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Order The Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Corin Lines-Stray on LinkedIn Mike Russell on LinkedIn Music Radio Creative Website Mike Russell on Youtube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Order The Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Find all of the Opt Out Family Resources and order the Opt Out Family book here. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Order The Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Sara's wonderful Substack In Pursuit of Clean Countertops here. Follow our newsletter Over the Influence Here. Order Momfluenced here. Order The Sicilian Inheritance (for everyone you know). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe the the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe the the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Order The Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices