Labor of Love: A Podcast for BIPOC Adoptees Navigating Parenthood
Nari Baker & Robyn Park
5.0from 10 ratings
- 18
- Episodes
- 10
- Ratings
- Weekly
- Cadence
- 2021
- First episode
About Labor of Love: A Podcast for BIPOC Adoptees Navigating Parenthood
Labor of Love is a podcast that centers and amplifies the voices of BIPOC adoptees navigating parenthood. In this space, we connect with and gather the wisdom of contemplating, expecting, new, and experienced adoptee parents of color. We talk fertility, conception, pregnancy, birth and delivery, postpartum and beyond, all from an adoptee perspective. We believe our community needs and deserves more resources for the beautiful and challenging journey of being a BIPOC adoptee parent. This podcast is one of our contributions to our community. Thank you for joining us and tuning in. Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Editing: Federico aka mixinghacks Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
- Publisher
- Nari Baker & Robyn Park
- Category
- kids & family · society & culture
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- Yes
- First episode
- 11 Aug 2021
- Latest episode
- 10 Dec 2025
Latest episodes
18 episodes in the feed.
10 Dec 2025
Radical Vulnerability
This episode with Dr. David McCarty-Caplan touches on so many profound and heartfelt areas, carried by the radical vulnerability, honesty, and compassion he brings to the conversation. David generously shares about his reunion with his Colombian birth family-- first on his own, and later with his children and partner. We explore how his kids embraced reunion and modeled openness, curiosity and love with his family, and how their presence and perspective helped guide and teach him throughout the process. David also reflects on his identity as a Jewish Colombian adoptee and his powerful work community building with and for Jewish adoptees of color. Dr. David McCarty-Caplan Bio Dr. David McCarty-Caplan (PhD) is a researcher, educator, writer, and consultant whose work sits at the intersection of identity, belonging, and social justice. Born in Bogotá, Colombia and adopted into a white Jewish family in the United States, David’s life has been shaped by questions of race, family, and home. These experiences continue to inform his passion for helping adoptees and their families navigate the complex layers of identity, racism, and connection that often accompany adoption. Drawing on his background as a social work researcher and educator, David brings both personal insight and professional rigor to his work with organizations, communities, and families. He is especially interested in how people and institutions can create spaces where all feel seen and valued. David lives in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children, ages 12 and 10. As a husband, father, and adoptee, he is continually exploring what it means to nurture belonging — in his family, in his work, and in the broader world. https://www.shadesofbelonging.com/ (https://www.shadesofbelonging.com/) Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
8 Oct 2025
It’s Not History, It’s Ongoing
Join us and Dr. Oh Myo Kim for an illuminating conversation on her time parenting her two children while in Korea as a Fulbright researcher and professor at Yonsei University. Dr. Kim graces us with her perspective on Korean and US politics, how she is including her children in learning about current events, and what it has been like teaching Korean and international students about Korean adoption. Additionally, Dr. Kim sheds light on her newest research on adoptees who search but do not find, and DOKADs (descendants of Korean adoptees) and the politics of identity within the next generation, and the legacies of adoption for us all. Oh Myo Kim Bio Oh Myo is a counseling psychologist who researches adoption and identity. She is primarily a mixed-methods and qualitative researcher. She holds a BA in English, a Master of Divinity, and a PhD in Counseling Psychology. Oh Myo teaches classes for undergraduates and graduate students in the Mental Health Counseling program at Boston College. She is currently a visiting professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea on a Fulbright Fellowship. https://www.ohmyo.kim (https://www.ohmyo.kim/) https://www.childrenofadoptees.com (https://www.childrenofadoptees.com/) Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
5 Aug 2025
The Right And Power As Their Mother
Join us for our second episode of season 2 with Shannon Bae. Shannon is a long-time friend, fellow Korean adoptee community activist and organizer, and mother of two amazing kids. This intimate conversation took place in Seoul in the summer of 2023 during the International Korean Adoptee Association's 6th Korea Gathering. In our shared ancestral land, Shannon generously shares about her decision to not explicitly share her adoption story with her children at this point in their development, and her juxtaposing experiences giving birth in Korea and the United States while continuing to cultivate a deeper relationship with her birth mother. Shannon also discusses her children's experiences moving back and forth between Korea and the United States, raising them bilingual, and why she doesn't view translating for adoptee reunions as work. Shannon Bae Bio Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Audio Production: Augustina Moore & Adrien Prevost https://august222222.com (https://august222222.com/) Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
11 Jun 2025
Kitchen Table Politics
Join us for a fierce and loving conversation with Cynthia Mumtaz Anderson, Pakastani adoptee mother of two and social justice professional. Cynthia shares about her inspiring practice of Kitchen Table Politics where she has honest conversations with her children and partner about current events, how they are affecting their lives, and what they are going to do about it together. We talk about her feelings about the changing political landscape, and witnessing her sons' heartbreak while she empowers them to use their privilege to defend themselves and the people they love. We also touch on belonging, safety, citizenship, white allyship, forgiveness, and trust with special focus on Cynthia's journey of revising her relationship with performative interactions and modeling self love for her sons and her own inner child. Cynthia Anderson Bio Cynthia Anderson's biological name is Mumtaz which she has tattooed on the inside of her arm. She is the ammi (mother in Urdu) of two amazing boys, wife, daughter, Pakistani American adoptee, and she believes that our true worth in this life is measured by the kindness, love, and compassion we offer to others. She has worked at the University of Washington in Seattle for 19 years as an academic adviser and is active in social justice work there and in her community. Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
27 May 2025
Aaannnddd... We're back!
