The Grandmothers Who Defied a Dictatorship to Find Their Grandchildren with Haley Cohen Gilliland

Haley Cohen Gilliland, journalist and author of 'A Flower Traveled in My Blood,' shares the powerful true story of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo—Argentine grandmothers who defied a brutal 1976–1983 dictatorship to find their grandchildren stolen during the military regime's campaign of forced disappearances. These women, many in their 50s and 60s with no political power, used collective action, grassroots organizing, and groundbreaking forensic science to locate over 140 of an estimated 500 stolen children. Their work, which began in 1977 and continues today, relied on the pioneering DNA research of Dr. Mary Claire King, whose work laid the foundation for modern genetic genealogy. The episode explores the emotional toll on both the grandmothers and the recovered grandchildren, the ethical challenges of truth-telling in the face of state violence, and the enduring relevance of this history to contemporary threats to democracy and human rights. Haley reflects on the role of journalism in preserving truth, the importance of remembering history to prevent repetition, and the resilience of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.