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 18: Beth Found Her Answers, a Brother, and Family

    February 24th, 2023  |  54 mins 38 secs
    dnasearch, e

    Beth was told lies from her mother about the name and identity of her father. With the help of an autosomal DNA test kid, Beth got closer to the answer, and one day, the greatest surprised happened, she matched with a brother. Her life has never been the same. This is Beth's story of finding family.

  • Episode 17: Beth Hired a Detective to Find Her Mom and Found Her Dad Through a DNA Test Kit

    January 18th, 2023  |  38 mins 10 secs
    adoption, autosomal tests

    Today's episode is a joint episode with Beth and her biological dad. She shares her experience and disappointment in finding her birth mother but the great joy in finding her biological father after a few years of searching. Her dad shares how he reacted to and received the news that he had another child he didn't know about.

  • Episode 16: How Chrysta Bilton Processed Her Normal Family of 35+ Siblings

    October 4th, 2022  |  52 mins 5 secs
    book author, donor conceived

    Chrysta Bilton recently penned her memoir titled "Normal Family: On Truth, Love, and How I Met My 35 Siblings" with Little, Brown and Company. She shares many stories of her life growing up and then the shocking realization that she had over 35 siblings from donor conception. At first resisting the new family, Chrysta eventually warms up to these siblings, who she now calls family.

  • Episode 15: The Adoption Story of David Scotton

    September 6th, 2022  |  31 mins 32 secs
    adoption

    The adoption story of David Scotton will be told on the big screen on September 9th in the new movie Lifemark. In this episode, David shares how as an adoptee, he felt about his birth parents, and he recounts the story and emotions of meeting them for the first time. David's story isn't one of an autosomal DNA test kit, but I thought it was a story worth sharing on DNA Discoveries because of the tagline, Stories of Finding Family.

  • Episode 14: Annette Introduces Us to Her Papa

    August 16th, 2022  |  43 mins 42 secs
    biologicaldad

    In the first episode of DNA Discoveries, we met Annette and learned her story about finding her biological father. They forged a mother-father relationship, so much so, that Annette moved to be closer to him. Today on DNA Discoveries, Annette is back and she introduces us to her dad.

  • Episode 13: What Ken Learned About Himself When He Did a DNA Test

    March 29th, 2022  |  44 mins 15 secs
    adoption, dna, family, mother, son, story

    Ken shares his adoption story on this episode of DNA Discoveries and reveals a shocking fact he didn't know until he began this process.

  • Episode 12: Mike's DNA Discovery in the 1990's, 2018, and still today

    March 8th, 2022  |  30 mins 1 sec
    23 and me, adoption, ancestry dna, biological dad, biological mom, dna, family, finding family, relatives, sister, stories

    Mike knew from early on that he was adopted. Not knowing anything about his family health history, he looked for information about his biological family the old fashioned way in the 1990's. His discovery of information didn't stop then, because the technological advancements with DNA and its popularity, allowed him to discover much more in recent years.

  • Episode 11: Larecia is Making up for Lost Time after Finding Her Father

    February 22nd, 2022  |  52 mins 51 secs
    23 and me, ancestry dna, biological dad, discovering family, dna story, finding family, larecia bufford, npe

    Larecia was on a quest to find her biological father. After many years, she finally found the answers she was looking for, and now is making up for lost time.

  • Episode 10: How Ed Found the Identity of His Biological Grandfather through Genetic Genealogy and Reading the CMs

    January 25th, 2022  |  54 mins 41 secs
    23andme, ancestrydna, biologicaldad, dna, family, findingfamily, relatives, stories

    Ed had a passion for family genealogical research. He wanted to know everything about his family. When his father took a DNA test, a new mystery presented itself, and his passion for family research became genetic genealogy. Being quite the sleuth, Ed was able to identify his father's biological dad, and this new family welcomed both Ed and his dad into their clan.

  • Episode 9: Brandy's Struggle to Identify the Mystery Man in the Photo Years Later

    October 5th, 2021  |  1 hr 29 secs
    23andme, ancestrydna, biologicaldad, dna, family, findingfamily, relatives, sister, stories

    Brandy learned at a young age her dad wasn't her dad, and that the mystery man in a vacation photo was her biological dad. She struggled to identify the man, but with lots of help and perseverance, she now knows his name and connected with a sister.

  • Episode 8: How Peter Connected with Relatives on His Dad's Biological Side and the Finding of a Bonus Cousin

    September 21st, 2021  |  31 mins 29 secs
    23andme, ancestrydna, dna, extendedfamily, father, findingfamily, son

    In fifth grade, Peter had an unusual encounter at school and wondered who a mysterious family member was. Years later, he would discover family on his dad's biological side. His ancestry search took him even further to find a relative no one knew about.

  • Episode 7: The Ups and Downs of Kristi's Search for Family and the Blessings She Found Along the Way

    September 7th, 2021  |  32 mins 4 secs
    23andme, ancestrydna, birthfamily, dna, findingfamily

    Kristi knew she was adopted and wanted to search for her birth parents. Her test yielded results which helped her find additional blessings along the way. Kristi shares the ups and downs of her search with us today.

  • New Episodes Beginning in September

    August 26th, 2021  |  3 mins 28 secs
    23andme, ancestrydna, dna, findingfamily

    Have you discovered family through the DNA kits? Maybe it is time for you to share your story? DNA Discoveries is now recruiting new interviewees. Allow Edward Looney to help you tell your story with the rest of the world!

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    Episode 6: I Am Complete Because I Found My Dad with Nina Manzare

    August 23rd, 2020  |  25 mins 58 secs
    23andme, ancestry, biological, dad, daughter, dna, family, father, mother, myheritage, reunion, siblings, story

    Nina Manzare was told at a young age that the man she called dad wasn't really her father. It wasn't until taking a DNA test that she confirmed that was true. Her search led her to discover half-siblings which paved the way to her becoming complete by finding her dad.

  • Episode 5: Two Sisters Deliver a Birthday Surprise with Chera

    August 17th, 2020  |  24 mins 13 secs
    ancestry, biological, daughter, dna, family, father, half-sister, mother, reunion, story

    Edward Looney interviews Chera who shares about her discovery of her half-sister and how they accidently surprised their biological father with the news on his birthday.

  • Episode 4: A Family Reunion Orchestrated by God with Kenny

    August 10th, 2020  |  48 mins 32 secs
    adoption, birthfamily, dna, family, reunion, story

    Kenny was in his twenties and the first year of his marriage when after hearing a sermon at his church about family and identity that he knew he wanted to find his birth family. Little did he know that God already was working on the heart of his birth father. Kenny's story will fill the listener with wonder and awe.