A new podcast from the Global Podcast Division of Sony Music Entertainment investigates the complexities of the fertility industry and chronicles how real people’s lives are transformed by evolving technology.
Season one of BioHacked: Family Secrets, hosted by journalist T.J. Raphael, follows the children of anonymous sperm and egg donors as they uncover the identities of their donors and gather vital medical information. Unexpected ethical, scientific, and political challenges arise that question all aspects of the baby business.
The podcast begins with the personal story of a woman who unintentionally found out she was born through an anonymous sperm donation after doing a DNA kit and discovering her half-sister.
At age 30, she faced a complex mystery as she tried to track down her biological father for answers. This experience highlights how new technology disrupts the long-held secrets of the fertility industry and the challenges children of anonymous donors face searching for answers.
“New technologies like 23 and Me and Ancestry.com are disrupting the baby business in ways that were never foreseen by doctors decades ago,” said host T.J. Raphael. “I look forward to sharing emotional stories that sit at the intersection of medicine and technology and show how the children of anonymous donors are navigating complicated family dynamics and political challenges as they take on the fertility industry.”
Future episodes will focus on pioneering research into cryopreservation, a selective breeding experiment powered by a genius sperm bank, and the underground trade for sperm and eggs online. The story of the first IVF baby, and how commercial genetic testing kits now allow people to be their own DNA detectives, will also be examined.
The first two episodes of BioHacked: Family Secrets are now available on Apple Podcasts and all other major podcast platforms.
Subscribers to BioHacked Plus on Apple Podcasts will have ad-free episodes and the exclusive bonus series “DNA Reveal,” which explores other shocking stories of identity and DNA through someone’s real story of how commercial DNA kits impacted their lives.
