Mic Chooses the Wrong Life
Proxy with Yowei Shaw
Yowei Shaw
4.8 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The case of the man who can't stop regretting the life he didn’t choose.
Mic Nguyen was supposed to be a doctor. Becoming a doctor meant stability, respect, and making his parents proud.
Instead, Mic became a comedian and advertising creative. He loves his life. But whenever money feels tight or work feels uncertain, the old question comes back: did he mess up by not going to medical school?
In this episode, Yowei connects Mic with regret researcher Amy Summerville to investigate why regret hurts, why our imagined alternate lives can feel so real, and how regret can point less to what we did wrong than to what we still care about.
From the episode:
— Mic Nguyen — co-host of the podcast Asian Not Asian — on Instagram @nicepantsbro
— Amy Summerville's paper — one of the most cited articles on regret
New to Proxy? Try Bisexual Wife Guy for a classic case, or Caitlin Lost the Voice In Her Head for another story about trying to live with the person you turned out to be.
For episode liner notes, show gossip, and dispatches from the emotions beat, get our free newsletter File Under Feelings at proxyhq.org.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello? |
| 0:05.0 | Hey, Badrakel podcast, Spouse. |
| 0:09.0 | What was your favorite thing about mixing this week's episode? |
| 0:13.9 | Oh, my favorite part was that your P-pops are way more under control. |
| 0:19.7 | I guess I finally learned as an audio professional to not talk directly into the microphone. |
| 0:25.0 | Yeah, yeah, exactly. |
| 0:27.0 | Did you learn anything that you're going to put into practice? |
| 0:32.5 | Um... |
| 0:33.6 | Hmm. I don't know that I necessarily learned something that I could sum up in a single sentence, but it definitely... |
| 0:47.4 | We're trying to sell the show here, Kyle. |
| 0:50.2 | Oh, you didn't let me finish. |
| 0:52.8 | Yeah, I said nothing. |
| 0:54.1 | I could sum up in one sentence because I'm tired because I was up till midnight mixing this fucking thing. |
| 0:59.9 | This is Proxy, and I'm Yo-A. Shaw, your emotional investigative journalist. |
| 1:15.6 | Today, the case of the man filled with regret for the life that got away. |
| 1:22.6 | That's up to the break. |
| 1:43.5 | Yeah. to the break. Hey everyone. It's Yoha. I'm here to tell you about a brand new show in the Radiotopia family, |
| 1:49.5 | a partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and fellow indie network talkhouse. It's called Music Makes Us, |
| 1:56.5 | and it's hosted by literal icon, the legendary Kathleen Hannah, the frontwoman of Bikini Kill and the Tigra. |
| 2:04.4 | In each episode, she sits down with revolutionary musicians like Chaka Khan, Olivia Rodrigo, and Haley Williams of Paramore to talk about things artists really want to talk about, things like perfect lyrics, unforgettable shows, treasured artifacts, |
| 2:21.0 | even snacks. You'll also hear bonus episodes with rock and roll Hall of Fame curator Shelby |
| 2:26.9 | Morrison, who tells the backstory of an object from their incredible archive, such as Prince's |
... |
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