Yaroslava Can't Go Home

Proxy with Yowei Shaw

Yowei Shaw

Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.8 • 589 Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The case of the teenager who can't go home.

Yaroslava was 16 when she woke up in Ukraine to the sound of explosions and had to flee her town in Ukraine.

Now Yara is 19, living in New York, studying digital marketing, arranging flowers, and doing better. But her grandma is still back home. Her friends are scattered. And every time Yara starts to enjoy her life here, she feels guilty for not being back home.

In this episode, Yowei hosts a proxy conversation between Yaroslava and Sariyah Abuzant, a filmmaker from Palestine who also had to make a life far from the place she loves. Together, they investigate displacement, guilt, long-distance friendship, and the small ways we keep home alive after we leave.

From the episode:

— Dignity Beyond Borders — learn more about their work: www.dignitybeyondborders.org, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn: @dignitybeyondborders

— Yaroslava — on Instagram: @yasiiaaaa

— Sariyah Abuzant — watch her film FordDat:https://vimeo.com/1101397354?fl=pl&fe=sh

— Dignity Beyond Borders — learn more about their work:
www.dignitybeyondborders.org
Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn: @dignitybeyondborders

— Yaroslava — on Instagram: @yasiiaaaa

— Sariyah Abuzant — watch her film FordDat:
https://vimeo.com/1101397354

New to Proxy? New to Proxy? Try Bisexual Wife Guy for a classic case, or Mic Chooses the Wrong Life, for another story about when the road not taken won’t leave you alone

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 🍏

Visit — proxypodcast.com

Get in touch — proxythepod@gmail.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's YoA. As you probably know, we are trying to reach 1,000 paying Patreon members by October 31st so we can get an additional 25K from a generous listener and cover the costs of making a year two. And as of this recording at 3.15 a.m. on October 21st, we are at 851 paying Patreon members. Thank you so much to everyone
0:26.5	who signed up and everyone who's been cheering us along and bearing with us through this campaign.
0:33.3	You are single-handedly making sure emotional investigative journalism continues to exist.
0:38.8	We're so close.
0:40.3	We need just 150 of you to sign up, a tiny fraction of who's listening.
0:46.2	Oh, those are the brownies baking in the oven, ready for your consumption if you become a Patreon member starting at $5 a month.
0:53.2	Add free episodes from the main feed, access to the chat, and for a limited time, an original magnet made by me for anyone with an annual membership, plus exclusive bonus episodes.
1:04.5	Today, we have two piping hot new ones for you because we are really trying to earn our keep here.
1:11.9	If you think emotions rule our world and we need to rigorously report on them, if the show means something
1:16.8	to you, if we've helped you laugh, cry, move to the world a little lighter with less
1:21.8	confusion, consider going to patreon.com slash proxy podcast to sign up. That's patreon.com slash proxy podcast. Even if you
1:31.0	can't become a paying member right now, we totally get it and we just feel lucky to make the show for you.
1:36.3	Okay, hope you enjoyed today's episode. I think it's a really good example of why this work is
1:43.5	important and special.
1:45.8	Hey, everyone, it's YoA.
1:47.2	I'm here to tell you about a brand new show in the Radiotopia family,
1:51.5	a partnership with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and fellow indie network talkhouse.
1:56.9	It's called Music Makes Us, and it's hosted by literal icon, the legendary Kathleen Hanna,
2:03.4	the frontwoman of Bikini Kill and the Tigra.
2:06.3	In each episode, she sits down with revolutionary musicians like Chaka Khan, Olivia Rodrigo,
2:12.4	and Haley Williams of Paramore to talk about things artists really want to talk about,
2:19.3	things like perfect lyrics,
	...

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