Family Twist: A Podcast Exploring DNA Surprises and Family Secrets

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of our conversation with author and advocate J. Steven Osborne, we explore what happens after the shock of a DNA discovery, when the dust starts to settle, and you're left piecing together not just your origin story, but your identity . Steven opens up about the emotional toll of learning that Jack Osborne, the man who raised him and loved him unconditionally, wasn’...

Send us Fan Mail J. Steven Osborne believed he knew where he came from until an ancestry DNA test turned his world upside down. What started in 2021 as a casual curiosity for Native American heritage ended with a jaw-dropping response: a first cousin in Prince Edward Island. And his father? Not who he thought. Join Corey as Steven recounts the powerful, painful, and sometimes absurd journey that u...

Send us Fan Mail Author, adoptee, and fierce truth-teller Jean Widner returns to Family Twist —and this time, she’s holding a finished book in her hands. In this emotionally raw and intellectually rich conversation, Corey sits down with Jean to talk about the release of her long-anticipated book, The Adoption Paradox , and the deeply personal story behind it. What began as a community-driven explo...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Chris, the emotional stakes deepen. Chris takes us through the winding road of reconnection with his birth father—once lost to addiction and incarceration—and how a long-awaited letter cracked the door open to forgiveness and healing. We also explore the life-changing moment Chris met his half-brother from his birth father’s side, a chil...

Send us Fan Mail Chris’s story may not begin with a shocking discovery but it’s no less extraordinary. In this episode, Kendall and Corey sit down with Chris to explore a rare but deeply moving example of an open adoption that worked exactly as intended . Chris has known his birth parents for his entire life, and his adoptive parents invited his birth family in from day one. But as we quickly lear...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 2 of our powerful conversation with Lisa MM Butler, we go deeper into what happens after the DNA tests, after the reunions, and after the losses. Lisa, an outspoken transracial adoptee, writer, illustrator, and library worker, shares how the death of her adoptive parents left her grappling with the question: Whose family am I part of now? Lisa takes us inside her inner wor...

Send us Fan Mail In Part One of this powerful two-part episode, Corey and Kendall sit down with Lisa, who shares the beginning of her journey into the world of unexpected DNA discoveries. Lisa believed she understood her place in her family — until a test revealed otherwise. What follows is a story of emotional whiplash: from excitement and curiosity to confusion, rejection, and deep grief. DNA Do...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you pair a woman searching for her birth family with an uncle who’s all-in for the ride? You get Team Red: Kayli and Dan, standouts from Season 15 of BYUtv’s Relative Race, and this episode of Family Twist dives into every twist, turn, and tearjerking reunion from their epic 10-day journey. Team Red and the Ultimate Family Plot Twist Kayli, adopted at birth, had...

Send us Fan Mail Peter’s story doesn’t end with a DNA test or a family reunion. It enters the courtroom. In this gripping conclusion to our two-part conversation with Australia-based adoptee and advocate Peter, we follow his six-year legal fight to have his biological father’s name added to his original birth certificate—a document that, like so many issued in the wake of forced adoption, was inco...

Send us Fan Mail 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-d...

Send us Fan Mail In this milestone episode, the hosts of Family Twist take a heartfelt, unfiltered look back on three years of storytelling, 150 episodes, and the ever-evolving journey of uncovering and healing from family secrets. Family Is Complicated And We’re Not Done Talking About It What began as a podcast to share one adoptee’s story has blossomed into a powerful platform amplifying voices...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful, first-time full release of our conversation with Wendy Kramer, co-founder of the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR), we explore the deeply personal and transformational story behind one of the most influential voices in the donor conception world. Originally thought to be partially lost due to a damaged audio file, this complete conversation captures every twist, turn,...

Send us Fan Mail 🩸 Episode Summary: In this hauntingly heartwarming bonus episode of Family Twist , Corey and Kendall open the crypt to their other podcast, Horror Heals —where trauma, grief, and found family intersect with creepy dolls, final girls, and haunted conventions. You’ll hear from six remarkable guests who’ve turned fear and pain into art, community, and healing. These are the stories...

