WEBVTT - 'Root of Evil' Update with Zak Levitt: Part 2 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:07.400 You're listening to Facing Evil, a production of iHeartRadio and 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:11.160 Tenderfoot TV. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.080 are solely those of the individuals participating in the show 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:17.680 and do not represent those of iHeartRadio or Tenderfoot TV. 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.280 This podcast contains subject matter which may not be suitable 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:30.560 for everyone. Listener discretion is advised. Today, we're picking up 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.840 right where we left off on the previous episode. We're 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:37.600 joined by Zach Levitt, producer and creator of the podcast 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:41.640 Root of Evil. Last episode, we revealed what was left 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:44.800 on the cutting room floor of Root of Evil, including 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:49.040 new information about the true relationship between George Hodell and 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.960 Fauna Hodel. We continue that conversation now. 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:58.320 So we now know for a fact that George Hodell 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:02.800 was not our mother's father, not the father. 0:01:03.840 --> 0:01:04.200 Nope. 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.840 But wait for it, y'all. Wait for it, y'all. We 0:01:08.000 --> 0:01:09.959 know who her father is. 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:15.280 We knew that George Hodel was not our mother's father 0:01:16.319 --> 0:01:22.000 in the year twenty eighteen. Yes, so, mister Zach Levitt, 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:26.480 can you tell us and our listeners? Of course we know, 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:33.200 but tell our listeners why that fact was not in 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:34.400 Root of Evil. 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:38.760 At the time. I was so upset about it not 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:44.080 being in the podcast, and I wanted an opportunity to 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:46.360 talk about it, and it was something that I thought 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.040 about day and night for months and months and months. 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:51.800 I was devastated, and I can use that word. I 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.240 was devastated, absolutely, And I don't want to get ahead 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:56.279 of the story, but I just I'm going to circle 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.880 back in a second. But my point is that I 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.800 wanted to talk about it so badly, even though I 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:06.320 wasn't quite sure how to. And we spoke about it many, 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:10.400 many times, and I could have come out on Twitter 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:14.840 somewhere and said we found the results. George is not 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:19.200 the father, but it wasn't my story to tell. And 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:24.160 I knew that whoever revealed this news, it couldn't be 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:26.560 me because I'm not a member of the family. You know, 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:28.840 it was about your mother, so it was going to 0:02:28.880 --> 0:02:31.080 be the two of you that would reveal it. And 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.240 I think Steve may have blogged something about it on 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.480 his website. I can't I can't remember, but yes, So 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:42.200 time went on and I saw the reaction that the 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:46.480 audience had to the show, and you know, sometimes you 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:48.520 don't want to fuck with that, yeah, right, And so 0:02:48.680 --> 0:02:51.600 I sort of said to myself, Okay, people love the show. 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.800 Would it have been a better ending perhaps? Would it 0:02:55.840 --> 0:03:01.800 have provided closure to the family, Yes, yes, ye. Would 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:06.880 it have prevented some possible bad feelings after the fact 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:12.320 of well why didn't it get used? Absolutely? But you know, 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:14.280 the audience doesn't know what they. 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.200 Don't know, right, right, right. 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:19.519 So you're always cutting things out. You're always always cutting 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.679 things out of a story. There's this term don't kill 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:25.400 don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, right, and 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.880 and sometimes it's a good thing. If you're losing amazing 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.839 moments from a show, it can be a good thing 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.440 because that means that, you know, you got to cut 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.040 it down for clarity or whatever the case may be. 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.840 And whatever's left is the really good stuff. And so 0:03:42.920 --> 0:03:45.880 I said to myself, Okay, people have responded, they love 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:49.080 the show. The great stuff is in there. Move on 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:52.360 with your life, which it took me a while. We know, yes, 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.720 we do know, we know now why wasn't it in there? 0:03:56.960 --> 0:03:58.800 Tell us this is the question. 