Best Mark Thompson and Steve Little Podcasts (2025)

1
Mark Bayley chats with the genealogy Guy about updates on maps @ thegenealogist.co.uk 29:24

9h ago29:24

29:24

Mark Bayley from TheGenealogist.co.uk discusses updates to their Map Explorer section, highlighting the expansion of the Lloyd George Domesday records to include Bedfordshire, Dorset, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Northamptonshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire, with more counties planned for 2026. He explained the historical context of these records, create…

1
Dr. Karen Cummings from Pharos Tutors chats with the Genealogy Guy 31:07

1M ago31:07

31:07

In this episode of Armchair Genealogy, the Genealogy Guy dives into the power of family history shows and why sharpening your research skills is a game-changer. Special guest Dr. Karen Cummings from Pharos Tutors shares her journey from pharmaceutics to genealogy education—proving it’s never too late to follow your passion! Discover how Pharos Tuto…

1
Mark Thompson & Steve Little chat about AI with the Genealogy Guy 32:02

2M ago32:02

32:02

The Genealogy Guy discusses the impact of AI on genealogy with Steve Little and Mark Thompson from the Family History AI Show. Mark, a retired technologist, and Steve, a language and technology enthusiast, highlight AI's rapid evolution, particularly with ChatGPT. They emphasize the importance of scepticism and experimentation, noting that AI's acc…

1
EP24: DeepSeek AI Shakes The World, FamilySearch Full-Text Turns One, Microsoft and Google Drop AI Prices, Instructional vs. Reasoning Models 54:55

2M ago54:55

54:55

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore how DeepSeek has dramatically changed the AI landscape by releasing a powerful, inexpensive, open-source model that challenges American dominance in AI. They celebrate the first anniversary of FamilySearch's Full-Text Search, which has expanded from three collections to three thousand in just one-year…

1
EP23: AI Predictions for 2025: Agents, Local Models, Social Media Chatbots, Writing with AI, Costs Keep Dropping 48:10

3M ago48:10

48:10

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little share their predictions for artificial intelligence developments in 2025, with a special focus on how these changes will affect genealogists and family historians. They explore the emergence of AI agents, the shift to running language models locally on personal devices, and the introduction of chatbots to soc…

1
Jonny Perl @DNAPainter chats with the Genealogy Guy 28:05

3M ago28:05

28:05

Discover the fascinating story behind dna painter with Jonny Perl, a web developer and genealogist who turned his own dna testing experience into an invaluable tool for family history enthusiasts. In this episode,Jonny shares how dna painter helps users visualize family trees, interpret dna matches, and uncover relationships through powerful featur…

1
EP22: The Google Empire Strikes Back: Deep Research Challenges Perplexity, NotebookLM's Big Updates, and Facebook Adds AI to Groups 1:00:51

3M ago1:00:51

1:00:51

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore Google's powerful end-of-year releases that challenge other AI platforms. They examine Google's Deep Research tool and its ability to quickly create comprehensive research reports by combining information from multiple sources. Next, they discuss Facebook's controversial introduction of AI assistants …

1
EP21: 12 Days of OpenAI Deep Dive, ChatGPT Canvas Easier to Use, Voice & Vision Unite in ChatGPTs mobile apps, Tips for Free AI Tools 53:20

4M ago53:20

53:20

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore OpenAI's "12 Days of OpenAI" campaign, particularly focusing on their new reasoning models and the expanded availability of Canvas across all ChatGPT models. They examine how ChatGPT's new camera view in Advanced Voice Mode transforms mobile research capabilities, demonstrating real-world applications…

1
Donna Rutherford gives insight into using DNA with the Genealogy Guy 29:40

4M ago29:40

29:40

Donna Rutherford chats with the Genealogy Guy on Armchair Genealogy Podcast about the basics of genealogy and DNA, emphasizing the importance of understanding DNA matches and ethnicity estimates. She explains that DNA tests provide ethnicity estimates based on reference panels and that different companies use varying algorithms. Rutherford advises …

1
EP20: Top AI Tools Worth Paying For in 2025, AI Tools Not Worth Paying For, 12 Days of OpenAI Begins, Use AI Hallucinations to Your Advantage 1:06:47

4M ago1:06:47

1:06:47

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little reveal their top recommendations for AI tools worth paying for in 2025. They also discuss which AI tools aren't worth paying for in 2025. One of them might surprise you! Next, Mark and Steve begin their review of OpenAI's "12 Days of OpenAI" announcements, beginning with the release of their enhanced O1 reaso…

