Family Secrets

Dani shares a message this Thanksgiving with the Family Secrets community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Judy receives a thick envelope from her father—presumably including answers to long kept secrets about his identity and past—he instructs her to burn it before opening. Despite her plaguing curiosity, she follows her father’s wishes. But later in her life, she seeks answers. What was in that envelope? And who was her father, really?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Tad reckons with the choices he’s made in his relationships—most prominently, in his marriage—he must confront the choices made by his father, too. And his grandmother. In uncovering staggering truths, he finds his own struggles with intimacy are part of a long string of inherited secrecy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meyli Chapin shares her story and discusses PTSD with host Kimi Culp.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fraidy is raised in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community where she is forced to follow many conventions including an arranged marriage in her teens. After enduring emotional and physical abuse, Fraidy is determined to figure out a way to save herself, her children, and many, many others.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know—or think we know—the wonderful journalist, news anchor, and bestselling author, Katie Couric. But behind and beyond her camera-ready exterior is the interior world of a very real individual— a daughter, sister, wife, and mother navigating the complexities of a public life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Mark’s divorce, he cannot eat or sleep or function. Hesitant to pathologize these feelings, he finally acknowledges the clinical magnitude of his condition. But even after accepting that he’s suffering from depression, he keeps it under wraps; he runs a residential treatment center for homeless teens where he feels he must keep up appearances.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opening chapter of SIGNAL FIRES is shared here, in Dani's voice, for the very first time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ashley’s father is imprisoned when she’s eight months old. She has no real context for him until she visits him for the first time, when she’s seven. They forge as best a relationship they can, writing letters, and talking on the phone. It’s not until she’s fourteen when she discovers why he’s in jail. What she learns is shattering and confirms to her that the world is not always a safe place.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From a harrowing, unstable childhood, Venus perseveres and creates an ideal life for herself—with an exuberant husband and a gaggle of amazing kids. But harrowing returns for her when she learns the dark truths—and lies—about her husband.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up, Rich doesn’t know much about his family, save for the singular fact that his mother came to the US from Haiti when she was thirteen. But in 2010, when the worst recorded earthquake in the Western hemisphere’s history hits Haiti, Rich is met with a series of life-altering discoveries about his family’s past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chloe is an only child, but she’s not entirely alone. She has dogs. Meaningful, magical, ever-supportive dogs. With reserved parents and a habit of hiding her feelings, Chloe retreats deeply into her canine world, and the search to find herself, and free herself, takes years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Putsata was an infant when she and her family fled from war-torn Cambodia on an escape boat. When the captain saw that baby Putsata was ill, he suggested that her mother—Ma—throw her overboard. Ma couldn’t do this; she believed her baby would get better, and sure enough she did. Putsata grows up feeling indebted to Ma for saving her life. The weight of this debt gets heavier and heavier over time, causing Put to bury large and important parts of her true self.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the new season of Family Secrets, premiering September 1st.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, Dani speaks with professor and author Michael Slepian about the psychology of secret keeping and his new book The Secret Life of Secrets: How Our Inner Worlds Shape Well-Being, Relationships, and Who We Are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, Dani speaks with psychoanalyst and author Dr. Galit Atlas about her new book Emotional Inheritance and the role of secrecy in families—all families.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this replay bonus episode, Dani speaks with writer Jennifer Senior about her cover story ‘What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind’ for the September 2021 issue of The Atlantic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tell us what stories you'd like to hear at 1-888-SECRET-0.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dani sits down with her friend and fellow podcaster Nora McInerney for a deep dive into her own family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dani recalls some of her favorite Family Secrets moments in this special bonus episode put together by Hark. Watch for more bonus content as we continue work on the next season. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Zoe Shaw becomes pregnant at fifteen years old, her life is thrown into orbit. Not only must she conceal her pregnancy from her family and community, but too, her future will be forever informed by the secret at the core of her adolescence. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liz Scheier’s mother is eccentric at best, and violent at worst. In the grips of mental illness, she keeps secrets and tells lies. It isn’t until Liz turns eighteen, when her mother finally divulges hidden truths about her past. Decades later, Liz is still trying to piece together the myriad levels of deception. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1988, Margaret Kimball is four years old and her mother attempts suicide; this is just one of several family secrets. As Margaret searches for answers nearly thirty years later, she mines through old diary entries, hospital records, home videos, and other archives to piece together a narrative map of her childhood in an attempt to understand the unspoken familial fractures. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beneath Justine’s mother’s polished façade lay a fearsome rage that drives Justine to flee from home. After her mother dies, Justine uncovers an envelope revealing the mystery of her mother’s character, and a telling history that stretches back to the early years of World War II and beyond. