The Real Question
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© Not Sorry Productions
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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/
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162 Episodes
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Not Sorry has launched its first new podcast since 2020! Let's Ask Taylor Swift is co-hosted by Vanessa and podcaster, writer and cultural critic: Daniel Schroeder. In each episode Daniel and Vanessa will focus on one song from Taylor's discography, asking themselves, each other, and you— the audience— what it is about Taylor's music that resonates so much with fans. In our first season, every episode will look at the lead single from one of Taylor’s albums. We're sharing with you our first episode on Tim McGraw, but we've also just released our second episode on Love Story in the Let's Ask Taylor Swift feed. If you enjoyed this episode, go subscribe! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to The Real Question, a new show from Not Sorry, hosted by Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile! Each week we’ll explore life’s questions through a surprising mix of pop culture and academic insight. Episodes come out weekly on Monday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is it weird to steal children’s body parts in the middle of the night and teach them that it’s okay?After playing the Tooth Fairy for her two step-daughters, Vanessa is having doubts about the appropriateness of this supposedly silly childhood ritual. Drawing up a recent article about the Marquis de Sade and the song Super Trouper from Mamma Mia, Vanessa and Casper try to wade through the fears that a parent can have for their kids.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
If you don’t learn to drive, are you failing to equip yourself for adult life? Casper has promised himself every summer that *this* is the year he’s going to learn how to drive. And yet each year passes and Casper is no closer to having a license. Drawing upon The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel and the song Walk the Road by Kate Rusby, Casper and Vanessa try to sort out which goals it’s okay to give up on. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CW: This episode discusses multiple instances of sexual assault and violent crime.In 2014, Vanessa was obsessed with the Woody Allen/Dylan Farrow case. Now that there’s a new documentary out on the topic, she knows she’s in danger of falling back into the ‘story’. But what’s the virtue of following a story of sexual assault so closely? Is it good to know the facts? Or is it just using the horrors of someone else’s life as our entertainment? Drawing upon The Art of Cruelty by Maggie Nelson and the TV show Veronica Mars, Vanessa and Casper try to define how to have a healthy relationship with news stories about sexual assault specifically, and the True Crime genre in general.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper wants to feel closer to his paternal grandparents. But there’s a problem: they’ve been dead for a few years now. Is there a way, as he grows older, for him to keep his grandparents an active part of his life?Drawing upon The Suitcase by Frances Stoner Saunders and Children and Art from the musical Sunday in the Park with George, Casper and Vanessa think through how grief changes over time.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sometimes apologies that seem 'good' technically, don't actually make Vanessa feel any better.Is there a formula for a good apology? How do you explain yourself, but still take responsibility? Drawing upon Dirty Dancing and Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr., Casper and Vanessa think through which apologies feel the most genuine and why.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What do we owe our neighbors? When Casper first moved to New York, he put a lot of effort into getting to know the other people in his apartment building. He even threw a rooftop party so that everyone could have the chance to meet one another. Now, as he’s settling into his life in NYC, he’s asking himself how much effort he really wants to put into knowing his neighbors. Should he throw another party for the new people moving into the building? Or is okay to spend his time building community with friends and family instead?Drawing on the book Community by Peter Block and Game of Thrones, Casper and Vanessa think through how much we should be valuing neighborliness and local community in our lives.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
CW: We discuss weight loss and size in this episode.Vanessa owns the perfect polka dot dress. It’s sophisticated yet flirty, it makes her feel amazing every time she wears it, and it has the cutest gold button on the back. The problem is: Vanessa no longer fits in this dress. She hasn’t fit in it for a while now. Should she hold onto it just in case? Or is it time to say goodbye?Drawing on the poem One Art by Elizabeth Bishop and the Disney movie Lilo & Stitch, Vanessa and Casper work through the questions and difficulties of body positivity.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper used to believe that there was no such thing as evil. But since the Trump presidency, he can't suppress the creeping feeling that some people genuinely don't have good intentions. Does that count as evil?Drawing on the philosophy and letters of Hannah Arendt and the movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Vanessa and Casper work through what Casper truly believes about what evil is and how it operates in our world.This episode is Part 1 of a two part series, we'll be back next week with further conversation on the topic of evil!