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Have you ever wondered what happens when ai tries to make a genealogy podcast? 🤖📜 in this episode of the armchair genealogy podcast, the Genealogy Guy puts it to the test! The AI was fed beginner guides to genealogy and produced a full 25-minute show.
Together we dive into the basics—starting with your own family stories, then moving through census records, certificates, and online tools like familysearch and Ancestry. Plus, we chat about dna testing, the value of keeping a research log, and why patience is your best friend in family history.
Curious to hear how well ai handled the challenge (and what it missed)? tune in—you might pick up a few tips for your own research along the way! 🎙️✨
Creators and Guests
What is Armchair Genealogy - Family Tree & History?
Explore genealogy with "The Genealogy Guy" on Armchair Genealogy, one of the latest genealogy podcasts produced in the UK. Tune in as expert genealogists and diverse practitioners share their knowledge, helping you uncover your roots, build your family tree, and learn about your ancestors' fascinating stories. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned researcher, the podcast aims to help you connect with your family's past and discover long-lost relatives. Subscribe to Armchair Genealogy today and start your journey into your family's history! Podcast Theme Tune composed by Charlie Parkin
Jingle 0:04
The Genealogy Guy podcast, demystifying technology and exploring family tree research, please remember to subscribe and share the podcast with family and friends
Genealogy Guy 0:17
And welcome along to another episode of armchair genealogy podcast with me, Mell, the genealogy guy, this episode, it's an unusual one, with all this talk of artificial intelligence, or AI, as it gets shortened to I wanted to experiment and explore. What can you get it to do? So purely as an experiment, I fed in some documents that I'd written, asked it to analyse them and turn it into a 25 minute podcast, and it was basically all about how to get started in genealogical research. To be honest, I was impressed with how easy it was and what turned out. But for me, I don't know if it really captures the essence of a real life podcaster. Have a listen to this episode and let me know your thoughts.
AI Male Voice 1:04
Today, we're going to do a deep dive into something that I think a lot of people are interested in these days, genealogy, family history, right? And, you know, I think a lot of people, when they think about starting their genealogy journey, it can seem really overwhelming, right? It's like, yeah, where do I begin? Yeah, it's a lot. Yeah, there are all these websites, and there's DNA, and there's, you know, all these kind of resources and records, right? So we thought maybe we could kind of break this down into some more easy steps,
AI Female Voice 1:33
Yeah, and kind of take the tech out of it. Because I think one thing that people think is that it's very tech heavy, and it really doesn't have to be at all.
AI Male Voice 1:42
No, absolutely not
AI Female Voice 1:43
It really is just about
AI Male Voice 1:44
Curiosity,
AI Female Voice 1:45
curiosity
AI Male Voice 1:46
and really kind of diving into the past
AI Female Voice 1:46
and connecting with family,
AI Male Voice 1:48
connecting with family and and kind of uncovering these, these really interesting stories that maybe have been lost, right or forgot
AI Female Voice 2:01
well, and everybody has a story. I mean, I think that's something that people don't realise, is that you don't have to come from royalty to have an amazing story,
AI Male Voice 2:08
right? So it's true. Yeah. So, yeah. So where do we begin?
AI Female Voice 2:14
Well, the best place to start is with you. Okay, so before you start digging into, you know, going way back in time you want to write down everything you know about yourself, okay? Like, your full name, your birth date, your birthplace, any you know, kind of like major life events.
AI Male Voice 2:15
So this is sort of like establishing our home base before we set out on our
AI Female Voice 2:35
Yeah. Like your headquarters, yeah, our headquarters, your research headquarters, exactly. And you never know what can be a clue? I mean, even something like your middle name, right? What if it turns out that that was, you know, a great aunt, or something that you never knew about, that you were named after?
AI Male Voice 2:49
Yeah, just that one detail could send you down a whole new exact research path. So, okay, so we've established our home base, yeah? Now, where do we go from there? Where do we start gathering those those family stories?
AI Female Voice 3:02
Well, your best resource is really just your family. I mean, think about those older relatives that you have, like your parents or your grandparents, aunts, uncles. They're a wealth of information.
