We Need to Talk About Spencer Pratt

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Jo Piazza, Influence Inc.

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, Parenting, Personal Journals, Technology

4.3 • 833 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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 television. Now he’s running for mayor of Los Angeles. Jo digs into the strange pipeline from reality TV to political power, why audiences are drawn to “outsider” candidates they already feel connected to, and how the attention economy changed politics forever. Because as ridiculous as Spencer Pratt for mayor sounds, it also feels deeply, painfully American. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Attention all passengers.
0:04.0	The Uber ride for Jeff's rugby team will depart in five minutes from Platform 15.
0:10.0	Your ride comes with six toilets and a refreshments carriage that you'll empty within five minutes.
0:16.0	Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber.
0:20.0	Trains on Uber.
0:27.5	Hey all, Joe here and you are listening to Under the Influence.
0:31.2	Quick reminder to order your copy of the Parisian heist for you and three of your best friends so you can go chat all about it over spicy
0:37.9	margaritas. We actually just got a lovely review from Booklist, which just completely made my day
0:44.5	because you never know how reviews are going to go. You truly don't, and I always get very
0:50.9	nervous when reviews come in, but this one was really sweet. It said Piazza's latest is
0:57.4	another deep dive into a beautiful and unique world. Paris of then and now shines as historical
1:03.8	characters are brought to life. So just in case you were on the fence about grabbing the book,
1:09.9	book list recommends it.
1:11.6	And you know who else recommends it?
1:13.5	My mom.
1:14.7	Yeah, my mom, Tracy, she finally read it.
1:17.3	And she also loved it.
1:18.6	And she can be a tough audience.
1:21.0	She almost didn't read.
1:22.5	Everyone is lying to you because she was like, influencers really aren't for me, Joe.
1:26.7	And then one day she had nothing else to read and picked it up and then devoured it in an entire night.
1:33.5	So there you go. There you go. Tracy Piazza, tough critic, but when she likes something, she likes something and she loved the Parisian heist.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 13 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jo Piazza, Influence Inc., and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jo Piazza, Influence Inc. and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.