Stop Rewind: The Lost Boy

Released 15th September:

Stop Rewind is a gripping, emotionally charged 10-part podcast documentary that unravels one of the most astonishing true stories of identity, coincidence, and homecoming you’ll ever hear.

As a child in India, Taj was kidnapped, falsely declared an orphan, and adopted into a loving Mormon family in Utah. Although his adoptive family initially knew nothing of his past, he never forgot who he really was – or that he was taken. But without the language or tools to return, and with no one who understood his story, the details faded, and Taj’s past was quietly boxed away.

But the clues remain, preserved on an old cassette tape, recorded as a child. The problem is, nobody understands what it says – not even Taj himself. 

Decades later, a series of coincidences begin to unlock its secrets. What follows is a cross-continental odyssey through disputed memories, lost identities, and tangled truths.

As the past begins to resurface, so too do questions Taj may not be ready to answer: Who was responsible? Who can he trust? And what happens when the life you made collides with the one you lost?

Told through rare original recordings, immersive sound design and unforgettable first-person testimony, Stop Rewind is a story of stolen childhood, the quest for truth, the triumph of love and the long road to belonging.

A Blanchard House production for Curiouscast.

Credits

Host, Writer and Producer: Emma Jane Kirby

Additional Production: Himmat Shaligram

Inspired by the book The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright

On-the-ground Interpreting: Smitha TK

Additional Research: Catherine Gilon

Original Music: Toby Matimong, Louis Nanke-Mannell and Daniel Lloyd-Evans

Sound Designer and Mix Engineering: Volkan Kiziltug, Daniel Lloyd-Evans, Toby Matimong and Louis Nanke-Mannell

Postproduction supervised by Daniel Lloyd-Evans.

Creative Director: Rosie Pye

Executive Production: Amica Sciortino Nowlan and Laurence Grissell