Welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast, where we explore the stories that shape us; stories of identity, resilience, and the courage it takes to search your truth.
Today’s guest is someone many of you will recognise, not just from the hugely popular Toni and Ryan Podcast, but from a more personal journey that’s touched hearts across Australia and beyond.
Ryan Jon is a storyteller, a broadcaster, a podcaster, a husband and father and an adoptee. In 2017, he shared a heartfelt video on Mother’s Day: a message to the birth mother he’d never met, filled with gratitude, hope, and love. In November 2024, that search came to an end; not in the way Ryan expected, but in a way that brought heartbreak, grief but also a sense of healing.
In this episode, Ryan reflects on the moment he found out that his birth mother, Julie, had passed, and the unexpected reunion with her family that followed. He also talks about discovering his birth father through a DNA test, connecting instantly through humour, quick wit and similar career paths and interests with him and his half brothers, and how becoming a dad to Mabel has shifted things he thought he knew about love, sacrifice, and appreciating the present moment.
This was a conversation about curiosity, connection, and the quiet power of finding peace in a journey of identity that had an unexpected finality to it.
This was a warm, honest, and full of heart conversation. Here’s my chat with Ryan Jon.
Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter.
The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com