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just as Adam approaches an exciting apex in his career, he receives life-shattering news which stems from a deep and painful family secret. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michelle grapples with the memory of her sexual assault and home invasion that occurred during her college years. Twenty years later, after a career of working with victims like herself, Michelle endeavors to find out what happened to her case and why she never heard from the police again.Warning: this episode contains discussion of sexual assault. Listener discretion is advised. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actress Maddie Corman is driving at 5:00 am to a TV soundstage to film a television show when she gets a panicked call from her children; police are at their home, seizing their father’s computer. Maddie’s husband Jace Alexander has a dark secret, now coming to light. Warning: this episode contains discussion of child sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years of estrangement and hiding his true self, Trent loses his father. His inheritance is a puzzling combination of his father’s beat-up wooden toolbox and a taxidermy duck. In his grief, Trent decides to use his father’s tools to build a wooden canoe and in doing so, he confronts and uncovers his father’s secret history, and reconciles his own. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sherry Turkle grows up surrounded by mysteries—her own identity included. Her mother is full of unknowns, especially when it comes to her relationship with Sherry’s elusive and absent scientist father…whose science experiments were nothing short of unsettling. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Qian Julie Wang is just seven years old when her family arrives in America in 1994, and her whole world changes. Impoverished, isolated, and considered “illegal”, the Wangs must keep their immigration status — among other family truths — concealed. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside every secret is a truth. And you know what they say: the truth will set us free. Season 6 of Family Secrets launches Thursday, December 9th. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dani gives her thanks to the Family Secrets community this holiday. Be sure to tune in to season 6 on December 9th. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, Dani speaks with writer Jennifer Senior about her cover story ‘What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind’ for the September 2021 issue of The Atlantic. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this new bonus series, “Dani’s Listening”, Dani connects with listeners by responding to those who’ve called in to share their family secrets. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode, Dani sits down for a conversation with Kelly Corrigan for her podcast, Kelly Corrigan Wonders. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An exciting update from Dani on upcoming Family Secrets bonus content. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graphic memoirist Alison Bechdel had a complicated relationship with her father, who hid his sexuality from just about everyone in their small Pennsylvania town. When she came out in college, it finally seemed like they’d get the opportunity to bond over the truth of their identities—until a tragic event cut that connection short. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nadia Owusu always worshipped her father, and his death when she was just 13 turned her world upside down. Fifteen years later, a bitter argument with her stepmother creates a brand new fault line in her life, leaving Nadia wondering if she ever really knew her father at all. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid, Liza Rodman spent her summers in Provincetown, trying her best to stay out of her volatile mother’s way. Her favorite escape: running errands with family friend Tony, who soon became her de facto babysitter. One summer, Tony stopped coming around—something Liza didn’t question, until decades later, when she learned that there was something sinister hiding beneath Tony’s gentle demeanor. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicole Georges never knew her father. From the time she was little, she was told he died when she was just an infant—of colon cancer, her mom said. But after getting a strange palm reading in her early 20s, Nicole realizes there may be more to the story. Not knowing how to approach her mother about it, Nicole—like so many other Americans dealing with personal crises—calls up a familiar, and controversial, source of advice on family matters: Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At just 17 years old, Alisson Wood began a dangerous entanglement with a creative writing teacher at her school, who gifted her a copy of Nabokov’s Lolita. To hear “Mr. North” tell it, Lolita is the ultimate love story—a narrative the young Alisson bought into, until she grew older and learned to see the tale for what it really is: a grim account of predation and abuse. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Growing up in post-war America, Alexander Wolff had a vague sense that his father, Nico, and his grandfather, Kurt, had two very different wartime experiences. But it wasn’t until he was an adult that he began to understand just how divergent his half-Jewish grandfather’s, and his quarter-Jewish father’s, paths had been. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emma Ramos grew up in a deeply religious, and deeply patriarchal, town in Mexico, where carving out an independent life for herself—outside her parents’ expectations—was a constant negotiation. Which is why she hid the most traumatic thing that ever happened to her from her loved ones for more than a decade—until she found herself living under her parents’ roof again, in the midst of the pandemic. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a law student, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich was vehemently opposed to the death penalty, even in the most heinous of crimes. Yet their deeply-held beliefs were put to the test after watching the confession tape of a man convicted of the brutal killing and sexual assault of a six-year-old boy—the details of which felt all too familiar to Alex, an abuse survivor. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ly Tran’s father refused to accept any kind of weakness in his children—not even something as commonplace, and easily remedied, as poor vision. So when then-eight-year-old Ly brought a note home from school informing her parents she needed glasses, he flew into a rage—setting Ly up for years of struggle and secret-keeping as her eyesight continued to worsen, which impacted every facet of her life. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.