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

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw, with help from Anakaren Santana
• Edited by Tim Howard
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

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 @yoweishaw

Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! That stuff matters apparently.

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

Episode credits:

• Produced by Yowei Shaw and Kim Nederveen Pieterse
• Edited by John DeLore
• Mixed by Kyle Pulley

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.

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. 

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 for updates, BTS, and shenanigans.
• Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
• Sign up for our free newsletter at patreon.com/proxypodcast.
• Share with loved ones and spread the word! We don't have a marketing budget and rely on word of mouth.