--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Following up on last week’s conversation, Casper and Vanessa return to some questions about the nature of evil. When do people do evil things and how do we prevent that from happening in ourselves?Drawing on the theology St. Augustine of Hippo (as shared by our friend Nick Hayes) and The Lord’s Prayer, Vanessa and Casper try and figure out how to keep ourselves oriented towards good in the world.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, we’re joined by special guest Brigid Goggin who is bringing her own question to the podcast.Brigid loves setting boundaries and saying no. But as a person who suffers from anxiety, she worries that sometimes she is saying ‘no’ for the wrong reasons. How do you know when you should actually be saying 'yes' to something?Drawing on the song Climb Every Mountain from The Sound of Music, and the book Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Brigid, Vanessa and Casper think through how community can help us make good decisions.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The term 'Karen' has imbedded itself in our culture, and as a white woman, Vanessa is keenly aware of the moments she might be called a Karen. But she's not quite sure when she's actually being a Karen, and when she's advocating for herself in a sexist society.Drawing on the movies Terms of Endearment and Mommy Dearest, Vanessa and Casper discuss women's anger and what to do with it.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper has lot of rituals in his life to slow down: he keeps a sabbath every week, he spends time at a monastery every few months. But still, he rarely feels truly relaxed. What's standing in his way, and what does it take to get there?Drawing on wisdom from The West Wing and German Philosopher Josef Pieper, Vanessa and Casper unpack what our culture has come to assume about work and worthiness and examine whether there's something spiritual about leisure.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa has a friend she wants to break-up with. The case is very clear cut: This person did something awful, and Vanessa no longer wants this person in her life. Does Vanessa owe it to this person to tell her that the friendship is over? And how does she tell the other people who might be effected by this friend break-up?Drawing on Jacques Derrida's theory of friendships and the U.S. version of The Office, Vanessa and Casper discern how to know when a friendship is over and what the right way convey that information is.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Following the death of his grandmother, Casper has had some uncomfortable and unresolved questions about death and the afterlife. He used to feel very certain that death was the 'end' everything, but now he's not so sure. Is there such a thing as a 'soul'? And if so, does it go somewhere when the body dies?Drawing on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and a medieval illustration of death, Casper and Vanessa explore ideas about death, dying, and how we remember those who are gone.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Every summer Vanessa goes to Germany with her partner, Peter. And every summer, Vanessa gets stuck around the dinner table at night surrounded by people speaking German (a language she does not speak). What she really wants to do in that situation is pull out a book… but that’s rude right?Drawing on Romance Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn and the essay ‘Reflections on the Rights Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God’ by Simone Weil, Vanessa and Casper examine what rudeness really is and when we should be willing to step our toe over the line.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper is getting to the age where he feels like he and his husband ’should’ start thinking about buying a house, but he doesn’t know if he really wants to. On the one hand, there's so much love and stability that is wrapped up in owning a house. On the other hand, he doesn't know if he ever wants to settle on one future in one place. Maybe buying a house would limit his future possibilities?With help from a picture of his childhood home, and theologian Walter Breuggemann, Casper and Vanessa discuss how to intentionally cultivate hospitality and whether stability is a goal or an illusion in life.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa sometimes tells white lies in low stakes situations. Lies like ‘yes, I love that dress!’ or ‘I really enjoyed meeting your boyfriend!’ Are these lies good for her relationships? Or do they make her untrustworthy?With help from Trust Exercise by Susan Choi and Grey’s Anatomy, Vanessa and Casper try to untangle the relationship between truth and trust and figure out when it’s okay to lie. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa's book is finally out in the world today! She chats with Casper about her writing process, inspiration, and more. If you haven't already, you can grab a copy of her book here! