Brian Can’t Stop Fact-Checking His Mother-in-Law

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’ve all been there. Feeling stuck with a problem because no one in our life can relate. Or because the one person we need to talk to … won’t. Or can’t. Enter Yowei Shaw and the show Proxy. Proxy is built on a simple idea: no one is ever as alone with their problem as they think. So Yowei brings in a proxy, a perfect stranger, to help her guests work through their dilemma. Today we’re sharing the case of Brian, a journalist whose mother-in-law has Alzheimer's. Even though Brian knows she can’t help misremembering things, he can’t stop losing his patience with her, and with himself. This episode was mixed for Science Vs by Bobby Lord. – Find Proxy here. Resources from Claudia on dementia caregiving, caregiving in general, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): On understanding dementia Dementia Reimagined: Building a life of joy and dignity from beginning to end by Tia Powell (and this accompanying Fresh Air episode) On preventing/addressing emotional or behavioral changes associated with dementia When a Family Member Has Dementia: Steps to Becoming a Resilient Caregiver by Susan M. McCurry On acceptance and commitment therapy (not specifically related to caregiving) Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Rose Rimler, and this is Science Verses.
0:05.3	Today we're sharing an episode from another show that we like.
0:08.4	It's a podcast called Proxy.
0:10.4	It's hosted by Yo-Wei Shah, who you might remember from the podcast Invisibilia.
0:15.4	In proxy, Yo-A kind of functions as an emotional investigative journalist.
0:22.4	She starts with a guest who is going through something tough or confusing, something no one else they know can relate to, and then she
0:28.0	finds the perfect person for them to talk to, to act as a proxy. She'll find someone who's been
0:33.3	there, who understands the problem, and can hopefully help that person get less stuck.
0:38.1	The episode we're sharing today is about something near and dear to us at Science Verses,
0:43.3	fact-checking. Yo-Wei talks to a journalist who can't stop fact-checking his mother-in-law,
0:49.1	but in this situation, it's particularly fraught because his mother-in-law is losing her memory.
0:56.1	She has Alzheimer's.
0:57.7	We like the way that this episode
0:59.4	breaks down a situation that is tough and nuanced
1:03.0	and we think that you guys will like it too.
1:05.7	It's coming up after the break.
1:14.6	Pro the break. Prime Video brings the best in entertainment.
1:17.9	The end of the world continues with season two of the global phenomenon, fallout,
1:22.7	included with Prime.
1:24.1	I defer to you about what to do in this situation.
1:26.5	Bring home the epic conclusion to the
1:28.3	untold story of the Witches of Oz. Buy or rent Wicked for good now. I'm taking you to see the
	...

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