Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

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

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

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

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! And order your copy of The Sicilian Inheritance TODAY right here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Gen X is the scrappiest generation and we might just be the generation to change how we think about and treat perimenopause. Today we get to talk to my dear friend Stacy London about perimenopause and perimenopause influencers. When Stacy was going through perimenopause herself advocacy and education for women's healthcare became her new passion and her new business. Stacy has worked her ass off to break through the noise and the b.s. around perimenopause and we are going to get into all of it. ALL OF IT. There is value in age. As Stacy so wisely tells me in this episode: Menopause is Mother Nature's biological fail safe to make you sit up and realize that you don't have an expiration date but the values that you held when you were younger do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is nothing better than leaving your children and going on vacation with your best friend. My own BF Jackie crashed my reporting trip in Sicily this week (much to my delight) and it reminded me of the importance of both travel and girlfriend time. This does not sound like every other episode of UTI, but I thought maybe you might like to be in a car with us on this weird journey in Sicily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media is incredibly toxic for women and girls. I say this all the time, and sometimes I start to feel like a real conspiracy theorist, like the social media version of a prepper telling you to build a tunnel under your house with lots of canned goods, but it is still something I truly believe. My guest today is Kara Alaimo, the author of OVER THE INFLUENCE (a book, not my substack). It looks at how social media is affecting every single aspect of the lives of women and girls from our parenting to how we date to our careers and our physical safety. But it also gives practical tips about what we can do about it, as users, as creators and as lawmakers to solve a problem that is not just going to go away. You can order OVER THE INFLUENCE (the book) here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's Sunday Nice Things has everything that you want in a Sunday listen—swingers, the seventies and puritanical Minnesota. From my friends who bring you the Terrible Thanks for Asking podcast comes a new show called Time Capsule: The Silver Chain. This is an 8-episode “true no-crime” documentary podcast that delves into the secret world of partner-swapping suburbanites in 1970s Minnesota. Newsletters from an abandoned safe deposit box set host Paul Ditty on an investigation to learn all he can about The Silver Chain – a suburban Minnesota swing club from the 1970s – and its members. Paul attempts to reach several of the club's members. No one will talk until finally he reaches Carol, one of the club’s founders who eventually agrees to talk. But just as Paul is on his way to Modesto, an email from Carol's daughter changes his course. Subscribe to Time Capsule: The Silver Chain here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no one-size fits all cure for grief. It's something you just have to go through and we all go through it in different ways. There has recently been a rise in grief influencers on Instagram and some of them can be quite predatory, targeting people at their most vulnerable time to purchase things like course to overcome their grief. Some of them are also wonderful and helpful. Like everything on social media there is a spectrum. Here to talk to me about all of this today is Sloane Crosley, author of the gorgeous new book Grief is for People. You will want this book in your life and this conversation, even though it was about grief, brought me so much joy. Quick warning, this episode does talk about death by suicide so please take care while listening. You can buy Sloane's book, GRIEF IS FOR PEOPLE, here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've talked a lot on this podcast about using kids as content and where the line should be drawn. We've also talked about mothers posting pictures of their sick kids to get attention. But there is another side to the story. What if your child had a rare disease? What if one of the only ways to get the medical establishment and doctors to take notice of that disease was to shout about it at the top of your lungs, sometimes on social media? What would you do? It's an impossible question. Last November, Amanda Byerly's daughter Elin was diagnosed with retinol dystrophy, a disease that could ultimately make her go blind. And because the disease is so rare, there's not a lot of funding for it. So it is up to the parents to fund research and ultimately to find a cure. Amanda made the decision to post her daughter and the diagnosis on Instagram to raise both money and awareness. But it's tricky, and Amanda has to draw new boundaries for herself every day about the things she should share to help educate people about Elin's disease and what might invade her daughter's