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa's book finally came out into the world on Tuesday and we're so excited to share a chapter from the audiobook with you today! If you haven't already, you can snag your copy here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Recently, Casper’s been looking back on his life with regret: he should have kissed more boys when he was younger! But what is he supposed to do with that feeling now? And how can he make sure that he’s living his life in a way that he won’t regret in the future?With help from a poem by Lucille Clifton and How Proust Can Change your Life by Alain de Baton, Casper and Vanessa try to parse what exactly the feeling of 'regret' is and what we can learn from it. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa has some friendships that feel more like obligations than pleasures. What does she do with these friends? Does she break-up with them? Does stick it out and hope that they become fun again? Does she tell them how she feels? And how does she do any of it without hurting the people she cares about?With help from the musical Waitress and Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving, Vanessa and Casper weigh the value of clear communication versus the potentially healthy ebb and flow of life-long friendships.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
John Green has spent much of his life and career online. The community that he’s built there has been one of his greatest joys and achievements. But more and more he feels like his time on social media is poisoning his sense of well-being. Should he just give it up? Or would that be turning his back on something too valuable? With help from an essay by Thomas Berry and an episode of the podcast Your Undivided Attention, John, Vanessa and Casper explore the addictive quality of being online and if there's anyway to escape it. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper has never liked his middle name. He’s ready to change it to something more meaningful to him, but how does he go about picking the right replacement?With help from John O’Donohue and Call Me By Your Name, Casper and Vanessa explore the connection between re-naming and a spiritual life.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa doesn't know what to do when people ask her 'are you okay?' A lot of the time, she is not okay. She lives with a chronic illness, so unfortunately that kind of comes with the territory.On the one hand, radical honesty and communication is good. On the other hand, other people have their own problems. And most of the time, it's not like anyone can actually help.With help from I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell and Cinderella, Vanessa and Casper explore the allure of a 'suck-it-up' mentality and how to be in relationship as someone who's hurting.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper is suspicious of the value he puts on beauty in his life. He knows that he doesn't want to judge human bodies by their aesthetics, that much makes sense. But is it okay to love other forms of beauty out in the world? Or is that problematic too?With the help of a Shakespearean sonnet and 'How Fair This Spot' by Rachmaninoff, Casper and Vanessa untangle how to think about beauty as a moral category.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa has had a lot of really positive interactions with strangers. However there are moments when strangers, for whatever reason, trigger her defense mechanisms. What should she do in those moments? She doesn't want to be naive - there are people out there who can hurt you or take advantage of you. But also, she knows it's important to be kind whenever possible.With help from Thelma and Louise and an episode of Radiolab, Vanessa and Casper discuss whether we should assume good intentions in strangers.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Instead of a normal episode this week we're bringing you an episode of The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos, featuring our own Casper ter Kuile.Space crews, athletes and pop stars all indulge in strange rituals before moments of high stress. It's easy to mock these behaviours - indeed even the people who practise them often admit they're a bit weird - but they can act like performance enhancing drugs. Dr Laurie Santos looks at the research to show why creating a good luck ritual can make us perform better and feel calmer, happier and more confident when faced with life's big moments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper is getting older and he's been thinking about what that means. On the one hand: age is just a number! There’s no such thing as the ‘right’ thing you should be doing at any age. But on the other hand: he wants to make sure he’s stepping into the full responsibility of what it means to be an adult. Without subscribing to tradition benchmarks, how do you keep yourself on track? With help from David Sedaris and Shakespeare, Casper and Vanessa think about the 'stage' of middle age and what Casper should be doing with it. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Every so often Vanessa scrolls through photos on her phone and runs into some memories she’d rather forget. Should she just delete those photos? Or are those bad memories something productive? With help from Spotlight and Mad About You, Vanessa and Casper explore what it means to re-write our own historical record and when we should do it.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper has a soft spot in his heart for the monarchy. He understands all the absurdities of the institution, but he can’t get rid of that feeling that he associates with childhood and history and national identity. Is it okay to have that feeling knowing what he knows intellectually? Or should he be trying to get rid of it? With help from Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel, Casper and Vanessa reflect on what it means to glorify national stories and how to go about dismantling them.