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: <ul>
<li>
<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393652208">Useful Delusions: The Power & Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain</a>, by Shankar Vedantam</li>
<li><a href="https://www.radiotopia.fm/">Radiotopia from PRX</a></li>
</ul> <a href="https://www.proxypodcast.com/">Proxy</a> is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/ProxyPodcast">consider joining our Patreon</a>. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free-listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/proxypodcast/">@proxypodcast</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yoweishaw/?hl=en">@yoweishaw</a>Get in touch at <a href="mailto:proxythepod@gmail.com">proxythepod@gmail.com</a>

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 Radiotopia from PRX Proxy is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, consider joining our Patreon. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free-listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

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:&nbsp;<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393652208" rel="noopener noreferrer">Useful Delusions: The Power &amp; Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain</a>, by Shankar Vedantam</li>
<li><a href="https://www.radiotopia.fm/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Radiotopia from PRX</a></li>
</ul> <a href="https://www.proxypodcast.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Proxy</a> is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/ProxyPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer">consider joining our Patreon</a>. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free-listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/proxypodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer">@proxypodcast</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yoweishaw/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer">@yoweishaw</a>Get in touch at <a href="mailto:proxythepod@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">proxythepod@gmail.com</a>

The Utility of Self-Delusion (and Big Show Update)

It’s the knot you can’t untangle - a problem so specific, it makes you feel alone. But what if you could talk to someone who gets it? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, a stranger who's lived something close enough to help you get a little less stuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former co-host of Invisibilia, at your service. If you’re just discovering the show, a good place to begin is Bisexual Wife Guy, Mic Chooses the Wrong Life, or <a href="https://dovetail-cdn.prxu.org/9862/d1d27edf-7fd7-4d3b-b020-d469ce48cd3f/GWZ9fHi6e7meQXjomksd8BIAXazr-lLHKy8k42KZ__0/260222_Amanda_and_the_Nonstop_Narrator_NEW_CREDITS_MASTER.mp3?le=Wi593qC77aYrpTd_kJyuif1ektmimSBDMvJfYuDteu0&amp;exp=1773078666">Amanda and the Nonstop Narrator</a>.  The team is hard at work investigating another batch of cases, with new episodes returning mid-April 2026 🚀 <a href="https://www.proxypodcast.com/">Proxy</a> is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/ProxyPodcast">consider joining our Patreon</a>. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join our Patreon for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/proxypodcast/">@proxypodcast</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yoweishaw/">@yoweishaw</a>Get in touch at <a href="mailto:proxythepod@gmail.com">proxythepod@gmail.com</a>

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

It’s the knot you can’t untangle - a problem so specific, it makes you feel alone. But what if you could talk to someone who gets it? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, a stranger who's lived something close enough to help you get a little less stuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former co-host of Invisibilia, at your service. If you’re just discovering the show, a good place to begin is Bisexual Wife Guy, Mic Chooses the Wrong Life, or Amanda and the Nonstop Narrator. The team is hard at work investigating another batch of cases, with new episodes returning mid-April 2026 🚀 Proxy is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, consider joining our Patreon. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join our Patreon for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: @proxypodcast @yoweishaw Get in touch at proxythepod@gmail.com

It’s the knot you can’t untangle - a problem so specific, it makes you feel alone. But what if you could talk to someone who gets it? On Proxy, we find just the person you were looking for, a stranger who's lived something close enough to help you get a little less stuck. It’s not therapy - it’s emotional investigative journalism™️. Yowei Shaw, former co-host of Invisibilia, at your service. If you’re just discovering the show, a good place to begin is Bisexual Wife Guy, Mic Chooses the Wrong Life, or <a href="https://dovetail-cdn.prxu.org/9862/d1d27edf-7fd7-4d3b-b020-d469ce48cd3f/GWZ9fHi6e7meQXjomksd8BIAXazr-lLHKy8k42KZ__0/260222_Amanda_and_the_Nonstop_Narrator_NEW_CREDITS_MASTER.mp3?le=Wi593qC77aYrpTd_kJyuif1ektmimSBDMvJfYuDteu0&amp;exp=1773078666" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amanda and the Nonstop Narrator</a>.&nbsp; The team is hard at work investigating another batch of cases, with new episodes returning mid-April 2026 🚀 <a href="https://www.proxypodcast.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Proxy</a> is an independent podcast, supported mostly by listeners. If you want to help the show keep going, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/ProxyPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer">consider joining our Patreon</a>. Membership starts at $5 a month and includes bonus episodes, ad-free listening, and access to our group Zoom hangs. You can also join our Patreon for free to get the newsletter 🍏 Follow us on Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/proxypodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer">@proxypodcast</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/yoweishaw/" rel="noopener noreferrer">@yoweishaw</a>Get in touch at <a href="mailto:proxythepod@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">proxythepod@gmail.com</a>

Share The Utility of Self-Delusion (and Big Show Update)

Sign up to save your podcasts

The Utility of Self-Delusion (and Big Show Update)

The Utility of Self-Delusion (and Big Show Update)

More shows like Proxy with Yowei Shaw

This American Life

Radiolab

Invisibilia

The Heart

Radio Diaries

Embedded

Death, Sex & Money

The West Wing Weekly

Heavyweight

Ear Hustle

This is Love

Decoder Ring

Everything is Alive

Articles of Interest

Over the Road

Home Cooking

Maintenance Phase

Normal Gossip

Search Engine

You Get A Podcast!

Hang Up

The Recipe with Kenji and Deb

Never Post

Magical Overthinkers

My Mother Made Me

The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island

Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative

Hyperfixed

Ways of Hearing

Secrets

Try Hard

Only If You Get Caught