
Stolen in China, Raised in Texas: Twins Caught Between Two Superpowers
From Face-Off: The U.S. vs China by Airwave Media
March 17, 2026 · 49 min · Season 3 · Episode 10
About this episode
This episode features journalist Barbara Demick discussing her book about Chinese twins separated at birth and their contrasting lives in China and Texas.
In this episode, Journalist Barbara Demick talks with Jane about her latest book Daughters of the Bamboo Grove. It’s the story of Chinese twins separated as toddlers. One twin grows up with her family in rural China. The other twin is adopted by an American family in Texas. It’s a haunting, moving narrative about the harsh repercussions of the One-Child policy, and the realities of life in rural China and rural America. Barbara and Jane know each other from their time together as reporters in China. They both lived in Beijing - Barbara the bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Jane the bureau chief of the New York Times. Jane thought of her as one of the bravest reporters - always fearless and open to getting the stories of real people. Daughters of the Bamboo Grove is another example of her excellent reporting and her unique ability to shine a light on the lives of ordinary people. Guest: Barbara Demick, author & journalist, former bureau chief in Beijing for the Los Angeles Times Book Recommendations: Daughter’s of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick *Also, we want to hear from you! We have a listener survey that takes less than a minute and we would love to hear your…
People in this episode
Host: Jane
Guest: Barbara Demick
Topics covered
- twins
- adoption
- One-Child policy
- China
- Texas
- journalism
- family separation
Keywords
- twins
- adoption
- China
- Texas
- One-Child policy
- journalism
- family separation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Los Angeles Times, New York Times
Books & works: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove
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