Australian Adoption Podcast - My Unknown Truth

Nadia Levett
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My Unknown Truth is a podcast sharing the stories and lived experiences of Australians who have been through adoption and foster care.  These stories are often complex, spanning over 50 years and touch on difficult truths, from growing up in an under-resourced system to Australia’s traumatic history of forced adoptions and Stolen Generations. But within the darkness, there is also light; stories of hope, courage, resilience, and love. Hosted by Nadia Levett, an adoptee born and raised in Australia, this podcast is a deeply personal project.  It’s my wish that by sharing a range of voices and experiences, we can build greater awareness and understanding around adoption and foster care in Australia, spark informed conversations, and encourage others to share their truth, open hearts, minds, and homes to children in need.

  1. MAR 16

    Episode 44 - Alison: "The Childhood She Carried"

    Send a text Today, I’m sitting down with someone whose story is layered, confronting, courageous, and deeply human. Alison was adopted in 1965, just two weeks old, into a family that would grow to include three more adopted children. From the outside, it looked like a home built on love and opportunity. But inside those walls, Ali lived through things no child should ever have to carry — fear, silence, confusion, and trauma that shaped every part of her early life. In this first part of our conversation, Ali takes us back to her beginnings: the moment she realised her family looked different to others, the questions that started forming in her mind as a little girl, and the home life that was anything but safe. She speaks about her mum’s warmth, her dad’s volatility, and the heartbreaking experiences she endured at the hands of someone who should have protected her. We also explore the ripple effects of adoption on her siblings — the mental health struggles, the lack of medical history, the behaviours no one understood at the time — and how all of them were left to navigate trauma without the support they desperately needed. This first half of Ali’s story is about survival. It’s about a little girl trying to make sense of a world that didn’t make sense. And it’s about the beginnings of patterns that would follow her into adulthood — patterns she wouldn’t fully understand until much later. Part One ends at a turning point: the breakdown of her marriage, and the moment she walked into a counsellor’s office thinking she was there to talk about her relationship… only to realise she was finally ready to unpack her entire childhood. This is Ali’s story — raw, brave, and told with extraordinary honesty. Let’s begin. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    48 min

  2. 12/09/2025

    Episode 43 - Part 2 “Jo on Struggle, Support, and Speaking Out”

    Send a text In this second part of my conversation with Jo, we begin with the moment she met her birth father; a man who had known about her existence but didn’t surface until an argument broke out between them twelve years later. Jo shares the complexity of that reunion, the emotions it stirred, and how it shaped her understanding of belonging. We also talk about the struggles she faced after the birth of her first child, what led her to seek support from Jigsaw Queensland, and how that experience became a turning point. From there, Jo reflects on her professional journey, her role in advocacy, education, and the adoption space today, and why she continues to amplify adoptee voices through her work. Jo’s story reminds us that adoption is never a single moment, it’s a lifelong journey of reunion, identity, and healing. Her honesty about the challenges of meeting her birth father, navigating motherhood, and finding support through Jigsaw Queensland shows the resilience it takes to carry and transform that “bag of sad.” Now, as President of Jigsaw Queensland and host of the Adopt Perspective podcast, Jo is using her lived experience to create change, connection, and understanding for others. Jo, thank you for trusting me with your story and for the work you continue to do in this space. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    35 min

  3. 11/06/2025

    Episode - 42 Part 1 “Jo on Reunion, Identity, and the Power of Story”

    Send a text Hey everyone, welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast: My Unknown Truth. In this two-part episode, I’m chatting with Jo - an adoptee, advocate, and the voice behind the Adopt Perspective podcast. Jo was born in 1971, right in the middle of Australia’s closed adoption era, and her story is one of deep reflection, resilience, and truth-telling. In Part 1, we talk about Jo’s early years - being chosen from a hospital nursery, growing up on a grain farm, and navigating a complex relationship with her adoptive family. She opens up about the emotional impact of being “un-mothered,” the silence around her origins, and how grief showed up in her body long before she had words for it. Jo’s honesty is powerful, and her story speaks to so many of us who’ve felt that ache of not quite belonging.  Let’s dive in. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    45 min

  4. 09/06/2025

    Episode 41 - "The Science of Calm: Dana Hargus Talks on Biofeedback, Attachment, and the Restore Method"

    Send a text Hey Listeners! In this episode, I sit down with Dana Hargus - licensed professional counsellor, founder of Restore of Ada, and passionate advocate for trauma-informed healing. Dana shares how her journey as a mother to an adopted son led her into the world of biofeedback, attachment theory, and frequency-based care. With over 25 years of experience, she’s built a healing model that blends science, compassion, and practical tools for families navigating trauma, adoption, and regulation. From PEMF devices, tapping to TBRI and online support, Dana’s Restore Method offers a pathway to calm; one frequency at a time. If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it. Until next time, take care and keep creating space for healing. To learn more about Dana’s programs, including Restore of Ada and her online platform Restore+, visit https://restoreofada.com/about-restore  Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    55 min

