Family Twist: A Podcast Exploring DNA Surprises and Family Secrets

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What happens when adoptive parents enter adoptee spaces and hear things that are difficult, angry or painful?

Charlyn Spiering doesn’t believe the answer is to get defensive. She believes it’s to listen.

Charlyn is the host of Adoption Uncovered and the mother of five children, both biological and adopted. She joins Corey and Kendall for a candid conversation about raising adopted children, talking openly about first families, respecting the parts of an adoption story that belong to the adoptee, and recognizing that even well-intentioned parents are going to make mistakes.

Charlyn shares her family’s experience raising Aaron, her son adopted from India, and the effort to incorporate Indian culture into their family without claiming his identity or story as their own. She also discusses Aaron’s feelings about potentially visiting India and connecting with his first mother, including an important reality that sometimes gets lost in adoption conversations: not every adoptee wants the same kind of reunion or relationship.

That opens up a fascinating conversation with Kendall about his own childhood. Kendall always knew he was adopted, but as a kid he still identified with the Native American heritage of his adoptive father. That connection wasn’t biological. It came from the man who raised him and the things they loved together.

Charlyn also has a family discovery of her own. She was in college when her father revealed that she and her brother had Jewish ancestry, something previous generations had deliberately kept quiet. Years later, DNA testing helped uncover more of that missing family history.

Corey, Kendall and Charlyn also get into closed adoption, searching for biological family before consumer DNA testing existed, disability and international adoption, the complicated question of first-family contact, and why adoptive parents need to make adoption something their children can actually talk about.

And because this is Family Twist, the conversation eventually includes Indian food, homemade potato pancakes, Billie Eilish, K-pop, Spotify playlists and the music our parents and children use to let us into their worlds.

Charlyn says something during the episode that sums up her approach to entering adoptee spaces:

“I want to learn. I’m not here to tell you stuff.”

Sometimes listening is the most important part of the conversation.

Listen now to Family Twist and hear an adoptive parent, an adoptee and two podcasters get honest about adoption, identity, culture and who gets to tell the story.

Remember, family secrets are the ultimate plot twist.

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A baby abandoned on one of America's most historic days. A mystery that lasted nearly eighty years. Could modern DNA finally reveal the truth?

On August 15, 1945, while crowds filled Boston Common celebrating the end of World War II, a young woman handed her infant son to a teenage newsboy, slipped him a few dollars, and disappeared.

That baby grew up to become Tina Drzal's father. For decades, his family knew only fragments of the story. Who was his mother? Why did she leave him? Did she ever try to find him? And what happened after that unforgettable day?

Joining Corey are Tina Drzal and Boston historian David Kruh, co-authors of Little Mister Victory. Together, they combined newspaper archives, historical records, DNA testing, and years of detective work to reconstruct one of the most remarkable adoption stories we've ever featured.

This conversation explores:

•  How one newspaper article restarted a decades-long search 
•  Using DNA to solve an adoption mystery from World War II 
•  The emotional impact of inheriting unanswered questions 
•  Why family secrets continue to echo across generations 
•  The surprising discoveries that completely changed the investigation 
•  How compassion can reshape the way we view difficult decisions from the past 

Whether you're an adoptee, an NPE, a genealogy enthusiast, or simply love an unforgettable true story, this episode is a fascinating reminder that history is never as distant as it seems.

Learn more about Little Mister Victory at littlemistervictory.com.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos and plenty we would not normally share on Family Twist.

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Most movies treat adoption, donor conception, or DNA discoveries as a plot twist. Then the credits roll. But for the people living these stories, that's when life actually begins.

Writer and director Jason Mullis wanted to tell a different kind of story. Before writing Myth of the Ghost Kingdom, he spent months listening to adoptees, donor-conceived people, late-discovery adoptees, NPEs, and others whose lives had been shaped by family secrets and unexpected DNA discoveries.

The result is a film that doesn't simply ask, "Who are your biological parents?"

It asks the much harder question: Who are you after the truth changes everything?

In this episode, Jason joins Corey and Kendall to discuss:

•  Why authentic representation mattered from the very beginning 
•  What he learned from the adoption and DNA-discovery communities 
•  The responsibility of telling someone else's story 
•  Why identity can be more powerful than any fictional plot twist 
•  How family secrets continue to shape generations 
•  What he hopes audiences take away from Myth of the Ghost Kingdom

Whether you're adopted, donor conceived, an NPE, or simply someone who's ever questioned where you belong, this conversation is a reminder that the most compelling stories are the true ones.

About Jason Mullis

Jason Mullis is the writer and director of Myth of the Ghost Kingdom, an independent feature film that follows a woman who discovers as an adult that she was adopted and begins searching for the truth about her identity. The film was developed with extensive input from members of the adoption and DNA-discovery communities, bringing an uncommon level of authenticity to a story about family, identity, and belonging.

