Adoption Pop!

Haley Radke, Kristal Parke, and Sullivan Summer

Welcome to Adoption Pop! where a podcast journalist, a filmmaker, and a cultural critic burst pop culture's favorite adoption tropes. Each episode, we'll dive into movies, TV, and reality shows, from prestige dramas to the classics, to ask what these stories are really saying, and not saying, about adoption. And we'll get real about representation: how the world sees us, and how we see ourselves.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Mommie Dearest (1981) – Adoption on the Big Screen

    E022 | Mommie Dearest (1981) – Adoption on the Big Screen   For adoptees, Mother's Day can carry complexity and tough emotions. So we decided to lean all the way into the discomfort with a film legendary critic Roger Ebert called "unremittingly depressing," writing that he could not "imagine who would want to subject themselves to this movie." Roger Ebert obviously never met podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer, all of whom subjected themselves to a film that is two hours and nine minutes of pure activation for adopted people: Mommie Dearest. This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on May 6, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: Mommie Dearest by Christina Crawford (1978) Christina Crawford on the Phil Donahue Show (1978) "Method" refers to a style of acting preparation developed by actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski, and popularized in the US by Lee Strasberg by which the actor makes use of experiences in their own lives to bring them closer to the character.  Joan Crawford, My Way of Life (1971) A. Ashley Hoff, With Love, Mommie Dearest (2024) Charlotte Chandler, Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, A Personal Biography (2008) Faye (2024) directed by Laurent Bouzereau American Film Institute's 100 Years … 100 Heros and Villains American Film Institute's 100 Years … 100 Movie Quotes Roger Ebert, "Mommie Dearest Review" (January 1, 1981) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    45 min

  2. 29 APR

    Wuthering Heights (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen

    E021 | Wuthering Heights (2026) – Adoption on the Big Screen   We went deep into the canon for this one, dusting off and stitching together a whole undergraduate English literature syllabus (with Cliffs Notes, Sparks Notes, note cards, and whatever else we were using to make it through our book reports pre-Chat GPT) to bring you our take on Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic romance classic, Wuthering Heights. Whether you're pro the most recent Emerald Fennell blockbuster, or prefer to stick closer to the original text, you won't be disappointed by hot and steamy (and cringey) adoptee-centered takes from podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer.  Thank you to Pop! Star Justin for suggesting we cover Wuthering Heights! This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on April 29, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: Haley's high school literature faves are: Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954); 1984 by George Orwell (1949); and Animal Farm, also by George Orwell (1945). Can you say "adoptee dystopia?" If you too could use an Earnshaw-Linton family tree, you can find one here.    Fun fact: Actor Tom Hardy, Heathcliff in the 2009 Masterpiece version of Wuthering Heights, went on to marry Charlotte Riley, the actress who played his Catherine, and who probably doesn't want to hear Kristal talk about her husband's top lip.    Heathcliff is 6 or 7 years old when Mr. Earnshaw returns with him from Liverpool. Catherine is around 17 when she marries Edgar Linton, and dies the following year, making her one half the age of the actress who plays her in the 2026 film version. Eyebrow raise.  Licensed Clinical Social Worker Leslie Pate McKinnon does work in the area of genetic sexual attraction. You can hear more from her in Episode 65 of the Adoptees On podcast.   Actress Alison Oliver played Isabella Linton in the 2026 film version. Five stars.  Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847) has been adapted numerous times. We watched the following versions: directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi (2026); for Masterpiece starring Tom Hardy and Charlotte Riley (2009); directed by Peter Kosminsky and starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (1992); directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Marle Oberon (1939).   Winifred Gerin, Emily Brontë: A Biography (1971) Muriel Spark and Derek Stanford, Emily Brontë: Her Life and Work (1966) Norma Crandall, Emily Brontë, a Psychological Portrait (1957) Jackie Kay, Red Dust Road (2010) Maja-Lisa von Sneidern, "Wuthering Heights and the Liverpool Slave Trade," ELH (1995) Reginald Watson, "Images of Blackness in the Works of Charlotte and Emily Brontë," CLA Journal (2001) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.   Heathcliff = 3. Catherine = 0.

