I'm Adopted: The Podcast

Adopted at less than a month old from Pittsburgh, United States, Charlotte Schramm grew up questioning what adoption meant and why she had been placed for adoption. As she got older, those unanswered questions left her searching for a deeper understanding of her story and identity. Supported by her adoptive parents, Charlotte eventually began the journey of connecting with her birth mother. Just d...

Wilson Munsterman was born in China and adopted to America at ten months old. In this episode of the I’m Adopted Podcast, Wilson talks honestly about growing up adopted and the questions he carried about identity, family, and where he fit in. He shares what led him to write Marked by Adoption , a book that became a #1 new release on Amazon and has connected with adoptees, parents, agencies, and cl...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary on Alex Gilbert’s YouTube channel. Kelly Stringer was adopted at just two weeks old in Christchurch, New Zealand, and grew up in a family with three older brothers. Although she had always been curious about her biological roots, it wasn’t until she became a mother herself that the questions became more important. Wanting to better u...

Jay Barbanel was born in Costa Rica and spent his early years surrounded by instability and uncertainty. After being taken from his birth mother, he and his brother were placed in an orphanage and later adopted by a family in the United States. For a short time, it felt like a new beginning until, at just seven years old, Jay was separated from his brother. That loss stayed with him. Years later,...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary on Alex Gilbert’s YouTube channel. Adopted as a baby in Auckland, New Zealand, Arna (Anna Francesca) Intra grew up always knowing she was adopted. It was never a secret, but understanding what it truly meant came much later. While her childhood was shaped by family, loss, and unanswered questions, the deeper story of where she came f...

Kian Lafford was adopted from Omsk, Russia in September 2007. He later received the name Kian after being adopted into an Irish family. Growing up in a small town in Ireland with a large Eastern European community made it easier for Kian to be open about his adoption and his background growing up. In January 2024, his adoptive mother passed away from a brain tumour. In reflecting on that loss, Kia...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary story on Alex Gilbert's YouTube channel. Oksana Rennie was born in 1991 in a small village in the western part of Russia’s Smolensk region. In 1996, at five and a half years old, she was adopted from the Smolensk District Children’s Home by her parents and raised in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand. Growing up far from her...

James Axiotis was born in Athens, Greece, to an unwed mother named Georgia Korakis. With no support for single mothers at the time, he was handed over to the authorities after a week in the hospital. Between the late 1950s and 1960s, thousands of Greek children were sent abroad, many to the United States. The numbers vary, but estimates often range from 5,000 to 7,000. James was one of those child...

From our An Adoption Story series. You can watch her documentary story on Alex Gilbert's YouTube channel. Daniela Brown was adopted from Romania when she was just three years old, during a period of great change in the country’s history. She was born in the Jilava Prison in Romania and spent the first three months of her life there with her birth mother, Angelica, before being taken to an orphanag...

Jon was adopted in the UK at the age of four and later returned to care as a teenager. For decades, he believed his birth father had died. A DNA test in his mid-50s led to an unexpected discovery that changed everything. In this episode, Jon reflects on adoption, loss, reunion, and what it means to finally find answers later in life.

From our An Adoption Story series. Adopted as a baby in Auckland, New Zealand, Tracy grew up with very little information about where she came from. Questions about her identity followed her quietly into adulthood. Adoption was always there, but rarely spoken about, leaving many parts of her story without answers. Later in life, Tracy began searching for her birth family, hoping to understand more...

Marina was born in Staryi Krym, Crimea, and later adopted from an orphanage in Simferopol by her Italian parents. She grew up in Italy, gradually learning more about her roots in Crimea — but it wasn’t until later that she began to connect more deeply with her birth family. We caught up with her as part of our Where Are They Now segments — updates from those who shared their stories in our An Adop...

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Victor was adopted as a young boy and came to Auckland, New Zealand, when he was just four years old. Born in the town of Velikiye Luki in western Russia, his journey began with many unknowns. Now a science teacher and photographer in Christchurch, Victor has built a life full of curiosity, creativity, and meaningful connections in New Zealand. Alongsid...

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Valentina always knew she was adopted but never knew her history. When motherhood takes her on an unexpected journey into discovering her past. What follows is a remarkable story of heartbreak, forgiveness and an incredible reunion with a long lost sibling. This is her story.

Simulcast from our An Adoption Story series. Ian was born in Waihi, New Zealand, and adopted as an infant. He didn’t discover his adoption until he was 48 years old, at which point he slowly started to find those connections with his birth mother. With the help of his daughter Yolande, Ian then uncovered his previously unknown Māori heritage. This is his story.

Ekaterina Clark's journey began in Syktyvkar, Russia, where she was adopted at the age of three. Raised in New Zealand, she shares her experiences from childhood to discovering her roots and birth family, connecting her past with her present. This is her story. Taken from the An Adoption Story Series which you can watch on YouTube via 'Alex Gilbert'.

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Felicita was born in the city of Odesa, Ukraine to then being adopted at the age of 7 months by her Italian parents. She was raised in the small village town of Ascea. A village that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea in Southern Italy. Felicita has always had an interest in her roots and ever since she could reme...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Marina was born in Staryi Krym, Crimea to then being adopted out from an orphanage in Simferopol by her Italian parents. With her life in Italy, she has grown up learning more about her roots within Crimea but it wasn't until later on when she started to connect more with her birth family links. She shares her...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Iván was adopted at the age of 13 months from Moscow, Russia by his Spanish parents. He was raised on the north coast of Spain, in the city of Santander. He had always known that he had birth family links in Russia but later on when he grew older, he then found out more about having links also in Armenia. With...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Nina was born from a small village called Bolshaya Vruda which is located just below Saint Petersburg in Russia. She was adopted at the age of three and a half years old by her American parents who then raised her in Rochester, New York. Nina has always been told that she has siblings back in Russia but it wasn...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Zachary-Victor was adopted at the age of 8 months from Krasnodar, Russia by his American parents. He was raised in Long Island, New York to moving to Brooklyn to pursue a career in music. Zachary-Victor shares the connections he has made with some of birth family to the support he has from his parents who adopt...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Katya Reach was adopted from an orphanage in Donetsk, Ukraine at the age of four years old by her American parents. She was raised in Kansas to then studying psychology in Oklahoma. She now lives her life in Tyler, Texas for her graduate studies. She has always wanted to learn more about her birth family growin...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Alexei was born in Velikiye Luki, Russia to then being placed in an orphanage in Pechory. At the age of two and a half, he was then adopted by his New Zealand family. Alexei was born with a birth defect called Spina bifida and with the care of his New Zealand parents, he was able to get the help he needed so th...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Vanya Syron was adopted from a regional orphanage in Arkhangelsk, Russia in the late 1990s by his New Zealand parents. With information that his parents held onto about his birth family, he managed to get a letter through to his Birth Mother in 2010. Since then, Vanya had lost contact but hopes to re-connect wi...

Simulcast from an Adoption story. Made with the support from our friends at MyHeritage. Romanian adoptee Alex (Alexander) Kuch was adopted from Cluj-Napoca, Romania at the age of two by his German parents. His family then moved to New Zealand in 2006. Alex shares his journey of his reconnections with Romania and his birth family. He goes through his story, from the beginnings to revisiting Romania...