DNA Discoveries

Stories of Finding Family

About the show

Did you do your DNA test to find out if you’re Irish? If you are like the host, Edward Looney, that’s why he spit in a tube and sent it off to the lab. He ended up finding family he never knew he had. This is a podcast about people who discovered family– parents, brothers, cousins. Listen for heart warming and tear jerking stories about DNA Discoveries that have changed lives.

Episodes

  • Episode 34: Karen Kingsbury's Novel, Now Turned Movie, Tells the Story of Unexpectedly Finding Family

    April 2nd, 2024  |  13 mins 59 secs
    movie

    Christian novel writer, Karen Kingsbury has adapted her novel to a feature film, "Someone Like You." It is a story of embryo adoption and how one of the characters finds out the info about her adoption, how she receives it, and how she processes it. It's a story of finding family on the big screen, and it's' in theaters beginning April 2. Check your local listings.

  • Episode 33: Lisa Was a Super Sleuth and Found An Uncle

    March 15th, 2024  |  1 hr 36 mins
    uncle

    In this episode, Lisa shares her story of how she came to know about a new family member, and how she went about searching and finding information. She figured it out and has been in touch with the new found family and was able to confirm all the facts surrounding the story.

  • Episode 32: Bryan and Sandra Share How, As a Couple, They Welcomed and Accepted Bryan's Daughter

    February 13th, 2024  |  41 mins 3 secs
    father, husband and wife

    Bryan and Sandra enjoyed watching tv shows about finding family. Little did they know that one day they would have a story to tell. In a joint conversation, they together share the story of Bryan finding out he had a daughter from his younger days and how as a husband and wife they accepted her into their family. Get ready for a beautiful and inspiring story!

  • Episode 31: Barbara Lane's Quest to Find Her Long Lost Sisters Separated in Childhood after Abandonment

    January 4th, 2024  |  46 mins 23 secs
    book interview

    Barbara has a story that you won't believe. Her mother abandoned her and her sibling in their house. Child services became involved, and several of the children were separated from each other. In her memoir "Broken Water" she shares how she searched for her ten sisters and in this episode she shares many details of her life story. It's a story of finding family!

  • Episode 30: Robert Found a Nephew...Or Did He?

    December 7th, 2023  |  36 mins 34 secs

    I've known Robert for years since I worked in his community. He reached out on Facebook to tell me he had his own DNA Discovery and would be happy to share it on the podcast. He shares about his adoption and how he happened upon his nephew. Or did he?

  • Episode 29: Robin Schepper Found Her Way and the Identity of Her Bio Dad

    November 8th, 2023  |  44 mins 18 secs
    book interview

    Robin Schepper grew up not knowing who her biological father was, though her mother wanted her to lie and tell people her step-father was. Different names circulated as to who her brith father was, from the name of the birth certificate to another name suggested by her grandmother. Robin shares her story of identifying her biological father on this episode of DNA Discoveries.

  • Episode 28: Bridget Found Family That Looked Like Her

    October 4th, 2023  |  39 mins 52 secs
    npe

    Bridget discovered she was an NPE and shares with listeners what that meant for her, her family, how she coped, how she met her new relatives, and how she moved on after the news.

  • Episode 27: Carmen Rita Wong Asks the Question "Why Didn't You Tell Me?"

    September 15th, 2023  |  40 mins 38 secs
    father, npe

    Carmen Rita Wong is an American radio, television and online journalist, and personal finance expert at CNBC who also has been on quite the family roller coaster wide related to the identity of her father. Raised by a Chinese a father, she presumed he was her father, only to be told someone else was, and then had that rug pulled out from under her feet one day by surprise. Carmen offers profound insights into her journey that are sure to inspire others in a similar situation.

  • Episode 26: John Found His Father-in-Law's Long Lost Brother and Doesn't Have a Happy Ending Yet

    September 1st, 2023  |  33 mins 12 secs
    autosomal dna discovery

    This episode is unique for a few reasons. First, John is sharing his wife's story. Second, the story doesn't have a happy ending of family uniting and relationships forming. This is a story that is left to speculation and waiting. But what is certain, is that he found the relative and no one wants to talk about. it.

  • Episode 25: How Jon Baime Filled in the Blanks and Documented it Along the Way

    August 18th, 2023  |  23 mins 22 secs
    donor conceived

    Jon Baime has been helping people tell their stories about anything under the sun through his work in media. But after taking an autosomal DNA test, he now had a story to document and tell--he was donor conceived. His documentary, Filling in the Blanks, is now available on streaming platforms. In this interview, you will hear parts of Jon's story, but you will want to stream the documentary for the full story.

  • Episode 24: Kim Found Our Her Dad was the Brother of Her Mom's Best Friend

    August 1st, 2023  |  32 mins 34 secs
    biodad

    Kim's presumed father died before she was born. Years later she took her autosomal dna test and learned the identity of her father. She shares her story in this episode of DNA Discoveries.

  • Episode 23: Two Eds Meet Up in Chicago

    July 5th, 2023  |  33 mins 44 secs

    Ed joined us back on episode 10 and shared his story. Since the interview back in 2021, Ed and Edward have stayed in touch, exchanging texts and messages about the DNA Discoveries podcast. In this update episode, the two Eds share a conversation from a hotel lobby and Ed provides updates about his genealogical vocation.

  • Episode 22: Gerard, You Have a Son!

    May 1st, 2023  |  52 mins 18 secs
    father

    In this episode, Gerard shares his story of discovering that he had a son and how he fostered a relationship as the time went on.

  • Episode 21: Bob Used to be Italian

    April 20th, 2023  |  33 mins 40 secs
    father

    After being gifted an autosomal DNA test kit, Bob was surprised to learn he wasn't Italian. He was even more surprised to find out that who he believed his father was, was in fact, not his father. He does come to learn the identity of his birth father and other very interesting stories about him.

  • Episode 20: Oscar's Search to Clarify Misinformation and Find His Grandpa

    April 7th, 2023  |  39 mins 49 secs
    grandparent

    Oscar shares his story about wanting to learn more about his grandfather. When parts of his mother's story didn't add up, he found his answers through an autosomal DNA test kit.

  • Episode 19: Robert's Two Sons Gifted Him a New Family

    March 24th, 2023  |  43 mins 2 secs

    Robert's DNA discovery and story of family is a thriller. He was told for many years about his father only to find out that wasn't the name of his father. But could it be that man was still his father, but he had assumed a different identity? It's a mystery that emerged after Robert's two sons gifted him autosomal dna test kits which gave him a new family.