Why Planning Summer Has Become a Nightmare

Why Planning Summer Has Become a Nightmare

Author: Jo Piazza February 3, 2026 Duration: 46:17
Every January, parents are asked to plan the entire summer for their kids months in advance, spend a lot of money, juggle waitlists, and pretend this isn't a hellscape of doom. In this episode, we chat with journalist Katherine Goldstein about the overwhelming amount of summer planning we all seem to be doing and why so much of it falls on moms. There are a ton of reasons for this that are uniquely American. We have long summers, very little paid time off, a culture that expects constant supervision, and a childcare system that’s mostly private and wildly expensive. Put all of that together and summer often ends up being more logistical nightmare than break. Katherine also pushes back on the idea that kids need nonstop structured programming to have a “good” summer. She talks about why the pressure to optimize every week is exhausting, and about what happened when her family opted out of the camp scramble and tried something totally different. Follow the Double Shift substack here. Get 20% off Katharine's Summer Budget Travel Guide here with the code UNDER20. 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
Sunday Nice Things: Totally Booked with Zibby [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:07
Today, we are sharing my recent interview on the Webby Award-winning daily podcast Totally Booked with Zibby. Hosted by Zibby Owens, Totally Booked delivers interviews with the best, buzziest, and underrated authors to s…
What No One Teaches You About Taking Care of a House [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:37
Most of us don’t know how to put on a duvet cover without swearing, let alone clean a dryer vent before it catches fire. Enter Casey Finn, creator of The DIY Playbook, who has spent over a decade proving that anyone can…
Instagram Made Me Feel Like a Bad Mom — So I Started a Podcast [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:40
Five years ago, I was a new mom recording a podcast in my closet, wedged between a toddler and a baby who wouldn’t sleep. For the past few months I had been exhausted, leaking milk, hating my husband and endlessly scroll…
Sunday Nice Things: Death Virgin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:38
My friend Kristen is a woman in her fifties who has never lost anyone close to her. So her decision to embark on the journey of becoming a death doula could at first seem like a strange one, but when you get to know her…
Breaking the Cycle of More [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:31
We live in a culture of more. More toys. More shoes. More jumpsuits buried in the back of the closet. But what happens when you try to break free from the endless cycle of buying, decluttering, and buying again? This wee…
Sunday Night Things: The Billionaires Who Want to Live Forever [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:59
This week I am bringing back one of my favorite episodes of Too Much Money, the show I created with Doree Shafrir of Forever 35 about the ridiculous sh*t that billionaire do with their billions. This one is a delight. Wh…