In life, sometimes we have a unique experience that leaves us with big emotional questions. And sometimes, there’s no one around us who can answer our questions. Each episode, host Yowei Shaw (formerly of NPR's Invisibilia) connects a guest with the “proxies” they need - experts and strangers with shared experience. Not an advice show and definitely not therapy, Proxy offers something different: a space for people to confront, commiserate and even find the comedy (or cringe) through frank conversation. Proxy is a completely independent production. To support the show and get exclusive bonus episodes and other goodies, go to C...
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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 fo...Episode • 5 September 2024 • 8m and 6s
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: From Habit to Ritual, Harness the Surprising Power of Everyday Actions. Yowei's unhinged grieving ritual for her layoff: Gold Star (The Layoff Song)
Episode credits:
Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse...Episode 7 • 21 August 2024 • 25m and 8s
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 in Media, Pennsylvania. Download Scott's textbook about psychodrama for free. F...Episode 6 • 15 August 2024 • 40m and 13s
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 called Dead Eyes to investigate, and had 30 episodes worth of proxy conv...
Episode 5 • 6 August 2024 • 36m and 30s
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. She wrote a book about vicarious restorative justice called Healing from Sexual Violence.
Episode 4 • 24 July 2024 • 1h, 1m and 30s
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 TrapProxy 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:<...
Episode • 7 June 2024 • 9m and 17s
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:
You can listen to original layoff song Gold Star on Tidal and Spotify, and watch the ridiculous layoff interpretive pole dance music video on YouTube. Gold Star was written...Episode 3 • 23 May 2024 • 50m and 4s
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 TrapEpisode credits:
Produced by Yowei Shaw
Edited by John DeLore
Mixed by Kyle Pulley
Research and reporting support by Kim...
Episode 2 • 23 May 2024 • 42m and 52s
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 TrapEpisode 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...
Episode 1 • 22 May 2024 • 42m and 14s
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 lay...
Episode • 15 May 2024 • 4m and 7s
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