Born Greek - Made American

Melon Media

On March 30, 1952 four men were executed in Athens, Greece. They were accused of being communists and committing acts of espionage and treason. Three years later, the daughters of one of these men were put on a plane and sent to America. They were adopted by a wealthy Greek American couple in Massachusetts. Their adoption was the first of a long line of adoptions between Greece and the US that has been kept a secret for years. It is a story that takes us back to the Cold War years and to a relationship of dominance and submission between the US and Greece. But it’s also a personal story, about facing one’s past — decades after being forced to forget. Can a broken family come together again?

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Top 10 Born Greek - Made American Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Born Greek - Made American episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Born Greek - Made American for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Born Greek - Made American episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Mary’s story

Born Greek - Made American

04/28/25 • 27 min

Mary describes herself as a sort of “person X”. Born in Greece, she was adopted in 1955 by an American couple in the Midwest. She has never met her birth mother and knows very little about her father.

In this episode, Katerina Bakogianni tries to find out about Mary’s birth mother and answer some of the questions Mary has been struggling with for years.

Born Greek is a Melon Media production.

1. David: A shocking revelation

Born Greek - Made American

10/05/23 • 29 min

Joan and her sister Kathryn were adopted from Greece in 1955 under strange circumstances. Years later, Joan’s son David discovers an unbelievable secret. His grandfather was a high profile communist who was executed by the Greek state. And there is also a third sister in Greece.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

Trailer

Born Greek - Made American

09/19/23 • 2 min

Joan and Kathryn were adopted from Greece in 1955 under strange circumstances.

Years later, Joan’s son David discovers an unbelievable secret. His grandfather was a high profile communist who was executed by the Greek state. And there is also another sister, who still lives in Greece. Her name is Effie and she has been looking for Joan and Kathryn her whole life since the three of them were forcefully separated by the police.

Joan and Kathryn were part of an international adoption scandal that sent thousands of Greek babies to America during the Cold War years.

Join journalist Katerina Bakogianni as she tries to unravel what exactly happened.

In the process she will speak to family members in Greece and the U.S., childhood friends, professors of history and a former CIA agent. She will also take a long look at the complex relationship of dominance and submission between Greece and America.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

2. Effie: A life in waiting

Born Greek - Made American

10/05/23 • 30 min

Effie has been searching for her sisters, Joan and Kathryn, her whole life. The three of them were forcefully separated by the police after the execution of their father. A CIA agent confirms that the U.S. played a heavy hand in the persecution of Greek communists in the 1950s. Joan and Kathryn were part of an international adoption scandal that sent thousands of Greek babies to America.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

3. The two Joans

Born Greek - Made American

10/05/23 • 32 min

Through a bizarre coincidence Katerina meets two of Joan’s best childhood friends and learns about her first years in the States. She and her sister Kathryn adopted by a very wealthy Greek-American couple in Massachusetts. Joan never spoke about her dark past to anybody. David thinks that may be the reason for her mental breakdown years later.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

4. Kathryn: Together, at last

Born Greek - Made American

10/05/23 • 39 min

In 1980, a journalist tracks down Joan and Kathryn's adoption papers. Effie tries to contact Joan by phone, but Joan tells her she will not be allowed to speak to her again. Years go by. And then it is Kathryn who decides to search for a family in Greece. She travels to Athens and meets with Effie. Joan is still kept in the dark. Her husband David Sr says she wanted nothing to do with her past.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

5. Saying a name out loud

Born Greek - Made American

10/05/23 • 34 min

David decides the time has come. He travels to Greece and arranges for Joan to speak with Effie. He visits the execution site and pays tribute to his grandfather. The family is reunited.

Visit David's website:

David Whelan → page (davidvalentinewhelan.com)

Visit Ομιλος Μνημης Αττικος Τυμβος: 2010 (attikostimvos.blogspot.com)

to find out more about those executed in Greece during the years 1941-1952

Special thanks to Xanthe Patmanidou-Papanastasiou, President of the Attic Tomb, for letting us use archival sound recordings in this episode.

Cover design by MADHOT.

Born Greek - Made American is a co-production of Melon Media and iMEdD.

Follow Melon Media on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok.

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