Vivien’s Wild Ride (2026): Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
008 | Vivien’s Wild Ride (2026): Adoption on the Small Screen Vivien Hillgrove has been a film and sound editor all her adult life. She’s worked with many filmmaking greats: Francis Coppola, Phil Kaufman, Milos Forman, Walter Murch, and celebrated documentary filmmakers Lourdes Portillo and Deann Borshay Liem. But when Vivien’s eyesight starts to deteriorate, the shame and loneliness she felt in 1964 come flooding back—having relinquished her baby as a teenage, unwed mother when there were few choices for women was a loss that resonated throughout her life. Now she faces a new...
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Modern Family “Pilot” (2009): Adoption on the Small Screen
Adoption Pop!
007 | Modern Family “Pilot” (2009): Adoption on the Small Screen For 11 seasons the Dunphys, the Delgado-Pritchetts, and the Tucker-Pritchetts influenced modern American families’ views on gender roles, inter-generational relationships, and transnational adoption. Listen in as podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer break down the pilot episode of ABC’s Modern Family. Because the circle of life has to start somewhere. Modern Family was created by Christopher Lloyd and...
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K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025): Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
006 | K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025): Adoption on the Big Screen Breaking Netflix streaming and box-office records, and charming the critics, podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer go all-in on summer 2025’s breakthrough hit, K-Pop Demon Hunters. Clever humor, catchy tunes, and storylines exploring shame and generational trauma, the Huntrix girls and the ladies of Adoption Pop! show how adoptee-resonant storytelling is really done done done. K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) was written by Danya...
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Sex and the City: The Movie (2008): Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
005 | Sex and the City: The Movie (2008): Adoption on the Big Screen Slip on your Manolos, pour yourself a Cosmo, and listen in to podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer pick up where the turn-of-the-century HBO juggernaut left off: with Samantha and her celebrity boy toy on the west coast, Miranda living in something less than domestic bliss in Brooklyn, Carrie finally settling down with Big, and Charlotte, making her fairy tale dreams of motherhood complete … through international adoption? Sex...
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Penny Serenade (1941): Adoption on the Silver Screen
Adoption Pop!
004 | Penny Serenade (1941): Adoption on the Silver Screen The 1941 sentimental classic, Penny Serenade, stars Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as a married couple who replace children more often than they replace the needle on their sitting room Victrola. Join podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer as we challenge marriage and adoption propaganda during Hollywood’s Golden Age on this episode of Adoption Pop! Penny Serenade (1941) was directed by George Stevens, based on the novella by Martha...
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The Family Stone (2005): Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
003 | The Family Stone (2005): Adoption on the Big Screen In this episode of Adoption Pop!, podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer delve into the dysfunctional dynamics of The Family Stone. Race, queer rights, adoption, heirloom jewelry, and a beloved family recipe for strata—this film has everything (except maybe likeable characters engaged in healthy communication). But don’t take our word for it. Sit through what is perhaps the cringiest Christmas Eve dinner in history, and judge for yourself. The Family Stone (2005) was...
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The Grinch (2018): Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
002 | The Grinch (2018): Adoption on the Big Screen Terrorizing Whoville and inciting holiday joy for almost 70 years, podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer bring an adoptee lens to the only adaptation of the classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! that turns the title character into an orphan. The Grinch (2018) was written by Michael LaSieur and Tommy Swerdlow, directed by Scott Mosier and Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Universal Pictures. This episode aired on December 17, 2025. In it we discussed and/or relied upon:...
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Elf (2003): Adoption on the Big Screen
Adoption Pop!
001 | Elf (2003): Adoption on the Big Screen The best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear! Whether it’s your first time watching this holiday classic, or your fiftieth, you’ve probably never watched Elf like this before. Podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer–all adoptees themselves–explore the adoptee experience alongside adoptee Buddy the Elf, including adoptee terminology, biological parent fantasies, cultural identity struggles, and more. Elf (2003) was written by David Berenbaum, directed by...
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Welcome to Adoption Pop!
Adoption Pop!
Welcome to Adoption Pop! where a podcast journalist, a filmmaker, and a cultural critic burst pop culture’s favorite adoption tropes. Each episode, we’ll dive into movies, TV, and reality shows, from prestige dramas to the classics, to ask what these stories are really saying, and not saying, about adoption. And we’ll get real about representation: how the world sees us, and how we see ourselves. In your feed every Wednesday, beginning December 10, 2025. Find us on , , , and wherever you get your podcasts. Haley Radke is a Canadian domestic adoptee, the founder of Haley Radke Media,...
info_outline004 | Penny Serenade (1941): Adoption on the Silver Screen
The 1941 sentimental classic, Penny Serenade, stars Irene Dunne and Cary Grant as a married couple who replace children more often than they replace the needle on their sitting room Victrola. Join podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker, Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer as we challenge marriage and adoption propaganda during Hollywood’s Golden Age on this episode of Adoption Pop!
Penny Serenade (1941) was directed by George Stevens, based on the novella by Martha Cheavens.
This episode aired on December 31, 2025. In it we discussed and/or relied upon:
Cinema Geeks Episode 225, Cary Grant Retrospective: Penny Serenade
Adoptee activist Connor Howe posts TikTok and Instagram videos of adoptees meeting adoptive families, without the inspirational background soundtrack.
Georgia Tann may have been the United States’ most notorious child trafficker. Policies and procedures pioneered by her for the purposes of kidnapping and selling children are still used today across the adoption industry.
Actress Jane Biffle played one-year-old Trina Adams in Penny Serenade, her only film credit.
“Irene Dunne Adopts Baby,” New York Times (March 17, 1938)
Marilyn Ann Moss, Giant: George Stevens, a Life on Film (2004)
Marshall B. Jones, Crisis of the American Orphanage, 1931-1940, Social Service Review (December 1989)
Mary Frances Gage Obituary, Los Angeles Times (July 26, 2020)
Mia Laurenzo, “Love Endures All in Penny Serenade,” WLRN (January 30, 2019)
From 1854 to 1929 orphan trains transported children from northern cities to foster homes in rural areas to perform labor. Despite the moniker, many of these children had living parents.
Peter B. Flint, “Irene Dunne, a Versatile Actress of the 1930’s and 40’s, Dies at 91,” New York Times (September 6, 1990)
Proceedings of the Child Conference for Research and Welfare (1909)
Travis Tritt, “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive”
The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen.
We’d love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you’d like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
Cultural critical Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com, on Instagram, and on Substack.