  5. 08/04/2025

    Episode 40 - "Ryan Jon: Adopted…and Adept at Stirring Emotions"

    Send a text Welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast, where we explore the stories that shape us; stories of identity, resilience, and the courage it takes to search your truth. Today’s guest is someone many of you will recognise, not just from the hugely popular Toni and Ryan Podcast, but from a more personal journey that’s touched hearts across Australia and beyond. Ryan Jon is a storyteller, a broadcaster, a podcaster, a husband and father and an adoptee. In 2017, he shared a heartfelt video on Mother’s Day: a message to the birth mother he’d never met, filled with gratitude, hope, and love. In November 2024, that search came to an end; not in the way Ryan expected, but in a way that brought heartbreak, grief but also a sense of healing. In this episode, Ryan reflects on the moment he found out that his birth mother, Julie, had passed, and the unexpected reunion with her family that followed. He also talks about discovering his birth father through a DNA test, connecting instantly through humour, quick wit and similar career paths and interests with him and his half brothers, and how becoming a dad to Mabel has shifted things he thought he knew about love, sacrifice, and appreciating the present moment. This was a conversation about curiosity, connection, and the quiet power of finding peace in a journey of identity that had an unexpected finality to it.  This was a warm, honest, and full of heart conversation. Here’s my chat with Ryan Jon. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    44 min

  6. 07/12/2025

    Episode 39 - "Adoption Wasn’t a Big Deal for Michelle … Until It Was!"

    Send a text Today, we’re sitting down with Michelle- a mum, a midwife, a nurse, and someone who has walked the winding path of adoption and healing.  Adopted at six weeks old, Michelle grew up in southern Sydney with her brothers and a whole lot of freedom, never really thinking adoption was a big part of her story. But like many of us, life has a way of inviting us deeper. In her forties, Michelle started to ask new questions, about identity, belonging, and the layers we carry without realising. Her story takes us through heartache, discovery, nature, breathwork, and a whole lot of inner work. She’s now raising her four kids in a home she built herself on a mountain near Wollongong; living a life filled with joy, reflection, and purpose. Michelle’s story is one that stays with you, a gentle reminder that sometimes, what we think is no big deal turns out to be a doorway to deeper truth. Through all the shifts and reckonings, she’s found her way back to joy, to self-love, and to a quieter kind of knowing. We’re so grateful she brought her voice, her warmth, and her honesty to this conversation. Lets Dive In! Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    51 min

  7. TRAILER

    Trailer: "Under the Radar - Stories That Needed Telling"

    Send a text Welcome to The Australian Adoption Podcast: My Unknown Truth, a space for the stories that live beneath the surface. In this trailer, host Nadia Levett shares the origins of the podcast and in Episode 1 she shares her personal journey from foster care to adoption, shaped by both love and complexity. But this series is about more than one story; it’s about many.  With compassion and curiosity, Nadia brings forward voices from across Australia and internationally: adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, foster carers, and changemakers who shed light on the lived realities of adoption, identity, and connection. Whether raw, redemptive or quietly profound, these stories reveal truths that have remained under the radar for too long. This podcast invites listeners to understand, feel, and walk alongside the journeys that deserve to be heard. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    1 min

  8. 06/26/2025 ·  BONUS

    Episode 38 - “Winging It Since 1982: A Bonus Chat with Jo Sparrow”

    Send a text Hey Everyone, and welcome to this special bonus ep of The Australian Adoption Podcast. This one’s a bit different - I’m flipping the mic and sharing an interview I did with Jo Sparrow on Adopt Perspective. We get into all of it - early care, family, reunion, identity, and what healing really looks like over time.  Jo asks the kind of questions that get under the surface, and I reckon this chat might hit home if you’ve ever wondered where you fit, or how to make sense of a story that doesn’t follow a neat line.  Let’s get into it. Support the show Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram or find me on Facebook or Twitter. The Australian Adoption Podcast with host Nadia Levett!

    1h 38m
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Trailer

About

My Unknown Truth is a podcast sharing the stories and lived experiences of Australians who have been through adoption and foster care.  These stories are often complex, spanning over 50 years and touch on difficult truths, from growing up in an under-resourced system to Australia’s traumatic history of forced adoptions and Stolen Generations. But within the darkness, there is also light; stories of hope, courage, resilience, and love. Hosted by Nadia Levett, an adoptee born and raised in Australia, this podcast is a deeply personal project.  It’s my wish that by sharing a range of voices and experiences, we can build greater awareness and understanding around adoption and foster care in Australia, spark informed conversations, and encourage others to share their truth, open hearts, minds, and homes to children in need.

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