Imagine building out a detailed family tree… only to find out you’re not actually in it. That’s what happened to this guest from Australia, who took a casual DNA test at age 59—and uncovered a life-changing secret: he was adopted, and no one had ever told him.
In Part One of this deeply personal two-part conversation, we follow his journey from Aussie amateur genealogist to late-discovery adoptee facing a tidal wave of buried truths. And yes, he really did confront his adoptive parents the day before Mother’s Day.
What’s Inside:
Why It Matters:
This isn’t just one man’s story—it’s part of a larger reckoning with Australia’s history of forced adoption, where thousands were stripped of their identities. And it’s a wake-up call for anyone who still believes their birth certificate tells the whole truth.
Heads-Up:
This episode discusses adoption trauma, family deception, and the emotional toll of late discovery. Please listen with care.
Coming Soon – Part Two:
The six-year legal battle to have his father’s name restored—and how he became one of Australia’s loudest voices fighting for adoptee rights.
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Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.