    44 min

  3. 22 APR

    The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) – Adoption on the Big Screen

    E020 | The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012) – Adoption on the Big Screen   April showers bring May flowers or, in the wonderful world of Disney, they bring you a whole child. The Odd Life of Timothy Green follows young Timothy Green, a boy who appears to have been born from the garden of Jim and Cindy, played by Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner, a couple grieving their inability to have a child. Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer have a lot to say about this one, on this episode of Adoption Pop! The story The Odd Life of Timothy Green was written by Ahmet Zappa. Peter Hedges wrote the screenplay and directed the film. (How did we miss this during recording? It's like an ice cream man named Cone).     This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on April 22, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: The hyacinth macaw is the largest parrot in the world, measuring about 1 meter in length, or 3 feet 3 inches for the Americans, or WTAF is wrong with you for Sullivan.  The Giving Tree is a 1964 picture book by author illustrator Shel Silverstein that, according to his website, is "a poignant picture book about love and acceptance." Disagree. This tree gives the entitled little shit everything: his apples, his leaves, his branches, even his trunk to sit on when the boy becomes an old man and that f****r never says "thank you" not one time. We love you Shel, but this ain't it.  A.O. Scott, "Walking, Talking, Leafy Young Boy Sprouts From a Box of Wishes," New York Times (August 14, 2012).  The Odd Life of Timothy Green was set in the fictional town of Stanleyville, USA, but it was filmed in locations across Georgia and North Carolina, so you can understand Sullivan's confusion.  The botanist leaf-snipper in the film is played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, three years before his magnum opus, Hamilton, premiered at New York's Public Theater and turned him, and Alexander Hamilton, into contemporary household names.  Jennifer Garner plays adoptive mother Vanessa Loring in the film Juno (2007).  Ann Lieber, "INTERVIEW: Jennifer Garner Finds Color in The Odd Life of Timothy Green," Theater Mania (August 15, 2012).  The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    41 min

  4. 15 APR

    Friends "The One With the Donor" (2003) – Adoption on the Small Screen

    E019 | Friends "The One With the Donor" (2003) – Adoption on the Small Screen   Adoption Pop! has done sitcoms before, but this is perhaps the mother of all sitcoms: Friends, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, and ushered into the mainstream a hairstyle, a pick-up line, and the idea that your friends could be your family. More than 50 million people tuned in for the series finale in 2004, the one where Monica and Chandler adopt, but their journey had to start somewhere—why not start with John Stamos sperm donor? Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer break it all down in "The One With the Donor."  Friends "The One With the Donor" aired on May 8, 2003. It was written by Andrew Reich and Ted Cohen, and directed by Ben Weiss.    This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on April 15, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: Abbott Elementary, created by and starring Quinta Brunson, is a mockumentary sitcom following a group of dedicated elementary school teachers in Philadelphia. At the time of this writing, the show is in its fifth season.  The word Haley was searching for was "fallacy." According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, a "fallacy" is an idea that a lot of people think is true but is, in fact, false. Like, to say adoption is a "win-win-win" for birth parents, adoptive parents, and adoptees is a fallacy.  John Stamos played Zach, the would-be sperm donor in this episode of Friends. And while we appreciate his good looks and aversion to water rings on the coffee table, we're not sure we want his sperm.  There are several communities out there for donor-conceived people, including Donor Conceived Community, which provides support and resources.  Rennie Burke et al., "How Do Individuals Who Were Conceived Through use of Donor Technologies Feel About the Nature of Their Conception," Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics (April 1, 2021). For more information about the Canadian father-son megadonors, check out Kelly Greig, "Injunction requested to stop father, son serial sperm donors," for CTV (March 10, 2026).  Adoptees On Episode 64: Jane – Genetic Sexual Attraction Kelsey Miller, I'll Be There For You: The One About Friends (Hanover Square Press, 2018). Gretchen Sisson, Relinquished: The Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood (St. Martin Press, 2024). The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    40 min