Hello all~ We're thrilled to be back for Season 2 after a lengthy hiatus! Episode 1 dropping soon. We've missed you! <3 N & R Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Audio Production: Frederico Soler Fernández & Augustina Moore (august222222.com (https://august222222.com/)) Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Support via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
5 Oct 2023
Moving Against the Grain with Self Love
In this episode, Jenna Corriveau takes us on her journey out of the fog of internalized white supremacy, adoptee “fawn response”, isolation, and harmful familial relationships, and into personal authenticity, self love, adoptee community, and empowerment as a BIPOC adoptee mother. She generously shares her belief in brain science, learning nervous system regulation, and giving oneself daily grace, especially as an adoptee parent. Jenna is un-schooling and eclectic homeschooling her three children, and is deep in the process of de-schooling herself, as an extension of reclaiming her identity around her intelligence and personal autonomy. https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/ (https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/) https://mindsightinstitute.com/ (https://mindsightinstitute.com/) Jenna Corriveau Bio Jenna Corriveau is a 39-year-old Colombian Transracial Adoptee, raised in CT. She and her partner Tucker have 3 children: 7, 5 and 1-year-old. In addition to being a parent she has over 15 years of experience working with children and families. Her work spans from preschool teaching, foster care system, practicing Synergetic Play Therapy, parent coaching and Adoption Mosaic. She practices gentle brain/body-based parenting. Currently, she can be found de-schooling and secular home-educating with her family. Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Editing: Frederico Soler Fernández Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
7 Sept 2023
Intergenerational Adoptee Legacies
Join us for a beautiful conversation with adoptee mother, Astrid Castro and daughter, Maya Papaya Castro Dabbeni. They generously share about their tremendous love and bond, and shed light on how intergenerational trauma and painful legacies of adoption have affected their relationship, perspectives, and behaviors. We also discuss the importance of mirroring and how unique it is for adoptees and children of adoptees; their unique birth family reunion story; birth language acquisition within adoptee families; creating adoption fluency; and moving from isolation as adoptees into community together with our children. https://www.adoptionmosaic.com/ (https://www.adoptionmosaic.com/) Astrid Castro Bio Astrid Castro (she/her/hers) is the founder and CEO of Adoption Mosaic (https://adoptionmosaic.com/). Adoption Mosaic is a BIPOC adoptee, woman-led business that seeks to build an inviting adoption conscious community by providing innovative adoptee-centered programs and support.Including a monthly virtual panel series called We the Experts: Adoptee Speaker Series (https://adoptionmosaic.com/we-the-experts-speaker-series/). Astrid has a degree in sociology with an emphasis in adoption. For twenty plus years, she has traveled the country to lead youth groups, present workshops on transracial parenting, talking with children about adoption, and various other workshops focusing on adoption. Prior to creating Adoption Mosaic, Astrid worked in both the private and public sectors of various adoption organizations such as the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Holt International and Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange. Astrid co-authored Adoption in the Movies, which takes the reader on a guided tour of 27 movies and documentaries that are ‘dripping with adoption’ which are asking questions that encourage viewers to engage in ongoing dialogue and discussion. She also developed an innovative, evidence-based, 27-minute training DVD titled, Adoptive Parent Training:Developing Communication Skills. The training demonstrates how adoptive parents can communicate openly and honestly with family, friends and especially children. Astrid is a former member of the board of directors of the North American Council on Adoptable Children, the author of many articles on the subject of adoption and contributed a chapter to the book Parenting as Adoptees (https://www.amazon.com/Parenting-As-Adoptees-Adam-Chau/dp/0988585804). Astrid’s personal experiences as an adoptee, a woman of color, and growing up in a white family and community, fuel her professional path to helping others. Astrid is aware of the benefit of post-adoption services for individuals and their families