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: www.hiddenbrain.org/books
• Radiotopia from PRX: www.radiotopia.fm

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

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Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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 Alternate Realities series from NPR's Embedded here: www.npr.org/podcasts/510311/embedded
• Follow Zach Mack's work: www.zachmack.org

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey.

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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: 

• Nichole Hill is an audio show-runner, writer, and the host and creator of Our Ancestors Were Messy and The Secret Adventures of Black People. Find out more about Nichole here: www.nicholelhill.com
• Listen to Our Ancestors Were Messy wherever you get your podcasts
• You can support the show by becoming a member: ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com
• Follow Nichole Hill on Instagram @nicholewthanh

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey.

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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)
• You can listen to Basket Case on all podcast platforms: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-basket-case-217055280/

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey.

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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 the full season of Little Devils on all platforms: https://pod.link/1783097137
• Support their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/littledevils 
• Follow @littledevilsshow and @jasminbauomy on Instagram and BlueSky

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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: 

• Fidget Podcast - Jason Yu's support group in podcast form for people who compulsively pick their skin, pull their hair, bite their nails
• Follow the Fidget Podcast on Instagram
• The TLC Foundation - an organization for body-focused repetitive behaviors
• The Art of Gathering and How We Show Up: Jason’s book recs for learning how to build community and gather

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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 is a social psychologist at New York University and the author of The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony: https://www.powerofus.online/
• The paper on political sectarianism Jay co-wrote:  https://www.jayvanbavel.com/_files/ugd/9c6579_b289e58eb65b461aa67c03f4cc5d4804.pdf
• Follow Jay on X and Instagram: @jayvanbavel

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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 is a poet and professor at Emory University. She has a new book coming out in March called  In the Rhododendrums: A Memoir with Appearances by Virginia Wolf. It's available for preorder in all the usual places. You can follow Heather on  Twitter and Instagram @heatherchristle. 
• The Thai Life insurance commerical from our crying experiment

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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

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. 

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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 

To help this independent show exist, consider joining our Patreon: patreon.com/proxypodcast. You’ll get our newsletter and exclusive monthly bonus episodes. You can also help us a ton by filling out this 5-minute survey: bit.ly/proxysurvey

Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com