It's been 5 years since I setup the Journeys into Genealogy podcast. In the final episode of 2025 I include some clips from the most popular interviews of the year, details of the most downloaded overall plus details of what's to come in 2026. The transcript is available on Substack.

What does it mean to be Cuban American? Barbara Caver shares family stories, her visit to Cuba, connecting with ancestors, visiting ancestral places and her book "A Little Piece of Cuba: A Journey to Become Cubana-Americana"

Graham Holton of Strathclyde University talks about genetic genealogy, autosomal and Y-DNA testing, his book "DNA: a Guide for Family Historians", the 2026 online conference, potential future developments in DNA and much more. The transcript with links is available on Journeys into Genealogy on Substack.

Emma Maxwell tells us about the wealth of records available on Scottish Indexes including criminal databases, paternity indexes, mental health, deeds, sasines, tips for searching and much more. We also talk about the Scottish Indexes Conference (next one is on Sat 22 November 2025). Transcript available on Substack.

There were lots of secrets in Nicola Hanefeld's family. One item led to a treasure trove of sometimes upsetting documents relating to their past in Czechoslovakia, the Holocaust and the fate of some of her family. Following the stories Nicola wrote a book "The Unspeakable, Breaking My Family Silence Surrounding the Holocaust". The interview transcript is available on Journeys into Genealogy on Substack.

Dennis Cronin discovered lots of stories about his great grandfather Michael Sweeney and his 6 children. The tales go from Ireland in the early 20th century to World War I, emigration to the USA and a long forgotten "murder". He discusses his research, visiting the old family farm, life and society in Ireland and the book he has written about it "Michael Sweeney". The transcript is available on the Journeys into Genealogy Substack.

Lucy Reynoldson shares some of the amazing range of resources and records available on Family Search including full text search, affiliate libraries, labs and experiments, Rootstech registration and what's coming up in the future. A transcript of the interview with links is available on Substack.

A DNA test, an NPE and One Big Happy Family - actress Lisa Brenner's story of her life changing DNA results and the film she has made about it.

I recently interviewed Steph Ford about her family history and how she is helping people record their family stories. We discuss migration from England and across the US, talking to living relatives, time travel, photographs, videos and more. The interview transcript is available on Substack.

Chancery is all about money and disputes, often within the family and the details can be a goldmine for genealogists and family historians. Susan Moore takes us on a journey through Chancery records, visiting the National Archives at Kew and some of the delights to be found in the records. She explains what different records exist (there are many types including master's reports, affadavits and more), where to find them and shares stories she has discovered with some cases that lasted for decades. The interview transcript is on Substack alongside a second shorter interview about Francis Drake and his Walton upon Thames Manor House and the chancery case involving this (and a lot of other people!)