Put to the Test

This episode was originally published on May 31, 2019.

DNA tests have exploded over the past few years. And while they have a scientific basis, their accuracy is debatable. But what the results have led some people to discover has been truly life-changing. This week, Piya asks: How much does family DNA really matter?

Here are the stories from this week's episode...

How a DNA test led one woman to uncover that her father was switched at birth

After Alice Collins Plebuch took an ancestral DNA test, she learned her father – who she'd believed to be Irish Catholic – was actually descended from Russian and Eastern European Jews. She tells Piya how the surprise led her down an obsessive journey to discover his roots... which eventually revealed he'd been switched at birth and had biological family they'd never met before.

How a woman who was conceived as a result of rape embarked on a journey to find family

Rebecca Kiessling never felt an easy sense of belonging in her adoptive family. When she turned 18, she accessed her adoption file and found her birth mother's name... but not much about her father. After meeting her birth mom, Rebecca discovered she was conceived as a result of rape. She tells Piya what happened when a DNA test led her to learn the man's identity.

'It's not a fairytale': Why a woman remains torn about desire to meet her biological father

Julie Green's biological father was never in her life, leaving her with questions about the potential health risks contained in her own genetic history. So she got genetic testing done. Beyond discovering the information she was after, she tells Piya how the test has her thinking about the risks and benefits of going further... and reaching out to the father she's never known. 

'I just see myself as me': What DNA tests don't say about who you are 

Olivia Bowden knows that her mom's an Indian immigrant to Canada and that her dad's Caucasian. She also knows that DNA, which is scientific, should not be conflated with race, a social category. And yet, as a biracial woman who's struggled with belonging, she still wanted to take a DNA test to affirm who she is. She tells Piya what the test unlocked in her.