The Real Question

Mauricio Bruce has been the host of The Real Question for a full year! This week he's joined by Vanessa Zoltan to talk about hosting the show and what's coming next. -- 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 ! Want to join us on the show in 2026? We'd love to receive your questions through...

As we end our year of 'Should I?' questions, we're checking back in with some past guests. How did things turn out for them? Did they make a final decision after our conversation? For our last conversation in the main feed, we're reaching back out to two guests! This year both Clinton and Sarah brought us the question 'Should I Re-Apply to Medical School?' We check back in with both to see what th...

As we end our year of 'Should I?' questions, we're checking back in with some past guests. How did things turn out for them? Did they make a final decision after our conversation? Today we're checking back in with Gillian, who asked the question 'Should I: Quit Keeping Kosher?' -- This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If you can,...

As we end our year of 'Should I?' questions, we're checking back in with some past guests. How did things turn out for them? Did they make a final decision after our conversation? Today we're checking back in with Natalie, who asked the question 'Should I: Invite My Dad to My Wedding?' -- This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible. If y...

As we end our year of 'Should I?' questions, we're checking back in with some past guests. How did things turn out for them? Did they make a final decision after our conversation? Today we're checking back in with Sarah, who asked the question 'Should I: Change the Way I Talk About My Health?' after a bad encounter with a supervisor. -- This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grat...

As we end our year of 'Should I?' questions, we're checking back in with some past guests. How did things turn out for them? Did they make a final decision after our conversation? We're starting our week with an anonymous guest who asked the question 'Should I: Have a Child?' back in April. -- This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we are so grateful to our supporters who make it possible....

Erika is an introvert and she’s struggled with friendship in the past. Sometimes people she thought were her friends, didn’t feel the same way about her. Now, as an adult, she has two good friends. Is that enough? Or is she avoiding trying to build more friendships out of a fear of rejection? This week on the show Mauricio and Erika talk about why we perform in our relationships and how to trust p...

Alex's mom was adopted and has chosen not to look into her biological roots. But as Alex begins her own search into family history, she has her own questions. Can Alex respectfully research her mom's biological family? And should she tell her mom she’s doing it? This week on the show Mauricio and Alex explore the vulnerability of wanting different things from the rest of your family. -- This show...

Marie and her partner know they want kids and now seems like a optimal time to try. They have really good parental leave in their current jobs. Marie's health is in a good place. Life is stable. And yet – Marie is hestitating. Is it because she's just resistant to change and needs to bite the bullet? Or is there something she needs to do before she's ready? This week on the show Mauricio and Marie...

This week’s guest is an artist whose work relies on close collaboration with friends. But those friends don’t share the same professional ambitions. Can these collaborations continue, or will our guest have to risk hurting people they care about? This week on the show Mauricio and our guest explore the difference between community and teammates. -- This show is completely funded by Patreon, and we...

César's parents are getting older and as he looks into the future, he's wondering: where does his responsibility to them start and end? How much should he sacrifice to take care of them? This week on the show, Mauricio and César talk about feeling like an outsider in the family and what it means to be of service. The Real Question is a Not Sorry Production Find us at our website | Follow us on Ins...

Rebecca always knew her hair would change, she just didn't think it would happen now, in her 30s. She's been on a long journey to accept her curly hair, and isn't ready for another change in a wave of life changes. This week on the show, Mauricio and Rebecca explore dyeing or not dyeing, what it would mean to choose either, and wonder if it's even the right question to begin with. The Real Questio...

Jackson has built an intentional and fulfilling life for himself. He has a supportive family and many friends, and a career he really enjoys. There is an overall sense of contentment with the way things are, but after a series of unexpected challenges he wonders if he's missing out by not having a romantic partner to share in his highs and lows. This week on the show Mauricio and Jackson explore w...

Sruthi works in education. Throughout her career she's has had a wide range of experiences across different institutions – they haven't all been good. In fact, some have been really, really bad. While she often shares insights when asked for advice, she wonders: should she speak out more publicly? And if she does, what risks might come with telling the truth? This week on the show Mauricio and Sru...

Co-founder of Not Sorry, Ariana Nedelman, has a new podcast project out today! When We All Get to Heaven is a 10-episode series that tells the story of one of the first gay-positive churches, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, and how it faced the personal, social, and political trials of the AIDS epidemic, including the deaths of hundreds of its members. The series is releasing o...

Our guest today recently moved to be closer to a long distance partner. They thought it would make the relationship feel closer, but since the move, things have been feeling off. Is it a sign they should break-up? Or is just a passing symptom of changing circumstances? This week on the show Mauricio and our guest explore the difference between friendship and romantic partnership. -- This show is c...

Wes and his fiancee are facing one of the classic millennial issues: they can't afford to buy a house. They've lived in Vermont all their adult lives and they love it there – they love their jobs, they love their friends, they love the access to nature. But should they leave in order to build a better future for themselves and their potential future kids? This week on the show Mauricio and Wes exp...

About three years ago, Vanessa "broke-up" with one of her close friends. She tried to do it kindly, but in retrospect she feels guilty for how it all went down. So recently she decided to reach back out and apologize. Faced with his response, she's now asking herself: What's the best way to handle this set of communications when there's still a lot of pain on both sides? This week on the show Maur...

When Katy was a kid, she dreamt of being a stage actress. After some early rejections, she pivoted to stand-up and improv and built a career for herself in that field. Now she's working for a college theater department and she find herself feeling jealous of the kids in her program. She's having trouble making sense of this jealousy. Does it mean she should try to do stage acting again? This week...

Naomi Westwater released their latest album, Cycle & Change , this past spring. This album release intersected with a lot of big life events – a divorce, moving house, the death of their father – and they didn't have the capacity to celebrate and promote the album the way they planned. Can they celebrate the album now? Or is it too late? This week on the show Mauricio and Naomi explore wh...

Five years ago, Karolina's friend stopped replying to her messages. Karolina doesn't know why. Did she do something wrong? Was the friend just going through a hard time? If so – why hasn't the friend reached out since? Karolina misses her friend and it still bothers her. Should she reach out and try to reconnect? This week on the show Mauricio and Karolina discuss ghosting and the pain it lea...

Christine Flynn calls herself 'a bit of a workaholic.' She's always taking on new projects and managing some aspect of life with a successful career, three kids, and a family farm. Does she truly need to be juggling everything she's doing? Or is there some way to slow down and stay afloat? This week on the show Mauricio and Christine discuss how to build a sense of safety. Christine is a chef and...

Sarah has been on the path to medical school for the past few years – she's taught herself physics and chemistry, she's taken the MCAT and done pretty well! But unfortunately her scores aren't good enough to stay in province. Should she apply to other provinces and plan to uproot her life (and her three young kids)? Should she wait a year and re-take the MCAT with the hopes of getting better...

About two years ago, Brandice and her husband decided to limit contact with her in-laws after one of their children came out as trans. The in-laws couldn't accept it and wanted to lecture them about the Bible. But now, it’s clear that the family—especially the other kids—miss them. Is there a way to mend the relationship, or is the rift permanent? This week, Mauricio and Brandice explore what it m...

Melissa has two big things going on in her life: she's getting a divorce from her husband and she's recently realized she's bisexual. As she thinks about being single again – should she take this opportunity to date a woman? This week, Mauricio and Melissa explore how past relationships create frameworks for the future. NB: This episode includes reference to alcoholism and abusive partnership...