Explore every episode of the podcast Proxy with Yowei Shaw
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Mechanics and Magic of Ritual | 21 Aug 2024 | 00:25:08 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| Psychodrama: The 2nd Oldest Psychotherapy You've Never Heard Of, But Have Definitely Tried | 15 Aug 2024 | 00:40:13 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com
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| Connor Ratliff's Dead Eyes | 06 Aug 2024 | 00:36:30 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| The incredible healing powers of vicarious restorative justice | 24 Jul 2024 | 01:01:30 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| Exploding the Myth of Meritocracy with Ofer Sharone [TEASER] | 07 Jun 2024 | 00:09:17 | |
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:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| The Layoff Trilogy 3: HR by Proxy | 23 May 2024 | 00:50:04 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| The Layoff Trilogy 2: Danger Day | 23 May 2024 | 00:42:52 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com
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| The Layoff Trilogy 1: Layoff Girl | 22 May 2024 | 00:42:14 | |
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:
Episode credits:
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 proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| Welcome to Proxy | 15 May 2024 | 00:04:07 | |
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. | |||
| Did we make our goal??? | 05 Sep 2024 | 00:08:06 | |
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:
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:
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| Presenting: The Art of Vulnerability and Connection with Mae Martin (from ReThinking) | 20 Sep 2024 | 00:37:28 | |
Recently, Yowei noticed a pattern among new friends she's making. These friends all make her feel lighter, more playful, and listened to... and they all have a background in improv comedy.
Today, we're sharing an interview that gets inside the head of an improv comedian to see how they connect with other people.
This episode comes from ReThinking, a podcast where organizational psychologist Adam Grant has lively discussions and debates with people about new thoughts and new ways of thinking.
In the interview, Adam talks to comedian Mae Martin about the value of vulnerability in connection and life lessons from the art of improvisation.
Listen to more episodes of ReThinking, here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rethinking/id1554567118 | |||
| So many tears but what do they say? | 26 Sep 2024 | 00:23:17 | |
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:
Episode credits:
Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast.
Follow us on Instagram @proxypodcast and @yoweishaw.
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! That stuff matters apparently. | |||
| Is there anything we can actually do about polarization? | 29 Oct 2024 | 00:43:48 | |
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:
Episode credits:
Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and our newsletter, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast.
Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw
Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! That stuff matters apparently. | |||
| The Group That Gets It | 03 Dec 2024 | 00:53:49 | |
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:
Episode credits:
To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get access to our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes.
This month, Yowei talks to Jason about the lessons from support groups that he's applied to other parts of his life.
Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw
Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com | |||
| Presenting: I felt too seen. Um, dragged. (from Basket Case), Plus an Update | 06 Feb 2025 | 00:38:44 | |
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.
Listener survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey
To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get access to our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes.
This month, Yowei talks to NK about their relationships with perfectionism and how having forced fun and a punk rock attitude have helped them creatively survive.
Episode credits:
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| Presenting: An Evil Man (from Little Devils), Plus a Year-End Recap | 30 Dec 2024 | 00:46:13 | |
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:
Episode credits:
To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You'll get exclusive monthly bonus episodes, our newsletter, and other goodies.
Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw
Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com
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| Presenting: Alternate Realities (from NPR's Embedded) | 06 Mar 2025 | 00:35:47 | |
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:
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| Presenting: "Stings for Our Enemies. Honey for Our Friends." (from Our Ancestors Were Messy) | 26 Feb 2025 | 01:06:57 | |
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:
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