AI Male Voice 3:13
I totally agree. And I remember when I first started my genealogy journey, one of the most valuable things I did was just sit down with my grandfather, yeah, and he had all these amazing stories that I had never heard, right? You know, he he grew up during the Depression, and so he had all these, these stories about, you know, how his family coped with that. And, yeah, yeah, just it was amazing.
AI Female Voice 3:35
And it's amazing what you uncover just by asking questions. And those stories contain details that you wouldn't find in any record. I mean, you know, you'll find, you know, things like, oh, you know, we always had, you know, Friday night dinners, or we always went to this place on vacation. I mean, those kinds of details, or you won't find that in a record, right?
AI Male Voice 3:54
Or, you know, the the story behind how your parents met
AI Female Voice 3:58
exactly, or, you know, how they decided to have children, or whatever it might be,
AI Male Voice 4:02
right? So it's almost like having a personal history book exactly come to life, right? Yeah, okay. So we've talked to our family, we've, you know, jotted down all these stories, and maybe we have some some names and dates. Now, what do we do? We have to, like, buy some fancy software.
AI Female Voice 4:18
No, not at all. I mean, especially when you're first getting started, just a notebook or even just a folder on your computer, is a great way to kind of organize everything.
AI Male Voice 4:26
So just staying organised from the from the get, Go, get go. What are some tips for keeping all this straight? Because I know it can get really, yeah, overwhelming, really quickly.
AI Female Voice 4:37
Well, one thing that can really help is just starting a basic family tree, and it doesn't have to be anything fancy. I mean, you can literally just draw it on a piece of paper, but start with yourself, and then add your parents and your grandparents as far back as you can go.
AI Male Voice 4:53
Yeah, I remember when I first started mine and it was on paper, and it was so exciting to like see those connections. Reasons, yeah, visually, he makes it more real. It makes it more real. And then as you start putting those names in, you're like, Oh, well, when was my great grandmother born? Exactly. Where did they come from?
AI Female Voice 5:09
Yeah. And that's when the detective work begins.
AI Male Voice 5:11
Okay, so now we're talking about like, digging into those essential genealogical records.
AI Female Voice 5:16
exactly, yeah, things like census records, birth, marriage and death certificates, okay, those kinds of things. So those are really important. They are because they're like little time capsules. You know? They give you these glimpses into your ancestors lives. That's a great way to put it. Yeah.
AI Male Voice 5:16
Okay, so I think it's easy to get overwhelmed when you hear about all these different types of records, right? So where's a good place to start?
AI Female Voice 5:38
Well, census records are a great place to start, because they're taken every 10 years. So you know, if you can find your ancestor in a census record, you can kind of track them, okay, every 10 years, and it gives you a snapshot of not only your family, but the community they lived in, right? So, you know, you can see who their neighbors were, what they did for work. I love that, all kinds of things like that.
AI Male Voice 6:01
And you can kind of imagine that, imagine them. Yeah, in that setting, exactly, I remember finding a census record for my great, great grandfather, and it listed his occupation as a farmer, and the person living next to him was a blacksmith. And I just thought, That's so interesting. Like, I wonder if their families knew each other, yeah? Like, if their kids played together and right? It really just brought it to life.
AI Female Voice 6:24
It does. And that's really the beauty of genealogy, is that it's not just names and dates on a page. It's about real people, yeah, absolutely, who lived and loved and had their own stories,
AI Male Voice 6:34
right? Okay, so we've got census records. What other kind of records should we be,
AI Female Voice 6:39
Well, birth, marriage and death certificates are crucial too, okay? Because those confirm you know the events, those key life events, and give you exact dates, and they often reveal family relationships that you might not have known about,
AI Male Voice 6:54
right? So those kind of fill in the gaps they do in our family tree. Okay, so where do we find all these amazing records. I imagine this involves lots of time spent in dusty libraries.
AI Female Voice 7:06
Well, you can go to libraries and archives, okay, but the good news is that a lot of these records are now available online. Oh, that's fantastic, yeah. So it's a lot easier than it used to be.
