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...
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Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 16 hours 21 minutes
episode 5: Defining Diego | 5. When Everything Changed
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
episode 4: Defining Diego | 4. The Fall of International Adoption
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...
episode 3: Defining Diego | 3. Baby Boom
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...
episode 2: Defining Diego | 2. Where I'm From
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...
episode 1: Defining Diego | 1. My Two Mothers
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
24 Years in the Making
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
What Makes a Family?
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
Introducing… Welcome to The Sunshine Place
Once called “the miracle on the beach,” Synanon began in the 1960s as an experimental rehab facility in Santa Monica, California with a radical claim: It could cure heroin addiction. Before long, it would make an even bolder claim: It could cure any of your problems. All you had to do was move in. What started in a house on the beach, soon spread to compounds across the country. The man who made the miracle happen, Charles E...
A New Investigation: Explaining the Unexplainable
Publicly, the government once called UFOs a “waste of time”, but new evidence and uncovered documents prove that the U.S. government is, and for decades has been, very interested in the UFO phenomenon. Who are these people coming forward with these government secrets? Fringe Network: Alien State is part of The Binge, a new podcast channel from Sony Music Entertainment. The Binge: All Episodes, All at Once. Out Now. From Somethin' Else and Sony Music Entertainment...
episode 12: BioHacked | 12. A Future Without Shame
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