The Sopranos “The Fleshy Part of the Thigh” (2006): Adoption on Television

E043 | The Sopranos “The Fleshy Part of the Thigh” (2006) – Adoption on Television A big “thank you” to Pop! Star Hannah for giving us the chance to revisit what some critics have called “the greatest, and most groundbreaking television show of all time.” The Sopranos ran for six seasons from 1999 through 2007, and followed New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini, and his journey through the criminal underworld—and through therapy. In episode 4 of the final season we meet Tony in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound with a chief henchman by his side, Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri, who is about to learn he is not who he thinks he is. Join podcast journalist Haley Radke, filmmaker Kristal Parke, and cultural critic Sullivan Summer as we revisit this pillar of prestige television. The Sopranos Season 6, Episode 4 “The Fleshy Part of the Thigh” first aired on April 2, 2006. It was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider. It was directed by Alan Taylor. This episode of Adoption Pop! aired on September 30, 2026. In it we discussed and/or relied upon: According to Brooks Vernon in ScreenRant, Paulie would have been nearing 70 in the show’s final season, which makes Sullivan feel much, much better. (Also, this is exactly why she doesn’t let Kristal call herself an honorary member of Gen X). We covered the film Philomena in Episode 15 of Adoption Pop! Dr. Amanda L. Baden et al., “Delaying Adoption Disclosure: A Survey of Late Discovery Adoptees,” Journal of Family Issues (May 2019) Learn more about the US baby scoop era at the Baby Scoop Era Research Initiative The Adoption Pop! theme music is The Chase by Audiogreen. We’d love to hear what you thought of this episode, and what you’d like for us to cover in the future. Find, follow, like, and subscribe to Adoption Pop! at our website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Podcast journalist Haley Radke is at adopteeson.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Filmmaker Kristal Parke is at kristalparke.net, on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Cultural critic Sullivan Summer is at sullivansummer.com and on Instagram.