AI Male Voice 7:15
So, you know, I've heard of websites like Family Search and ancestry.com are those good places to
AI Female Voice 7:20
start. They're fantastic resources. Family Search is a free website, and it's run by the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latter Day Saints, okay, but even if your ancestors weren't Mormon, right, you might find information about them there, because they have a massive collection of records, okay? So it's not just for people who are it's for everyone. Latter Day Saints, exactly, okay? And then ancestry.com. Is a subscription based website, but they do offer a free trial, okay? And they have even more records and tools and things like that.
AI Male Voice 7:49
Okay, so it sounds like there's an option for every budget and and, you know, level of exact computer savvy or whatever, yeah, okay, so what are some tips for navigating these websites? Because I imagine they can be pretty overwhelming.
AI Female Voice 8:03
They can be but, you know, one of the best tips I can give is to be as specific as possible when you're doing searches. Okay, so instead of just searching for, you know, John Smith, right, try adding, you know, a birth year or a location, or even names of other family members,
AI Male Voice 8:20
right? Because John Smith is going to give you millions of results, way too many. Yeah, it's way too many to sift through. Yeah, and I've learned the hard way too that common names, yes, can be really they're tricky, tricky. Yeah. Okay, so we're being specific. What else?
AI Female Voice 8:37
Well, don't be afraid to get creative with your searches. Okay? I mean, try different spellings, nicknames, variations of locations, you never know what might turn up. So it's almost like we're detectives at this point. You are. You're a genealogist. We're genealogist, you're a historian and a detective,
AI Male Voice 8:53
right? We're using all these different resources to try and to uncover the truth. Uncover the truth, yeah. Okay, so we're doing our searches. We're looking at these records online and offline, but it's really important to remember that one key principle, verification. Yes, very important. So what do you mean by that?
AI Female Voice 9:13
Double check everything. Okay? I mean, don't take anything at face value, especially if it's, you know, secondary information, like a family tree that somebody else has posted online, right?
AI Male Voice 9:23
I know that feeling. You get so excited, you're like, Oh, this is a connection. And then you realize, oh, it's based on somebody else's research. Exactly. I might not be, might be totally wrong, totally accurate, yeah, so always go back to those original records as much as possible, yes, if you can and verify those names and dates. Okay, yeah. So we're verifying information. What are some other ways to stay organised as our research starts to grow? Because I feel like things can get really out of hand.
AI Female Voice 9:49
They can. It's really important to develop good research habits from the very beginning, and one of the best things you can do is to keep a research log. Okay, what is a research log? Well, it's. Just a notebook or a digital document where you keep track of everything you do, okay? So every time you search a website, every time you visit a Library, even when you talk to a relative, oh, okay, jot down the date, the source, what you found, any questions that came up.
AI Male Voice 10:15
So it's like a detectives notebook, exactly, keeping all the clues, all the clues
AI Female Voice 10:18
organized. Yeah, okay, and that will save you so much time and effort right in the long run
AI Male Voice 10:23
right? Because you're not going back and thinking, Did I already look at this or, ok, yeah. So we're, we're starting to build our family tree. We're, we're digging into those essential records. We're keeping a research log. Is there anything else that we should kind of keep in mind as we go on this, on this journey.
AI Female Voice 10:42
Well ,one of the most important things is to be patient. Okay? Because genealogy is not a sprint, it's a marathon, right? You're not gonna uncover your entire family history overnight, so just enjoy the enjoy the process.
AI Male Voice 10:55
Enjoy the process and those little discoveries along the way
AI Female Voice 10:59
Yeah? Because sometimes you'll, you know, you'll be searching and searching and searching, and then you'll find one document, right? And it will just, you know, blow your mind,
AI Male Voice 11:08
yeah? And suddenly, like everything,
AI Female Voice 11:09
it'll change everything you thought you knew, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's really amazing, and it happens a lot more often when you stay organized and you keep good records and you don't give up
AI Male Voice 11:19
Right? So we're starting with ourselves, gathering those family stories, yeah, diving into essential records and keeping everything organised. It's all about building that strong foundation.