0:03:59.120 --> 0:04:03.200 As everybody knows. And we began talking about making the 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:07.120 show and what led to making the show, that this 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:11.480 was the sister podcast or the shoulder content. 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:12.720 Whatever, companion podcast. 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:17.280 Yeah, companion podcast to the TNT show I Am the Knight, 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:22.200 which was made by Patty Jenkins, who is an incredible 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:27.320 director who directed Wonder Woman and Monster Right. Yeah, and 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:29.359 so I said, holy shit, Okay, I'm going to be 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:32.760 working on a podcast where you know, the person putting 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:37.880 the show together is a massive director and her husband. 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:38.559 Pretty cool. 0:04:38.760 --> 0:04:39.359 Pretty cool. 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:43.640 And of course going back to this idea of my 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:46.920 first call with Sam when he mentioned, hey, the girls 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:52.480 have these profiles of their DNA and Fauna's DNA on 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.320 twenty three and meter. But I told him, don't go 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:57.760 forward with anything until you talk to Zach and he 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:02.599 starts doing the podcast. Now fast forward to eight months 0:05:02.640 --> 0:05:07.000 later whatever it was, where I now have the results 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.880 of that DNA test that they didn't really know about. 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:11.599 They were in the same boat as I was with 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:14.599 not really understanding it and okay, twenty three ae meters, 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.080 what is it going to tell you? No, we took 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.719 it an extra step further. We put it on this 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:23.520 other website which revealed whether Fauna was a product of 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.560 incest unbeknownst to anybody. You know, this is just me 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.400 making the story that I wanted to make. We have 0:05:29.560 --> 0:05:33.200 those results, and I was given to TNT's credit and 0:05:33.200 --> 0:05:35.560 everybody else's credit carte blanche to make the story that 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:39.920 I wanted to make, and we did that unbeknownst to them. 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:45.160 We found the results and we recorded those results. And 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:50.719 once the people putting together I Am the Knight heard that, 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.080 I think it became an issue. Well I shouldn't say 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.880 I think it became an issue because the podcast was 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:02.080 being released around the same time as the TV show, right, 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:09.200 sister content companion podcast whatever. And that question of who 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.680 Fauna's father was, whether it was George or not, is 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:14.400 a theme in the I Am the Night. 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.520 Show, Yeah, which is inspired loosely inspired by Mom's life, 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:19.240 but yeah. 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:23.960 Ours was the true story the documentary, So that theme 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:28.479 of who Fauna's father was was a George is and 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.560 I don't remember the show, but it certainly comes up 0:06:32.080 --> 0:06:33.920 and is sort of left unanswered. 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:37.600 But that's where it leaves you thinking that George's Mom's father. 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.839 That's where it ends. We should say yeah. 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:45.160 Exactly, which is certainly more interesting and goes along with 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:49.880 the crazy story and yeah, but we have the answer, right, 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:53.560 We actually have the answer now, Yeah, and we're going 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:56.919 to put it out there and everybody's going to hear it, 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:00.479 and we're going to have some closure for the actual 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:04.800 family that inspired this story. And that was always my motivation. 0:07:04.920 --> 0:07:07.640 It had nothing to do and I say this in 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.480 all sincerity. For me, it was like, I knew it 0:07:11.480 --> 0:07:14.680 would be an interesting moment for the audience, but it 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:20.200 was about providing closure to all of you who were 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.080 so generous with your time and emotions and lives and 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.960 all these things. And I wanted to give that to 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:28.840 all of you. I really wanted to, and we did, 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.240 and we gave you that moment. And then I hear 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:34.600 you need to take that out of the end of 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:39.560 the show. I'm like, wait, what you have to take 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.480 that out of the end of the show. It's going 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.400 to and these are my words, this is not anybody 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:48.920 else's words. It's going to potentially upcut the fictionalized version 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.400 because we put it out there that there is no answer, 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:54.560 and now if there is an answer, it's going to 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:58.000 upcut it. And so when I heard that, I was floridite. 