Shows / Family Secrets
Family Secrets
Family Secrets. We all have them. And while the discovery of family secrets can initially be terrifying or traumatic, often these discoveries have the power to liberate, heal, and even uplift us. Join Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of the memoir Inheritance, and her guests as they explore astonishing family secrets and uncover the extraordinary lessons the truth can teach us.
Episodes
Family SecretsTwo Skirts, Two Shirts, One Dress, No Hair Dryer
Bonnie is raised in a cult— but at the time she doesn’t even know it. She only knows extreme isolation and abuse. And what she’ll come to know is that she must…
Family SecretsWe Are the Short Family
As Ciaran uncovers dark and hidden truths about his family, he must ask himself: what's in a name? And what's not? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
Family SecretsSomething Happened to Susan
A trip to France. An act of profound violence. A marriage--a whole world-- forever changed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Family SecretsDear Dealer
Nadia and Sasha are The Bowers Sisters. But when tragedy strikes, one sister must investigate all she's lost, and all she's never known. Learn more about your…
Family SecretsComing Soon: New Episodes, New Secrets!
Family Secrets is back! And with more secrets and stories than ever before. Make sure to download, resubscribe, and tune in next week, October 8th, for an…
Family SecretsA Skirt Caught on Fire
In our extraordinary season finale, Mary Afsari shows us how our unknowable pasts—the tragedies, traumas, and truths—can shape a future and change a life. Many…
Family SecretsI Think You Should Stop Talking
When Emily returns from a family trip, she tells people she has a “crazy story” but it’s more than that. It’s always more than that. See…
Family SecretsHave You Seen Her?
Casey’s biological mother doesn’t want to be found. But still, Casey seeks to find her. Needs to. And when she does, a deluge of truth pours forth. See…
Family SecretsHave You Ever Seen a Body Like This?
Tom’s father takes up all the oxygen in the room with a presence that's larger than life. Larger, in fact, than the many lives he keeps hidden from his wife…
Family SecretsMaking Yourself Up
For most of her life, Darcy’s identity is a mystery. Who’s her mother? Who’s her father? And who, in the end, is she? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Family SecretsWe Heard Everything
A childhood rife with political upheavel, violence and loss. An adulthood overtaken by distrust and manipulation. And then, finally, the truest friend and…
Family SecretsNobody Liked Their Nickname
When tragedy befalls Laurie’s crowded family, she and her eight remaining siblings—and their deeply detached and peculiar parents—must navigate the…
Family SecretsHijacked
First: a hidden sibling. Then: an unbelievably harrowing hostage situation. As Mimi moves through life, she must confront the scarring secrets stacked against…
Family SecretsMrs. America
Growing up, Jackie is a self-described “girl’s girl” in family full of women - surrounded by her sister, mother, and several loving aunts. But a generational…
Family SecretsStrangers
A seemingly perfect marriage—a whole life—shatters overnight when Belle discovers her husband’s betrayal and uncovers the silences and stories that have come…
Family SecretsComing Soon: Family Secrets Season 14
Join us for a new season of Family Secrets. We're back with 10 new stories starting May 7th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more…
Family SecretsA Thank You From Dani for Season 13
A message from Dani, with an update on the next season of Family Secrets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad…
Family SecretsHomeschooled
After being coerced into homeschool by a mother whose love threatens to consume him, Stefan must confront how an isolated childhood shrouded in secrecy will…
Family SecretsShould We Do This?
Marion and Tony are madly, deeply in love. But there are obstacles to their relationship, namely Tony’s sexual preference. When Tony loses his life to AIDS…
Family SecretsThe Mixed Marriage Project
In his locked study, Dorothy’s father works on his book. For years. And years. And years. But it’s not until after his death that Dorothy uncovers the secrets…
Family Secrets90 Miles
Karen vanishes with her children to escape a violent marriage, erasing a life in order to save it. But eventually, when it’s safe—if it’s safe—she must come…
Family SecretsAll Without Telling Me
In 1998, long before Dani discovered the truth of her biological paternity, she published a story called “The Secret Wife” about the discovery of her father’s…
Family SecretsThe Guy Who Knew a Guy
When Francesca sets out to understand her father’s past, she is faced with a world of crime, silence, and denial. But it’s not just his past she must reckon…
Family SecretsTangled Up in Blue
Sam grows up without knowing his biological father. As he enters adolescence, he begins to resemble Bob Dylan. A lot. So when Sam learns his mother had a brief…
Family SecretsBaby X
After centuries of ancestral trauma, Julian must listen closely to the stories of his family —stories of survival, memory, myth and generations of erasure—in…
Family SecretsThey Weren’t Into Consequences
When Amanda’s parents’ eccentricities take a dark turn toward hoarding, scheming, and secret-keeping, the walls begin to literally close in on her. As the…
Family SecretsIn The Backseat of My Body
When Kate begins to recover haunting memories, she must confront a family history shaped by silence and generational harm. What follows is her quest to piece…
Family SecretsActing on Top of Acting
Ari’el has spent his life playing characters, trying on different identities. But at a certain point he must discover who—beneath all these competing selves—he…
Family SecretsNew Season! Coming Soon!
