Grab Bag: The Ballerina Farm Raw Milk Scandal, Hating on the Katies & Intellectual It Girls

Grab Bag: The Ballerina Farm Raw Milk Scandal, Hating on the Katies & Intellectual It Girls

Author: Jo Piazza February 10, 2026 Duration: 34:59
Today’s episode is a grab bag — a hodgepodge of the stories people have been asking me about in my DMs for the past week. First up: the Ballerina Farm raw milk scandal. We break down the failed raw milk tests, the health concerns, and why the internet reacted with such gleeful ferocity. This isn’t really about unpasteurized dairy with cow poop bacteria in it. It’s about influencer perfection and the collective desire to take it down a notch. Then we get into “Hating on the Katies” — the online backlash against lifestyle influencers and everyday women who are only now speaking up politically and why progressive s might be getting this one very wrong. And finally: the rise of the Intellectual It Girl. From celebrity book clubs to “becoming disgustingly educated,” we unpack why smart is suddenly chic again and why I hope it destroys the soft girls, stay-at-home girlfriends trends. 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: 100

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
Podcast Episodes
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…
Moving at a Human Pace With Isaac Fitzgerald [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:00
What does it mean to move through the world at a human pace? To ramble and wander and chat up strangers in real life? This week, we sit down with writer Isaac Fitzgerald to talk about his new book American Rambler and wh…
Money, Marriage, And The Myth of “Having it All — Ask Jo Anything [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:27
Ask Jo anything this week. We've got a grab bag of audience questions and completely unfiltered responses to things like: What’s the biggest lie women are being sold right now? Can you actually “have it all”? How do you…
My New True Crime Obsession in Utah—the Kouri Richins Murder Trial [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:21
Jo’s new true crime obsession started with a trip to Midway, Utah. She was there for an event at Folklore bookstore and a visit to Ballerina Farm Dairy, and within about five minutes of driving around town someone pointe…
Gen Z Men Are Getting More Conservative. What the Hell Happened? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:35
A third of Gen Z men think wives should obey their husbands. This generation of young men, ages 14 to 29, is getting more conservative by the day. How? Why? And can we reverse it? To figure it out, we talk with Gen Z str…
The Chess Queen Who Wants Women to Stop Waiting for the Perfect Move [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:57
How do you make a move when you have no idea what comes next? Jen Shahade has spent her life inside the world of chess as a two-time U.S. women’s chess champion and the author of many books about chess including her late…