All Relative: Defining Diego
Somethin' Else
Defining Diego is the story of one Guatemalan adoptee and his mother, a reporter who documented their journey from his earliest steps, as they try to understand how international adoption boomed and busted, and what it all means for families like theirs, with feet in two worlds. When Laurie Stern set out to adopt a baby from Guatemala in 1999, she thought the process would be pretty straightforward. Lots of people were doing it. But the adoption was held up just as she went to Guatemala to get her son, Diego. That began a journey of discovery. What unfolds is the story of why international adoption peaked — and then collapsed — in Guatemala. It is also the story of how Diego, now 24, learned to be a Maya man with deep roots both in his birth village and Minnesota, where he still lives. Now, Diego has questions about his adoption, too — like why tiny Guatemala was such a popular choice for many adoptive parents in the U.S. and Europe in the early 2000s. As one of more than 50,000 Guatemalan adoptees, Diego’s still figuring out what it means to be Guatemalan, American, indigenous Tzutujil, and an adoptee raised by white parents in St. Paul, Minnesota. At its heart, Defining Diego is a deeply personal narrative: of a mother and son grappling with big questions about identity and health, and the meaning of home and family. Using 20+ years of the family’s archive recordings, we hear Diego grow up — and begin his own journey of self-discovery. Season 1 of All Relative — known as BioHacked: Family Secrets — focuses on the fertility industry and how the now-adult children of anonymous sperm and egg donors are trying to change the baby business. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of All Relative: Defining Diego, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - All Episodes. All at Once. Plus you’ll unlock brand new stories, dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the All Relative: Defining Diego show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Location:
United States
Networks:
Somethin' Else
Description:
Defining Diego is the story of one Guatemalan adoptee and his mother, a reporter who documented their journey from his earliest steps, as they try to understand how international adoption boomed and busted, and what it all means for families like theirs, with feet in two worlds. When Laurie Stern set out to adopt a baby from Guatemala in 1999, she thought the process would be pretty straightforward. Lots of people were doing it. But the adoption was held up just as she went to Guatemala to get her son, Diego. That began a journey of discovery. What unfolds is the story of why international adoption peaked — and then collapsed — in Guatemala. It is also the story of how Diego, now 24, learned to be a Maya man with deep roots both in his birth village and Minnesota, where he still lives. Now, Diego has questions about his adoption, too — like why tiny Guatemala was such a popular choice for many adoptive parents in the U.S. and Europe in the early 2000s. As one of more than 50,000 Guatemalan adoptees, Diego’s still figuring out what it means to be Guatemalan, American, indigenous Tzutujil, and an adoptee raised by white parents in St. Paul, Minnesota. At its heart, Defining Diego is a deeply personal narrative: of a mother and son grappling with big questions about identity and health, and the meaning of home and family. Using 20+ years of the family’s archive recordings, we hear Diego grow up — and begin his own journey of self-discovery. Season 1 of All Relative — known as BioHacked: Family Secrets — focuses on the fertility industry and how the now-adult children of anonymous sperm and egg donors are trying to change the baby business. Want the full story? Unlock all episodes of All Relative: Defining Diego, ad-free right now by subscribing to The Binge - All Episodes. All at Once. Plus you’ll unlock brand new stories, dropping every month - that’s all episodes, all at once, all ad-free. Just click ‘try free’ on the top of the All Relative: Defining Diego show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you listen. Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Language:
English
Episodes
Poisoned Letters & a Frantic Investigation - The Untold Story of the Anthrax Attacks
3/5/2024
In 2001, a series of letters laced with a deadly powder called anthrax appeared on the desks of prominent journalists and politicians in New York City and Washington D.C causing a national panic. But what started as an unprecedented case soon turned into an unsettling mystery. Who had sent these letters? And why? Join us as we trace the FBI’s costly investigation into the attacks, all with an eye toward the question that remains today: Did the FBI identify the true killer, or is this case still unresolved? Unravel the story the played out behind closed doors on Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat, listen now wherever you get your podcasts Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes of Cover Up: The Anthrax Threat right now, completely ad-free. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:02:43
From the Host of BioHacked... Cover Up: The Pill Plot
8/30/2023
BioHacked host T. J. Raphael is back with a new podcast — Cover Up: The Pill Plot. Back in the ‘90s, a ragtag group plotted an international drug smuggling scheme and set up a secretive lab to cook up tablets. But they weren’t trafficking narcotics—they were fighting to bring the abortion pill to America. The new season of Cover Up: The Pill Plot will take you inside the epic struggle facing activists who battled presidents, the Supreme Court, militant anti-abortionists, would-be assassins, and murders. Listen to the full season now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:41:56
Defining Diego | Adoptee Voices
12/5/2022
Aa Tiko' travels to a meet up of Guatemalan adoptees in Washington D.C., though he’s a little unsure of what he’ll find there. He talks to three different adoptees from two different continents about their lives, and how they manage to live in two worlds. While hesitant at first, Aa Tiko' begins to see himself as part of the larger adoptee community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:30:20
Defining Diego | What Brought Me Here
11/28/2022
Aa Tiko' takes us on a journey through Guatemalan history — from the Spanish invasion to the rise of the banana industry and eventually the Guatemalan Civil War — to understand how indigenous communities have resisted oppression again and again. And we see Dolores not as translator but as storyteller, sharing her own family’s history and her hopes for Aa Tiko'. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:21:47
