The case of the organizer who's afraid to stop being angry. 

Nicole knows how to be mad — and channel that into her work as a labor organizer and activist.

The problem is, Nicole’s aggro mode doesn’t always stay in her political work. Sometimes it spills onto friends, family, and strangers. And underneath the anger, Nicole suspects there’s a feeling she’s afraid of: grief over the horrors she's fighting. against. 

In this episode, Yowei connects Nicole with Deborah Gould, a former ACT UP activist and political theorist who has spent decades studying the emotions that fuel and fracture movements. Together, Nicole and Deborah investigate rage, grief, queer organizing, erotic energy, despair, and how to stay in the work without losing yourself to it.

From the episode: 

— Deborah Gould — Professor and Chair of Sociology at UC Santa Cruz, and author of Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP's Fight Against AIDS

New to Proxy? Try Bisexual Wife Guy for a classic case, or Jane Doesn’t Like Her Dogs for another story about a feeling you're ashamed to admit. 

For episode liner notes, show gossip, and dispatches from the emotions beat, get our free newsletter File Under Feelings at proxyhq.org.

Proxy is an independent show, supported mostly by listeners. Paid members get bonus episodes, ad-free listening, live Proxy hangs, and the satisfaction of keeping emotional investigative journalism alive 🍏

Follow us on Instagram — @proxypodcast @yoweishaw

Visit — proxypodcast.com

Get in touch — [email protected]