Kindle Fire for Genealogy Podcasts

It's no secret that I'm a fan of the Kindle Fire. I also enjoy listening to genealogy podcasts and internet radio shows about genealogy. I've had a lot of hit and miss success and failures in finding a Kindle app that successfully manages podcast listening. After using the BeyondPod app for several weeks, I can wholeheartedly endorse this for genealogists, blog readers and news junkies (all groups of which I am a member!). The unlock key for the app is $6.99 and, in my opinion, well worth it.

The app is very intuitive (which is good since I'm not big on reading instruction manuals). Users can create unlimited categories for the podcast or RSS feeds. For example, some of mine are Genealogy (duh!), News, Entertainment, Science and Technology, Business and Finance, among others. In the News feeds, I especially like that I can view a network evening newscast in excellent quality in 20 minutes with no commercial interruptions.

The app already has some pre-determined feeds. If you don't care for their selection, it is easy to delete them. The app also has a search feature that helps you locate podcast feeds and blog feeds. Especially nice is that you can locate a podcast on the internet, locate the URL of the RSS feed, paste that into the BeyondPod app and the podcast or blog will feed directly into the app.

In addition to audio content, this app also manages video feeds.

I still prefer Google Reader for the majority of my blog subscriptions, but I've duplicated a few of them in the BeyondPod app.

With most of the feeds, you have an option of downloading or streaming and you can decide how many episodes to keep on your device at a time. Unlike a lot of apps, you really do have total control on how you manage your content.

The following genealogy podcasts and radio shows are those that I have successfully added to BeyondPod:

• Geneabloggers on Blog Talk Radio
• Jane E Wilcox on Blog Talk Radio
• My Society on Blog Talk Radio - sponsored by Federation of Genealogical Societies
• Family Tree Magazine podcast
• Genealogy Gems podcast with Lisa Louise Cooke. I also recommend Lisa's own app for the Genealogy Gems podcast - it is excellent.
• Genealogy Guys podcast
• Irish Roots Cafe podcast
• Tracing Your Roots podcast - BBC
• Irish in America
• Family History Expos podcast
• Family History - Genealogy Made Easy

Some of these podcasts are updated more regularly than others. But if I haven't heard them, they are still new to me!

I'm sure there are other genealogy podcasts to choose from. If you have some to recommend, please list them in the Comments section below.

Update: Here are some instructions on using this app.

Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems Podcast 95

Lisa Louise Cooke mentioned LongLostRelatives.net blog on her recent Genealogy Gems Podcast 95. She referred to an earlier post on this blog where I wrote about her podcast being my walking companion. That post was in response to one of the 52 Days to Better Genealogy challenge.

Thanks, Lisa! I appreciate the tip of the hat!

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy - Challenge 31 - podcasts

This week's challenge in 52 Weeks to Better Genealogy was to listen to a podcast. A few weeks ago, I had downloaded several episodes (would you believe 384 of them?) to my new netbook, with the idea it would be nice to have them available when I wanted to listen. It's always been difficult for me to listen to something while I'm writing or doing research, so I had to change my strategy on this.

I loaded about 30 hours worth of podcasts onto one of my mp3 players in preparation for this challenge. I already have another mp3 player filled with a variety of audio books. It's amazing how many audio books you can "read" just commuting and doing errands. So now I have one player for audio books and another just for podcasts.

This morning I took off on my walk and cranked up an episode of Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems. The episode that came up was #78 from early in 2010. Lisa talked about her new grandson, shared some email from listeners, shared information about the podcast and a few other odds and ends. She's very personable and sounds like she's talking with you, not from a script. It was very enjoyable and made my walk seem to go so much faster.

Later this afternoon, I had a lot of dead time while waiting for an appointment. Rather than sit around looking at a magazine in which I had no interest, I pulled out the mp3 player and listened to some more of the podcast. Yes, just filling in those empty spaces of my day with genealogy podcasts is definitely a good plan. That little mp3 player will be with me all the time now. For the next several weeks, Lisa will be my walking companion!

Even though I was familiar with podcasts before, this challenge allowed me to better focus the way in which I listen to them.

52 Weeks To Better Genealogy is a series of weekly prompts that are a bit more challenging and are geared towards those new to the field of genealogy and family history as well as those who want to brush up on some skills which might be a bit rusty.

Genealogy 101 - Fueling Your Passion with Podcasts

Last week, I wrote about ideas for creating your own genealogy conference right at home. I'd like to expand on that theme with some suggestions for the auditory learners.


Make iTunes your friend. This free software is available from Apple, and no doubt any iPod users already know about this. What I love about iTunes is the ability to subscribe to podcasts. These are informational and educational "radio shows" that can be downloaded (usually free) into your iTunes library. You can listen on your computer or transfer them to your portable device, mp3 players, etc. It seems like I spend a lot of time in my car, so rather than listen to the sports and weather reports on my radio, I can turn my car into a temple of learning!


Here are some genealogy podcasts to get you started:

• Family Tree magazine podcast
• Genealogy Gems podcast
• Family History Expos podcast
• Genealogy Guys podcast

These are just a few of the genealogy podcasts that are available. To find more, visit the iTunes store (located in the iTunes software) and enter "genealogy" as your search term. You can then narrow the search down to "podcasts" and find those podcasts of interest to you. Right now, I have more than four days (24/7) of genealogy podcasts downloaded for future listening. I can listen to one of the shows while at my computer, or I can download several episodes to my mp3 player to listen to in the car or while walking.

My next recommendation is a commercial site, Audible.com, which is now an Amazon.com company. I've subscribed to this service for several years. It seems like I don't have that much time to sit down and read a real book anymore, so I've opted for the audio version instead. Over the past month, I've spent a lot of time traveling and have "read" five audio books. Audible has a huge selection of history books, as well as any other topic that might interest you. As with iTunes, Audible has a free software download so you can listen to your books from a computer file, transfer the books to your portable device or even listen to live streaming of the books from your online library at Audible.

Now for an even better option - a FREE resource for downloadable audio books is your local library. For example, the Lincoln, Nebraska city libraries offers a huge variety of audiobooks available for download to your mp3 player. You can reserve the audio book, just as with a real book, and when your turn comes, you can check it out for download or listen to it on your computer during the checkout period. As with iTunes and Audible, there is software you need to download to be able to listen to your books. To find out if your library offers this service, check out the Overdrive.com web site.

If you just can't get enough of your genealogy and history fix, add audio to your day. It's especially great for those long waits at doctor's offices!

If you have a favorite genealogy podcast or audio resource to share, please leave a comment below.