AI Female Voice 11:29
It is, yeah, and it's okay to start small. You don't have to try to trace every branch of your family at once, right? Just focus on one line or one ancestor at a time.
AI Male Voice 11:39
Okay, that's good advice, yeah? Because it can be really overwhelming to try to do everything at once. It can be Yeah, so breaking it down into those smaller steps,
Jingle 11:49
armchair genealogy.com for generations of all ages.
Genealogy Guy 11:55
So just in case you've dropped in to this podcast halfway through wondering, Where's Mell, the genealogy guy? Well, I'm still here. I just wanted to feed AI some Getting Started documents, and have it make a 25 minute podcast and see what it was like and what you're hearing. Well, that's what it turned out. So let me know your thoughts.
AI Male Voice 12:20
Okay, so where do we go from here?
AI Female Voice 12:22
Well, now that we've kind of covered the basics of getting started, let's delve a little deeper into the detective work. I love that of genealogy.
AI Male Voice 12:30
Okay, so we're putting on our detective hats. We are. We're gonna try and solve some family mysteries. Exactly.I love it,
AI Female Voice 12:35
yeah. So we're ready for some serious detective work. We've got all those essential records, but how do we actually use them to uncover those hidden family stories? Because sometimes it just feels like a bunch of names and dates, you know,
AI Male Voice 12:48
yeah. How do we bring those records to life? I'm ready to put on my detective hat.
AI Female Voice 12:52
Okay, great. Let's start with those census records. For instance, they can tell us way more than just the basic facts. Oh, yeah. Like, what? Well, you can find out where your ancestors lived, what they did for a living, even who their neighbors were. It's pretty amazing.
AI Male Voice 13:07
Wow. So we can really get a sense of their everyday lives
AI Female Voice 13:11
exactly you start to see them as real people, not just names on a page like I found a census record once that listed my great grandmother's job as a milliner.
AI Male Voice 13:21
A milliner? What's that?
AI Female Voice 13:23
Yeah, I had to look it up, too. Turns out she made hats. It totally changed how I pictured her. You know,
AI Male Voice 13:29
That's so cool. Yeah, it's amazing how those little details can make such a difference,
AI Female Voice 13:32
absolutely. And sometimes those little details can lead to even bigger discoveries. Imagine finding a census record where your ancestor has a totally different last name than you expected.
AI Male Voice 13:42
Whoa, that would be a surprise. What would that even mean?
AI Female Voice 13:46
Well, it could point to a marriage you didn't know about, or maybe even an adoption. It could open up a whole new branch of your family tree that you never knew existed.
AI Male Voice 13:55
That's incredible. It's like a genealogy mystery waiting to be solved
AI Female Voice 13:58
exactly, and that's what makes it so exciting. Okay, so we've got census records, but what about those birth, marriage and death certificates? What can we learn from those?
AI Male Voice 14:09
Yeah, those seem like they would be full of important information.
AI Female Voice 14:12
They are, especially in more recent times, they can be pretty detailed. You can find out about parents, witnesses, even causes of death.
AI Male Voice 14:19
Wow, that's powerful stuff. It really brings the past to life, doesn't it?
AI Female Voice 14:23
It does. It's not always happy stuff, of course, like I found a death certificate for my great grandfather and learned he died in a mining accident. It was really sad, but it also made me appreciate my family history even more.
AI Male Voice 14:35
I can see that it makes you realize the sacrifices and hardships they went through, right?
AI Female Voice 14:38
Right, and it connects your family story to those bigger historical events, which is really fascinating. Like, imagine finding out your ancestor fought in a war or emmigrated during a time of huge social change.
AI Male Voice 14:51
That would be amazing. Okay, so we're using these records to find stories and build our family trees, but I know genealogy can be tricky. You. What happens when we hit those brick walls, those moments where we just can't find any more information?
