Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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

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. Learn more about Elle and buy all of her books here. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Order your Sicilian Inheritance here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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