Proxy with Yowei Shaw

Proxy with Yowei Shaw

It’s the knot you can’t untangle - a problem so unique, it makes you feel alone. But what if you could talk to someone who gets it? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, the person who can help you get a little less stuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former host of Invisibilia, at your service. New cases every other Tuesday. ---------- Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional investigative journalism™️ and help the show keep going, consider joining our Patreon. You’ll get ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus interviews. Sign up for our free newsletter Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

Episodes

September 23, 2025 60 mins

The case of the mom who doesn’t understand, and the daughter who’s done explaining.


From the episode: 



Help us get to 1500 paying Patreon members by Oct. 9th to cover the c...

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Alex used to host a huge podcast (Reply All). He now makes a new independent show called Hyperfixed. He loves making it. Only problem is, Alex now has to ask for money all the time to survive, which he hates doing.


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August 26, 2025 31 mins

Ever since the election, Sandy Ernest Allen has been clocking a strange silence from cis people about trans rights. So Sandy reached into the void to hear what the silence had to say.


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August 12, 2025 37 mins

Anya Kamenetz was having trouble coping with the state of the world. So she decided to report on those feelings. In this conversation, Anya shares what she learned from talking to scientists, activists, and thinkers about our collective emotions - why we feel the things we do, the limits of those feelings, and how to move through them to take action. 


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A conversation with Dr. Alissa Ackerman about her restorative justice work on the frontlines of Me Too, using proxy-like conversations. 


This is a Patreon exclusive premium episode we're releasing on the main feed. If you want to hear more conversations like this, consider joining our Patreon, starting at $5 a month.


Proxy is an independent podcast and we mostly rely on listeners. When you become a Patreon member, yo...

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July 15, 2025 40 mins

The case of the people person who fell out of love with people. 


From the episode: 


To hear Zakiya get more help on her conundrum and learn about the science of intuition, check out her Science of Happiness podcast episode coming this Th...

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Yowei doesn't have an internal narrator telling stories about her life - at least a voice she can hear in her head. She talks to psychology professor Jonathan Adler about what this means and what anyone can do to strengthen their self-narrator, if they wanted to. 


To listen to the full exclusive premium episode, consider joining our Patreon starting at $5 a month. You’ll get ad-free episodes, exclusive premium episodes,...

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July 1, 2025 56 mins

The case of Amanda, a writer whose internal monologue won't stop narrating her life, instead of just letting her live it.


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When someone with Alzheimer's gets upset about something that isn't actually happening, it can be easy to dismiss their feelings. But what if we approached those feelings not as problems to get rid of, but mysteries to solve? Psychologist Claudia Drossel unpacks the feelings of people with Alzheimer's and how to decode them to use as a guide to give better care.


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The case of Brian, a journalist whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer's. Even though Brian knows she can’t help misremembering things, he can’t stop losing his patience with her, and with himself. 


From the episode: 


Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely mostly...

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June 3, 2025 55 mins

The case of Evan and Chris, best friends who love playing music together. But after the band suffers a terrible tragedy, they find themselves unable to regain their momentum. We pair them up with another musician who’s all too familiar with the neverending drama that comes with being in a band with friends. 


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For a long time, Yowei saw her introversion as a character flaw to fix. She gets advice from comedian (and fellow introvert) Aparna Nancherla about how to stop wishing for personality puberty to hit.


From the episode: 

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May 6, 2025 48 mins

The case of Mic, who feels like he defied his fate and now has no purpose in life. We find someone uniquely able to help him break out of his regret loop. 


From the episode: 


Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely mostly on listeners. To suppo...

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April 22, 2025 53 mins

The case of George, the bisexual wife guy who got dumped. In this episode, we find a proxy to stand in for a listener's ex - another queer woman who left her straight relationship. 


From the episode: 


Proxy i...

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Yowei shares exciting show news and goes on a self-delusion bender with the team at Proxy HQ. Is she being delusional? Or is delusion just necessary for starting any new project?


From the episode: 


Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely mostly on listeners. To support emotional investigative ...

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December 3, 2024 52 mins

The story of someone who suffered alone in secret for 8 years with a problem he was too afraid to Google -  and then he stumbled into a support group. In this episode, we dive into the emotional dynamics of support groups with Jason Yu. Why did support groups help him, when nothing else did?

 

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Whoever wins the election, Americans will still want to rip each other's heads off. Social psychologist Jay Van Bavel helps us understand why we should care about polarization, how we got here, and what, if anything, we can do about it. 

 

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September 26, 2024 24 mins

We all know that moment - when you feel like you need to cry in front of other people, but don't want to cry. In this episode, Yowei talks to Heather Christle, the author of The Crying Book, to parse what’s happening in that moment, what tears are saying and how we should respond to them. 

 

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September 5, 2024 8 mins

Finally, a campaign reveal. Did we get additional funding to hire Kim for more hours? Plus, some updates for what’s in store for Proxy. 


Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely mostly on listeners. To support emotional investigative journalism™️ and help the show keep going, consider joining our Patreon starting at $5 a month. You’ll get exclusive premium episodes, ad-free episodes, and access to the chat. To just g...

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August 21, 2024 23 mins

The final installment of Yowei's quest to solve the mystery of proxy converations. In this episode, Yowei talks to a ritual expert and tries explaining what she's learned about proxy conversations to her mom. 

 

From the episode:

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