0:07:58.040 --> 0:08:01.640 So I sent the results. I sent all of this 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:06.080 other evidence that I had gathered that repts. Yeah, all 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:09.280 the receipts along the way there were articles written saying 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.400 that George was not the father, and you know, nobody 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.760 had had the proof that we had, but it had 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:19.040 been speculated on for for years. And if anything, this 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.400 is going to help the show, right, Like here, here 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.320 was my sort of pitch. You know, we've we've agreed 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:31.520 to tell this nonfiction this this this documentary story. We 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:35.880 have it. There's this other story that is slightly you know, 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.200 leaves things sort of out there in the ether. Why 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:43.319 can't they both live together? And really the story is okay, 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:47.520 we picked up where I Am the Night left off, right. 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.600 Patty did tell me in in that conversation, you know, 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.160 talk about this, tell tell this story. It just wasn't 0:08:55.360 --> 0:09:00.040 the right time for the show. And in fact, the 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:03.199 first time I heard about DNA was from the showrunner. 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:05.000 So you were very confused. 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:09.240 Right, My sort of thought was, isn't this a great story? Like, 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:12.040 isn't this a good story? We're providing the family closure. 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:15.400 It can be both, it can be here's the real story, 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.440 here's the fictionalized story. They're both great. If they love 0:09:18.480 --> 0:09:21.520 the limited series I Am the Night, that will drive 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:24.520 them to the podcast to hear more or vice versa. 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.120 If they love Root of Evil. They'll go to the 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:31.520 TV show and watch the show, and can't this moment live, 0:09:32.000 --> 0:09:35.040 you know, for the sake of the family members and 0:09:35.080 --> 0:09:41.040 the audience and all of that. And to my utter disappointment, 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.240 the answer was no. And so I do have to 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:48.480 say this, and I have to reiterate this. The process 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:53.040 of working with TNT and with everybody else was amazing. 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.680 From start to finish. They were hands off. They let 0:09:56.720 --> 0:09:59.920 me tell the story, they were hearing rough cuts. They 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:02.319 knew how good it was going to be, or I 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:04.559 shouldn't say that. They knew that it had the potential 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:08.200 to be, to be interesting, to be big, and they 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.840 they let me be. But there was this one moment 0:10:11.520 --> 0:10:15.840 where I think Patty decided that, you know, we don't 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:18.679 want to have that on. It's it's not going to 0:10:18.800 --> 0:10:22.960 serve the show. I am the Knight in a meaningful way. 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.320 And and in her defense, I totally get that I 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:28.719 would have done the exact same thing if it were 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.880 my show, because you don't want anything to take away 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.840 from your show. And of course they're thinking from the 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:36.920 very beginning, was you know this podcast? 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:39.920 Like they had no idea? 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:43.120 Yeah, oh nobody did. And I didn't have any idea, 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:46.040 but but they, you know, it was, Okay, we're gonna 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:48.800 we're gonna drive an audience to the TV show. And 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.560 if we're going to do that, why would we want 0:10:51.600 --> 0:10:54.920 the listeners of Root of Evil to have this information 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:59.520 in their minds as they're watching the TV show. It 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:03.520 will their interpretation of the story for the TV show 0:11:03.520 --> 0:11:05.640 in a negative way. And I totally get that. Yeah, 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:10.080 I totally get that, especially from a director's perspective, that 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:14.800 is the last problem you want. So I don't fault 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:19.480 Patty or Sam or anybody in any way, shape or form. 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:22.360 They did what was right for their show, which there 0:11:22.400 --> 0:11:25.560 would be no podcast if it weren't for that TV show. 