1
EP19: 2024's Top 5 AI Genealogy Breakthroughs, MyHeritage LiveMemory Goes Viral, The Bluesky Migration 52:16

5M ago52:16

52:16

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore the AI developments that had the biggest impact on genealogy in 2024. This week’s episode spotlights MyHeritage's newest viral tool, LiveMemory, which brings old photos to life through animation. Next, Mark and Steve count down the year's top AI breakthroughs for genealogists. The groundbreaking Famil…

1
Laura House, genetic genealogist @Ancestry chats with the Genealogy Guy 31:03

5M ago31:03

31:03

What secrets might your dna hold? Laura House, a genetic genealogist at Ancestry, joins Genealogy Guy on armchair genealogy. In this insightful conversation, Laura reveals the unexpected twists and turns that can unfold when using genealogy DNA tests. She urges listeners to be aware of the potential surprises that may arise, such as finding out abo…

1
EP18: Claude Improves AI Writing, ChatGPT Desktop Apps Arrive, OpenAI Joins AI-Enhanced Search Race, Apple Begins AI Rollout, Meta Brings Reuter’s News to Facebook 44:23

5M ago44:23

44:23

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss how Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet upgrade has made Claude an even better AI writer. This make's it even easier to write a great research report. They move on to explore OpenAI's new desktop apps and Advanced Voice Mode, discussing how voice interaction could transform genealogical research, particular…

1
EP17: AI Writing Gets Easier with OpenAI’s New Canvas Feature, Chatbots Try to Replace Traditional Software, Privacy Protection and AI, Big NotebookLM Updates 53:35

6M ago53:35

53:35

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little examine OpenAI's new Canvas feature, demonstrating how this split-screen interface revolutionizes document creation and editing for genealogists. Locality guides and research reports are used as practical examples. They explore how AI platforms like Canvas and Perplexity Spaces are challenging traditional sof…

1
Dr. Nicholas Dixon chat with the Genealogy Guy about history, academic study and genealogy 27:54

6M ago27:54

27:54

Dr. Nicholas Dixon emphasises the collaborative nature of the genealogy community and the willingness of professionals to help each other. He highlights the unique angle of bringing academic history to genealogy, which is not common in the academic world. He also highlights the role of local family history societies in sharing knowledge and resourc…

1
EP16: Genetic Genealogy Conference Roundup, Open AI Launches Canvas, AI Disclosure, Google Photos Goes AI, Nobel Prizes Focus on AI 59:15

7M ago59:15

59:15

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little recap their experiences at the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference last week, highlighting Dana Leeds' innovative use of AI for efficiently created charts using the Leeds Method. They then explore OpenAI's new Canvas feature, comparing it to Claude's Artifacts, and discuss its potential for genealogical r…

1
EP15: Talking with Your Chatbot is Now a Reality, FamilySearch Adds Canadian Records to Full-Text Search, & new Responsible AI Use Series Begins 53:07

7M ago53:07

53:07

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little are excited to share OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, which enables natural conversations with AI, and how FamilySearch's expanded full-text Search is revolutionizing records accessibility. They stress responsible AI use throughout this week's episode, introducing a new series on verifying the accuracy of AI-gen…

1
Helen Forster chats about Digital legacies 33:45

7M ago33:45

33:45

Helen Forster, a director at HTF Legal Limited, discusses with the Genealogy Guy the importance of digital legacy planning. She highlighted that only 27% of people know what will happen to their digital assets upon death, and only 9% have a clear plan. Digital assets include monetary investments and sentimental items like photos. She emphasized the…

1
EP14: Special Episode on ChatGPT's upgrade to o1-Preview, learn how to (almost) get o1-Preview for free. 39:34

7M ago39:34

39:34

In this special edition of the Family History AI Show, co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little do a deep dive into OpenAI's latest release, code-named "Project Strawberry." They explain the new ChatGPT-o1 models, discuss their reasoning capabilities and most importantly, their potential impacts on genealogical research. They also offer practical ad…

1
EP13: Gemini (finally!) Supports File Uploads, AI’s Impact on Learning, Gemini Adds Saved Prompts, Build Better Prompts With Examples 54:47

8M ago54:47

54:47

In this episode of the Family History AI Show, Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore the latest AI news, views and reviews for family historians. They start with Google Gemini's new file upload capabilities and examine AI's impact on genealogy education, offering practical advice for researchers. Then, they discuss the increasing availability of s…

1
EP12: Hollywood AI Blunder, AI Image Generator Roundup, Google Lens Saves You Time Researching, Use AI For Translation 57:09

8M ago57:09

57:09

Hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little expertly navigate the rapidly evolving AI landscape, offering practical insights on leveraging AI for your family history research. Mark and Steve open this episode by discussing lessons that genealogists can learn from Hollywood on the importance of fact-checking. Next, they provide a comprehensive roundup of t…