privacy. You can learn more about the disease here. You can follow Amanda and Elin here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode of Sunday Nice Things we are bringing you the series Momplicated where host Dana Phillips dives into the dumpster fire of motherhood with women who aren't afraid to swim around in the muck and pick trash out of your hair. Today she is joined by the hilarious Caitlin Murray, who is best known for her wickedly funny Instagram account Big Time Adulting! Dana and Caitlin discuss vacationing with kids, the awfulness of sick and snow days and why it is OK to not love the baby stage of childrearing. Follow Dana on Instagram @dana.p.phillips Follow Caitlin and Big Time Adulting here. Subscribe to Momplicated on your favorite podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pandora's Box is open. We will never go backwards in terms of technology. Social media literacy is media literacy. There are more eyeballs on small screens scrolling through influencers than people reading political news or watching television shows. Influencers have more of an impact on people than most politicians and traditional celebrities. We need to talk about how to talk about them. Today we are joined by media critic and writer Caroline Burke about the different ways to parse the social media industrial complex to make it healthier for us. Our brains are not up to the task of dealing with the level of manipulation happening on the socials. We dive into: The lack of literacy in Congress around social media Why Ballerina Farm should be called a brand, not a person. Also, let's remember that its followers outnumber the population of many small countries. Why does our brain feel like it is overheating when we are on social media for too long Why don't we teach tech literacy in schools? How our parasocial Instagram relationships make us buy more stuff Why is jealousy inherently a moral negative? You can follow Caro on Instagram here. Subscribe to the Over the Influence newsletter here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The former family Youtuber and vlogger Ruby Franke has been sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for felony child abuse. And frankly, I'm just going to say it here—I hope she serves the maximum sentence. This comes after Ruby has admitted to punishing her children in a variety of horrific ways. Quick update on the news and the ripple effect it could have in the parenting influencing community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever rewatched a beloved movie as an adult and then been shocked, absolutely shocked by the behavior of the parents in it? A great example is The Parent Trap (both versions) in which two parents choose to abandon one of the children because they don't like one another. Today we are getting into which pop culture representations of parents do and don't hold up with Andie Mitchell, and Sabrina Kohlberg, the hosts of the brand spanking new Pop Culture Moms (it's not even out yet so this chat is a real sneak preview). We're talking problematic parents and awkward parenting storylines. I also get them to go deep into a very important subject—hot TV dads. So sit back and relax and let's take a break from #tradwives to enjoy a little pop culture nostalgia. You can subscribe to Pop Culture Moms here. Episode start dropping on Feb 27. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each week on the SSR (Shit She Read) podcast host Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. The show covers everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes to Nancy Drew and Harry Potter. Guests are asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about their throwback read for your podcast-listening pleasure. A glass of wine is not required, but it's certainly allowed. This week I happen to be the guest talking about none other than Little House in the Big Woods in all its prairie problematic glory. You can subscribe to SSR here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Friday Quickies....the Daily for influencer and social news with more foul language and swingers. This week we talk about Taylor Swift giving her boyfriend's podcast a boost, Minnesota joining the good fight to pay influencer kids and why Instagram is censoring your politics and how you can keep following the accounts you love. We also have the trailer for the new narrative swinger podcast (yeah you heard that right) Time Capsule: The Silver Chain. You can subscribe to Time Capsule here. Follow Emily Amick of @EmilyInYouPhone here. Follow Fortesa Latifi here. And pre-order The Sicilian Inheritance here. You can also subscribe to our substack Over the Influence here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Winter recently hit the New York Times bestseller list with her memoir MORE, an account of the first ten years of opening up her marriage when her children were young. She is still happily married and she says her marriage and sex life is better than ever because she has been able to explore more facets of herself with her partners. Molly's account of the first 10 years of her open marriage is raw and honest and eye-opening. It has plenty of lessons for people who don't want to open up their marriages, but who do want to figure out how to be a