and seeks to bring these services to the adoption community. Her life-long interest in adoption is rooted in her own adoption at the age of four from Colombia (along with her older sister). Astrid has been in reunion with her birth family in Colombia since December 2011. Read about Astrid’s journey of searching and finding her birth mother in The Oregonian (https://www.oregonlive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/07/family_matters_adoptee_searche.html). When Astrid is not working she loves to spend time with family, friends and enjoying the adventures of life as the mama of an amazing daughter. Maya Papaya Castro Dabbeni Bio Maya has grown up hearing and talking about adoption as a child of an adoptee. She is biracial, Colombian and Italian, as well as trilingual, Italian, Spanish and English. At a young age, Maya was a driving force in finding her maternal birth family. To this day, she is still uncovering connections to her Colombian roots, in addition to exploring how generational trauma and epigenetics affect children of adoptees. Maya is excited to share her experience of being a "child of an adoptee" and to bring this topic to light. Maya is currently a third year student at San Jose State University majoring in International Business with a double minor in Spanish and Italian. Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Editing: Frederico Soler Fernández Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
20 Apr 2023
Pandemic Parenting as Adoptees: Managing Up, Passing of Food, and Better Luck Tomorrow
Dr. Kimberly McKee joins us in a lively conversation that touches on her experiences with her blended family through the pandemic, relationship with her birth family, and upcoming research on API adoptee women and girls in the media. Kim generously shares her perspectives on the challenges and privileges of being a working mom, an adoptee in reunion, and in partnership with a fellow Korean adoptee. She is a fierce advocate for Asian Americans and adoptees through her academic work and teaching, the philosophy of “fed is best”, and taking the time and space to be very intentional about cultivating her ever-evolving relationships with her young son and two step-children. Book Recommendations: I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont Who’s Knees Are These? by Jabari Asim Who’s Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim Kimchi, Kimchi Everyday by Erica Kim Mr. Watson’s Chickens by Jarrett Dapier Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related. by Jenny Heijun Wills
30 Mar 2023
Making the Most Space We Can for Others and Ourselves
Jessica M. Luciere, Colombian adoptee in reunion, generously shares her unique perspective as a long-time professional adoptee mentor/advocate and mother of two young children. An only child with adoptive parents who passed away, Jessica has the complex experience of witnessing her children forge life-long relationships with her Colombian family and not the Italian American parents who raised her. She reminds us of the importance of letting our kids have their own experiences outside of our losses, projections, and grief from adoption, and that the lines of healing across and through relationships are often not linear or exactly reciprocal. Jessica models deep commitment to the adoptee community through her professional work while balancing the sacred work of mothering, partnership and self-care.
9 Feb 2023
Research as Witness: Land Before Time, Annie, and Rethinking “Forever Family”
Today we sit down with Dr. JaeRan Kim, a fierce advocate, researcher, social worker, blogger and needle savvy knitter. Over many years, JaeRan has been very influential in the adoptee community through her academic publications and well-known blog, Harlow’s Monkey, where she connects transracial adoption to the larger forces of white supremacy, racism and colonization. She continues to be a vast resource for adoptees and adoptive parents alike. In this episode, JaeRan generously shares how she helped build her childrens’ racial and cultural identities, critical thinking skills, and sensitivity to the lives and experiences of adoptees. She sheds light on which areas of adoption need more research and publication, and her commitment to fostering community connections among adoptees. Other poignant moments include JaeRan sharing about her singing the Annie Musical song “Maybe” to her child, and pushing back on the idea of adoptive families as always being a “forever family” for adoptees. Please find more of her incredible work at www.jaerankim.com and www.harlows-monkey.com, and her colleagues Rich Lee, Heewon Lee, and Xiang Zhou.
12 Jan 2023
What Is the Story of Value?