AI Female Voice 15:04
Ah, yes, the dreaded brick walls. They're definitely part of the challenge. But don't worry, there are ways to break through them
AI Male Voice 15:10
Okay, I'm all ears. What are your tips?
AI Female Voice 15:12
Well, first of all, don't give up too quickly. Sometimes it just takes a little persistence and a fresh perspective. Maybe try searching for your ancestor with different versions of their name, different spellings, nicknames, that kind of thing.
AI Male Voice 15:26
Oh, that's smart. Sometimes those small details can make all the difference
AI Female Voice 15:30
Exactly. And think about broadening your search geographically. Families didn't always stay in one place, especially back in the day, so check records in neighboring counties or even states.
AI Male Voice 15:40
So we need to think outside the box, expand our search area and get creative with our searches. What else can we try?
AI Female Voice 15:47
Another good strategy is to look for what are called collateral relatives.
AI Male Voice 15:51
Collateral relatives. What are those?
AI Female Voice 15:53
Basically, it means people who are related to your direct ancestors, but not in a direct line, like siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, sometimes their records hold clues about your ancestor that you wouldn't find anywhere else.
AI Male Voice 16:07
That's so interesting. So we're not just looking at our direct line. We're branching out to the whole extended family,
AI Female Voice 16:12
right? It's like casting a wider net. And don't forget about those local resources, libraries, historical societies, genealogical societies. They can be gold mines of information.
AI Male Voice 16:22
Oh I bet bet. I imagine they have unique collections that you wouldn't find anywhere else
AI Female Voice 16:26
exactly you might stumble upon, local histories, family Bibles, old photos and letters. It can really add a whole new dimension to your research.
AI Male Voice 16:36
Okay, so we're broadening our search, getting creative with our terms, and checking out local resources. What else can help us break through those brick walls?
AI Female Voice 16:44
You know, sometimes it helps to step back and think about the bigger picture, the historical context of your ancestors, life, what was going on in the world at that time, wars, migrations, economic booms and busts, all of that can play a role.
AI Male Voice 16:58
That's so true. I can see how understanding those bigger historical events could shed light on why our ancestors made certain choices, like where they lived or what they did for work.
AI Female Voice 17:07
Exactly It might explain why they moved to a new area or switched occupations or even changed their names.
AI Male Voice 17:13
Wow. It's amazing how interconnected everything is. So we're being detectives, historians, geographers all rolled into one.
AI Female Voice 17:20
That's a great way to put it. And the more you dig into your genealogy, the more patterns and connections you start to see, like how certain names or occupations pop up again and again through the generations,
AI Male Voice 17:31
Or how certain migration patterns might have influenced where your family ended up settling.
AI Female Voice 17:35
Exactly. It's all about connecting those dots and seeing the bigger picture emerge. Okay, so we've talked about brick walls and historical context, but there's another important thing to remember as we go on this genealogy journey,
AI Male Voice 17:36
What's that?
AI Female Voice 17:36
We need to be careful about the information we find online, especially in those online family trees, not everything is accurate. You know?
AI Male Voice 17:57
Right. it's easy to get excited and just accept everything we see, but we need to double check everything. How can we tell if something is reliable or not?
AI Female Voice 18:05
That's a great question. One of the best ways is to look at the source of the information. Is it a primary source, like a birth certificate or a census record, or is it a secondary source, like a family history book or a website someone made.
AI Male Voice 18:08
So Primary sources are usually better, because they're the original documents
AI Female Voice 18:22
Exactly. They're the closest we can get to the actual events. Secondary sources can be helpful, but they might have mistakes or biases.
AI Male Voice 18:29
So we've got to be critical thinkers and really evaluate the evidence. What else should we watch out for?
AI Female Voice 18:34
Well, be careful about misinterpreting old handwriting, assuming all the spellings are correct, or mixing up people who have the same name, those are common pitfalls.
AI Male Voice 18:43
Oh yeah, I can see how those things could easily happen, especially with old documents and common names.
AI Female Voice 18:48
It's all part of the challenge, but the reward of uncovering those hidden stories is worth the effort. Wouldn't you say
AI Male Voice 18:56
absolutely, there's nothing quite like connecting with your ancestors, learning their stories and seeing how their lives shaped your own. It's a powerful feeling.
