The case of Amanda, a writer whose internal monologue won't stop narrating her life, instead of just letting her live it. From the episode: Read Amanda Montell's books The Age of Magical Overthinking , Cultish , and Wordslut Listen to Amanda's podcasts Magical Overthinkers and Sounds Like a Cult Follow Amanda on Instagram @amanda_montell Learn more about Jonathan Adler's work Follow Jonathan on X @JonathanMAdler , Bluesky @jadler.bsky.social , and LinkedIn Proxy is an independent podcast and we ...
Jul 01, 2025•57 min
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? In this bonus episode, 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. To listen to the full bonus episode , sign up to become a Patreon member . You’ll get ad-free episodes, monthly ...
Jun 24, 2025•13 min
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: Listen to Brian Reed's podcast Question Everything Follow Brian on Instagram @brihreed and X @BriHReed Caregiving resources from Claudia Drossel Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional investigative journalism™️ and help the show keep going, consider...
Jun 17, 2025•54 min
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. From the episode: Listen to The Superweaks and the single " Blindside " from their new record The Superweaks Superweekly Supercast episode where Yowei stumbles into the case Follow them on In...
Jun 03, 2025•56 min
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: Read Aparna's book Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome Learn more about Aparna Follow her on Instagram @aparnapkin Upcoming shows: Amphibian Theater in Fort Worth, TX on May 22-23 and French Broad River Brewery in Asheville, NC on June 14 Quiet: The Power of Intr...
May 20, 2025•43 min
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 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 ....
May 06, 2025•48 min
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 C hutzpod! Follow her on X @hannarosi n and Instagram @hannarosin 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 epi...
Apr 22, 2025•53 min
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 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 episo...
Mar 19, 2025•18 min
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: Down the Rabbit Hole. From the episode: Listen to the rest of the Alternat...
Mar 06, 2025•36 min
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 triangle that rocked the elites of DC. From the episode: Listen to Our Ancestor...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 8 min
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 Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional invest...
Feb 06, 2025•39 min
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: Listen to Little Devils Support the show Follow @littledevilsshow and @ jasminbauomy on Instagram and BlueSky Proxy is a...
Dec 30, 2024•46 min
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 organization for body-focused repetitive behaviors Jason's book recs for learning how to ...
Dec 03, 2024•52 min
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: Jay Van Bavel's book The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony The paper on political sectarianism Jay co-wrote Find out more about Jay Van Bavel and his work Follo...
Oct 29, 2024•42 min•Ep. 9
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 Virginia Wolf Follow Heather on X and Instagram @heatherchristle The Thai Life Insuran...
Sep 26, 2024•24 min
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 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 [email protected]...
Sep 05, 2024•8 min
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: Michael Norton's book The Ritual Effect: From Habit to Ritual, Harnessing the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions Find out more about Michael and his work Yowei's unhinged grieving ritual for her layoff Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support ...
Aug 21, 2024•24 min•Ep. 7
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: Find out more about Dr. Scott Giacomucci and his work The Phoenix Center for Experiential Trauma Therapy Down...
Aug 15, 2024•40 min•Ep. 6
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 what happened? Connor made a podcast to investigate, and had 30 episodes wor...
Aug 06, 2024•37 min•Ep. 5
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: Learn more about Dr. Alissa Ackerman and her work Ampersands Restorative Justice Alissa's book Healing from Sexual Violence: The Ca...
Jul 24, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 4
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 Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed Proxy is...
Jun 07, 2024•10 min
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: Learn more about Catie Maillard and her work Follow Catie on LinkedIn Gold Star music video Proxy is an independent podcast and we...
May 23, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 3
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 The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed Proxy ...
May 23, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 2
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 Proxy is an independent podcast and we rely on listeners. To support emotional investigative journali...
May 22, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 1
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...
May 15, 2024•1 min