  5. 8 APR

    Family Ties "Baby Boy Doe" (1984) – Adoption on the Small Screen

    E018 | Family Ties "Baby Boy Doe" (1984) – Adoption on the Small Screen   We have Pop! Star Judi to thank for taking us on this journey to a time when adoption jokes got the studio audience roaring, lying to kids passed for good parenting, and one real mother was all that anyone was allowed. No, we're not talking about 2025; we're talking about 1984! Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer, for this nostalgic romp back in time to one of the most popular family sit coms of the 1980s. What would we do, baby, without us? Family Ties "Baby Boy Doe" aired on March 8, 1984. It was written by Ruth Bennett and Alan Uger, and directed by Will Mackenzie.    This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on April 8, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: For episodes Kristal has said she's basically "Sullivan's little sister," and now she wants into Gen X? Tell us you're an Elder Millennial without telling us you're an Elder Millennial.     The Family Ties theme song, "Without Us," was used from the second season onward. It was written and composed by Jeff Barry and Tom Scott, and performed by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams.  Family Ties was filmed before a live studio audience.  Steven Quincy Urkel (played by Jaleel White) was the fictional, nerdy next-door neighbor of the Winslow family on the ABC/CBS sitcom, Family Matters, which aired from 1989 until 1998. It was a Millennial thing.  Mallory Keaton was played by writer, director, producer, and Gen X royalty, Justine Bateman.  According to Miriam Webster dictionary, "real" is defined as: (a) having objective independent existence; (b) not artificial, fraudulent, or illusory; (c) occurring or existing in actuality, making it possible to have two "real" mothers, if an adopted person chooses to so define them. An additional definition, "measured by purchasing power," however, might not apply as universally.  LFO's "Summer Girls," with its line, "Fell deep in love but now we ain't speaking / Michael J. Fox was Alex P. Keaton," came out in 1999. It was a Millennial thing.  Lauren Novak, "Whatever Happened to Marc Price, Family Ties' Skippy?," ReMIND (January 29, 2026). Amanda Baden et al., "Delaying Adoption Disclosure: A Survey of Late Discovery Adoptees," Journal of Family Issues (June 2019) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Millennial podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Millennial filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Gen X cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.   Sha-la-la-laaaa.

    43 min

  6. 1 APR

    Adopted (2009) – Adoption on the Small Screen

    E017 | Adopted (2009) – Adoption on the Small Screen   Why would we spend an hour talking about a film that went straight-to-video, has a 31% on the Popcornmeter, and not enough critical reviews to have received a Rotten Tomatoes score? Because that film is about adoption, of course! Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer, as we celebrate the Pauly Shore mockumentary, Adopted. (Yeah, we didn't have "celebrate Pauly Shore" on our Adoption Pop! Bingo card either).     Adopted was written and directed by Pauly Shore.    This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on April 1, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: Angelina Jolie adopted from Africa in 2005. Madonna adopted from the continent in 2006, 2009, and 2017. The press surrounding these adoptions was significant, but if you want to learn more, we suggest you skip the tabloids and head for Veronia S. Root's, "Angelina and Madonna: Why All the Fuss? An Exploration of the Rights of the Child in Intercountry Adoption Within African Nations," Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 8, Number 1 (2007). Pauly Shore is the son of Sammy Shore, a comedian, and Mitzi Shore, who co-founded, owned, and operated The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, a venue known for featuring up-and-coming comics. It's good to be a nepo baby.  According to Miriam Webster, a mockumentary is "a facetious or satirical work (such as a film) presented in the style of a documentary." The film may or may not be improvised in whole or in part.  Allegations of abuse and assault at Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls surfaced in November 2007. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prioritizes the child's best interest, favors a child receiving care within their home country, and safeguards against adoption for financial gain or child trafficking. The US has signed, but not ratified, the treaty, making it the only UN member state not to have ratified. Make of this what you will.  Dan Persons, "Pauly Shore on Adopted," Huffington Post (June 15, 2010) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    40 min

