The Real Question is a show that holds space for life’s tough questions. Each episode, a guest brings a personal question they’re grappling with, and Chaplain Mauricio Bruce helps them find an answer. This season, our focus is on future-oriented questions – those that start with ‘Should I…’
Mauricio sits down with guests who are contemplating big and small changes in their lives — whether it’s habits, careers, or relationships. In every episode, he asks the pivotal question: “Who do you want to be and what’s the best path to get there?”
The Real Question is produced by Not Sorry Productions, a feminist organization that produces podcasts, educational content, live shows, and immersive experiences with the explicit goal of addressing the spiritual needs of its participants. Through community, rigor, and ritual, we treat traditionally secular things as if they were sacred. To learn more about what we do, visit https://notsorryworks.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Real Question is a show that holds space for life’s tough questions. Each episode, a guest brings a personal question they’re grappling with, and Chaplain Mauricio Bruce helps them find an answer. This season, our focus is on future-oriented questions – those that start with ‘Should I…’
Mauricio sits down with guests who are contemplating big and small changes in their lives — whether it’s habits, careers, or relationships. In every episode, he asks the pivotal question: “Who do you want to be and what’s the best path to get there?”
The Real Question is produced by Not Sorry Productions, a feminist organization that produces podcasts, educational content, live shows, and immersive experiences with the explicit goal of addressing the spiritual needs of its participants. Through community, rigor, and ritual, we treat traditionally secular things as if they were sacred. To learn more about what we do, visit https://notsorryworks.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Elyse's mom died of breast cancer a few years ago. Recently, she's tested positive for the same cancer-causing gene that her mom had. That puts her at high risk of getting breast cancer too. There are two paths forward: she can rigorously test and monitor her health, or she can get a preventative mastectomy.
This week, Mauricio and Elyse explore our relationships to our bodies and our own mortality.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jolie Doggett struggles with boundaries. She's a classic 'yes' person – when someone asks her to jump, she says "how high?" She knows this about herself and she wants to change it. But how do you change something like that? Should she just go cold turkey? Spend a month telling everyone 'no'?
This week, Mauricio and Jolie explore why we sometimes preference other people's needs and desires over our own.
Check out Finding The Right Words
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Stefanie and her parents have never quite seen eye-to-eye about the best way to live. Stefanie has sought passion and spontaneity. Stefanie's parents would much prefer she choose a life of stability and family. Now, Stefanie's parents have offered to buy her an apartment. But what would it mean for her to accept it? Would it feel like a concession to their priorities?
This week, Mauricio and Stefanie discuss how to get out of black-and-white thinking.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Theodora is starting law school in the fall and she's nervous about the workload and intensity. She's a hard worker and she's worried that she'll get totally wrapped up in school and won't be able to slow down and attend to the other things in her life. Does she need to change her relationship to work before it all starts?
This week, Mauricio and Theodora explore how to hold yourself to your priorities.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gillian doesn't eat pork and doesn't eat shellfish. It's her version of keeping kosher and she's been doing it for the past decade. Recently, however, she realized that she doesn't really know why she's doing it anymore. Is it still a meaningful practice in her life? Or is it something it's time to set aside?
This week, Mauricio and Gillian reflect on the difference between 'habits' and 'rituals.'
**There's still time to register for What Matters, our small cohort sacred reading program! It's a 28-week intensive which includes one-on-one time with Mauricio.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we have a special episode on the topic of divorce. Vanessa calls her friend, couples and family therapist Colette Potts, to discuss common issues for couples, infidelity, and the practicalities of divorce.
Next week, we're back to our regular format with Mauricio!
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There's certainly been a theme with our submissions lately! Just like our guest from Should I: Have a Child?, Emily feels pulled in two directions about having kids. She can imagine a very full life for herself either way. As she nears the end of of her biological opportunity for kids – is she ready to shut the door on that possibility?
This week, Mauricio and Emily discuss how to make a decision for the future when it feels like that decision can never be changed.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Brandon runs a successful restaurant group with his husband. Things are stressful, it’s a lot to manage, and they just got a great offer to open another restaurant in a hip part of town. Brandon is seriously tempted, but he’s also suspicious of his own temptation. Does he want to expand for the right reasons?
