The Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast

Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer discuss the evolution of AI Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) tools, focusing on the platforms Nicole explored at RootsTech. They evaluate several key technologies used to decipher historical manuscripts. They discuss Kindex, which provides highly accurate transcriptions and a side-by-side editor for corrections. They also review Leo, an AI platform that handles secret...

Diana and Nicole discuss the America 250 Ancestors series, which focuses on researching colonial ancestors who lived during the Revolutionary War era. Diana shares her recent trip to Mount Vernon, where she experienced Revolutionary War Weekend and visited the slave quarters and memorial to learn about the 317 enslaved individuals who lived on the estate. Listeners learn how to use historical cont...

Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer examine the current capabilities of artificial intelligence for mapping historical land records. Nicole tests ChatGPT's ability to convert a metes and bounds description from a 1788 Arnold-West deed into an accurate land plat drawing. She compares the AI-generated results against a verified plat she previously created using DeedMapper software. Nicole experiments with s...

Diana and Nicole share their recent visit to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they explore the facility's premier resources. Listeners learn how to use the Periodical Source Index (PERSI) to locate articles by keyword, surname, or locality. The pair explains the value of city directories for tracking individuals after 1950 to uncover addresses and occu...

Hosts Nicole and Diana discuss using Claude's Custom Skills to automate genealogical report writing. Nicole begins by sharing her previous, challenging attempt to transform a Baldy Dyer research log spreadsheet into a research report using earlier Claude models. Diana provides an overview of Claude, noting its models (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus) and new features like Custom Skills, which are similar to C...

The episode features guest Judy Nimer Muhn, a professional genealogist and author who specializes in French-Canadian, Acadian, and Indigenous ancestry. Judy is also the owner of Lineage Journeys and serves as the President of the Michigan Genealogical Council. Nicole and Diana discuss Acadian research with Judy, focusing on how she defines the Acadians and distinguishes them from French-Canadians....

This episode of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast focuses on the latest updates from 23andMe: the new DNA Relatives Clustering feature and the return of the chromosome browser. Nicole introduces the topic by explaining that both features are now available for premium users, stating that this move, while potentially disappointing for some, is necessary to support the profitability of DNA te...

This episode of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy podcast features guest Sunny Morton. Sunny is a genealogy educator, writer, and editor who specializes in US records, particularly those of religious denominations. She is the author of Searching for Sisters: A Guide to Researching Catholic Nuns in the United States. The discussion begins with the motivation behind writing the book, Searching for S...

On this episode of Research Like a Pro, Diana and Nicole discuss how to transform unsuccessful searching into powerful proof by distinguishing between negative search results and negative evidence. Diana mentions that she is reading an article from the National Genealogical Society Quarterly about a DNA cluster that links two distant lines of descent. Diana shares that a search that yields "nothin...

This episode of Research Like a Pro features an illuminating interview with author and genealogist Anne Hanson. Anne is the author of Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida, a deeply personal family history that uncovers the hidden past of her paternal grandparents. A lifelong genealogist and writer, Anne specializes in researching ordinary lives in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sw...

This episode focuses on the newly updated second edition of the Research Like a Pro with AI genealogy workbook. Nicole and Diana discuss how the book shifts its attention from early 2025 models to the most powerful models available in mid-February 2026, specifically ChatGPT 5.2, Claude Opus 4.6, and Gemini 3. Diana highlights the most significant change, which is the introduction of "agentic" brow...

This episode features guest Richard Miller, who discusses the Goldie May AI assistant. Richard explains the AI assistant was added to provide genealogists with an injection of brain power when they feel stuck on a family line. He says the tool helps users find answers by proposing different thinking options. They discuss how the tool assists with core research tasks. The AI assistant helps with re...

Nicole and Diana open the episode by discussing Claude in Chrome for Pedigree Triangulation before introducing their interview with Mark and Steve about AI, who host the Family History AI Show. Mark Thompson also runs the Making Family History blog, and Steve Little writes on his Substack, Vibe Genealogy AI. Steve is the AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society. They both teach wi...