Join us for a heartfelt and deeply reflective conversation with Isaac Etter, father of a 22-month-old son (at the time of recording), Black domestic adoptee, activist, and founder of identitylearning.co. Isaac generously shares some of his adoption story with us, his journey into fatherhood, and his reflections on some of the more challenging and even taboo feelings that often come up for adoptees in parenthood, as well as growing compassion for his birth mother at the same time. We touch on the notion of “information poverty” several times throughout the conversation, to expand on the question, “what is the story of value?” in adoption, and how can we continue to challenge conventional adoption narratives as a community to honor our losses, our birth families, and our intergenerational legacies.
23 Jun 2022
Time Traveling to Befriend Grief
Angela Burlile, Korean adoptee, joins us for a very intimate conversation about her journey from considering adoption to pursuing IVF in Korea. We time travel together to discuss befriending grief, loss, longing and healing, and her courageous process to remove herself as the site for unlearning racism with her husband.
19 May 2022
Adoption in the Time of Love, Violence, and Fetal Microchimerism
Join us for an illuminating conversation with Dr. Kit Myers, Hong Kong transracial adoptee, father of two daughters, police abolition activist, and an old adoptee camp counselor friend. Kit would have been your favorite P.E. teacher, but he opted to immerse himself in academic studies, coming out on the other side as current Assistant Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Merced. We discuss Kit's process in becoming a professor, teaching his daughters about valuing love, anger and their mixed Hmong and Chinese American identities, the influence that fetal microchimerism had on his desire to continue his birth family search, and his research on the inherent love and violence infused in the the act and industry of adoption. You can find Kit on Twitter @MyersKit and follow his police abolition work at #AbolitionMay.
21 Apr 2022
Kinship of Loss
Shannon Gibney is a mother of three, prolific author, activist, educator, runner, and Buddhist transracial adoptee. In this episode, she blesses us with profound reflections. We dive straight into the “structures of feeling”, a place beyond words, where loss and other body wisdom lives, a kinship among adoptees and to loss itself. Shannon connects the losses of adoption to experiences of infant loss and miscarriage, to create a space for recognition and honoring of the, ultimately, impermanent nature of all things. She also gives a first sneak peak into her new book, Botched: A Speculative Memoir on Transracial Adoption out in early 2023, among many other publications.
15 Dec 2021
Prioritizing Maternal Mental Health for BIPOC Adoptees
Joy Lieberthal Rho is a powerful Korean adoptee leader, founder, visionary, and community nurturer. Join us for the pleasure of listening to her share some of her personal parenting journey, her keen observations on motherhood milestones, and the importance of seeking prenatal, postpartum, and mental healthcare that centers the unique and specific experience of being a BIPOC adoptee parent.
17 Nov 2021
Being the Best Version of Myself for My Son
Join us for a beautiful conversation with Korean adoptee, Stephen Johnson, as he shares his journey into new fatherhood and the call to be the best version of himself for his son. He also shares poignant adoptee moments such as when his son became the age as when he was adopted. Stephen discusses reuniting with his birth family, his thoughts on birth fathers and adoptee fathers, and honoring his Korean sister’s legacy through his start-up company, Hyesun House, https://makemakgeolli.com.
20 Oct 2021
10,000 Generations of Seoul Food
Amy HyunAh Pak and Sarah Kim Park, two incredible Korean adoptee mothers, antiracism activists and adoptee community leaders, join us for our very first episode. They generously share their journeys as Korean adoptees, daughters of the diaspora, and community mothers. We traverse deep territory, touching on areas such as ancestral connections, healing through parenting, and the strength and love that it takes to create new and mixed family cultures.
11 Aug 2021
Season 1: TRAILER
Welcome to Labor of Love, a podcast that centers and amplifies the voices of BIPOC adoptees navigating parenthood. In this space, we connect with and gather the wisdom of contemplating, expecting, new, and experienced adoptee parents of color. We talk fertility, conception, pregnancy, birth and delivery, postpartum and beyond, all from an adoptee perspective. We believe our community needs and deserves more resources for the beautiful and challenging journey of being a BIPOC adoptee parent. This podcast is one of our contributions to our community. Thank you for joining us. Co-Hosts: Nari Baker & Robyn Park Music: Mike Marlatt & Paul Gulledge Editing: Federico aka mixinghacks Artwork: Dalhe Kim Listen on: iTunes & Spotify | Follow us on Instagram: @laboroflovepodcast | Donations via Venmo: @laboroflovepodcast
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Podcast Authority Score: 20 / 100
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