better partner and how to follow their passions and desires as a wife and a mother. Society loves putting women into boxes, but the truth is that we want more and sharing these stories is the only way we can change the way the world sees us and treats us. You can order MORE here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's not pretty. But it is real. There's a new breed of the ANTI-TRADWIFE out there and they are sharing the raw and honest stories about living a life submissive to a man and what it looks like on the other side. Today we are talking to Enitza Templeton, a mom of four who was a tradwife for ten years before she left her husband to try to make it on her own. Entiza made a video from the food stamps office that went viral on TikTok where she warned young women against depending on a man for financial security. She compares being a trad wife to being a "domestic slave," and says that you are "sitting prey." She feels like her husband never liked her. She felt like his mommy. Life was miserable until she made the decision to leave. We are seeing more and more content pushing back on the tradwife trend. It doesn't always go viral like Enitza's story because it isn't traditionally beautiful and aspirational, but these are voices that need to be heard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to a new episode of Sunday Nice Things. This week we are bringing you the new show Gratitudeology created by my friend Jamie Hess. When Jamie almost died, she woke up. As daughter of legendary broadcast journalist Joan Lunden, it seemed from the outside that Jamie had everything… so why did she feel so empty inside? She pondered that question as she fell into a life of drug addiction, and when she hit her bottom, it hit her: nothing feels good until we get grateful… but we often don’t feel grateful until we have a wake-up call. Are you searching for your wake-up moment? Tune in each week for an incredible story of turning pain to purpose, told by some of the most inspirational people on the planet. Through these stories, we’ll help you apply the study and practice of Gratitudeology to live a happier, healthier, more abundant life. You can listen to more episodes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Need some news you can use to talk about at your Super Bowl Party? We have Glamour reporter Steph McNeal here to explain the latest right wing conspiracy theory about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce faking their relationship to help Biden. Also all the updates from Teen Vogue's Fortesa Latifi on laws to compensate the kids of influencers and the new backlash against luxury stuff influencers on TikTok. Welcome to the world of DEINFLUENCERS. Some stories to catch you up: Are Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Faking Their Relationship to Help Biden? Inside the Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory These States Are Trying to Require Influencer Parents to Pay Their Kids We're Getting Disillusioned By Overconsumption on TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let's talk about anxiety, real talk about anxiety! Today we are joined by Julie Chavez, a librarian, mom of two and the author of the memoir Everyone But Myself. When you are a working mom, there is no time for debilitating anxiety. There's not. And the terrifying aftershocks of Julie's first panic attack left her grappling with questions about the causes of her mental health crisis and where it was going to lead next. This book resonated with me so deeply. This is a hopeful and honest account of love and loss and the husband who can't read your mind, about disastrous family outings and finding a new path. It is about the joy of a well-lived life and how hard it can sometimes be to enjoy that life. I think we're all going to feel better after this episode. You can order Everyone But Myself here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tia Levings was recruited into a Christian fundamentalist movement as a young wife. She quickly learned that being a godly and submissive wife in the Christian patriarchy included strict discipline and isolation, and required women to be silent keepers of the home. Years of pain and abuse followed. After becoming a mother, Tia realized that she was the only one who could protect her children from becoming the next generation of patriarchal men and submissive women. That's when she fled with her children. One of the things Tia says a lot that really gets to me is that if we continue to ignore the messages that the fundamental evangelical Christian community are sending out to us, then we're just plunging this country right into the near future of the book The Handmaid's Tale. Tia was a trad wife and today she is an independent woman living the kind of life she always dreamed about. She has written wisely about the inhumanity of trad wife life and why it is not something to be celebrated with beautiful images on social media. All of this is documented in Tia's new book, A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape From Christian Patriarchy and on her Substack, The Anti-Fundamentalist. You can also follow Tia on Instagram here. She is a delight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Sunday Nice Things! Today we have an episode