logo
episode-header-image
May 2020
13m 4s

My story of love and loss as a transraci...

TED
About this episode

A mysterious tattoo on her forearm was all that linked Sara Jones, who was adopted as a child by white parents, to her South Korean origins. Searching for her birth family taught her that transracial adoption stories often frame new lives abroad as strokes of luck that call for endless gratitude, obscuring a far more complex reality. Through her experience of loss and discovery, Jones offers guidance on what adoptive parents can do to protect their children's unique cultural and personal narratives.

Learn more about our flagship conference happening this April at attend.ted.com/podcast


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
3 questions to build resilience — and change the world | Sister True Dedication
Every moment of movement is a chance to become more aware of yourself and the world around you, says Zen Buddhist nun Sister True Dedication. Guiding us through the art of "mindful walking," she shares three essential questions to ask yourself to awaken your strength, build resil ... Show More
18m 13s
Yesterday
How I created OpenClaw, the viral AI agent | Peter Steinberger
OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger takes us back to the transformative moment he let his AI agent loose on the internet, igniting one of the world's fastest-growing open-source projects. He makes a fascinating (and slightly unnerving) case that agents are a real shift, not just b ... Show More
18m 48s
Apr 16
A plan to stop AI from automating our decline | Gina Raimondo
The United States is on track to win the AI race — and hollow itself out in the process, says Gina Raimondo, former Governor of Rhode Island and US Secretary of Commerce. In this unflinching look at the threat of AI-induced economic disruption and social unrest, she offers a conc ... Show More
18m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Transracial Adoption & Navigating Racial Identity | Beyond the Scenes
Transracial adoption has increased over the years and the experience of being raised by adoptive parents of a different race is not without complications. Host Roy Wood Jr. chats with author of the book All You Can Ever Know, Nicole Chung, and author of the book Surviving the Whi ... Show More
59m 20s
May 2022
Why was I adopted? Women looking for birth stories
<p>What's it like being adopted into a country far away from your birth and into a family that looks very different to you? International and transracial adoptions both come with challenges for children and parents. Beatriz de la Pava talks to two women born in Colombia and South ... Show More
31m 56s
Nov 2022
Transracial Adoption & Navigating Racial Identity
Transracial adoption has increased over the years and the experience of being raised by adoptive parents of a different race is not without complications. Host Roy Wood Jr. chats with author of the book, All You Can Ever Know, Nicole Chung, and author of the book, Surviving the W ... Show More
55m 26s
May 2020
Los niños de los desaparecidos (The Children of the Disappeared)
As the child of adoptive parents in 1980s Argentina, Tatiana Sfiligoy knew her family situation was unique. But it would be another decade before she uncovered the truth about what happened to her biological parents — including the role her country played in their disappearance. ... Show More
26m 49s
Dec 2022
Searching for my sister, the "keeper of memories"
Nakuset blocked out painful memories of being removed from her indigenous Canadian familyNakuset only goes by one name and it means "The Sun" in her indigenous Canadian culture. Born into an abusive household, her early days were difficult and it wasn't long before she and her si ... Show More
23m 31s
Feb 2021
The Sunday Read: ‘Sigrid Johnson Was Black. A DNA Test Said She Wasn’t’
<p>It all started when Sigrid E. Johnson was 62. She got a call from an old friend, asking her to participate in a study about DNA ancestry tests and ethnic identity. She agreed.</p><p>Ms. Johnson thought she knew what the outcome would be. When she was 16, her mother told her th ... Show More
47m 17s
Jul 2023
A better life
When Susan was a teenager, she set out to find answers about her birth parents. As an adoptee, she longed to know where she came from. When she eventually reunited with her birth parents as a teenager, she thought she’d finally feel at peace. She couldn’t have known that many yea ... Show More
54m 16s
Jul 2023
A better life
When Susan was a teenager, she set out to find answers about her birth parents. As an adoptee, she longed to know where she came from. When she eventually reunited with her birth parents as a teenager, she thought she’d finally feel at peace. She couldn’t have known that many yea ... Show More
52m 16s