1
Dominic Hendry talks Wills and Probate with The Genealogy Guy 37:29

8M ago37:29

37:29

Genealogy Guy and Dominic Hendry from estateresearch.co.uk discuss the intersections of genealogy and legal support services, including probate genealogists, tracing services, and DNA evidence. They emphasise the importance of understanding legal issues in genealogy and accurate inheritance planning to avoid potential disputes. Genealogy Guy highli…

1
EP 11: Microsoft Simplifies Research with “Deep Search”, Google Goes All In on AI, Have We Entered the Post-Photography Era? 58:30

8M ago58:30

58:30

In this episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss Microsoft's new AI-enhanced search tool, Deep Search. Then, they review Google's major list of AI announcements. In the last big story this week, Mark and Steve talk about how photography has changed in the digital age. Don’t miss this week’s Tip of the Week, where Mark and Steve provide…

1
EP10: Ancestry’s New AI Tools, Google Gemini Leaps Ahead, Master AI Extraction, and Google’s Olympic Ad Controversy 48:08

8M ago48:08

48:08

Join co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little to explore the latest developments in AI and Family History. This week, they discuss Ancestry's innovative new tool for summarizing key US records. They also review Ancestry’s new AI chatbot that greatly simplifies finding the best support documents. Next, they gawk at Google's impressive Gemini 1.5 Pro …

1
EP9: Building Better Prompts, Facebook’s LLM May Benefit Family History, MyHeritage Retires an AI Feature 50:21

9M ago50:21

50:21

Co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore the potential benefits of Meta's open-source approach to AI. Next, they discuss MyHeritage's plans to retire an AI feature. Then, they review the AI image generation features recently added to Adobe Illustrator. In this week’s Tip of the Week, they share valuable insights on crafting effective, halluc…

1
Cyndi Ingle from Cyndis list.com chat with The Genealogy Guy 25:57

9M ago25:57

25:57

Cindy Ingle talks about her creation and maintenance of Cyndislist.com, a comprehensive categorised list of genealogical resources on the internet. The Genealogy Guy and Cyndi emphasise the importance of human curation in genealogical research, Cyndi also highlights the value of delving into the lives of our ancestors beyond basic facts. They also …

1
EP8: Save Time by Summarizing, Meta's Game-Changing AI Upgrade, FamilySearch's Summarization Feature, Is the AI Bubble About to Burst? 48:26

9M ago48:26

48:26

In this week’s episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little explore Meta AI 3.1's huge large language model upgrade, as well as FamilySearch's innovative, AI-based summarization feature. They then address growing concerns about AI hype. In this week’s Tip of the Week, they share their approach for mastering the fine art of summarization, a crucial…

1
EP7: Perplexity Upgrade, AI Ethical Issues, Building Better Prompts, Siri Upgrade Delayed 38:53

9M ago38:53

38:53

In this episode, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little dive into Perplexity's big upgrade, enhancing research capabilities for family historians. They tackle pressing ethical concerns in AI, exploring copyright issues and training data controversies that impact genealogists. The show introduces a new series on building better prompts, offering pract…

1
EP6: Claude Projects vs Custom GPTs, Student FAQs, The Importance of Chatting with your Chatbot 41:12

10M ago41:12

41:12

In this episode of The Family History AI Show, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss the latest advancements in AI tools for genealogists. Discover how Anthropic’s new Claude Projects feature stacks up against OpenAI’s custom GPTs, and learn about essential reusable prompts for genealogical research. We also highlight key insights from the G…

1
EP5: Claude Sonnet 3.5 is the Best AI update in Months, The AI Industry Reacts to Apple Intelligence, AI Highlights from GRIP Genealogy Institute. 24:17

10M ago24:17

24:17

Hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss Steve's recent AI course for genealogists at GRIP and the rapid pace of learning and practical applications for genealogy. They examine the industry-wide effects of Apple's focus on AI privacy and security, including at OpenAI. The launch of Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet is a major advancement, offering …

1
Richard Miller explains the benefits of the Goldiemay App for genealogists 34:48

10M ago34:48

34:48

The congenial Richard Miller explains to the Genealogy Guy about the great benefits of the GoldieMay.com app that plugs into Chrome. A genealogy research tool that helps organise and streamline the research process. They highlight the importance of organisation in genealogy research and how Goldie May can help alleviate this issue. Richard and Mell…