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.520 So I think that that is a really important point 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.360 to make. And I'm not you know, just trying to 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.080 be you know, magnanimous in any way like that. That 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.080 is truly how I feel like if I were if 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:38.040 the shoe were on the other foot, I would have 0:11:38.160 --> 0:11:41.920 probably done the exact same thing, because you don't want 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:44.959 anything messing with your story, and it could have messed 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:50.400 with the story. Now that being said, it fucked me up, 0:11:50.760 --> 0:11:55.640 I know, yes, I know, because not only did it 0:11:56.080 --> 0:12:00.000 pull the teeth out of this story that I had 0:12:00.120 --> 0:12:02.880 built up until that point, and what the hell am 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:06.000 I going to do? And now it's going to fall flat. 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:08.800 It's just going to be this, you know, moment with 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:12.920 everybody together and emoting. We don't have any real information 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.520 as far as George Hode, I mean, George Hodell is 0:12:15.559 --> 0:12:19.440 sort of, you know, this looming figure in the entire series. Yes, 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.280 so not only can we bring the family together, but 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:25.640 we can answer this question and really just tie up 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.080 every loose end in this moment. And I had to 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:33.600 convince myself that Shita life is loose. Ends don't always 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.400 get tied up. They just sort of stay loose and 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:39.760 you got to live with it. But it really really 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:42.880 messed me up for a while as far as feeling 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:44.880 so upset that that wasn't going to be there. But 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:49.480 more so than anything, it was telling the family I 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:50.600 can't put this. 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.079 In yeah, that your hands are tied, I. 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:56.320 Think, sort of explaining that this is not my decision. 0:12:56.400 --> 0:13:00.920 Like I fought for this. I had the DNA expert 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:03.960 who I spoke to initially on the phone when we 0:13:03.960 --> 0:13:07.760 were talking with TNT and with the creators of I 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.200 Am the Night. I had the DNA expert on to 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:17.280 help make this case. Yeah, yeah, it wasn't to be 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.840 And so I had to live with it. And it sucked. 0:13:20.160 --> 0:13:23.000 And I know it sucked even way more for you 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:26.440 guys and for Steve and and love, peace and joy 0:13:26.520 --> 0:13:30.080 and fun of two and and uh, it sucked for 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:34.360 everybody to not be able to have some closure to 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:37.079 to that piece of the story, which I think they 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.840 all felt. You know, it was going to be negative. 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:41.839 George wasn't the father, but to be able to. 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:46.760 Tell the public definitively tie that up, definitively to the public, no, 0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:48.360 he's not the father. 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:51.760 To not be able to have that that stuck with me, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.840 I would say for more than a year. I couldn't 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:56.400 get over that. 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:57.559 You're just being real. 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:21.840 Yeah, it was truly a betrayal, you know, to the family. 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.800 That's what we felt. And when we got that call 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:30.040 from Patty, you know, saying that it wasn't going to 0:14:30.080 --> 0:14:33.520 be in I mean, we were devastated, but we were 0:14:33.640 --> 0:14:36.760 put in the middle, you know what I mean, And 0:14:37.400 --> 0:14:40.280 we said what we had to say because we wanted 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.440 that in rud of evil, like you said, it was 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.480 so powerful, it was so profound and it was the 0:14:46.560 --> 0:14:51.040 perfect ending to the true story. But like I told you, 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:53.600 I'll never forget sitting in the car when we were 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:58.080 going to the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. It was the beginning 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:01.760 of twenty twenty in January. Yeah, and I remember saying 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:06.720 to you that Rude of Evil was your baby. I 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:12.000 Am the Knight was Patty's baby. And you know, we're 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.320 trying to make the both of you happy because there's 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:19.320 that loyalty right to Patty, who brought Mom's you know 0:15:19.440 --> 0:15:22.280 movie to Fruition, you know, her lifelong dream. 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:26.560 Right. I wouldn't have been making this podcast without her. Yeah, 0:15:26.560 --> 0:15:28.760 absolutely right right. 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:33.920 I'll never forget having that conversation with Patty and with Sam. 