logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2018
35m 55s

Secrets #4 – Who Was My Mom?

Radiotopia
About this episode

Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. How is it to be the one kept in the dark?

When Mohamed’s mom was left alone with her six children, she worked herself to death and eventually collapsed at home with a heart attack. Mohamed was 12 years old. Now, 25 years later, there is no one to answer the questions he would like to ask: How much did she know about Maria, the secret sister? How much did his father lie to her?

Also in episode four: Andrea Hunter and her boyfriend had two children together. Turns out he was also living a completely separate life in London – a life that she knew nothing about.

Secrets is produced and hosted by Mohamed El Abed and Martin Johnson, with additional reporting by Åsa Secher, from the Swedish production company, Soundtelling. Executive producer is Julie Shapiro. Artwork is by Sepidar Hosseini, and music is by Min stora sorg.

Secrets is a production of Showcase, from PRX’s Radiotopia. Find out more and listen to the previous series, Ways of Hearing and The Polybius Conspiracy, at radiotopia.fm/showcase.

Up next
Feb 2018
Secrets #5 – The Third Family
Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. How do you know if you ever truly know someone? Mohamed’s father abandoned Mohamed, his mother and his sisters and moved back to Morocco. There he started a third family. He told Mohamed’s mother nothing of this, and ... Show More
29m 50s
Feb 2018
Secrets #6 – A Life in Lies is a Life with Loose Ends
Secrets is a show about the secrets we all carry inside of us. What happens when you face those secrets? In the final episode of our series, Mohamed’s secret sister Maria finally agrees to meet. Mohamed brings his daughter Samira with him to the meeting at Maria’s house a few hou ... Show More
45m 30s
Mar 2018
Next on Showcase: Errthang
Coming up next on Showcase: Errthang Errthang is just that: everything that’s percolating in journalist/storyteller Al Letson’s brain; stories told with a lot of heart, interviews with a lot of thought, music with a funky beat, and a good time with co-host Willie Evans Jr. Stay t ... Show More
3m 57s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2019
The Moment Angela Hamilton Discovered Who Her Father Really Was
Every family has a secret. But some secrets are more shocking than others. Some secrets take longer to come out. Angela Hamilton always had an inkling that there was something not quite right with her dad. She hated him and feared him. He was violent towards his wife and three ch ... Show More
45m 54s
Nov 2022
181. Mother of Accusations Part 1
Alice sits down in The Secret Room with a weight on her shoulders that can never be fully lifted.  It’s the story of a mother’s utter betrayal of her daughter.  What on earth would you do if the person you're supposed to trust most in the world accused you of attempted murder? ST ... Show More
50m 48s
Mar 2019
Family Secrets
“I've been kind of a student of family secrets all my life,” writer Dani Shapiro says. All of her novels have centered around family secrets, and her memoirs have explored secrets in her own family history, some of which she didn’t know existed—until she took a DNA test on a whim ... Show More
51m 37s
May 2023
Le secret que tout le monde connaissait
Il est minuit, vous rentrez chez vous en taxi et vous voilà en train de raconter vos plus sombres secrets au chauffeur, indifférent à ce que votre interlocuteur pourrait bien penser de vous. Ainsi, nous serions 50% à préférer nous confier à un étranger plutôt qu'à un proche. C'es ... Show More
45m 50s
Nov 2022
179. Reluctant Mom
A woman is thrust into a harrowing journey to protect the daughter she didn’t want. It’s about her secret regrets of motherhood, and the push and pull of family and the actions of two men. DIPSEA Get a 30-day free trial when you go to DipseaStories.com/SECRET. FEALS Go to Feals.c ... Show More
1h 8m
Jul 2022
A Mother's Secret
Ayad Akhtar’s parents met in Pakistan in the early ’60s, when they were both medical students and “ridiculously attractive” — or so their friends say. Despite having a love marriage (against the wishes of their parents), theirs was rocky from the start.“By the time I was 4, I alr ... Show More
17m 3s
Oct 2023
Have You Ever Kept a Secret From Your Wife?
Khalid Abdulqaadir’s life was full of secrets. He started keeping them when he was a teenager, after his father was accused of an unimaginable crime. He didn’t want to explain his family history every time he started a new relationship. So his secrets followed him, even as he got ... Show More
30m 28s
Feb 2022
The Freemason
A family secret, hidden for decades by a grandfather in Iraq, gets uncovered by his grandson - who chooses to revive a potentially dangerous legacy.This episode was produced by Alex Atack and Tamara Juburi, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Nadeen Shaker and ... Show More
36m 40s