Send us Fan Mail Listener Note: This episode contains sensitive content, including the death of a pet, home invasion, and terminal illness. In this powerful continuation of Kendall’s adoption journey, we dive deep into one of the most defining and devastating chapters of his life: the years following his adoptive mother Betty’s terminal diagnosis. Why I’m Not Angry They Didn’t Tell Me She Was Dyin...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Family Twist , Corey and Kendall sit down with Eve Sturges, therapist, writer, and host of the podcast Everything’s Relative , to share her powerful journey through the twists and turns of family discovery. After taking a DNA test, Eve uncovered life-changing truths about her origins — and embarked on a heartfelt road trip across the country to meet three newly...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Family Twist , we’re celebrating a major milestone— three years of storytelling, surprise DNA discoveries, and untangling family secrets . And to mark the occasion, we’re bringing you a brand-new edit of one of our most meaningful conversations : a full, uncut interview with Brian Stanton , an acclaimed playwright and adoptee whose solo show, Blank, explores identity,...

Send us Fan Mail In the continuation of Jeremy’s deeply moving story, everything changes with one message: “We discovered we have a brother.” After a lifetime of being the family secret—unwanted by a mother who abused him, erased by a father who walked away—Jeremy took the risk of opening the door. And what came through was nothing short of transformational. The Day I Was No Longer a Ghost In Part...

Send us Fan Mail When Jeremy first reached out to Family Twist, his email stopped us in our tracks. The pain, the longing, the strength—it was all there in his words. In this raw and unforgettable episode, Jeremy shares the first part of his life story: a childhood marked by instability, abuse, and the aching absence of family identity. "Brace for Impact": Surviving Trauma and Searching...

Send us Fan Mail In this powerful and timely episode, Corey and Kendall sit down with Alexis Hourse;t, the creator and host of the DNA Surprises podcast — a show dedicated to exploring the emotional complexity of unexpected DNA discoveries. Alexis shares her own deeply personal story of finding out through a consumer DNA test that she was not who she thought she was—and how that revelation sent he...

Send us Fan Mail What if your biological family—siblings, a mother, even potential fathers—had been living just a few towns away your entire life, and you never knew? My Family Was Right Next Door In this emotionally charged episode of Family Twist , we meet a mother-daughter duo who peel back the layers of a decades-old secret. The mother was adopted in the 1950s under a veil of societal shame. D...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the country of your birth refuses to acknowledge where you really come from? For adoptees, proving their origins can be a legal nightmare—especially when official documents don’t tell the whole truth. In this two-part Family Twist special, our guest shares his astonishing journey to uncover his heritage, navigate international red tape, and fight for his rightful...

Send us Fan Mail In this intimate and reflective solo-hosted episode, Kendall dives deep into a powerful conversation with guest John Portmann, exploring themes of family, identity, adoption secrecy, and the life-changing power of DNA discoveries. Uncovering My Secret Irish Heritage Through DNA Key Highlights: Growing Up Adopted: John shares parallels with Kendall in their early experiences of ado...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Family Twist , Corey and Kendall sit down with Connor, who is in the process of writing a memoir about his experience with open adoption. Connor pulls back the curtain on the often-glossed-over complexities of open adoption, sharing how the promises made to birth parents, adoptive families, and adoptees themselves are often more marketing than reality. When Open...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the life you’ve always known changes in an instant? For Natalie, a single conversation just before her 18th birthday unraveled everything she thought she knew about herself. She grew up believing she was the biological child of her Filipino immigrant parents—until they sat her and her triplet siblings down and revealed a shocking truth: they were conceived using...

Send us Fan Mail What would you do if a DNA test revealed a biological parent you never knew existed—who also happened to be serving a life sentence in a maximum-security prison? That’s exactly what happened to our guest, Brad Ewell. In this powerful three-part series, Brad shares his incredible journey from uncovering a decades-old family secret to standing face-to-face with his biological father...