by Lisa Cooke | Jul 14, 2015 | 01 What's New, Apps, Genealogy Gems Podcast
We’re so pleased we just had to tell you our great news….The Genealogy Gems Podcast has been nominated for the first-ever Academy of Podcasters Awards!
Ten nominees were named in each category by The Academy of Podcasters in an event expected to become annual, according to the Academy website. We were chosen “by a combination of input from the Academy, the board, and from other podcast rating services.” The Genealogy Gems Podcast was nominated in the “Parenting, Family and Kids” category.
Podcaster and comedian Colt Cabana will host the actual awards show on July 31, 2015 at the Omni Fort Worth in Forth Worth, Texas. It’s not far from home and I hope to stop by to celebrate on my way home from speaking at the BYU Family History Conference!
In case you’re not already a listener….The FREE Genealogy Gems Podcast, our flagship “online radio show” with 1.75 million downloads, helps you make the most of your family history research time by providing quick and easy-to-use research techniques. As the producer and host, I do my darndest to bring you the best websites, best practices, and best resources available for genealogy!
Listening has never been easier because now you can easily stream podcasts on your smartphone or tablet in addition to listening online at our website or in iTunes. To listen on your mobile device, just get the Genealogy Gems app for iPhone or iPad and Android. To learn more about the show or read FAQ, click here.
Try our other podcasts, too:
- Family History: Genealogy Made Easy, a free step-by-step series for new or starting-over genealogists
- The Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast, a monthly in-depth news and how-to show with MORE great interviews, tips and tricks. This is available as part of our annual subscription package, which also includes a year’s access to a full range of genealogy education videos.
Thank you Academy of Podcasters!
by Lisa Cooke | May 27, 2015 | 01 What's New, Adoption, Book Club, Conferences, Disaster Prevention, Evernote, Genealogy Gems Podcast, Heirloom
Episode 179 of the free Genealogy Gems podcast is now available for your listening pleasure! In this episode, Lisa shares:
- stories of TWO inspiring family history discoveries: a stash of photos and documents AND a long-lost birth mother;
- highlights from meeting many of YOU at recent conferences across the U.S., from New England to Texas to Alaska and then to NGS in Missouri;
- tips on creating an Evernote genealogy library;
- more on Genealogy Gems Book Club selection The Lost Ancestor (The Forensic Genealogist)
by Nathan Dylan Goodwin;
- and Lisa’s thoughts from recent “Tornado Central” Texas on backing up your computer data.
The Evernote tip is easy and SO useful: Lisa gives you a quick idea for creating a list of all the genealogy books on your bookshelf. No, you’re not creating a tedious bibliography–all you do is snap a few pictures and let Evernote do the work. Just click on the episode link at the beginning of this post and listen (or read the shownotes!).
As always, Lisa takes all that genealogy buzz and technology noise out there and distills it down into the best, most usable genealogy gems. That’s what the free Genealogy Gems podcast is all about. If you love it and wish you had MORE podcast episodes to listen to, consider becoming a Genealogy Gems Premium member. You’ll get a full-year’s access to monthly Premium podcast episodes with MORE in-depth news, conversations and inspiring stories–and access to ALL the archived episodes from the past! Premium membership gives you access to an entire series of full-length videos, too. Click here to learn more.
by Lisa Cooke | Feb 25, 2015 | 01 What's New, Book Club, Conferences, DNA, FamilySearch, Genealogy Gems Podcast, RootsTech
The newest episode of the FREE Genealogy Gems podcast–episode 176–has published and it is PACKED with gems!
Lisa begins with her own in-depth comments on RootsTech 2015. Whether you attended or didn’t, I think you’ll find her front-row analysis of the world’s biggest family history event pretty interesting! I appreciate her insight that RootsTech isn’t just about teaching people to do family history. It’s about motivating and inspiring their legacy-building efforts. I have sometimes felt a lack of that at conferences myself: I get a lot of how-to but not the energizing “why-to” that I sometimes need myself.
I join Lisa to talk about the Genealogy Book Club and MORE great reads for family history lovers. We’re still reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, which offers up a history lesson about the thousands of neglected children who were shipped off by train to rural homes in the U.S. and Canada. In the context of an unlikely friendship between an elderly orphan train rider and a modern teenage girl in the foster care system, we learn how much of a child’s identity comes wrapped up in their family’s backstory. Lisa and I also talk about writing family history using different voices. I recommend books written in a few different voices, or styles.
Another great segment in this episode is the topic of yDNA research and surname studies. Genetics is re-invigorating those “one-name” groups that explore their common surname heritage. As in every episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast, you’ll get some great tips and learn about online resources you may not have seen. You’ll hear from our listeners and readers with questions and comments. And we hope you’ll respond with your own! Click here to listen to the podcast and read the show notes.
by Lisa Cooke | Sep 26, 2014 | 01 What's New, Blogs, Genealogy Gems Podcast, Inspiration, Research Skills, Volunteer
The newest episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast is now ready for listening! This is a really special episode with a story I think many of us can relate to. It’s about a man who started researching the life of a woman he never met–he doesn’t even know who her descendants are. And yet he feels compelled to learn her story. Learn how and why, and about some of his successes and challenges in the podcast episode.
I’ll give you just one little teaser: 99 postcards found in an attic when he was 13 years old got him started. He’s held onto them for the past 38 years. Recently he finally started studying the stories on their backs. And that’s when he could see that 86 of them were addressed to a Mrs. Lizzie Milligan and postmarked between 1904 and 1925. Who was she? That’s what he is determined to know. And he’s already blogging his discoveries–in part hoping others can help him solve the mystery.
Episode 171 can be found through iTunes or by clicking here.
by Lisa Cooke | Jul 17, 2014 | 01 What's New, Genealogy Gems Podcast, History, Research Skills
Genealogy Gems Podcast Episode 169 has been published–and it’s a blast from the past! I’ve re-published original Genealogy Gems episode 14, inspired by a passage from my grandmother’s journal: a list of the silent films she saw that year and the actors who starred in them.
Just like today, the stars who light up the silver screen were mimicked and followed for fashion trends, hair styles, decorating ideas, and moral behavior. Understanding who the role models were at the time gives us a better understanding of the cultural influences of the era. Films are NOT primary resources, but they certainly paint a picture of life at any given time in history.
In this episode, I find out more about the silent movies my grandmother catalogued in her diary, and how they molded a generation. You’ll catch a glimpse of the silent movie era and how it was an integral part of your ancestors’ lives. You’ll also learn how to find silent movies to watch for yourself!