This episode features listener takeaways from the recent RootsTech 2026 conference. Diana discusses the overall positive impressions of the event, noting the high quality of the presentations and the unanimous message about disclosing the use of AI and double-checking its work. Nicole and Diana review several classes on AI, including transforming family history into song, understanding AI's role i...

Diana and Nicole discuss the analysis phase of their AI-assisted research into the 18th-century court orders between Samuel Daniel and the Roystons in Colonial Virginia. They explain how AI helps them understand complex legal terms like "imparlance," "covenant," "trespass upon the case," and "replevin bond" within the context of the court cases. Going through a case-by-case analysis, they trace th...

In this episode, Transforming Court Records Research with AI: Finding and Logging, Diana and Nicole discuss how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the challenging process of working with historical court records. Diana introduces the topic by explaining that while court records are treasure troves of genealogical information, they are often unindexed and difficult to read, featuring archai...

In this episode of Research Like a Pro , Diana and Nicole discuss the all-new Version 4.2 (2026) of the Research Like a Pro with DNA Airtable Research Log . The updates are designed to streamline the genetic genealogy workflow, making DNA research more flexible and reducing duplicate data entry.   Diana details the biggest change: the "Test-taker" and "DNA Match" fields in the DNA Match Details ta...

In this celebratory episode of the Research Like a Pro podcast, Diana and Nicole highlight the incredible impact the RLP process has had on their listeners by sharing several inspiring success stories. They read comments from researchers, one of whom explains how the RLP workflows help them conquer imposter syndrome, and another who shares a journey from feeling overwhelmed as a beginner to pursui...

Diana and Nicole speak with Jan Joyce, AG, CG, CGL, who developed and coordinates the new virtual institute course, "Merging & Separating Identities: Strategies and Tactics to Solve." Jan explains that the most common mistake genealogists make is failing to recognize they have a "same-name problem" and assuming multiple records belong to a single person. She notes that the challenge of merging and...

This episode features Virginia Pratt, who brings decades of expertise to the discussion, including five years on the FamilySearch Research Wiki Team and a bachelor's degree in Family History from BYU. Virginia joins Nicole and Diana to discuss the essential, free online genealogical resource: the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Nicole asks Virginia to explain the Wiki's purpose, access methods, and ho...

The episode opens with Diana and Nicole catching up on their latest work, focusing on testing AI models for accuracy in handwritten-text transcription tasks. The hosts then discuss the novel TransAtlantic by Irish author Colum McCann and what family historians can learn from its structure to write better family narratives. Diana explains that the novel views the immigration story from the Irish pe...

In this episode, hosts Diana and Nicole share a personal and informative journey as they visit their Love County, Oklahoma, roots to walk in the footsteps of Diana's ancestors, Richard and Nancy (Briscoe) Frazier. Diana recounts the lives of her 2nd great-grandparents, discussing their survival through the Civil War in the Ozarks, Richard's service as a teamster for the Confederacy, and their even...

This episode focuses on the exciting custom clustering feature now available in Ancestry's Pro Tools. Diana introduces the tool, explaining how it allows for the strategic targeting of specific ancestral lines, offering more flexibility than the original clustering tool. She describes Ancestry's process, which looks for matches sharing 65 cM to 1,300 cM with the user, and then finds those matches...

Nicole and Diana open the episode by discussing what they are currently working on, including their projects for the 14-day challenge. They then turn to the challenge of family history research when conflicting dates appear for an ancestor. Diana explains that because original records may not exist, genealogists must rely on sources created later in a person's life, which often do not agree. Diana...

In this episode, Diana and Nicole discuss the crucial process of writing a formal research report for the ongoing case study to identify the father of Cynthia (Dillard) Royston. Diana explains that a report is essential for synthesizing details, bringing a research phase to a close, and providing next steps. She outlines the project's objective—to find a candidate for Cynthia's father in Cass Coun...