Welcome to Is This Real Life, a Bravo podcast that relates our favorite shows to our own lives in the world around us.

I'm your host, Mandy Slutsker. Let's get to it.

Hi, everyone. I am recording this early because I leave for L.A. tomorrow. And I haven't packed yet because I don't

want Stasi, my dog, to see my suitcase. Does anyone else play these psychological games with their

pets? I'm like, oh, I'm going to drop her off at the sitter and then I'm going to pack and then

rush to the airport because that makes

sense. She gets really upset when she sees a suitcase. She's not sure if I'm going, if she's coming

along, it just confuses her. So I figured I would just wait until she is gone to pack. Today I'm

going to do a solo recap of the Salt Lake City Reunion Part 2, Real Housewives

of New Jersey and Summer House. And then after that, we're going to do a brief check-in with my dad

and my stepmom Joyce about their first year of marriage, some funny takes my dad has talking about animals,

and then we talk a little bit about his experience in Russia when he tried to leave

and a relationship he had with a friend that I actually met when I went to Russia.

So my father has not returned to Russia since he left in 1979,

but I went in 2017 for work-related reasons. I was invited to a UN ministerial conference on

tuberculosis. And I met up with this person my dad used to know,

and we talk a bit about that story. So I'll try to post some pictures on my Instagram of

that experience. It was a wild experience. And during that meeting, I ended up being in the same room as

Vladimir Putin, who addressed all of the ministers of health that were there.

And it was absolutely crazy to say the least.

Of course, my dad and I talk regularly, especially about what's happening in

Ukraine and our hearts are broken and, you know, I keep donating to different refugee groups

...