What happens when one side of the nature nurture equation is a mystery?

Eva has always felt that she’s a product of her environment; her adoptive family, her upbringing - the life she remembers.

But what if her birth family shaped her more than she realises?

Eva explores how adoptees make sense of themselves when their genetic history is a mystery. She questions how much of who we are is shaped by our biology, how much comes from our upbringing. – and how to live with what can’t be known.

With adoptee Mia McGrath, Eva’s adoptive parents Moira and Chris, and neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow.

Writer, producer and presenter: Eva Brookes Executive Producer: Peggy Sutton Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Jeff Emtman Artwork: Ellie Walmsley Assistant Commissioner: Prabhjit Bains Commissioning Editor: Khaliq Meer

Made in China is a Reduced Listening Production with BBC Sounds Audio Lab.

How can Eva connect with Chinese culture, when she has no parents or family to guide her?

Even though she looks Chinese, Eva didn’t feel Chinese growing up with a white British family in Essex. She’s often felt pressure to embody a version of ‘Chineseness’ she doesn’t feel connected to. Now she asks how she can bring her birth heritage into her everyday life on her own terms.

Eva learns to stop feeling guilty about not having learned her birth language and discovers how food can offer much more than physical sustenance. She finds a sense of belonging rooted not in shared upbringing, but in shared disconnection - and begins to feel more confident forging her own path to her birth culture.

With adoptee Jaki Clibbon, writer and community organiser Jenny Lau and chef Irene Hua of the Zao An Collective.

Writer, producer and presenter: Eva Brookes Executive Producer: Peggy Sutton Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Jeff Emtman Artwork: Ellie Walmsley Assistant Commissioner: Prabhjit Bains Commissioning Editor: Khaliq Meer

Made in China is a Reduced Listening Production for BBC Sounds Audio Lab.

What led to Eva being adopted by a British family, after she was born in China in 2000?

Eva explores the social, political and cultural forces that shaped her life - and the lives of millions of girls like her.

She discovers why the Chinese state limited the number of children each family was allowed, how the One Child Policy was enforced, and what its consequences were for society across China.

She learns how the ideas of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius led Chinese families to prefer sons rather than daughters. And looks at what factors led more and more western families to adopt Chinese babies, uncovering uncomfortable truths.

With journalist Barbara Demick; professor of sociology and China studies at SOAS University of London, Jieyu Liu; and professor of China studies at King’s College London, Kerry Brown.

This episode includes extracts from the following archive:

The Dying Rooms – directed by Brian Woods and produced by Kate Blewett. A True Vision production for Channel 4.

The Oprah Winfrey Show – produced by Harpo Studios.

A Patchwork of Lies – produced by The China Intercontinental Communication Centre

Writer, producer and presenter: Eva Brookes Executive Producer: Peggy Sutton Sound Designer & Mix Engineer: Jeff Emtman Artwork: Ellie Walmsley Assistant Commissioner: Prabhjit Bains Commissioning Editor: Khaliq Meer

Made in China is a Reduced Listening Production with BBC Sounds Audio Lab.