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Somethin' Else / Sony Music Entertainment

Defining Diego is the story of one Guatemalan adoptee and his mother, a reporter who documented their journey from his earliest steps, as they try to understand how international adoption boomed and busted, and what it all means for families like theirs, with feet in two worlds.

When Laurie Stern set out to adopt a baby from Guatemala in 1999, she thought the process would be pretty straightforward. Lots of people were doing it.

But the adoption was held up just as she went to Guatemala to get her son, Diego. That began a journey of discovery. What unfolds is the story of why international adoption peaked — and then collapsed — in Guatemala. It is also the story of how Diego, now 24, learned to be a Maya man with deep roots both in his birth village and Minnesota, where he still lives.

Now, Diego has questions about his adoption, too — like why tiny Guatemala was such a popular choice for many adoptive parents in the U.S. and Europe in the early 2000s. As one of more than 50,000 Guatemalan adoptees, Diego’s still figuring out what it means to be Guatemalan, American, indigenous Tzutujil, and an adoptee raised by white parents in St. Paul, Minnesota.

At its heart, Defining Diego is a deeply personal narrative: of a mother and son grappling with big questions about identity and health, and the meaning of home and family. Using 20+ years of the family’s archive recordings, we hear Diego grow up — and begin his own journey of self-discovery

Defining Diego is part of The Binge - subscribe to listen to all episodes, all at once, ad-free right now. 

From serial killer nurses to psychic scammers – The Binge is your home for true crime stories that pull you in and never let go. 

Follow The Binge Crimes and The Binge Cases wherever you get your podcasts to get new stories on the first of the month, every month. 

Hit ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Defining Diego show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com. 

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A Sony Music Entertainment production.

Find out more about The Binge and other podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts.

All Relative: Defining Diego

She had a million-dollar smile and a trail of dead men behind her— who was Sandra Bridewell? Host and investigative report Cooper Moll exposes the secrets of the 'black widow' on Fatal Beauty - the latest true crime series to drop on The Binge. 

 

Search for Fatal Beauty wherever you get your podcasts to start listening today. Subscribers to The Binge can listen to all episodes right now, completely ad-free.

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The Dark Trail of Sandra Bridewell - Dead Husbands & Stolen Identities

In the age of DNA, not many things can stay buried forever. BioHacked S1: Family Secrets, explores how at-home genetic testing is upending the baby business, and putting the children of anonymous sperm and egg donors into direct conflict with the industry that created them. Coming March 9th.
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Introducing BioHacked: Family Secrets

A Christmas present turns Amber’s life upside down. Shaken, she questions the very foundation of her identity — and struggles to learn the truth.
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BioHacked | 1. Pandora’s Box

Kurt donated his sperm hundreds of times. He thought his identity could stay hidden forever, but Amber and Kaitlin are on his trail. Will he connect with them, or forever remain a mystery?
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BioHacked | 2. Lost and Found

Frozen semen, a media circus, and the father of sperm banking. The man and the moment that gave life to millions — and catapulted the fertility industry into a global business.
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BioHacked | 3. The Birth of The Sperm Bank

An improbable tale to transform the human race, one genius at a time. Find out how a plan so seemingly out there wound up revolutionizing the baby business.
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BioHacked | 4. The Genius Experiment: Part 1

A look at a family built by Robert Graham’s infamous Repository for Germinal Choice reveals the dark side of this genius sperm bank.
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BioHacked | 5. The Genius Experiment: Part 2

The David and Goliath battle between an industry powerhouse and a family with a sick child.
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BioHacked | 6. Wrongful Life

A grandmother, a granddaughter, and one anonymous donor's fight to maintain his privacy. What happens when a genetic test creates a family rift?
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BioHacked | 7. Cease and Desist

Thousands of women donate eggs for cash or freeze them for personal use. Could this life-altering treatment be a lot more dangerous than we think?
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BioHacked | 8. A Deadly Donation?

We hear from a family whose adoption was in-progress when the Guatemalan government shut everything down.

A few years after his fateful diagnosis, Diego is a surly teenager. The family’s figuring out a way forward. Laurie takes Diego back to Guatemala, where he learns about the meanings behind his birth names — Xicay and Petzey. Diego asks Isabel more questions about his birth father, Cristobal.
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Defining Diego | 6. Resist and Release

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