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Back in May, Vanessa brought us the question 'am I a Karen?' That episode focused on gender and the way systems of power can fail and frustrate women. This week we bring you part two of that conversation, where we discuss the racial dynamic at play in the Karen meme. We were incredibly lucky to be joined by Dr. Apryl Williams for this conversation. Dr. Williams is a multidisciplinary scholar who studies the experience of race and racism in digital spaces.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper is feeling a lot of nostalgia for his graduate school experience. There are so many times in his day to day life where he feels like he should know more and he wishes that he had a teacher to guide him. He's been trying to teach himself, but it just doesn't feel the same. Should he just go back to school?With help from Legally Blonde and Hermes Trismegistus, Casper and Vanessa explore how learning gets institutionalized and how we can make room for it after school is over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa used to have a helpful story she told herself about her depression. She let herself stay in bed some days and understood that it was important for her health. But lately, she hasn’t been staying in bed. The story seems…broken, like it doesn’t fit the new version of her life. Is there a new story that could help her take care of herself better?With help from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Cheryl Strayed, Vanessa and Casper explore how to think about mental health when there’s so much pressure to be productive. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Risa has a family member who isn’t getting vaccinated and the relationship is really troubling her. She wants to respect the values of the person she loves, but is finding that hard to do when the ‘right thing’ seems to be so clear. With help from a Brandy Carlile song and a blog post by Lilach Shafir, Risa and Casper explore how to be in relationship with someone who has values that seem diametrically opposed to your own. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we're taking some time to answer real questions from our audience! We touch on questions about disappointment in love, whether it's okay to be late, and setting boundaries.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Casper's life is on a path and generally he's pretty happy with how it's going. But every so often, he likes to fantasize about what it would look like to step off that path. What if, instead of living his normal life, he went on an adventure? What if he spent months traveling the world? Is that just a fantasy or is it something he can really do?With help from Under the Tuscan Sun and Mary Oliver, Casper and Vanessa explore the fear and excitement tied up with choosing something new.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We got so many questions for our "bad chaplaincy" episode last month, we decided we needed another round! This week, Casper and Vanessa answer your questions about work, exes, and how to know when you're on the right path.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vanessa's step-daughter is *very* cool. But...is that a good thing? And what is coolness really?With help from West Side Story and Gone Girl, Vanessa and Casper explore the social capital and social manipulation of coolness. --We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Happy holidays! We're dropping in your feeds to share some news about the future of the show. If you’re interested in being on the show, please fill out this form and we’ll start contacting people in the new year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dana Schwartz is a #1 New York Times Best Selling author (go read her new book!), top charting podcaster, and Twitter super-star. But still, she sometimes finds herself looking at other writers with feelings of professional jealousy. She doesn’t like that feeling when it comes up, but she doesn’t know what to do about it. With help from Nick Jonas and the movie Amadeus, Dana, Vanessa and Casper explore how feelings of inadequacy often lead to jealousy. --If you’re interested in joining Dana and Vanessa on our upcoming Frankenstein pilgrimage, there are still spots available! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Last fall, Sophie Clark broke up with her long-term partner and it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done. Trying to organize her grief, she began a weekly ritual - lighting candles and journaling about the break-up. But now, several months later, the ritual is feeling a little flat. What can she do to reimagine her practice to better fit where she is now in the grief process? With help from Jane Eyre and a William Prince song, Sophie, Vanessa and Casper explore what kind of thoughts and feelings surround a big break-up and what it means to heal. At the end of today’s episode, you’ll hear an original song by Sophie! You can hear more of her music here.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Maya Gosh has been in pain for years. She’s been going to doctors, trying to figure out what's going on with her body, but nobody seems to think anything is wrong with her. And lately she’s started to feel like the whole process of trying to get good healthcare is more painful emotionally and psychologically than the physical pain she’s in. Should she stop trying and protect her mental health? Or is that giving up?With help from Mythbusters and the Liverpool Football Club, Maya, Vanessa and Casper discuss everything that's at stake in trying to get a diagnosis.