Adoptees Crossing Lines

Fancy Dance: When Family Preservation Becomes a Crime Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with Fancy Dance. Unlike so many films about adoption and foster care,...

Fancy Dance: When Family Preservation Becomes a Crime Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with Fancy Dance . Unlike so many films about adoption and foster care, Fancy Dance centers the experiences of those directly impacted by family separation rather than the people or systems claiming to save them. Thro...

The Wild Robot: Rewriting Harm as Love Episode Summary: The Wild Robot isn’t technically an adoption story, or at least it doesn’t look like one at first. But once you strip away the animation, sweeping music, and story about a robot learning to love, ...

The Wild Robot: Rewriting Harm as Love Episode Summary:  The Wild Robot isn’t technically an adoption story, or at least it doesn’t look like one at first. But once you strip away the animation, sweeping music, and story about a robot learning to love, what’s left feels remarkably familiar. Roz arrives in a community that isn’t hers, accidentally kills Brightbill’s entire family, raises him h...

Short Term 12: Who Gets Centered When We Tell Stories About Care? Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with Short Term 12. Once remembered as a rare film that ce...

Short Term 12: Who Gets Centered When We Tell Stories About Care? Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with Short Term 12 . Once remembered as a rare film that centered young people in care, the rewatch lands differently. Together, they unpack how the film still centers caregivers, relies on familiar stereo...

Beyond the Happy Ending: Matilda and Child Autonomy Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with a childhood classic: Matilda. Rewatching the film as adults, they e...

Beyond the Happy Ending: Matilda and Child Autonomy Episode Summary:  In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and J Way continue their Family Policing in the Media series with a childhood classic: Matilda . Rewatching the film as adults, they explore what its story says about child autonomy, neglect, survival, education, and the people who become safe places when home isn’t one. Th...

Joker: Systems, Class Warfare, and the Cost of Being Unseen Episode summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and Jay continue their mini-series on family policing in the media with a discussion of the 2019 film Joker. They unpack the ...

Joker: Systems, Class Warfare, and the Cost of Being Unseen Episode summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and Jay continue their mini-series on family policing in the media with a discussion of the 2019 film Joker . They unpack the film as more than a villain origin story—examining how failed systems, class struggle, and abandonment by institutions shape Arthur Fleck’s descen...

Episode summary: Zaira and J continue the mini-series on family policing in the media with Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot. They break down how the film uses religion, marketing, and savior narratives to sell adoption as “justice,” while ignori...

Episode summary: Zaira and J continue the mini-series on family policing in the media with Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot . They break down how the film uses religion, marketing, and savior narratives to sell adoption as “justice,” while ignoring the root causes that push families into the system. They also connect the story to church state entanglement, coercion in congregations, and wha...

Losing Isaiah: When the System Steals, and Hollywood Sells It Back to You Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way continue their mini-series on family policing in the media with a critical look at the 1995 film Losi...

Losing Isaiah: When the System Steals, and Hollywood Sells It Back to You Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way continue their mini-series on family policing in the media with a critical look at the 1995 film Losing Isaiah . They unpack the film’s portrayal of Black motherhood, addiction, transracial adoption, and white saviorism. From courtroom drama to deep...

Instant Family: Comedy, Consent, and Adoption Propaganda Episode Summary: What happens when a comedy about foster care hides a deeper agenda? In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and J Way dig into the film Instant Family, its tone, tropes...

Instant Family: Comedy, Consent, and Adoption Propaganda Episode Summary: What happens when a comedy about foster care hides a deeper agenda? In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and J Way dig into the film Instant Family, its tone, tropes, and troubling narratives. They reflect on how comedy disarms audiences, how media normalizes adoption propaganda, and why who tells the story mat...

The Blind Side: Ownership, Propaganda, and the White Savior Playbook Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira and co-host/editor J Way kick off a new film mini-series with one of the most infamous adoption movies of all time: ...

The Blind Side: Ownership, Propaganda, and the White Savior Playbook Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira and co-host/editor J Way kick off a new film mini-series with one of the most infamous adoption movies of all time: The Blind Side . They revisit this Oscar winning film with fresh eyes, exposing its white savior narrative, racist tropes, and the insidious contro...

Ashley Albert on Survival, Strategy, and Standing on Business Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira is joined by Ashley Albert—organizer, survivor, and founder of Stolen Children’s Month. Ashley shares her journey from fost...

Ashley Albert on Survival, Strategy, and Standing on Business Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira is joined by Ashley Albert—organizer, survivor, and founder of Stolen Children’s Month. Ashley shares her journey from foster care and incarceration to becoming the first parent in Washington state to legally enforce and modify an open adoption agreement. Together, they...

What We Carried from the Black Mothers March Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira sits down with her editor and friend J Way to reflect on their experience attending the Black Mothers March in Washington, D.C. From the pow...

What We Carried from the Black Mothers March Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira sits down with her editor and friend J Way to reflect on their experience attending the Black Mothers March in Washington, D.C. From the powerful teach in and the emotional impact of firsthand stories to the joyful moments of community and connection, they unpack what it means to organi...

Adopted Twice: Kinship, Control, and the Cost of Silence Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines, Zaira sits down with Kat Shahinian-Buffa to explore the layers of secrecy, grief, and reclamation embedded in kinship adoption. From b...

Adopted Twice: Kinship, Control, and the Cost of Silence Episode Summary: In this episode of Adoptees Crossing Lines , Zaira sits down with Kat Shahinian-Buffa to explore the layers of secrecy, grief, and reclamation embedded in kinship adoption. From being adopted the day she was born to uncovering that her sister is also her cousin through a DNA test, Kat walks us through her journey of survival...

Raised by Auntie, Called Mom: The Complicated Truth of Kinship Adoption Episode Summary: In this episode, attorney and pro-Black adoptee Aretha Frazier shares her story of being adopted by her aunt in a kinship placement that was far from simple. From ...