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Want more Corey and Kendall?

Join us for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus podcast featuring personal stories, family secrets, behind-the-scenes conversations and plenty we don't share on the regular show.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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For years, Louise McLoughlin built her career telling other people's stories. Then she uncovered one she never expected: her own.

After learning she was donor-conceived, Louise set out to understand not only her biological origins, but the larger world of donor conception, family secrets, and identity. That journey led her to create the acclaimed documentary podcast You Look Like Me, where she gave donor-conceived people a platform to tell the stories that so often go unheard.

In this episode, Louise joins Corey and Kendall to discuss:

•  Discovering she was donor-conceived 
•  Finding her biological father and a growing number of half-siblings 
•  Why donor-conceived people often feel the search is never truly over 
•  The emotional reality behind DNA discoveries 
•  Why media coverage of donor conception often misses the point 
•  Balancing journalism with personal experience 
•  The importance of transparency, identity, and the right to know where you come from 

This conversation is about much more than DNA. It's about what happens when the person asking the questions suddenly becomes the story.

About Louise McLoughlin

Louise McLoughlin is an award-winning journalist and creator of the documentary podcast You Look Like Me, which explores donor conception, identity, and family through deeply personal storytelling. Her work has helped bring greater visibility to donor-conceived voices while challenging how these stories are covered in the media. 

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Want more Corey and Kendall?

Join us for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus podcast featuring personal stories, family secrets, behind-the-scenes conversations and plenty we don't share on the regular show.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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Finding your birth family is often portrayed as the ending of the story. For many adoptees, it's actually the beginning.

In this episode, Patricia Knight Meyer returns to talk about reunion with both of her birth parents, the remarkable relationship she built with her birth father, and the emotional challenges that no one prepared her to face.

Together, we discuss:

• Why reunion with each birth parent took a very different path
• The grief experienced by birth fathers and why it deserves more attention
• Genetic mirroring and finally seeing yourself in someone else
• Why Patricia believes adoptees and birth families need better preparation before reunion
• The inspiration behind her memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption
• The music that became the soundtrack to her journey

And then, right near the end of the conversation, something completely unexpected happens. Corey and Patricia realize they've shared a powerful moment before, they just didn't know it until now.

The e-book edition of Wonderland is available for preorder now. The print edition and audiobook arrive this November, and Patricia will return to Family Twist for a special bonus episode after publication to share readers' reactions and what's happened since the book's release.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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What if you discovered your adoption was never legal?

This week, Corey and Kendall welcome adoptee, author, advocate, and National Association of Adoptees and Parents (NAAP) board member Patricia Knight Meyer for one of the most extraordinary stories we've ever featured on Family Twist.

Patricia always knew she was adopted. But at 13, she learned she had no original birth certificate. At 18, she discovered there had never been a legal adoption. The attorney who arranged her placement had orchestrated an illegal black-market adoption, leaving Patricia to spend decades searching for answers about her identity, her family, and even her true birthday.

In this deeply personal conversation, Patricia shares what it was like growing up with unanswered questions, why she always feared someone might come to take her away, and how years of searching eventually led her to the truth.

We also discuss her powerful upcoming memoir, Wonderland: Memoir of a Black Market Adoption, a story of identity, resilience, and the lifelong search for where we belong.

This conversation is unforgettable. And somehow, it's only the beginning.

Next week, Patricia returns to share what happened after the reunion with both of her birth parents, the remarkable relationship she built with her birth father, and a surprise ending that neither she nor Corey saw coming.

Pre-order Wonderland now wherever books are sold.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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She didn't tell me we were Jewish.

Those seven words changed everything.

Author Joan Moran joins Corey and Kendall to discuss her remarkable memoir, Suddenly Jewish, a story that spans generations, continents, and one life-changing family secret.

Joan grew up believing she knew her family's story. Then, just before marrying into a Jewish family, her mother revealed something she had kept hidden for decades. Their family was Jewish.

The secret was not rooted in shame. It was rooted in survival.

Joan shares her mother's journey from Odesa to London, Montreal, New York, and San Francisco, explaining how antisemitism shaped the choices her family made. Along the way, Corey and Kendall discover something familiar. Even though Joan's story is different from a DNA surprise, the emotional questions are remarkably similar.

How does a family secret shape your identity?

Can you understand the people who believed silence was the safest option?

What happens when the truth finally comes out?

The conversation also explores Kendall's own DNA discovery, the importance of identity beyond genetics, and why understanding history can sometimes lead to compassion, even when it cannot erase the pain.

In this episode:

• Why Joan's mother hid her Jewish identity

• The historical events that made secrecy feel necessary

• How hidden ancestry affects future generations

• The surprising connections between hidden heritage and DNA discoveries

• Why family secrets rarely stay buried forever

Whether your story involves adoption, donor conception, a DNA surprise, hidden ancestry, or another family secret, this episode is a reminder that understanding where we come from can change how we see ourselves.