--We are so grateful to our supporters on Patreon who make this show possible. If you can, please considering chipping in! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ruth has been a woman their whole life, but that label has never quite felt right. Recently they had an experience where a stranger gendered them “wrongly” and it felt amazing. Since then they’ve been wondering, should they identify as non-binary? With help from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and an article by Tre’vell Anderson, Ruth, Vanessa, and Casper explore the confines of gendered language and the possibilities we have to expand it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A few years ago, Lindsay left an abusive relationship. Since then she has almost completely cut her abuser out of her life. But there’s one friend they still share - and that friend is getting married. Lindsay has never talked to her friend about the abuse. But now, with her ex likely invited to the wedding, questions are coming up: Should she tell her friend about the abuse? What if he doesn’t believe her? Or still wants her abuser at his wedding? With help from In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado and Hunger by Roxane Gay, Lindsay, Vanessa and Casper discuss strategies for how to be vulnerable when you don’t know how a hard conversation will go. –If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence, The National Domestic Violence Hotline has great resources and are available 24/7 help. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dani has always wanted to live alone. Now, at 28, she’s living the dream. She owns her condo and doesn’t foresee needing a roommate. But looking ahead at the rest of her life, she’s a little worried about what she sees. If she lives alone forever, is she closing the door on an important kind of intimacy and support? With help from a song from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and a scene from Friends, Dani, Vanessa, and Casper explore society’s expectations around partnership, family and long-term relationships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Marie-Hélène is the kind of person who changed her major a million times during college. But after a while, this habit started to feel embarrassing. So she made a promise to herself: “I am going to become the kind of person who commits to things and sees them through.” Now she’s been at the same job for seven years and is starting to feel antsy. But she can’t tell - is it because her old habit is rearing its head? Or is it because it’s really time to move on? With help from Independent People by Halldór Laxness and The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Marie-Hélène, Vanessa, and Casper explore what it means to trust yourself when you feel like sometimes your instincts come from the wrong place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sarah Steinberg is passionate about making stop motion animation. It’s so satisfying, she could easily spend hours at a time working a single project. But Sarah also lives with rheumatoid arthritis, which makes her art practice difficult and often quite painful. This worries a lot of her friends, they don’t understand why she insists on having a hobby that’s so hard on her body. How does Sarah explain to them why it feels worth it?With help from the Lin-Manuel Miranda episode of Song Explorer and an episode of Sherlock, Sarah and Casper explore the balance between passion and pain, and what it means to to love someone with a disability.Check out Sarah’s amazing work here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna had her first child during the pandemic and she found her maternity leave to be really isolating and depressing. It was only once she was able to go back to school and work that she felt like herself again. But now she’s pregnant again and starting to get worried about her next maternity leave. What if she feels the same way? With help from the The Bright Field by R.S. Thomas and A Line Above the Sky by Helen Mort, Anna, Casper and Vanessa explore the sacrifices and guilt associated with motherhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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This is such an awesome podcast. Shame I didn't come across it before. And as far as quiting goes, how about quitting your national identity? Can it even be a thing when you permanently move to another country?
as someone who worked for Time Warner Cable/Spectrum, that example really hit home. it's a tough spot to be in both as a consumer and an employee.
C, V, and A--I love you three unequivocally! BUT, Casper your comparison of evil to moss, fungus, lichens, etc. is really unfair to those delightful organisms! What did a moss ever do to you aside from cushioning your steps on a lovely frolick in a forest? 🤣 Seriously though, y'all are amazing and I love this new pod even more that HPST. Your friendly neighborhood Ecologist
I love this podcast, highly recommend. Both hosts are highly intelligent, charismatic, and engaging. It is so new and already a new favorite.
@TheRealQPod Can Vanessa teach both Casper and me? I'm the lamest 23 year old and don't know how to drive either, and I'm a nervous wreck behind the wheel. 😂
Vanessa and Casper are the dream team. They’re so charming and hilarious! They answer questions with poignance, humor, humanity, and insight. I can only hope to be as good of a trooper as the two of them.