This week, Mauricio and Brandon explore how various stories from our past influence our motivations for the future.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Natalie has been ‘low-contact’ with her dad for a while now – she doesn't reach out or put any effort into the relationship, but hasn't totally cut him out of her life. Her upcoming wedding is putting some pressure on that resolution. If she does invite him, and he makes a scene or disappoints her, it will hugely impact the joy of the day. But if she doesn't invite him, that feels like a big line in the sand about the future of their relationship.
This week, Mauricio and Natalie explore how we continue to repeat the patterns from our childhood, even as we make progress on healing.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the course of Sarah’s life, she often finds that she has to talk about her migraines. But the reactions she gets from people are frustrating and sometimes really hurtful. Can she take another approach to these conversations?
This week, Mauricio and Sarah discuss the large and small ways that chronic illness interrupt life.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Our guest this week has always wanted to have a kid. He’s also aware that having a kid will totally transform his life! Is he willing to give up parts of his life to make room for a baby?
This week, Mauricio and our guest explore how to make space for aspects of our identity that sometimes compete.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
About five years ago, River left Christianity. He felt constrained and needed space to explore and ask questions. Recently, he has been thinking about a return – but can he bring everything he learned on the outside back in? Or would he have to hide the new parts of himself to belong again?
This week, Mauricio and River discuss the joys and drawbacks of religious community.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Meghan lives with her partner and daughter in Costa Rica, far away from the rest of their family. They travel frequently to see their family, but it always feels like a huge effort to do so. Should they quit traveling so much? Or would that deprive themselves and their daughter of necessary family time?
This week, Mauricio and Meghan discuss the duty we feel towards family and how to balance that with our own self-care.
Mauricio mentioned our unlocked Real Talk perk on Patreon, you check it out here.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Elizabeth Rowe's bookclub reading has started to feel like homework. She loves to read, but after a long day of work she wants romance and adventure and fantasy. Her bookclub, on the other hand, wants Tolstoy. Should she leave the club?
This week on the show Mauricio and Elizabeth discuss the importance of community space.
Elizabeth Rowe is a leadership coach. She's teaching an upcoming class for Not Sorry called Discerning Success. Sign-up here!
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ray is graduating with a Masters of Divinity this year but they know they don't want to pursue a traditional path towards ordination. They do want to continue providing spiritual care and counseling to their community. But should they be charging for that work? Shouldn't care be accessible to people who need it, without being a financial burden?
On today's episode, Ray and Mauricio explore what it means to have a calling and the complicated web of care, disability, and capitalism.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna knows she wants to be a parent and she doesn't want to do it alone, but she's never particularly wanted a life partner. Should she reconsider that position for the sake of raising a child?
On today's episode, Anna and Mauricio explore Anna's relationship to partnership and uncover some of the deeper anxieties at play for her.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna Goldfarb is a journalist and self-titled 'friendship expert' who is the author of the recent book Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections. This week she joins Vanessa to talk all about why we make friends, why we lose them, and how to keep them.
Next week, we're back to our regular format with Mauricio!
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Devon always said that when she moved back to Ohio, she would start planning for the future. She'd think about all the big things: about finding a partner, about whether she wants kids, about buying a house, about planning for retirement. But now that's she's finally moved home, she's been avoiding all those big topics. Is she avoiding them because she doesn't want them? Or is she avoiding them because it's scary to begin?
This week on the show Mauricio and Devon talk about how to stay flexible and also build roots.
The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production
Find us at our website | Follow us on Instagram
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Serena, like all of us, wants to spend less time scrolling on her phone. She wants to make more time for community and deep conversations and joy. She wants to have some kind of sabbath practice. But what does that look like when you don't have a religious tradition to dictate the terms?
This week on the show Mauricio and Serena walk step-by-step through designing a sabbath ritual.
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Daniel Schroeder's dad is Methodist minister, so he grew up in the church. But about 10 years ago, after he graduated college, he stopped going. Now, after all this time, he's wondering if it's time to go back.
This week on the show Mauricio and Daniel discuss the process of coming out and how to carve out a sense of individual identity within your family.
Daniel is the host of Let's Ask Taylor Swift, our newest podcast at Not Sorry. Every other week he and Vanessa Zoltan dissect a Taylor Swift song and apply it to their lives.
--
This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can, please considering chipping in!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