  7. 25 MAR

    The Truman Show (1998) – Adoption on the Big Screen

    E016 | The Truman Show (1998) – Adoption on the Big Screen   Long before we all had front-facing screens in our pockets—even before it would have occurred to us to use the term "front-facing screen"—there was somebody born to be on camera: Truman Burbank. The first baby to have been legally adopted by a corporation, Truman and his namesake show were watched, loved, and protected by millions of fans around the world—right up until he started to question that world's reality. Join podcast journalist, Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic, Sullivan Summer as we revisit a favorite, The Truman Show, on this episode of Adoption Pop!  Thank you to Pop! Star Frankie for this episode suggestion via Spotify. The Truman Show was written by Andrew Niccol and directed by Peter Weir.    (If you start "The Imperial March" now and read really slow, it will soundtrack these entire show notes) This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on March 25, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: When Sullivan said, "the march of the Storm Troopers," she was obviously talking about John Waters's, "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" from The Empire Strikes Back, the NPE theme songs to rule all NPE theme songs. But you know all of this already because you're listening to it in the background. And because you're probably just a little bit evil.  Ed Harris played Sheriff Alan J. Pangborn in the 1993 film Needful Things, adapted from Stephen King's 1991 novel of the same name. There's this one scene near the end when everything is coming to a head, and it's cold and its dark and it's raining, and Ed Harris gets out of his truck and he wants to get everyone's attention, so he pumps his shotgun with one hand… The Adoptee Consciousness Model was developed by JaeRan Kim, Susan Branco, Grace Newton, Paula O'Loughlin, and Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter. Hannah Andrews, "Cue the Sun: My Truman Show Life," Medium (April 10, 2023) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, what you'd like for us to cover in the future, and whether you, too, have been radicalized by us. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    42 min

  8. 18 MAR

    Philomena (2013) – Adoption on the Big Screen

    E015 | Philomena (2013) – Adoption on the Big Screen   A young woman shamed, banished, and indentured—yet faith survives for Philomena Lee who, after 50 years of separation, embarks upon a search for the son she was forced to relinquish inside one of Ireland's notorious mother and baby homes. Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer take on Philomena, adapted from journalist Martin Sixsmith's The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, and starring Judi Dench as the title character in a film that had our Irish eyes weeping, all 29-30% of them.  Philomena was written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, directed by Stephen Frears, and based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith.    For those watching on YouTube, Haley's necklace–worn in honor of Philomena and the birth mothers–was designed by adoptee Tracey Aabey-Hammond in response to Kay Jewelers' advertisement and jewelry celebrating adoption. The tattered, torn, tarnished heart of "The Adoption Pendant" conveys the loss that adoption brings to adoptees and first mothers. The stone is set wrongly to represent adoptees who feel they have never fit in with the adoptive family or the world due to the loss of their original identity. You can purchase the necklace here.  This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on March 18, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: Martin Sixsmith, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee (2010) According to Wikipedia, Magdalene laundries, also known as Magdalene asylums, were run by the Roman Catholic church in Ireland ostensibly to house "fallen women," though they actually functioned as penitentiary workhouses. A formal apology for the women who worked, and who died in the laundries, was issued by the State in 2013. You can read more about them in Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries: A Campaign for Justice by Claire McGettrick et al. (2021).  Rory Carroll, "Irish church and state apologise for callous mother and baby homes," The Guardian (January 13, 2021) The Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes produced by the Irish government, all 2,865 pages of it, is available here (January 12, 2021). Jane Russell and the Springtown Mother, BBC Radio 4 (2015) Judi Dench, "Playing Philomena Was a Great Responsibility," Variety (January 7, 2014) "Judi Dench's only child regret," The Sydney Morning Herald (November 17, 2011) The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We'd love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you'd like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.  Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.  Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.  Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.

    54 min
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About

Welcome to Adoption Pop! where a podcast journalist, a filmmaker, and a cultural critic burst pop culture's favorite adoption tropes. Each episode, we'll dive into movies, TV, and reality shows, from prestige dramas to the classics, to ask what these stories are really saying, and not saying, about adoption. And we'll get real about representation: how the world sees us, and how we see ourselves.

Information

  • Creator
    Haley Radke, Kristal Parke, and Sullivan Summer
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Adoption Pop!

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