1
EP4: Toronto AI Conference, MyHeritage Interview, Apple Intelligence, Perplexity and Microsoft have a bad day. 53:55

10M ago53:55

53:55

Show Description: In this episode of the Family History AI Show, hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss recent developments in AI for genealogy. They recap the groundbreaking AI Day at the Ontario Genealogical Society conference, highlighting the engaging presentations made throughout the conference. An exclusive interview with Daniel Horowit…

1
EP3: Apple joins the AI Race with Apple Intelligence. ChatGPT improves data analysis for genealogists. Give the gift of trust to future genealogists. 53:04

11M ago53:04

53:04

In this episode of the Family History AI Show, co-hosts Mark Thompson and Steve Little discuss the exciting developments in AI announced at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) last week. In particular, Apple's promise of a more secure, private approach to AI. Apple's approach to AI is compared with Microsoft's Recall feature and Google's …

1
EP2: AI outages, Ethical Debates in Genealogy, Google's awful week. Perplexity's “Pages” simplifies research 41:07

11M ago41:07

41:07

“These tools are so useful […] that even if there are prohibitions against their use, […] there's an incredible temptation to use them surreptitiously.” - Steve Little Join Mark Thompson and Steve Little as they discuss the AI stories affecting the family history community. AI outages, ethical debates, and cutting-edge tools were all big news this …

1
EP1: AI in Genealogy: ChatGPT 4o, Google Gemini, and New Tools from FamilySearch 45:18

11M ago45:18

45:18

Welcome to the first episode of The Family History AI Show! This week, Mark and Steve dive into the latest developments in AI and how they are transforming the world of genealogy. From the new tools announced recently by OpenAI and Google to big stories from the National Genealogical Society conference, this episode is packed with insights and tips…

1
Brad Argent from Ancestry Studios" TV series chat about DNA and newspaper research for genealogy 29:59

11M ago29:59

29:59

Brad Argent and The Genealogy Guy explore the connection between genealogy and DNA research in shaping one's identity. They highlighted the significance of understanding one's ancestry and genetic makeup to gain a sense of identity and discuss the transformative nature of DNA research in providing a tangible connection to the past and one's ancesto…

1
Helen Tovey editor of the UK's Family Tree Magazine chats with the Genealogy Guy 23:06

1y ago23:06

23:06

In this episode, the Genealogy Guy has chats with the jolly Helen Tovey - Editor of Family Tree Magazine UK which is Britain's longest-running family history magazine providing expert advice it has been helping thousands of family historians discover and explore their family history since 1984.By Armchair Genealogy

1
Nick Barratt about his research & work on "Who Do You Think You Are?" TV genealogy series 29:51

1y ago29:51

29:51

The Genealogy Guy chats with the perceptive Nicholas David Barrett, genealogist and consultant for BBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?", and discusses the show's origins and how it combines social history and genealogy. He gives his views on why he thinks this show has been so successful and had worldwide recognition as a TV format.…

1
Ted Udall (from Somerset and Dorset Family History Society ) chats with The Genealogy Guy 29:21

1y ago29:21

29:21

The Genealogy Guy interviews the very knowledgable Ted Udall from the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society discussing the history of Parish Records and tips. Without parish records and the stunning work of so many local history groups over the years much of the data that family tree sites now use would not be as vast as it is today.…

1
Paul McNeil genealogy hints & talks about working on the ITV series 'DNA Journey' 30:49

1+ y ago30:49

30:49

The Genenalogy Guy chats with the entertaining Paul McNeil Managing Director at Time Detectives and one of the researchers on ITV series "DNA Journey", how he got into genealogy & some tips on how he works and behind-the-scenes making each TV episode. You can suggest people I should chat with or if you have any tips you would like to share email me…

1
Donna Rutherford talks genealogy and explains the basics (101) of DNA 29:27

1+ y ago29:27

29:27

In this episode, the Genealogy Guy chats with Donna Rutherford. Who has been involved with genealogy for many years and more recently has started working in genetic genealogy. In her spare time, she manages a Facebook group to help others with their DNA research. She has worked with Y-DNA, mtDNA and has experience with autosomal DNA. Donna aims to …

1
Mark Bayley (of The Genealogist website) talking about their new historic maps facility 28:21

1+ y ago28:21

28:21

In this episode, the Genealogy Guy speaks with Mark Bayley 'Head of Online Development' @ the Genealogist.Co.UK about Maps and their integration into family tree research. Listen out for an offer of £40 discount off an annual subscription plus a Free Subscription to Discover Your Ancestors Online Magazine…

1
Welcome to this Genealogy Podcast 6:15

1+ y ago6:15

6:15

Welcome to the first episode of the Armchair Genealogy Podcast. Remember to subscribe for future episodes, share with friends or email with suggestions to [email protected] Armchair Genealogy