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:36.360 And of course after we fought for it and we 0:15:36.440 --> 0:15:39.960 realized we were losing the battle, Patty did tell us 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.120 because she's you know, become Mohamma to us over the years, 0:15:43.520 --> 0:15:46.520 she told us, she said, you girls, this is your story. 0:15:46.800 --> 0:15:49.160 You can tell this story however you want to tell it, 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.040 just not now. So that's why we're here today. That's 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.920 why it's so apropos that we're telling the world with you, Zach, 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:01.560 because we've even looking for a vehicle and trying to 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:03.160 figure out how we were going to tell the world. 0:16:03.280 --> 0:16:07.720 One George Hodel is not our mother Fano Hodel's father, 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:12.920 He's only her grandfather. And two we get to reveal 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:18.440 to the world today who are Mom's biological father really was. 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:20.760 And you were the one that was supposed to be 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.360 here with Vett and I to tell the world. 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:28.560 That absolutely and full circle, things happen the way they're 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.880 supposed to happen. I truly believe that. And like Russia 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.400 just said, you know, we started with you and we're 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:39.200 going to end with you by sharing this, you know, 0:16:39.240 --> 0:16:43.480 this discovery that we've been wanting to know for so long. 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:47.200 So with all of that being said, take you back right, 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:51.440 So all of us before Mom died from breast cancer 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:56.640 in September of twenty seventeen, our uncle Joy gifted all 0:16:56.680 --> 0:16:59.160 of us I swear twenty three and me needs to 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:03.600 sponsor this episod, but gifted us all twenty three and 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:06.960 meters DNA kids. So we all did it, including our mom, 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.680 And that is how we got all of that, right, 0:17:09.760 --> 0:17:11.679 That's how we got That's how we figured out that 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:14.320 George was not her father. Of course we didn't find 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:18.480 that out till after Mom died. But fast forward, so 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:22.520 twenty eighteen is when we all found out that George 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:26.360 was not Mom's father. Fast forward to twenty twenty two. 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.240 Both Vet and I get an alert, Hey, you have 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.360 a new DNA relative, which that happens all the time, 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:33.760 because there's you know, five thousand. 0:17:33.359 --> 0:17:34.879 Removed cousins whatever. 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:40.680 We've been looking since twenty seventeen for anyone that he 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:43.160 Vet and I are related to that are not related 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:47.360 to the Hodels. We're talking because Peace and Joy did 0:17:47.359 --> 0:17:50.640 their DNA as well as Steve and F two. Love 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.360 is the only one that didn't do it on that side. 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:56.520 And so someone came up and it came up as 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.600 like a close DNA relative. And this is August of 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:01.520 twenty two two, right before we're going to leave for 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:05.160 podcast movement. Our lives are changing, Facing Evil had just launched. 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.520 Yeah, I'm sitting in the beauty salon getting my hair 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:13.360 done and Rash just sends me this message and I 0:18:13.440 --> 0:18:18.879 was like, holy shit, it was screenshots. 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.399 And when I sent her the screenshot, I'm like, there's 0:18:21.400 --> 0:18:26.480 this guy named Mario Delo Sada who is a relative 0:18:26.600 --> 0:18:28.639 on Mom's side. All these things and I didn't realize 0:18:28.640 --> 0:18:30.639 when I sent her the screenshot because I logged in 0:18:30.680 --> 0:18:32.600 because I still have moms log in for her twenty 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:34.760 three and meters. I logged in his mom after I 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.960 sent her the screenshot. Took screen quick screenshots from moms 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:39.880 because you can see more when it's your own profile. 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:42.760 And it's like, I was Fana Hodel in that moment, 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:47.680 and it said Fana Hodel's half sibling and not related 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:50.000 to any of the Hodels, so all the Hodels are 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:52.199 half siblings, so that gets even more complicated. 0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:54.400 But I was like, what right. 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:56.840 It has no photo, just has a name and it 0:18:56.880 --> 0:18:59.800 says born nineteen fifty eight Mario del Sada, And I'm like. 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:01.080 Oh my god, Oh my god, oh my god. 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.080 We're literally just about to get on a plane to 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:05.399 go to Dallas, Texas to go to podcast movement. 