Proxy with Yowei Shaw – Details, episodes & analysis

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 is a behavior scientist, Harvard Business School professor, and the author of The Ritual Effect: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Ritual-Effect/Michael-Norton/9781982153021
• Yowei's unhinged grieving ritual for her layoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHHQK9ooNqc 

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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: 

• Dr. Scott Giacomucci is an expert in psychodrama and the director of the Phoenix Center for Experiential Trauma Therapy: www.phoenixtraumacenter.com
• Download Scott's textbook about psychodrama for free: www.phoenixtraumacenter.com/social-work-sociometry-psychodrama-book/
• Follow Scott on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@PhoenixTraumaCenter

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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 worth of proxy conversations before talking to Tom Hanks himself. 

Check out Connor Ratliff's work:

• Dead Eyes podcast: https://headgum.com/dead-eyes
• Tiny Dinos podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tiny-dinos/id1742662792
• The George Lucas Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH1XwfxXB--rl_Nqxvun8zQ

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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:

• Alissa Ackerman is a criminal justice professor at California State University and the co-founder of Ampersands Restorative Justice: www.ampersandsrj.org
• Alissa Ackerman's book Healing from Sexual Violence: https://safersociety.org/bridging-divides-dr-alissa-ackerman-honored-with-the-2024-gail-burns-smith-award/

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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:

• Ofer Sharone's book The Stigma Trap: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-stigma-trap-9780190239244?cc=us&lang=en&

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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:

• Gold Star: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHHQK9ooNqc
• Thank you to Catie Maillard for being our proxy HR professional. You can find out more about Catie's work at somehowimanagehr.com and  https://www.linkedin.com/in/catiemaillard

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw
• Edited by John DeLore
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley
• Research and reporting support by Kim Nederveen Pieterse

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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:

• Ofer Sharone's book The Stigma Trap: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-stigma-trap-9780190239244?cc=us&lang=en&

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw
• Edited by John DeLore
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley
• Research and reporting support by Kim Nederveen Pieterse

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

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:

• Ofer Sharone's book The Stigma Trap: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-stigma-trap-9780190239244?cc=us&lang=en&

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw
• Edited by John DeLore
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley
• Research and reporting support by Kim Nederveen Pieterse

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw

Get in touch at [email protected]

Sometimes in life, you have an emotional question that no one in your life can relate to. Maybe you’re an introvert who wants to stop feeling resentful of the extroverts in your life? Maybe you’ve survived prostate cancer and have questions around sex?

That’s where Proxy comes in. Host Yowei Shaw (formerly of NPR's Invisibilia) connects you for a frank conversation with experts and strangers who have shared experience. In other words, the "proxies" you need.

The show launches on May 22 with a 3-part series on the emotional and mental health toll of layoffs. It's the prologue to Proxy.

Episode credits:

Produced by Yowei Shaw

Edited by John DeLore

Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Research and reporting support by Kim Nederveen Pieterse

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast. 

Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw.

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! That stuff matters apparently.

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. 

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and other goodies, go to patreon.com/proxypodcast.

Other ways you can support:

• Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! That stuff matters apparently.
• Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter for updates, BTS, and shenanigans.
• Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
• Sign up for our free newsletter at patreon.com/proxypodcast.
• Share with loved ones and spread the word! We don't have a marketing budget and rely on word of mouth.