Episode 1 - Who Am I?

THE BLURB: In the mid 1980's, Hal worked his way through medical school as an anonymous sperm donor. Jump forward 25 years. Now a successful radiologist, Hal joined 23AndMe, curious about his health genes. He didn't realize that sending his DNA into a growing DNA database would destroy his donor anonymity. Suddenly, seven total strangers found "daddy". Except six of them had no idea their biological father was actually Hal - a sperm donor.

SHOW NOTES

When my friend Hal approached me, wanting to tell his story, he wanted to do it as a movie or TV series. Considering the subject matter, I told him, his story wouldn't survive either of those two storytelling media unscathed or even intact.

Spoiler alert: before, too, too long, Hal's story will include a thing called "genetic sexual attraction". How it enters the story, why it becomes so "potent" if you will - that's the nature of this story's horror.

For me, telling this story presented multiple challenges; that's why I couldn't possibly say no to trying to tell it. Had Hal tried to tell the story himself - with an invented name to protect his identity plus other invented names to protect other identities - he would have been an unreliable narrator right at the jump. But, being an outsider willing to confess all connections to the story, I could use invented names for Hal and anyone else whose privacy needed protecting without compromising my reliability or integrity as storyteller.

As we say a lot at Costard & Touchstone Productions, how you tell a story is just as important as the story itself.

I believe the most honest stories are the best and the best stories are the most honest. Because Hal was willing to be balls to the wall honest, I could tell his story freely - while being mindful of the privacies I needed to protect.

What was especially thrilling about telling Hal's story was that I learned the deep, dark truths along with the audience. The moment I knew I wanted to tell Hal's story - just hearing the headlines - I stopped him from telling me anything else. That feeling of discovery inside the series - as you'll hear it - is genuine. In subsequent episodes, you'll meet the donor-conceived community - Hal's "kids". They really and truly are a community. And they're families, too - blood related and everything!

Telling Hal's story opened a door onto a world I had no idea even existed. And, discovering that world opened more doors than I can count! It led directly to another podcast - The Hall Closet - told by donor-conceived host Donna Hall (who learned the truth of her conception at age 40!). Donna grew up in the mid 1980's and 90's in a lower tier crime family outside of Philadelphia. The Halls weren't the Corleone's, but they made national headlines just the same. Her mom (maybe the worst mom ever!) spent 6 months in prison for child endangerment. Donna's stepdad - John Hall - was a true master criminal, and the Philadelphia Police Department's favorite snitch. John Hall sent more than 25 people to prison based on bullshit confessions he'd concocted to mitigate his own considerable legal jeopardy.

Just as Hal's story was unlike anything I'd ever heard before - and I have a taste (ad a nose) for strange stories - so was Donna's! You'll meet Donna later in episode 5 "Diblings". But, you can meet her at The Hall Closet Podcast. I'm biased of course, but, I think you'll fall in love with Donna!

Alan Katz

Costard & Touchstone Productions

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