Joan and Kathryn were adopted from Greece in 1955 under strange circumstances.
Years later, Joan’s son David discovers an unbelievable secret. His grandfather was a high profile communist who was executed by the Greek State. And there is also another sister, who still lives in Greece. Her name is Effie and she has been looking for Joan and Kathryn her whole life since the three of them were forcefully separated by the police.
Joan and Kathryn were part of an international adoption scandal that sent thousands of Greek babies to America during the Cold War years. Join journalist Katerina Bakogianni as she tries to unravel what exactly happened. In the process she will speak to family members in Greece and the US, childhood friends, professors of history and a former CIA agent. She will also take a long look at the complex relationship of dominance and submission between Greece and America.
Listen to the 5-episode podcast here or on all major podcast platforms including, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts and Amazon Music
“Born Greek – Made American” is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.
It is based on the book “Adoption, Memory and Cold War Greece: Kid pro quo?” by Gonda Van Steen (University of Michigan Press 2019).
Cover: by Madhot