Born In June Raised In April: What Adoption Can Teach the World

Host April Dinwoodie and guest April Michelle Rivera-Curtis have a powerful conversation about very personal experiences of adoption, foster care, identity, and family as well as our current shared experiences during a global pandemic.

In this March episode, host April Dinwoodie sits down with healing guide and reiki master, Graciela Asher to discuss what it means to be lucky, the importance of recognizing all women connected to our lives, and of course adoption.

In this February episode, host April Dinwoodie sits down with biracial, transracial adoptee and cancer survivor, Hilary North-Ellasante. Meaning is often connected to identity and life experience and these aspects of ourselves impact the ways we move through the world. Listen as the two discuss all things love as it relates to their adoption experience.

In this January podcast producer Kwam Green has an intimate conversation with host April Dinwoodie about her inspiration for the podcast, her personal and professional life and of course love!

In this special advocacy edition, April sits down with Tim Monti-Wohlpart to talk about the years long fight for adoptee equality in New York State and the passage of the bill allowing adult adopted persons access to their original birth certificates beginning January 2020.

In this December episode, host April Dinwoodie sits down with longtime friend and adopted person Tony Shellman.  After many years of crossing paths professionally, it is only fitting that the two finally take some time to be in conversation about adoption, identity, and family in the same month that Tony joined his family of experience so many years ago.  

In this special November episode, host April Dinwoodie welcomes award-winning Chef, Restaurateur, Author, and Co-Owner of Red Rooster Harlem, Marcus Samuelsson and guest-host Louis Johnson Jr., Trend Specialist at Harlem Haberdashery and Accessory King, for a poignant conversation about shared connections, differences of race, class, and culture, and the importance of family! 

In this October episode, host April Dinwoodie sits down with transracially adopted person Marcus Schmidt to talk about all things adoption, identity, and family.  Even though they are generations apart, they both share October birthdays and the challenges of navigating differences of race, class, and culture related to adoption. 

In this episode host April Dinwoodie sits down Allison Trevino adopted person, birth parent and doctoral candidate to talk about the many intricate layers of the adoption that have impacted her life and how she has turned her experience into a fierce commitment to research on fathers.

In this August episode, host April Dinwoodie sits down with Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao for a very intimate conversation about the impact of adoption on her life, and how her professional motivations were fueled by her experiences.

In this July episode, host April Dinwoodie and guest Ridghaus explore the complicated themes of freedom and independence connected to adoption and the ability to fully realize our whole identities as adopted persons.

The month of June holds so much additional meaning within the extended family of adoption!  In this episode, host JuneinApril welcomes adopted person and Child Behavior Expert Bryan Post for a discussion of the beautiful and often complicated reality of Father's Day, as well as the significance of birthdays, the importance of supporting families and children that are experiencing trauma, and the a...

In this May podcast, host April Dinwoodie welcomes transnationally adopted person and artist Benjamin Lundberg Torres Sánchez to her home in Harlem to have a conversation about the meaning of Mother's Day, navigating two mothers, what mother country means to him, his art, and so much more.

For this April 2019 podcast, host April Dinwoodie answers questions sent in from some of her past guests.  In this very intimate episode, April shares her deep and personal thoughts and feelings about the many layers of adoption, and how her experiences have shaped her identity, what she values, and her most important relationships.

In recognition of Women's History Month, this March we are celebrating all of the amazing women that have been interviewed on the podcast over the years.   There are so many moving and meaningful moments from these fierce women!

As the podcast begins its 4 th  year, host April Dinwoodie welcomes "DMC" and his wife Zuri McDaniels to talk about their journey together.  With St. Valentine's Day and Black History Month as a backdrop, the couple shares the many layers of their love and commitment, and how adoption and family matters are embedded in their lives. 

Your host, April Dinwoodie and guest Kwam Green come together to talk about complicated family structures and experiences, and how we have the ability to reconfigure and build our own families, as well as choosing what traditions and legacy's to honor, and what we can let go.  This episode expands the conversation, and opens up even more lessons we can learn when we have an open and authentic conv...

Host April Dinwoodie welcomes guest  Amy  Ginther for a deep and personal discussion about some of the most triggering headlines of 2018.  From the Hart family tragedy, to the separation of children and families at the border, to Colin Kaepernick's continued activism - our conversation centers on the importance of community as we talk about breaking tradition at the holidays, claiming our experien...

In this jam-packed month of November, host April Dinwoodie sits down with former foster youth and innovator Sixto Cancel to talk about the abundance of energy the holidays can bring to those of us navigating complicated family dynamics, and the importance of leveraging technology to create change in child welfare.

This October, host April Dinwoodie welcomes another member of the extended family of adoption; singer, songwriter, author, and fellow Scorpio, Zara Phillips.  Zara's life is a testament to never giving up, the search for identity, and the healing power of community. 

One of the best ways to learn about the many layers of adoption is by listening to those closest to the adoption experience.  In a "June in April" podcast first, host April Dinwoodie welcomes brothers Michael and Mark to the show.    Michael and Mark are both adopted but do not share a biological connection.  Both were born in Tokyo, Japan, adopted into the United States and raised outside of Seat...

This August host April Dinwoodie welcomes another member of the extended family of adoption, creative powerhouse Rock Wilk.  Rock is an award-winning performance artist, writer, composer, musician and adopted person. April and Rock share an in depth conversation about growing up adopted and the many many layers of beauty and complexity that comes with it.    

With "Independence Day" as a backdrop, July is the perfect time to discuss both the personal elements of independence and identity and  the bigger broader concepts of freedom related to the adoption experience.  Today, working to truly move in a spirit of independence around access to information and healthy identity development is urgent work. Host April Dinwoodie and her guest Tim will explore a...

Taken from his mother at age three, Steve Klakowitz lived a terrifying existence.  Caught in the clutches of a cruel foster family and subjected to constant abuse, Steve finds his only refuge in a box of books given to him by a kind stranger.  In these books, he discovers new worlds he can only imagine and begins to hope that one day he might have a different life – that one day he will find his t...

  Mother's Day can bring complicated thoughts and feelings, especially for for those of us in the extended family of adoption.  This May, our host April sits down with transracially-adopted person Rachel Nordlinger to talk about their shared experiences surrounding adoption, identity and family.