AI Female Voice 19:06
It really is. And you know, as you get deeper into this, you start to see that genealogy isn't just about the past, it's about the present and the future too.
AI Male Voice 19:15
What do you mean?
AI Female Voice 19:16
Well, by learning about your family history, you're also learning about yourself. You see where you came from, what values and traditions have been passed down, how your ancestors experiences shaped your own life.
AI Male Voice 19:26
That's so true. I never really thought about it that way before, but it makes perfect sense. It's like a journey of self discovery,
AI Female Voice 19:32
Exactly, and it can help you connect with others too. Sharing your family history with friends and family can be a really powerful experience. You might even inspire them to start exploring their own family trees.
AI Male Voice 19:43
I love that idea. It's like we're all part of this big, interconnected family tree, and we're all working together to uncover our shared history.
AI Female Voice 19:50
That's a beautiful way to put it. As you connect with others, you realise that genealogy isn't just about facts and figures, it's about stories, traditions and those. Human connections that bind us together.
AI Male Voice 20:02
It's about understanding who we are, where we came from, and what legacy we're carrying forward
AI Female Voice 20:07
Exactly. It's about honoring the lives of those who came before us and inspiring those who come after us, connecting the past, embracing the present and shaping the future.
AI Male Voice 20:16
Genealogy is truly a journey of a lifetime. So as we keep going on this fascinating adventure. What are some key things to remember?
AI Female Voice 20:23
Well first and foremost, start with yourself. Gather those family stories and get organised with your findings.
AI Male Voice 20:29
Use online and offline resources. Verify everything you find and be patient.
AI Female Voice 20:35
Don't be afraid to ask for help. And most importantly, have fun with it.
AI Male Voice 20:39
Genealogy is a lifelong pursuit, and it's full of surprises and challenges and rewards,
AI Female Voice 20:45
and remember, you're not just tracing your family history, you're tracing your own story.
AI Male Voice 20:50
So as you embark on this exciting journey, approach it with curiosity, a sense of adventure and a willingness to learn
AI Female Voice 20:58
and share your discoveries with us. We'd love to hear about the amazing story you uncover,
AI Male Voice 21:03
because your family history is part of our shared human history, and it's a story that deserves to be told. It's so interesting how much we've been talking about thinking like detectives when it comes to genealogy,
AI Female Voice 21:14
right? It really is a lot like detective work, isn't it? It is, yeah, you're gathering clues and you're, you know, looking at evidence and following all these leads, and sometimes, you know, those leads lead to unexpected places,
AI Male Voice 21:25
absolutely. So if we are thinking like detectives, what are some of the tools we need to have in our genealogy toolkit?
AI Female Voice 21:32
Well, besides those essential records we talked about in the last deep dive, one thing that can be really helpful is a good genealogy software program.
AI Male Voice 21:40
Okay, so you mentioned before that we don't necessarily need fancy software to get started, right? So when does it become helpful to kind of invest in a program?
AI Female Voice 21:50
Well it really depends on, you know, your own personal preference and how come complex your research is getting, but a good program can really help you keep everything organised. You can build those interactive family trees, and it can even help you generate reports and charts.
AI Male Voice 22:04
So it's really kind of taking things to the next level, going beyond just those notes and spreadsheets that we talked about exactly. It can really streamline the process. Okay, so what are some things we should look for when we're choosing a program?
AI Female Voice 22:16
Well, think about what features are most important to you. Do you want to be able to create really beautiful family trees that you can share with your relatives, or do you need help with source citations? Or do you want to be able to connect with other researchers online?
AI Male Voice 22:31
So it sounds like there's probably a program out there for everybody. There really is. Do you have any recommendations for someone who's just starting out?
AI Female Voice 22:39
Sure Family Tree Maker and legacy family tree are both really popular choices for beginners. They're pretty user friendly, and they offer a good balance of features without being too overwhelming.
