07/12/2026: The Vatican's Orphans, Sealand, Christopher Nolan
About this episode
The episode explores the Vatican's controversial adoption practices, the unique history of the Principality of Sealand, and an interview with filmmaker Christopher Nolan about his adaptation of 'The Odyssey'.
From 1950 to 1970, the Vatican sent thousands of Italian children to eager American Catholics for adoption. The children entered the United States on orphan visas. The trouble was most of the children were not orphans. They were the children of unwed mothers, many of whom were alive and searching for their children. How the Vatican got into the orphan business is the subject of The Price of Children. Bill Whitaker speaks to author Maria Laurino and to American adoptees still struggling with the decades of separation from their birth families. Heather Abbott is the producer. Correspondent Jon Wertheim journeys by boat (and winch) into the world’s smallest—and unlikeliest—state: the Principality of Sealand. Just off the English coast, and roughly the landmass of two tennis courts, it boasts a full-time population of one. It was built during World War II as a nautical fort, and later repurposed as a “pirate radio” station under its monarchs, the Bates family. Wertheim takes a tour of this micronation and its history of piracy, coups, countercoups and rogues. Michael Gavshon is the producer. Legendary Hollywood director Christopher Nolan, whose blockbuster films have earned 18…
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