Joan Moran's memoir, Suddenly Jewish, is available wherever books are sold.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who loves true stories about family, identity, and discovery.

Remember, family secrets are the ultimate plot twist.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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Can horror movies actually help us heal?

In this special crossover episode with Horror Heals, Corey sits down for a conversation that might surprise Family Twist listeners. While one podcast explores DNA surprises, adoption, and identity, and the other celebrates horror, both are ultimately about the same thing: how people make sense of difficult experiences and find connection through storytelling.

Whether you've never watched a horror movie in your life or you're a lifelong fan, this episode explores why scary stories resonate so deeply with so many people. From grief and trauma to anxiety and resilience, horror can offer something unexpected: comfort, catharsis, and community.

If you've ever found healing in an unlikely place, this conversation is for you.

And if you enjoy what you hear, check out Horror Heals, where Corey and Kendall welcome actors, filmmakers, authors, therapists, and fellow horror fans every Friday to explore why horror is good for our mental wellness.

About Horror Heals

Hosted by Corey and Kendall Stulce, Horror Heals explores the surprising connection between horror and mental wellness. Through conversations with guests from inside and outside the horror world, the show examines how fear, grief, trauma, and resilience are reflected in the stories we love—and why so many people find comfort in the macabre.

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Join us for Family Twist After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus podcast featuring personal stories, family secrets, behind-the-scenes conversations and plenty we don't share on the regular show.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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Julie Ann Brumley expected a DNA test to answer a few questions.

She didn't expect to find a sister, a 100% Italian biological father, or an entire family where she could finally see herself reflected in someone else's face.

In part one of our conversation, Julie and Kendall compare reunion stories and talk about the moments that don't always make it into the movies: sitting through family stories you weren't there for, wondering what you missed, and discovering that joy and grief can show up at the same dinner table.

Along the way, they discuss:

•  Finding biological family through DNA 
•  The first time you realize you actually look like someone 
•  Walking into a family that already has decades of shared memories 
•  Why reunion is a beginning, not an ending 
•  Building relationships with biological siblings later in life 

Julie is an adoptee, trauma-informed coach, speaker, and creator of the Belonging Blueprint, helping adoptees reconnect with themselves through self-belonging and body-based healing.

Next week: Julie explains why she believes adoptees carry their stories in their bodies, and Kendall opens up about the health, anxiety, and identity struggles that finally started making sense after reunion.

About Julie Ann Brumley

Julie Ann Brumley is an adoptee, trauma-informed coach, speaker, and founder of Coming Home to Self. After finding her biological family through DNA, she shifted her work to helping adoptees understand identity, belonging, and the lasting effects of early separation through somatic and self-belonging practices.

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Want more Corey and Kendall? Join us on Patreon for Family Twist: After Hours, our weekly unfiltered bonus show with personal stories, behind-the-scenes conversations, family chaos, and plenty we wouldn’t normally share on Family Twist.

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What happens when a mental health professional finds herself navigating a DNA surprise of her own?

In this deeply personal episode of Family Twist, Corey and Kendall sit down with Angie Miller, licensed mental health therapist, wellness coach, speaker, and host of the Strong Mind, Strong Body podcast, for a conversation about identity, family secrets, and the emotional chaos that can follow a late-in-life DNA discovery. 

Angie opens up about learning through DNA testing that the man she believed was her biological father likely wasn’t. What followed was a complicated emotional journey filled with grief, curiosity, guilt, fear, and unanswered questions. As someone trained in mental health and Internal Family Systems therapy, Angie brings a unique perspective to the conversation, explaining how different “parts” of ourselves can battle for control during moments of trauma and identity disruption. 

The conversation dives into:

•  The emotional shock of unexpected DNA test results 
•  Feeling protective of family members while searching for the truth 
•  The fear of rejection from newly discovered biological relatives 
•  How Internal Family Systems therapy applies to DNA surprises and NPE experiences 
•  Why so many people suppress these discoveries instead of talking about them 
•  The complicated mix of hope, grief, anger, and curiosity that comes with family secrets 

Angie also shares how she’s actively searching for answers right now, including preparing to potentially meet biological relatives in person for the first time. This isn’t a story being told years later with neat conclusions. It’s happening in real time. 

If you’ve experienced a DNA surprise, are part of the adoption, NPE, or donor-conceived communities, or have ever questioned where you truly belong, this episode will hit home.

About Angie Miller

Angie Miller, M.S., LCMHC, CWC, is a licensed clinical mental health therapist, certified wellness coach, international speaker, author, and fitness expert specializing in the connection between emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. She hosts the Strong Mind, Strong Body podcast and is a professional development educator for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Angie also speaks internationally on stress management, resilience, and mental agility. 

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