The False Choice Between Tradwife and Girlboss

The False Choice Between Tradwife and Girlboss

Author: Jo Piazza March 24, 2026 Duration: 53:36
Why have women been told the only choices are girlboss or tradwife, lean in or opt out, burnout or retreat? We're chatting with author and coach Megan Hellerer about why that binary is so false and so seductive, especially for women who did everything “right” and still wound up exhausted, anxious, and unhappy. Megan shares how she went from Stanford to a dream job at Google to panic attacks on the bathroom floor, and how that breakdown led her to build a different framework for ambition and success. We get into burnout, misalignment, why five-year plans can keep us stuck, and why there has to be a third way for women who want meaningful work, a real life, and something more honest than either extreme. Plus: how Megan’s “directional living” framework helped a young bartender named Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez find her path. Get Megan's book Directional Living 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: 100

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza
Podcast Episodes
Women Are Being Gaslit About Birth, a Chat With Dr. Jennifer Lincoln [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:04
The internet is full of terrible birth advice, and pregnant people are paying the price. This week, we’re joined by OB-GYN Dr. Jennifer Lincoln to bust the myths, misinformation, and guilt that swirl around labor, delive…
How the Right Won the Attention Economy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:00
The right did not accidentally win social media and the internet. They built an entire influencer machine, and the left is still acting like a few sponsored posts during election season might somehow be enough to compete…
Sunday Nice Things: Creation Myth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:49
You all loved hearing Helena DeGroot's episode about not having kids so I wanted to drop the first episode of her series Creation Myth here for you to listen to. The show explores what life's purpose looks like without h…
Not Having Kids Is Not a Tragedy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:43
What if you do not want kids, but everyone acts like you are making a mistake? This week, we’re talking with Helena DeGroot, creator of the podcast The Creation Myth, about choosing a child-free life in a culture that re…
How Vulnerable Kids Became Clickbait [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:34
Content featuring sick, sad, or injured children usually performs best online. Let that sink in. That insane fact is just one of the unsettling realities journalist Fortesa Latifi uncovered while reporting her new book,…
How History Erased Mothers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:20
Motherhood makes history, but history keeps trying to erase mothers. In this episode of Under the Influence, feminist cultural historian Elinor Cleghorn discusses her new book A Woman’s Work: Reclaiming the Radical Histo…
Grab Bag: Where Did Love Taza Go? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:01
Who was your gateway influencer? For us, it was Love Taza—Naomi Davis—the Juilliard-trained ballerina (yes, a different one) turned mommy blogger and social star who made New York City look like a candy-coated dream of r…
Sunday Nice Things: Birth With Babylist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:59
Jo has been working on a brand new podcast about birth for the past year and she is so excited to share it with you all. Today we are sharing the very first episode of Birth with Babylist. In our first episode, we walk t…