of This American Ex-Wife from the wonderful Lyz Lenz! I first became obsessed with Lyz when I read her book God Land and then she came on an early episode of Under the Influence to talk about attending a mom influencing conference and I fell hard for her. She's the creator of the newsletter Men Yell at Me which I read religiously every time it hits my inbox. This American Ex-wife is a podcast that explores the state of American heterosexual marriage. Lyz sits down with a cast of women to talk about their divorces, their journeys and unpacks an institution many take part in but few talk about: divorce. Today's episode is with the poet and bestselling author Maggie Smith who delves into how her divorce forced her to spend more time with herself and how that ended up being a very good thing. Listen to This American Ex-Wife here Order This American Ex-Wife the book here. Sign up for Men Yell at Me, here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So many of you have asked me for an audio preview of The Sicilian Inheritance that I finally just sat down and created one! Why not! I love this part. In it our main character has just met our Sicilian protagonist Giusy in a Sicilian restaurant. It's filled with delicious food and wine and even ends in a cliffhanger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The #fitfluencers and #wellness brands are coming for you. And they've been on the attack since January 1. This time of alleged renewal and reinvention is the Super Bowl for brands hoping to sell you a "better" or a "thinner" you. YOU are the product during this time of year and brands pay big money to get in front of you during this vulnerable time. Today we chat with digital brand marketer Amy Shoenthal (author of the Setback Cycle) about HOW you get targeted and Danielle Friedman (author of Let's Get Physical) about the history of fitness marketing and the good, the bad and the ugly of #fitfluencers. You can order The Setback Cycle here. You can order Let's Get Physical Here. You can also read Danielle's piece on #fitfluencers for the NYT here. Also grab yourself a Hot Sicilian.....while it's hot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We talk a lot about the negative parts of social media, but good things do happen online. One of those good things is community. Five years ago the New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg started #1000WordsofSummer. It’s an online community that convenes for two weeks in June to write 1,000 words a day. People were obsessed with it. Jami’s new book, 1,000 Words, is inspired by this community. It includes letters from her and over 50 seasoned writers on how to do the work when it’s the last thing you feel like doing. So today we are talking to Jami about how to start writing, how to keep writing and how to be a good member of the literary community. Follow Jami on Instagram here. Subscribe to the Craft Talk the newsletter here. Buy 1,000 Words here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you want more of She Pivots you can find all the episodes here. Under the Influence is sponsored by Quince and Honeylove. Give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince! Go to Quince.com/influence for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Get 20% OFF @honeylove by going to https://www.honeylove.com/Influence #honeylovepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if we recognized the ambition inherent in motherhood? What if we normalized corporate career pauses? What if we didn't let ourselves be defined by the false mommy wars created by the media between work at home moms and work outside the home moms? Today we have Neha Ruch, creator of Mother Untitled, the leading resource for ambitious women leaning into family life. They are on are on a mission to update the perception of career pauses and downshifts for motherhood, infusing this life chapter with ambition, dignity, growth, and potential. We are on the cusp of a new feminism and a new narrative made up of so many different kinds of multi-hyphenated women. Learn more about Mother Untitled here. Under the Influence is sponsored by Quince and Honeylove. Give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince! Go to Quince.com/influence for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Get 20% OFF @honeylove by going to https://www.honeylove.com/Influence #honeylovepod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media is political. That is a fact. You may think you're following beautiful images of a woman breastfeeding her baby in the Costa Rican jungle while her nine other children wait patiently by the waterfall, but pay closer attention and she is telling you not to vaccinate your children or use birth control. You never know who is behind a message or who is boosting information and accounts behind the scenes. Emily Amick, of the account Emily in Your Phone breaks it all down for us in the same no nonsense way she does on her Instagram account about all the political news we need to know. She's an incredible resource for using social media in progressive politics and she is very wise about how conservative forces have simply been better at using the socials to achieve their goals. Under the Influence is sponsored by Quince and Honeylove. Give yourself the