Genealogy podcasts offer an option for listening to genealogy lectures, interviews, discussions and tutorials when and where you want - genealogy on demand. If you're unfamiliar with the term, a podcast is an audio (or sometimes video) file which is distributed over the Internet for playback on portable media players and personal computers. You can subscribe to podcasts, much like you suscribe to blogs, so you're informed as new podcasts become available. You can then listen to the podcast on your computer, download it to a digital audio player (iPod or other mp3 player), or burn it on a CD to listen to in the car.
George G. Morgan and Drew Smith have been at this quite a while, meaning that there are already 125+ genealogy podcasts awaiting your listening pleasure. The two discuss new databases and technologies of interest to genealogists, highlight interesting Web sites, answer listener email, and throw in plenty of other interesting nuggets to help you with your research.
Genealogy columnist, Pat Richley, better known as DearMYRTLE to her readers, has also been embracing podcast technology for quite a while. Her Family History Hour show kicked off at a small Sarasota, FL, radio station in January 2000, with simultaneous Internet streaming. Six months later, Family History Hour moved permanently to Internet radio. Archived podcasts of the popular show are available back to September 2005. You'll especially love the regular "Mighty Mouse Tour" that steps listeners through tasks such as using a particular online database.
Host Lisa Cooke shares research strategies and inspiration for anyone researching their family history. New podcasts are generally published on a weekly basis and are approximately 25 minutes long. GenealogyGems is just coming up on its one-year anniversary and has 40+ archived podcasts available to keep you busy. I especially like the "show note" included with each link, so you know what to expect before you download.
KSL Radio personality Jackie McKay and genealogy expert Mary Slawson offer personalized tips on how to find your ancestors every Sunday afternoon from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. on KSL Radio in Utah. Current podcasts of Relatively Speaking are available via RSS or XML feed. Scroll down to the Sunday section on the
KSL Podcasts page for the feed links.
Genealogy tech guru Dick Eastman posts a number of interesting podcasts to his online blog at Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter. This link takes you directly to the list, or you can get there from any page on his site by clicking on the "podcasts" category. The majority are interviews with world-renowned genealogy experts and are definitely interesting to listen to.
A delightful collection of archived podcasts await you at the Irish Roots Cafe hosted by Mike O'Laughlin. The continuing series includes everything from basic Irish research guides (recorded on audio cassette in 1984 to talks with authors, shopkeepers, dancers and others about Irish history, culture, legends and -- of course -- genealogy.
It's not exactly podcasting, but RootsTelevision is so great I can't leave it out. If you're looking for online genealogy education and enrichment that fits your schedule, the online videos here offer just that. Video topics run the gamut from DNA and Roots Travel, to Genealogy How To and showcase many of genealogy's best-known names.
