Family Secrets

Next week’s bonus conversation is with one of our favorite writers and thinkers, about an unusual and unforgettable Family Secrets episode. Listeners are encouraged to revisit the past episode in advance!

Listen to David Kacyznski's episode, 'What's Wrong With Teddy?' here.

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In the first episode of this special bonus series, Dani and great mind Dr. Galit Atlas unpack the themes presented in a memorable Family Secrets story from our third season.

Listen to Adam Frankel's episode, 'Bubbe and Zayde and Grandma and Pa' here.

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Dani announces a new bonus series of conversations with great minds coming soon!

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In this bonus episode, Dani sits down with Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer Jennifer Senior about her latest cover story in The Atlantic  - ‘Those We Sent Away’ - which explores her own family secret. 

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As we prepare for Season Nine, Dani pauses to say hello to our Family Secrets family.

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In the second part of this inspiring two-part episode, writer and musician Jessica Willis Fisher finishes her powerful story of survival.

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In the first part of this harrowing two-part episode, writer and musician Jessica Willis Fisher courageously speaks the unspeakable truths of the abuse she faced at the hands of her father. But this is just the beginning.

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From the outside, Priscilla’s family life looks dazzling. Her parents are both revered in the literary community and she and her sister grow up in an artistic home. But things change when their parents decide to do something they said they never would: they divorce. After this, their father’s hidden life begins to rise to the surface.

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Kyleigh and her older sister Kait couldn’t be closer. They lean on one another all throughout childhood. But at a certain point, Kait’s mental health begins to fray and with it, so does Kyleigh’s grip on her relationship with her beloved sister. When Kait disappears, Kyleigh is left to grapple with incredible loss and the painful reality of questions that can never be answered.

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Letty’s life is laced with “shanda”—the Yiddish word for shame or disgrace. And the shanda is not hers alone; it stretches back and through many generations of suppression, secrecy, and the enormous heft of overcoming stigma and breaking the cycle for once and for all.

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Emi is a brilliant child caught in the storms of the adults around her. As such, her own troubles begin to brew and her secrets compound. From foster care to homelessness to an Ivy League education and robust career, Emi’s trajectory is an extraordinary lesson in what is possible when resilience wins the day.

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Allison knows something is fundamentally different about her. She looks different and she feels different from the other girls in school. But when her parents refuse to acknowledge just how different she is, it becomes harder and harder for her to reckon with who she is, and who she wants to become.

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Forever punctuated by shame, secrecy, and danger, Isaac's search to know himself has always been a precarious journey. But as he walks the rocky road toward self-acceptance, he must reconcile his need to be both strong and vulnerable.

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From a very young age, Sophia is taught to deflect when people ask questions. Her parents teach her this lesson, and they tell her to keep a low profile as an American living abroad. When she finds a letter she’s not supposed to read, she learns what her parents do for a living – and that changes everything.

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Growing up among conflicting cultures and customs, Carmen feels a profound sense of otherness. When her mother reveals their family secret, Carmen’s conflicts deepen and the puzzle pieces of her identity scatter before eventually— they finally snap into place.

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Join us starting May 4th for 10 new stories of tenacity, resilience, and the profoundly necessary excavation of long-held family secrets.

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In this special bonus episode, the tables are turned as veteran journalist and podcast host Kimi Culp interviews Dani about her own family history and the secret at its core.

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Stories from our friends at The Secrets Hotline Podcast, hosted by Nick van der Kolk.

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In this bonus episode, Dani speaks with renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté about his new book,The Myth of Normal, and the ways in which we can begin to heal from our wounds and traumas.

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