AI Male Voice 22:51
That's great. Okay, so we've got our software. We're digging into those records, and we're, you know, maybe even connecting with the genealogy community online. Is there anything else that can help us on our detective journey.
AI Female Voice 23:01
You know, one thing that can be incredibly valuable, especially when you're hitting those brick walls, is DNA testing.
AI Male Voice 23:07
Oh, DNA testing. Okay, I've heard a lot about this for genealogy, but I'm not really sure how it works. Can you explain it a little bit.
AI Female Voice 23:17
Sure, so there are actually several different types of DNA tests, but the ones that are most commonly used for genealogy, are autosomal DNA, y DNA and mtDNA, and each one tells a different story about your ancestry.
AI Male Voice 23:29
Okay, so break that down a little bit more for us.
AI Female Voice 23:31
Okay, so autosomal DNA is the type of DNA that you inherit from both of your parents, and it gives you a broad overview of your ancestry going back about five or six generations.
AI Male Voice 23:40
So this is how you can identify, you know, those cousins and relatives.
AI Female Voice 23:44
Exactly yeah. And it can also give you an ethnic breakdown, showing you what percentage of your ancestry comes from different parts of the world.
AI Male Voice 23:52
That's so cool. Okay, what about y DNA and mtDNA?
AI Female Voice 23:55
Okay, so y DNA is the DNA that's passed down from father to son, and it traces your paternal line going back much further than autosomal DNA.
AI Male Voice 24:04
So you can really trace your surname exactly back to the generations. Okay? And what about mtDNA?
AI Female Voice 24:09
Well mtDNA is passed down from mother to child, so it traces your maternal line
AI Male Voice 24:14
So if you combine all three, you can get a really comprehensive picture. You can Yeah, your ancestry.
AI Female Voice 24:20
It's a really powerful tool, yeah, and it can also help you break through those brick walls. Okay, you know, it can connect you with distant cousins who might have information about your shared ancestors that you don't have
AI Male Voice 24:31
Wow. So it's really like adding a whole other dimension to our detective work. It is, yeah, yeah. Okay, so we've got our records, we've got our software, maybe we're trying some DNA testing, and we've got our detective hats firmly in place. What is the most important thing to remember as we go on this genealogy adventure?
AI Female Voice 24:51
You know, I think the most important thing is to have fun. Yes. I mean, genealogy is such a fascinating and rewarding hobby, and. It really should be enjoyed, so don't get too bogged down in the details, or, you know, get too frustrated by those brick walls. Just keep exploring and keep learning and keep connecting with other people who share your passion for family history.
AI Male Voice 25:15
That's wonderful advice. I think it's so easy to get overwhelmed with all the information that's out there, right? And to feel like you have to do everything perfectly, yeah, but it's really about the journey, not the destination, right? It's about those little discoveries and those those surprising connections, and, you know, just the joy of uncovering those hidden stories. And who knows, you might even find a family secret or two along the way?
AI Female Voice 25:37
Oh, absolutely, you never know what you're gonna find when you start digging into your family history.
AI Male Voice 25:39
Well, this has been an incredible deep dive into the world of genealogy. We've covered the basics, we've explored some advanced techniques, and hopefully inspired you to start your own journey of discovery. Right? Remember, every family has a story, and every story deserves to be told. So go out there, explore your family history and let those hidden stories come to life.
AI Female Voice 25:59
Yeah? Happy Researching everybody.
AI Male Voice 26:02
That's it for this deep dive into genealogy. Thanks for listening.
Genealogy Guy 26:05
Well, there you go, a complete AI episode, except for me at the start, the middle and the end. So yes, AI can make a podcast that's technically good, but a human makes one worth listening to. Don't you think, after all, you can't download charm and you can't program genuine curiosity, because those come bundled with people. Well, for the moment, they do. Let's face it, what people actually love about podcasts isn't just clean audio and tidy bullet points. It's the personality, the random tangents, the laughter that goes on a bit too long, the stories that only a real person could tell. Or what are your thoughts until the next episode? Happy and productive, research
Jingle 26:52
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