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’s been through the exact same thing? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, the person who can help you get unstuck. 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
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:
- Follow Mic Nguyen on Instagram @nicepantsbro and subscribe to his podcast Asian Not Asian
- Read Amy Summerville's paper, one of the most cited articles on regret
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Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. T...
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:
- Listen to Hanna’s podcasts Radio Atlantic and Chutzpod!
- Follow her on X @hannarosin and Instagram @hannarosin
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Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional inve...
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:
- Useful Delusions: The Power & Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain, by Shankar Vedantam
- Radiotopia from PRX
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Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional investigat...
Conspiracy theories have been gaining traction all the way to the highest seats of power. So, are there emotional dynamics at play that we could understand to be able to do something about it?
Last year, Zach Mack’s dad sent him a strange email, asking to bet $10,000 to settle once and for all who was correct and who was the brainwashed one.
From NPR’s Embedded podcast, this is episode 2 of the Alternate Realities series:...
For as long as she can remember, Nichole Hill has had a complicated relationship with Black history. Then in 2020, she stumbled on a digital archive of pre Civil Rights era Black newspapers and got obsessed with the scandalous stories she found. Our Ancestors Were Messy is her new podcast that explores Black history through the lens of gossip and drama. In this episode, Nichole tells the story of a Victorian era love trian...
Basket Case is a new show about mental health. In this episode, host Nicole Kelly (NK) takes on perfectionism, an issue that Yowei has personally struggled with. Plus, some breaking news about Proxy.
From the episode:
- Basket Case is a show from Molten Heart and iHeart Podcasts, created and executive produced by Jasmine (JT) Green, and hosted by Nicole Kelly (NK)
- Listen to Basket Case podcast
- Learn more about NK
...
When Yowei heard about the new podcast Little Devils, she was like: finally, someone being honest about a thing we all do. On Little Devils, Jasmin Bauomy interrogates the snap judgments she makes of other people, to find the story behind that annoying thing they do. In this episode, we share a story from Little Devils and we toast 2024 with a year-end recap.
From the episode:
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?
From the episode:
- Listen to Jason Yu's podcast Fidget
- Follow Fidget on Instagram @fidgetpodcast
- The TLC Foundation, an organi...
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.
From the episode:
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.
From the episode:
- Heather Christle's The Crying Book
- Heather's new book In the Rhododendrums: A Memoir with Appearances by Virgini...
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.
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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.
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:
Part 3 of Yowei's extremely meta quest to solve the mystery of proxy conversations. In this episode, Yowei learns about psychodrama, a psychotherapy that has similarities to proxy conversations and used to be a dominant modality in the U.S. and then died. Dr. Scott Giacomucci breaks down the mechanics of proxy conversations and tries his psychodrama techniques on Yowei.
From the episode:
Part 2 of Yowei's quest to solve the mystery of proxy conversations. Why do they work? How? Can Yowei figure out how to explain the show to people who don't get it? In this episode, Yowei gets advice from actor, comedian, and proxy conversation expert Connor Ratliff. Over 20 years ago, Tom Hanks fired Connor from a small role in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers - apparently for having "dead eyes." But is that really ...
Yowei has a problem. She's having trouble explaining the show to people who don't get it. She knows proxy conversations work. But why? How? Part 1 of a 4-part quest to solve the mystery of proxy conversations. Yowei learns about a proxy conversation happening in a completely different context: restorative justice with proxy survivors and offenders.
From the episode:
Teaser for full-length exclusive bonus episode on Patreon. An in-depth interview with UMass Amherst sociologist and professor Ofer Sharone about the stigma trap that laid off workers can fall into and how the myth of meritocracy impacts even people who don't think they believe in it. For the full bonus episode, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast.
From the episode:
- Learn more about Ofer Sharone and his work
- Ofer's book The ...
With every layoff, there's the blackbox of what's really going on behind the scenes. Why did it go down the way it did? Was it really not about your performance, like they told you? How does the layoff list get made anyway? In our inaugural proxy conversation, we connect Miles and Elliot with a proxy HR professional to answer their layoff questions.
From the episode:
Please note: This story contains brief mention of suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 9-8-8, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
Elliot and Miles loved working at the same company, until the spectre of layoffs came to haunt them.
From the episode:
- Learn more about Ofer Sharone and his work
- Ofer Sharone's book T...
When Yowei Shaw got laid off from NPR, she didn't just feel bad. She was confused by how bad she felt and how long the bad lasted. So Yowei does what she usually does in a situation like this - she reported on her feelings. Then things go left.
From the episode:
- Learn more about Ofer Sharone and his work
- Ofer Sharone's book The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed
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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’s been through the exact same thing? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, the person who can help you get unstuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former host of Invisibilia, at your service. New cases every other Tuesday.
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