In Episode 4 of The Adoption Chain, Donald and Scott welcome their first guest beyond the hosts: Michael Porter, Scott's longtime college friend and a small-town Teacher of the Year. When Michael's parents told him he was adopted, his only question was "Do I have to leave?" — that's how good he had it. His birth mother had been his adoptive mom's friend before he was born, so letters, phone calls, and Christmas updates kept them connected for years. Michael shares the joyful reunion in Texas, the moving story behind "I couldn't take you from your mom," the half-brother he unknowingly crossed paths with again and again, and a nature-vs-nurture revelation about the grandfather whose life he repeated without ever meeting him. Plus this week's famous adoptee: Frances McDormand.

A warm, funny, deeply hopeful look at open adoption done right.

In this episode:

(02:14) Famous adoptee: Frances McDormand

(09:58) "Do I have to leave?"

(14:15) His birth mom was his mom's friend

(20:10) The reunion in Texas

(21:30) "I couldn't take you from your mom"

(30:37) Nature vs. nurture

(31:58) "The Question"

Follow the show so you never miss the next link in the chain. Learn more at theadoptionchain.com. Have a story to share? Reach out at osuopie1968@gmail.com

In Episode 3 of The Adoption Chain, co-host Scott Smith becomes the first link in the chain, and his story is the mirror image of Donald's. Scott grew up in an open adoption, always knew, and was genuinely happy never searching. Then his biological father, Chuck, discovered at his 30th high school reunion that Scott was his son and hired a PI to track him down. Scott's answer was simple: "Tell him he did the right thing." The phone number still sits, unused, in his nightstand drawer. Scott also opens up about the late-night messages from a birth mother he's never met, the coincidences that connect their lives, and why, at 58, he's finally rethinking the door he closed at 30.

An honest look at the adoptees who don't go looking and what changes when the past comes looking for them.

In this episode:

(02:08) Famous adoptee

(16:47) The birth father who reached out

(19:58) The private investigator

(23:10) The number never dialed

(32:14) "Scott, this is your mother"

(37:56) "The Question"

Follow the show so you never miss the next link in the chain. Learn more at theadoptionchain.com. Have a story to share? Reach out at osuopie1968@gmail.com

After finding out at 50 that he was adopted, Donald petitioned a court to unseal his adoption records and interviewed the widow of the lawyer who arranged everything. What he found was a 1967 closed adoption pushed through with no home study and no court order: a newborn driven across Oklahoma and handed over at a party, paperwork signed after the fact, and a system that treated both baby and birth mother as an afterthought. Along the way he shares the biological mother who lived just 1.7 miles away his entire life, the lies she was told about where her baby went, and the book he's writing about it — Ballad of the Interloper.

Honest, unflinching, and surprisingly hopeful, this is the adoptee experience most people never hear about.

In this episode:

(00:20) Making peace with the truth

(02:49) The investigation & the book

(11:42) "Baby Boy Cox"

(14:00) The handoff with no court order

(18:57) The lies his birth mother was told

(28:06) "The Question" segment

Follow the show so you never miss the next link in the chain. Learn more at theadoptionchain.com. Have a story to share? Reach out here: osuopie1968@gmail.com

Donald and co-host Scott Smith — friends who are both adopted — kick off a show built on one idea: everyone knows someone who's adopted, they just may not know it yet. Following "the chain" from one adoptee to the next, they share honest, funny, and surprisingly moving stories about identity, belonging, and the truth behind closed doors. Along the way they dig into open vs. closed adoption, the little-known "Baby Scoop Era," Donald's Muscogee (Creek), Potawatomi, and Cherokee heritage.

Whether you're an adoptee, an adoptive parent, or you've ever wondered about your own roots, this is a conversation you'll want to follow to the end.

In this episode:

(00:00) Does everyone know someone who's adopted?

(02:55) Famous adoptee: Debbie Harry

(11:15) Finding out at 50 — the DNA test

(17:30) The anonymous letter

(29:06) How his daughter solved it

(45:00) Native American roots revealed

(50:23) Open vs. closed adoption & the Baby Scoop Era

Follow the show so you never miss the next link in the chain. Have a story to share? Reach out at osuopie1968@gmail.com or www.adoptionchain.com