{"podcast":{"title":"Unraveling Me","slug":"unraveling-me-7569853","podcast_index_feed_id":7569853,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/690534bf3906f8011add9159","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/unraveling-me","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/690534bf3906f8011add9159/1764205341144-b718e518-900f-43d5-82d8-91561a3645ff.jpeg","author":"Kara Rubinstein-Deyerin & Alan Katz","episode_count":41,"summary":"Join host Kara Rubinstein Deyerin as she speaks with people who, like her, are impacted by NPE's (non-parental events), DNA surprises, adoption, assisted reproduction, or other unexpected information bombs that reveal the truth about who they are and their family relationships and secrets. As anyone who's ever experienced such an event can tell you, it separates you from you. From knowing your own story. In \"Unraveling Me\", Kara explores the myriad ways why knowing the truth about who you are and who your family is matters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T16:19:46.198920+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853"},"episode":{"title":"S1E16 Unraveling Cassandra","slug":"s1e16-unraveling-cassandra","published_at":"2026-02-19T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853/s1e16-unraveling-cassandra","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853","url":"https://shows.acast.com/unraveling-me/episodes/s1e16-unraveling-cassandra","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/690534bf3906f8011add9159/e/699209564d911476d8b7d28e/media.mp3","summary":"S1 E16 – Unraveling Cassandra - This episode is a powerful meditation on truth, belonging, and the slow work of integration. She reminds us that identity isn’t rebuilt overnight—and that learning who you are is often a lifelong process, especially when the truth arrives after everything else is already in motion. Cassandra’s story begins on what she calls her “re-birthday”—the night a DNA test revealed the truth about her origins and quietly dismantled everything she thought she knew about herself. What followed wasn’t a single moment of realization, but years of unraveling, re-integration, and learning how to live honestly inside a body that suddenly held a different history.   In this deeply reflective conversation, Kara and Cassandra explore how donor conception, secrecy, and late discovery reshape identity—not just intellectually, but emotionally, relationally, and culturally. SHOW NOTES   Kara and Cassandra discuss: The shock of realizing the story of her conception was never disclosed Navigating parental secrecy and the emotional aftermath of planned silence Meeting her genetic father and donor-conceived siblings The life changing impact of learning she is half Ashkenazi Jewish Grief for a cultural inheritance hidden from your childhood—and the pull to reclaim it Rebuilding identity after truth arrives late   Cassandra speaks with care for everyone involved, even as she names the cost of secrecy and delayed truth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"S1 E16 – Unraveling Cassandra - This episode is a powerful meditation on truth, belonging, and the slow work of integration. She reminds us that identity…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3494,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/unraveling-me-7569853/episodes/s1e16-unraveling-cassandra/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/unraveling-me-7569853/s1e16-unraveling-cassandra.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}