Defining Diego | 8. Becoming Aa Tiko’
11/21/2022
A birth family reunion in 2022 helps Diego piece together more parts of his identity, but it also sparks new questions that he struggles to process — especially as he and Laurie grapple with what it means to take a baby from one culture and raise him in another. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:39:44
Defining Diego | 7. What's On Paper
11/14/2022
It’s 2022, and Diego has a mission: to reclaim his Guatemalan citizenship. But on the ground in Guatemala City, he finds that his identity as an adoptee is still complicated, even 23 years later. Diego asks his birth mother if he can meet his birth father, Cristobal — but it’s unclear if that will actually happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:47:17
Defining Diego | 6. Resist and Release
11/7/2022
We hear from a family whose adoption was in-progress when the Guatemalan government shut everything down. A few years after his fateful diagnosis, Diego is a surly teenager. The family’s figuring out a way forward. Laurie takes Diego back to Guatemala, where he learns about the meanings behind his birth names — Xicay and Petzey. Diego asks Isabel more questions about his birth father, Cristobal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:44:22
Defining Diego | 5. When Everything Changed
10/31/2022
When Diego turns 12, he’s diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, and his entire world turns inside out. The family goes into survival mode. Sick and angry Diego acts out — and Laurie and Dan struggle with how to parent him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:43:03
Defining Diego | 4. The Fall of International Adoption
10/24/2022
The international adoption racket is surging — and it’s gotten way out of control. All over the world, ugly stories begin to surface: of stolen children, shady adoption lawyers, and birth mothers pressured to give up their children. So in 2008, under increasing pressure from human rights activists, the Guatemalan government shuts the whole thing down. And on a trip to Guatemala, Diego’s curiosity is sparked by seeing a photograph of his birth father for the first time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:37:18
Defining Diego | 3. Baby Boom
10/17/2022
Adoption has become a booming industry — the price is soaring, and Guatemala has become a top exporter of babies for adoption, second only to China. But when making families becomes secondary to making money, the cost to Guatemalan birth mothers is incalculable — and babies are treated more like products than people. Meanwhile, on a trip back to his birth village, six-year-old Diego receives tragic news — and Laurie and her husband Dan face a tough decision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:39:45
Defining Diego | 2. Where I'm From
10/10/2022
Laurie takes three-year-old Diego back to Guatemala for the first time since his adoption. While Diego bonds with his birth mother Isabel, Laurie starts talking with birth mothers all over the country. Many are young, live in poverty, or are survivors of the Guatemalan civil war. Despite how much adoption costs for families in the U.S., Laurie begins to realize how little birth mothers receive in exchange. Meanwhile, Diego is growing up as an indigenous Mayan kid in St. Paul, Minnesota — loving hockey, hating Spanish lessons, and navigating what it means to have family in two places. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:42:14
Defining Diego | 1. My Two Mothers
10/3/2022
It’s 1999, and reporter Laurie Stern wants to adopt a child with her husband. At the time, international adoption seems pretty straightforward — Laurie wants a baby, and there are babies who need parents. But once she arrives in Guatemala City to meet a five-month old boy named Diego, she realizes that nothing about adopting a baby from Guatemala is that simple. 23 years later, Diego’s an adult, and he has questions of his own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:38:37
24 Years in the Making
9/26/2022
Defining Diego is the story of one Guatemalan adoptee and his mother, a reporter who documented their journey from his earliest steps, as they try to understand how international adoption boomed and busted — and what it all means for families like theirs, with feet in two worlds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:02:50
What Makes a Family?
9/19/2022
Families are complex, and so are the ways they come together. TJ Raphael, host of BioHacked, speaks with the host of our upcoming season — All Relative: Defining Diego, coming to this feed on October 3rd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:05:03
BioHacked | 12. A Future Without Shame
5/18/2022
The baby business has used shame and secrecy as tools for decades. But a new generation of parents are removing stigma by leaning into a model that centers love, science, and determination. How can the lessons of the past shape the way forward for the fertility industry? Have feedback about the show? Email us at biohacked@threeuncannyfour.com. Follow our host on Twitter @TJRaphael. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:44:07
BioHacked | 11. Underground Markets
5/11/2022
From Facebook groups to Tinder-like apps, a new generation of parents are using unregulated tech to form families outside the baby business. Get to know the women and couples seeking out sperm online – and the donors stepping up to the plate to help them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:40:20
BioHacked | 10. The Great Sperm Drought
5/4/2022
Fertility industry experts have a warning for donor conceived activists: new rules in the baby business could have some big, unintended consequences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:41:18
BioHacked | 9. Anger To Action
4/27/2022
Donor conceived activists want lasting change, but they'll have to go big with their plans to overhaul the baby business. They've organized and strategized — and now, they're ready to take on the multi-billion dollar industry that created them. Even if it is an uphill battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:39:56
BioHacked | 8. A Deadly Donation?
4/20/2022
Thousands of women donate eggs for cash or freeze them for personal use. Could this life-altering treatment be a lot more dangerous than we think? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:43:38
BioHacked | 7. Cease and Desist
4/13/2022
A grandmother, a granddaughter, and one anonymous donor's fight to maintain his privacy. What happens when a genetic test creates a family rift? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Duration:00:34:15