Get Out of the Waiting Room of Your Life

Get Out of the Waiting Room of Your Life

Author: Jo Piazza July 28, 2026 Duration: 48:48
Jess Ekstrom, the author of Making It Without Losing It: How to Stay Motivated in a World Where We Are Never Done, grew up in the shadow of one of the biggest financial scandals in American history. After her family lost everything to Bernie Madoff, she eventually sat across from him in prison and asked him why he did it. His answer was slightly heartbreaking and it became the lynchpin of Jess's personal transformation. What if the next promotion, bestseller list, milestone, or parenting phase isn't the thing that's finally going to make you happy? This week we're talking about the pressure women feel to constantly strive for more and to achieve external validation. We chat about the "arrival trap" that keeps so many of us convinced that real life begins after the next achievement, why motherhood can completely upend our sense of identity, and how to stay ambitious without tying your self-worth to your accomplishments. Order Making It Without Losing It: How to Stay Motivated in a World Where We Are Never Done here. Join our newsletter community here. ORDER The Parisian Heist here. Visit our lovely sponsors here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Under the Influence with Jo Piazza, journalist and mother Jo Piazza pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar world of social media influence. This isn't just another show about viral trends; it's a critical exploration of the aspirational marketing that haunts our feeds, where perfectly posed lives in spotless homes mask a complex economy. Jo examines how this ecosystem fundamentally reshapes our culture, our families, and our personal sense of self, especially for parents and kids navigating this curated reality. Each episode of this podcast digs into the forces that brought us here, asking what it means to live, parent, and consume under this constant, monetized influence. You'll hear specific stories and analysis that connect the dots between the content we scroll past and the larger societal machinery at work. The conversation naturally extends beyond the screen to question the real-world impact on our journals, our relationships, and our understanding of value. Under the Influence with Jo Piazza provides the context often missing from the comments section, offering a necessary perspective for anyone who has ever scrolled and wondered about the true cost of that airbrushed perfection.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
Podcast Episodes
The Burnout Beneath Ambition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:54
Why does success still feel so empty for so many women? Executive coach Brooke Taylor says the answer is something she calls “the success wound”: the pain that comes from tying our self-worth to achievement, productivity…
We Need to Talk About Spencer Pratt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:04
Years ago, Spencer Pratt was dismissed as a fame-hungry reality TV idiot with frosted facial hair and a crystal obsession. But looking back? He may have understood modern media better than almost anyone else on televisio…
What to Read After Yesteryear and the History of Tradwives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:48
If you loved Yesteryear — or absolutely hated it — a lot of you have been asking the same question: what should I read next? This week on Under the Influence, we’re diving into the ultimate post-Yesteryear reading list,…
Pregnancy in the Age of Social Media [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:43
Social media has changed pregnancy in a big way. Between picture-perfect bumps, “effortless” births and endless advice, it’s easy to feel like you’re not measuring up. But it’s also made space for more honest and authent…
Why Does the World Hate Ambitious Women? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:54
There's a very specific kind of rage that comes from realizing that the rules were rigged against you the entire time. As women, we were told that we could have ambition, careers, power, money, independence, all of the t…
A Sneak Peek of THE PARISIAN HEIST [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 16:29
Happy weekend! Here's a sneak peek of the first chapter of Jo van Gogh's story in The Parisian Heist. Just in case you needed a little taste before getting your orders in. In the past timeline of this book we are telling…
Hating on the 3-Hour Mom—We'd Never Do This to a Man [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:30
A Wall Street Journal headline about a powerful female executive spending “only” three hours a weekend with her kids turned into an internet blood sports. So we unpack why. In this episode, we get into the outrage around…
Visit Ballerina Farm With Me [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:48
What happens when you step inside the internet? In this episode, we head to the Ballerina Farm farm shop in Midway, Utah and the Ballerina Farm Dairy (and get a tour with none other than Daniel Neeleman himself). Come, w…
Art is For Everyone With Liz Lidgett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:47
Art has a branding problem. Somewhere along the way, we decided it was only for rich people, or academics living in their ivory towers Liz Lidgett is changing that. Liz opened a gallery right before the world shut down d…