Pour Yourself a Cup of Ambition: Remembering Dolly

Pour Yourself a Cup of Ambition: Remembering Dolly

Author: Jo Piazza August 26, 2026 Duration: 49:49
Dolly Parton died on Tuesday at 80, and she may have been the last thing Americans agreed on. We're replaying this episode in her honor. Our conversation with Will Bonfiglio, the WashU lecturer behind a wildly popular college course on Dolly, is about how the country icon became a cultural unifier across politics, class, gender, and generations. From Dollywood to "9 to 5" to her million-dollar vaccine donation, this is a conversation about kindness, capitalism, and why Dolly Parton was an uber influencer in the best possible way. 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
Book Tour Brain & Majoring in Influencing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:53
It's been a blurry week. Jo and Nick share behind-the-scenes moments from The Parisian Heist tour, announce the Catskills Book Festival, and talk about what' books Jo is working on next. Then Nick leaves to pick up the k…
The Art of an Adventurous Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:44
This week, we're sharing a special crossover episode with Get a Life, the new podcast from Jo's best friend, women's wellness coach and positive psychology practitioner Jackie Cascarano. Together, they explore the forgot…
Get Out of the Waiting Room of Your Life [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
The Best Ideas Come at 3 in the Morning with Allison Winn Scotch [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:33
Nobody talks honestly enough about the 3 a.m. wake-up—the sweating, spiraling and sometimes creative genius that strikes women in the wee hours of the morning. This week we’re joined by bestselling author Allison Winn Sc…
How to Thrive Through Life's Plot Twists [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:36
Eliza Reid never expected to become the First Lady of Iceland. The Canadian-born writer and mother of four was living a hectic, but totally normal life when her husband launched a presidential campaign during a political…
Why We Keep Falling for Paris [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:33
Why are we so obsessed with Paris? It is the f*cking best, but long before Instagram convinced us that a destination could transform our lives, Paris had already perfected the art of selling a fantasy with the promise th…
Heists, Billionaires, and the Untold Story of Jo van Gogh [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:48
The art market is one of the most secretive, least regulated wealth machines on the planet. Billions of dollars change hands between billionaires, oligarchs, and dynasties with almost no oversight, and behind almost ever…
Laura Ingalls Wilder is Getting Her Due on TV [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:26
Wilder is back in the Under the Influence feed. A brand new Little House on the Prairie just landed on Netflix and obviously Glynnis and I had thoughts. I talked to Executive Producer Joy Gorman Wettels, who had her whol…
The Art of the Heist: Why We Root for Thieves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:38
Why do we all root for art thieves? This week we're joined by Anthony Amore — director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the heist expert behind the heist in The Parisian Heist — to bust every myth H…
Life After Ambition: The Midlife Crisis We Weren't Prepared For [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:51
We were promised that if we worked hard enough, checked all the right boxes, and built successful careers, we'd eventually arrive at some stable version of adulthood. So why do so many women in midlife feel like we're te…