Thursday, November 13th. New Secrets. New Stories. New Season. Join us next week for our thirteenth launch! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Family SecretsBonus: Dani and Gretchen Rubin
Author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin joins Dani to talk about aphorisms and family secrets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more…
Family SecretsA Word from Dani
Updates, Workshops, and Special Guests! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Family SecretsThere’s a Storm Coming
A ninety-year old father and his youngest daughter come together to unpack a secret that altered—and ultimately made sense of— the shape of each of their…
Family SecretsWhich Circle Are You In?
Not every member of a family is told the same story. Elissa wrestles with the necessity of claiming her voice, even as telling her own singular truth may exact…
Family SecretsWho’s the Girlfriend?
A box of letters. A hidden life. A history rewritten. Susan must reckon with how to move forward—how to be a daughter, a sister, a mother—after so much…
Family SecretsTruth or Consequences
As E.A. takes to the road on a route once taken with her mother, she must confront the stories we inherit, the ones we choose to tell, and the one’s we don’t…
Family SecretsIt Feels Like Blood
What does it mean to be a family of one? Steven examines his search for belonging in the wake of disappearance, loss, and profound mystery. See…
Family SecretsThe Rage Didn’t End Until the Mystery Did
Marian’s body knows something her brain does not. It takes years before she finally has the language to define herself. To be herself. See…
Family SecretsDefensive Wounds
Erin grows up in and around violence and anger. But nothing could have prepared her for the tragic discovery she makes at age twenty-seven. See…
Family SecretsThe Perfect Happy Family
Through the dual lens of a devoted sister and parent, Julie explores the emotional terrain of family illness and secrecy, puzzling over how she can care for…
Family SecretsJust Like an Arrow
As Sarah navigates the world as an artist and writer, she must confront the genetic history—its myriad patterns and traumas—at the heart of her story, her very…
Family SecretsI’m The Man You’re Looking For
Brando’s father is an American Indian incarcerated political activist. Or is he? His mother tells a lot of stories. It’s almost impossible to know what’s true…
Family SecretsFamily Secrets: Season 12 Trailer
We're back with a new season of extraordinary stories. Join us next Thursday, My 29th for the premiere of Family Secrets Season 12. See omnystudio.com/listener…
Family SecretsA 2025 Update From Dani
Catching up with our Family Secrets family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Family SecretsI Got a Lion
Griffin grew up in a family whose illustrious life defined them. But beneath their fame were the secrets that shaped his world. See omnystudio.com/listener for…
Family SecretsI Thought I Was Telling the Truth
At the age of sixteen, Jill began a relationship that lasted most of her life with her much-older professor. Twenty-five years ago, she wrote a memoir. But…
Family SecretsWe’ve Met Once Before
In her quest for answers about her biological mother in South Korea, Tracy finds more—and in some ways, less—than what she’s bargained for. See…
Family SecretsThe Sky Didn't Fall
When Sacha looks back to her childhood, she sees the branches of a gnarled and tangled family tree. But through art, reflection, storytelling – and just the…
Family SecretsAn Active Annihilation
Growing up in Ahmedabad, one of India’s fastest-growing cities in the early 2000s, Zara’s world ignited –both literally and figuratively. See…
Family SecretsLet’s Go Into the Woods
When Garth was growing up, he managed to hide his struggles from his parents. But when Garth becomes a parent himself, he must decide when—and if, at all—to…
Family SecretsThe Sunshine
Nabil’s dad is not exactly in the picture when he grows up. But he is in other pictures, many in fact. He’s a famous jazz musician and throughout most of…
Family SecretsI Was Told Not to Tell Anyone
After years of keeping her abortion a secret, Honor discovers the power of telling. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your…
Family SecretsThe Two Names
What’s in a name? And what’s not? With a splintered identity and a voracious hunger for truth, David travels far and wide for answers. See…
Family SecretsLove, Mommy Dearest
Two fires. Two Anitas. Countless questions. In order to understand her mother—and herself—Nina must reckon with a difficult and diffuse past. See…
Family SecretsFamily Secrets: Season 11 Trailer
Season 11 of Family Secrets premieres next Thursday, November 7th. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit…
Family SecretsNew Season and Workshop!
Dani updates the Family Secrets family about our Season 11 launch and an upcoming workshop at Kripalu Center. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
Family SecretsDani Recommends: You Probably Think This Story’s About You
Hi Family Secrets family, this week we're bringing you a podcast we think you'll enjoy: You Probably Think This Story's About You. Dani also gives an update on…
Family SecretsA Thank You From Dani
Dani shares an update with the Family Secrets family at the end of our tenth season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Learn more about your…
Family SecretsI Was 758
Susannah was 758; that was her identifying number as a research subject in an academic study—and a psychological experiment— that spanned thirty years of her…
Family SecretsHey Dad, Who Was That at the Door?
It’s not until well into Darren’s adulthood that he discovers the truth of his father’s secret past. And what does he do with his father’s secrets? He keeps…
Family SecretsA Phantom Glamour
David’s mother is a fantasist with a secret. But hers is the kind of strange secret that’s out in the open…sort of. As David grows up, he finds the…