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:07.240 And I did a deep dive. 0:19:07.359 --> 0:19:10.560 I googled every Mario de Losada you could find, and 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:15.120 within about twenty minutes I found him on Facebook. And 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:17.560 you know, he's gonna think I'm crazy by messaging him 0:19:17.560 --> 0:19:20.640 and being like, hey, you know I think you're related 0:19:20.680 --> 0:19:25.360 to us anyway, Long rabbit hole down. Within about an 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.320 hour and a half, of us finding that original thing. 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:32.280 I sent messages to Mario on Instagram, Facebook, twenty three 0:19:32.280 --> 0:19:35.240 and meters and then we got a message back from 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.200 his sister named Judy de Losada. 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.560 But in that hour and a half, you can imagine, 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:47.760 you know, the anxiety, the surrealness, the like like you're 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:50.480 on your show exactly exactly. 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.439 And Duty messaged back and she said, I'm so sorry. 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:57.360 Mario is on a flight, you know, to Atlanta, and they. 0:19:57.359 --> 0:19:58.920 All live in Canada. So I was like, yeah, there's 0:19:58.920 --> 0:19:59.200 no way. 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:03.040 I'm like, I don't Annie was too pretty, and she's like, yep, 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:03.520 that's him. 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:05.040 He was born in nineteen fifty eight. 0:20:05.359 --> 0:20:09.680 And before she told me our grandfather's name, I had 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:11.080 found it and I was. 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.080 Like, oh my god, I think it's Gus de Losada. 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:17.200 I think it's Gus de Losada. And I broke down 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:17.879 in tears. You've it. 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:19.960 Broke down in tears, and I told Judy, I said, 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:21.439 I know you're going to google us as soon as 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.720 you see all these messages. Please don't freak out, but 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:30.320 you and Mario have just proven that mom one hundred 0:20:30.520 --> 0:20:33.880 million percent, that Mom was not the product of incest. 0:20:34.000 --> 0:20:36.800 By finding Mario and. 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:39.199 In that moment, like for me, I was sitting in 0:20:39.240 --> 0:20:42.600 the you know, in the in the salon, it felt 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:48.199 like the gates of heaven like just opened, and I 0:20:48.240 --> 0:20:52.960 could see my mom's face like just smiling with the biggest, 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:56.640 brightest smile and such. 0:20:56.400 --> 0:20:59.120 A relief I can't even imagine. 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:02.080 I was like Mom, I was like, Mama, we did it. 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.080 We know, we know that fucker wasn't your dad. You 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:08.280 know what I mean, because you know, when you think 0:21:08.320 --> 0:21:11.880 about it, you know, Mom searched her whole life right 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:17.280 for her mother. She never puts that emphasis on finding 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:19.640 her father because she was afraid of what she might 0:21:19.680 --> 0:21:24.960 find right exactly. So to get this news and to 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:31.080 see these pictures in that moment was extraordinary and a 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:31.800 what a gift. 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.280 And we have to tell the world so that they know. 0:21:36.480 --> 0:21:45.159 Fana Hodel's father's name was august oracee Manuel Delo Saba, 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:50.680 and he was born in nineteen twenty seven and sadly 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:55.400 died in nineteen eighty. He had three children after Mom, 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:59.920 one child before her. Actually, while we were at Podcast Movement, 0:22:00.080 --> 0:22:02.600 we face timed with them. We spoke with all of them, 0:22:02.600 --> 0:22:07.439 and they're all beautiful, gorgeous amazing souls. 0:22:08.320 --> 0:22:09.080 That's so cool. 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:11.960 I have to tell one story too, because you know 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:16.119 when we were speaking to the whole family, when we 0:22:16.160 --> 0:22:18.320 finally got on a video chat with the whole family, 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:21.679 and I said, so, Mario, this is one of the 0:22:22.080 --> 0:22:24.879 you know, one of the brothers, Our's off brother, our uncle. 0:22:25.320 --> 0:22:27.960 I said, so, why now, why did you decide to 0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:30.160 go on twenty three and me now? And he goes, well, 0:22:30.800 --> 0:22:31.480 it was on. 0:22:31.359 --> 0:22:35.520 Sale on Amazon primeday, right, it. 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:38.520 Was ninety nine random. 0:22:39.000 --> 0:22:39.359 Yeah. 0:22:39.440 --> 0:22:39.640 Yeah. 0:22:39.680 --> 0:22:43.359 And I was like, thank you, thank you, thank you. 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:45.560 Yeah. 0:22:45.800 --> 0:22:47.000 August went by Gus. 0:22:47.480 --> 0:22:51.840 He had a beautiful relationship with his entire family accepted Mario, 0:22:51.920 --> 0:22:54.680 and Mario came out at a very young age. For 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:57.960 all accounts and purposes, he was a beautiful human being, 0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:03.240 and he was Spanish and Ecuadorian and he lived in 0:23:03.280 --> 0:23:04.000 San Francisco. 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:08.680 Like everything lined up. We found census, we found passports. 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:12.119 Photos, photos, yes, which now we can post and share. 0:23:12.600 --> 0:23:14.680 And now we can tell the hotels. 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:17.280