luxury you deserve with Quince! Go to Quince.com/influence for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Get 20% OFF @honeylove by going to https://www.honeylove.com/Influence #honeylovepod Make sure to follow Emily in Your Phone here @EmilyinYourPhone AND preorder her book Democracy in Retrograde. You can order a personalized Sicilian Inheritance from Bluebird Bookstop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Sunday Nice Things.....a bonus episode where we share a podcast we love, a book we love, a rant we have to get off our chests. It's a nice thing for Sunday because we deserve them. This week we have an episode of The Cult of Perfect podcast from my friends Sara Petersen and Virginia Sole Smith. The Cult of Perfect explores the intersection of motherhood, public performance, and bodies, and tries to figure out what our addiction to the idea of perfect says about us and the world we live in. This episode is called Let Them Be Beige and explores everything from Ballerina Farm’s shiplap, influencers cosplaying poverty when they really have SO MUCH MONEY, the psychology of ownership, and the joy of living with less. You can get more Cult of Perfect right HERE. And subscribe to our newsletter OVER THE INFLUENCE HERE. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Until about six months ago I didn't know that the Mrs. America pageant existed. And when I did some research and found that it originally judged contestants on their domestic acumen it felt a little trad wifey to me. When I talked about it on an episode I was contacted by a listener named Chloe Rosen, AKA Mrs. New York. And she wanted me to know I was wrong. She wanted me to know that there is way more to the pageant than I talked about and that the contestants are bad ass women who deserve recognition in numerous ways. I love being told something I don't know. I also love civil conversations about bias and the things that might be outside our own worldview. So welcome to Under the Influence Mrs. New York. Let's talk about all things Mrs. America! You can follow Chloe here. This episode is sponsored by One Skin. Get started today with One Skin and get 15% off using code Influence at checkout. After you purchase, they’ll ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them we sent you. We are also sponsored by the delightful linen, fabric and bedding brand ettitude. You can get $35 off your order, plus free shipping for a limited time when use the code Influence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You know who is alive and well on Instagram? Jesus. And I say that without judgment, but it is true. Whether you realize it or not religion, namely Christianity, is being repackaged through beautiful images of motherhood and parenthood on social media. Today we talk to Kelsey Kramer McGinnis, a reporter for Christianity Today who has been researching Christian social media, #tradwives and images of "good motherhood," that quietly promote religious beliefs. Because many of these images look so beautiful and so aesthetically pleasing they lodge in our brains, and we may not know what kind of an ideological place they're coming from or the impact they are having on us. This episode is sponsored by One Skin. Get started today with One Skin and get 15% off using code Influence at checkout. After you purchase, they’ll ask you where you heard about them. PLEASE support our show and tell them we sent you. We are also sponsored by the delightful linen, fabric and bedding brand ettitude. You can get $35 off your order, plus free shipping for a limited time when use the code Influence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social Media anxiety is now a staple of many, many, many conversations in therapy. People come to the couch to talk about how Instagram and TikTok make them feel left out, make them feel left behind, make them feel shame and guilt. It's a lot. Today we have on clinical therapist Lauren A. Tetenbaum, LMSW, JD, PMH-C. Lauren works with women (usually post-partum) and other caregiver she has seen a massive spike in people wanting to talk about how to deal with all of the crap they feel because of social media. In the spirit of having a renewing January Lauren is here to give us some tips for getting rid of our own social media baggage. It's just like therapy....without the bills. Learn more about Lauren here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nanny shaming in mom Facebook groups, parents hiring $125 private investigators to spy on their caregivers, nannies losing their jobs because of an anonymous tip. Welcome to the nanny wars on social media, where everyone is always watching and the littlest victims, the kids, are caught in the middle. Today we talk to Jen Wieczner of New York magazine about her excellent story on the chaos that ensues after a parent posts about a “bad nanny” on Facebook. This isn't just a parenting story. It is about labor, power, management and money and it impacts anyone who relies on someone else to care for their children. This episode is sponsored by Green Chef. Go to greenchef.com/60undertheinfluence and use code 60undertheinfluence to get 60% off, plus 20% off your next two months. You can read Jen's story on The Cut here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices