Branching Out Genealogy Podcast

Daniel Horowitz has been the Chief Genealogist at MyHeritage for nearly two decades. He started his genealogy journey at age 13 in Venezuela, got bitten by the genealogy bug, moved to Israel, met MyHeritage CEO Gilad Japhet at a conference in New York, and the rest is... family history. These days, Daniel travels the world giving lectures, connecting local genealogy societies with the resources they need, and serving as the connective tissue between MyHeritage and the genealogy community.We caught up with Daniel at RootsTech 2026, where MyHeritage came with a lot to talk about!***In this episode, Elizabeth Swanay O'Neal, CG®, and Tami Osmer Mize sit down with Daniel Horowitz to get the full rundown on everything MyHeritage launched at RootsTech 2026, including full genome DNA testing, Scribe AI (the feature that made a woman cry — in a good way — in front of a computer at the MyHeritage booth), Family Graph, Country Flags, Gaia, and a teaser about an upcoming records collection Daniel absolutely refused to name.Plus: we're riding the wave of a new "old" trend and discussing the War of 1812 pension files (which are almost fully digitized and free to access on Fold3). During Teatime, we're spilling some very "unsweet" tea about Massachusetts Bill H.5377 — a budget bill that could slam the door on access to vital records if genealogists don't push back.IN THIS EPISODE[00:01:38] In today's episode[00:02:41] Opening[00:03:00] What we're loving (genealogists have been doing it for years)[00:09:37] War of 1812 pension files on Fold3 (free!)[00:10:24] Sponsor Break: Vivid-Pix[00:11:03] Interview: Daniel Horowitz, Chief Genealogist, MyHeritage[00:14:23] MyHeritage full genome DNA testing[00:16:00] Scribe AI: transcription, translation, and historical context[00:17:53] Family Graph: the AI-powered timeline graphic[00:18:37] The AI transition video from the keynote[00:21:07] Gaia: your AI genealogy research assistant (and why it stays in your tree)[00:26:12] Country Flags: a visual take on your family tree[00:29:31] What's coming next at MyHeritage[00:31:04] How to become a MyHeritage Friend[00:33:00] Sweet tea: Evidentia 3+ is out (and existing users get it free)[00:33:37] Unsweet tea: Massachusetts H.5377 and what's at stake for vital records access[00:39:02] What you can do about H.5377[00:39:16] Closing and OutroLINKSMyHeritage: https://www.myheritage.com Gilad Japhet's RootsTech 2026 Session (video): https://blog.myheritage.com/2026/03/myheritage-founder-and-ceo-gilad-japhet-at-rootstech-2026/MyHeritage RootsTech 2026 Roundup: https://blog.myheritage.com/2026/03/rootstech-2026-roundup/War of 1812 Pension Files on Fold3 (free): https://www.fold3.com/publication/761/us-war-of-1812-pension-files-1812-1815Evidentia Software: https://evidentiasoftware.com/APG letter opposing Massachusetts H.5377: https://www.apgen.org/docs/APG_Massachusetts_Budget_Letter_4_May_2026.pdfMassachusetts Genealogical Council Call to Action: https://www.massgencouncil.org/post/act-now-gov-healey-s-supplemental-budget-contains-both-good-and-very-bad-news-for-genealogistsFind your Massachusetts state legislator: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

Explore how photo restoration, memory care, and family history intersect in this inspiring conversation with Rick Voight, CEO of Vivid-Pix. Learn how personal photos can boost cognitive health, strengthen storytelling, and help families preserve their legacy.___________________________________In this episode of the Branching Out Genealogy Podcast, we speak with Rick Voight, CEO and co-founder of Vivid-Pix, about the science and impact of photo Reminiscence Therapy, a powerful tool that uses restored images to support memory and cognitive wellness—especially for individuals living with dementia.We explore how Vivid-Pix evolved from photo enhancement software to a leader in memory preservation, working with genealogists, libraries, archives, museums, and aging-services professionals. Rick shares insights into tools like the Memory Station and Memory Cards, explains the brain science behind photo Reminiscence Therapy, and discusses how families can use photos to spark meaningful conversations and strengthen emotional connection.You’ll also hear updates from the genealogy community, a practical tech tip, and a fun look at why so many of us—even celebrities—may have royal connections in our family tree.If you're passionate about genealogy, memory care, digital preservation, or helping families share their stories, this episode offers valuable guidance you can use right away.___________________________________TIMECODE CHAPTERS00:00 Introduction & Episode Overview01:52 Genealogy News07:23 Interview with Rick Voight11:45 Photo Reminiscence Therapy & Brain Health20:55 Vivid-Pix Programs & Community Initiatives29:40 Memory Station & Memory Cards40:44 Rick’s Spring Tour48:03 Metadata, Ethics & the Future of Photos57:04 Tech Tip: Reopen Closed Browser Tabs58:25 Teatime01:04:46 Closing___________________________________ABOUT OUR GUEST: RICK VOIGHTRick Voight is the co-founder and CEO of Vivid-Pix, a company dedicated to improving, restoring, and preserving photographs. His work bridges the fields of genealogy, aging, and cognitive health, utilizing photo Reminiscence Therapy and accessible technology tools to help families preserve their stories while supporting memory care. Rick collaborates with libraries, museums, aging specialists, and dementia-care professionals across the U.S.___________________________________FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA➜ Website - https://branchingout.show/➜ https://www.facebook.com/branchingoutgenpod/➜ https://www.instagram.com/branching_out_genealogy_pod/➜ https://x.com/branchingoutgen➜ https://www.youtube.com/@BranchingOutGenealogyPodcastEMAIL US at hello@branchingout.show The Branching Out Theme Song and Teatime Fanfare are copyright © Elizabeth Swanay O'Neal.

EPISODE SUMMARYIn this episode, Tami and Elizabeth discuss Elizabeth’s participation in the August WikiTree Challenge with special guest Eowyn Langholf, WikiTree Community Manager. They delve into the unique aspects of WikiTree, emphasizing its community-driven approach. In the What's Happening segment, Elizabeth shares news about babies born recently using a 3-parent IVF technique. Tami discusses creating AI biographies and videos using tools from Storied and MyHeritage. During Teatime, Elizabeth spills the tea on the California Digital Newspaper Collection receiving needed funding and then letting all the employees go. Tami spills even more tea on strange genealogy job postings.TIMESTAMPS00:00:00 Intro00:03:08 What Elizabeth is working on: DAR Applications and the Inheritance Project00:05:52 What Tami is working on: Visualizing Genealogy Data00:07:33 Interview with Eowyn Langholf, WikiTree Community Manager00:20:09 About the WikiTree Challenge 00:22:37 Preparing for the Challenge00:27:36 The WikiTree Challenge Process00:32:21 The Growth and Accuracy of WikiTree00:32:50 Future Aspirations for WikiTree00:38:44 What’s Happening: Three-Parent IVF00:40:52 What’s Happening: The Internet Archive and the GPO00:42:29 What’s Happening: Enhancing Biographies with AI using Storied and MyHeritage00:52:50 Teatime: California Digital Newspaper Collection00:55:22 Teatime: Genealogy Jobs01:00:26 Outro RESOURCESThe DAR Inheritance Project - ⁠https://blog.dar.org/2021/09/27/inherit-grandmas-patriots-through-new-program-launch⁠WikiTree - ⁠https://www.wikitree.com⁠Elizabeth’s WikiTree Challenge - ⁠https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1913531/2025-wikitree-challenge-research-for-elizabeth-oneal-ended⁠ 8 babies born with experimental 3-parent IVF technique - ⁠https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/3-parent-babies-uk-australia-1.7587286⁠The Internet Archive – ⁠https://archive.org⁠Federal Depository Library Directory – ⁠https://ask.gpo.gov/s/FDLD⁠GPO makes available Supreme Court cases dating back to the 18th century – ⁠https://librarytechnology.org/pr/31522⁠Storied U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 – ⁠https://storied.com/historical-record-search/world-war-I-draft-registration-cards⁠MyHeritage’s AI Biographer™ – ⁠https://blog.myheritage.com/2023/12/introducing-ai-biographer-create-a-wikipedia-like-biography-for-any-ancestor-using-ai-enriched-with-historical-context⁠MyHeritage’s Deep Story (desktop version) – ⁠https://www.myheritage.com/deepstory⁠Losing Our History? Funding for the CaliforniaDigital Newspaper Collection Was Restored—but UC Riverside Laid Off All of theEmployees Responsible for the Project Anyway – ⁠https://cvindependent.com/2025/07/losing-our-history-funding-for-the-california-digital-newspaper-collection-was-restored-but-uc-riverside-laid-off-all-of-the-employees-responsible-for-the-project-anyway⁠ConferenceKeeper’s Genealogy Jobs – ⁠https://conferencekeeper.org/genealogy-jobs⁠Genealogy Jobs Facebook Group – ⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/1497651017151639⁠KEYWORDSWikiTree, genealogy, family history, community, AI, research,challenges, collaboration, ancestry, DNA, jobs, genetic genealogy

In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth and Tami talk about their experiences at 2025 RootsTech Conference, from the Expo Hall to the Forums, what’s new at FamilySearch, and what other industry leaders are up to. The show begins with a follow-up to Tami’s Ancestry Pet DNA testing and Elizabeth’s FOIA BIRLS request. Next up are highlights from RootsTech, followed by a visit with Gena Philibert-Ortega, who shares her enthusiasm about GRIP and her passion for reading.What's Happening includes news about upcoming events, changes, and scholarship deadlines.During Tea Time, Elizabeth provides an update on NY Vital Records, and Tami discusses genealogy in the virtual world of Second Life.TIMESTAMPS2:23 Tami shares results of her pound pup’s DNA test, which included a close shared match.7:00 Elizabeth talks about receiving one of her FOIA BIRLS files.RootsTech Wrap Up14:06 RootsTech online14:47 Relatives at RootsTech17:58 FamilySearch's Global Tech Forum19:21 FamilySearch Family Group Trees20:23 FamilySearch Tree Integrity 23:26 FamilySearch New Change Log24:00 Full Text Search Updates25:01 FamilySearch AI Help ChatBot26:44 Industry Highlight Forum28:50 MyHeritage: New Cousin Finder, phone app update29:57 Storied: Memory books; creating a new census index31:50 SOAR32:18 Remento34:38 Ancestry’s phone scanner and AI tools35:38 MyHeritage Ancient Origins39:29 Gena Philibert-Ortega's RootsTech Experience40:54 Her role at NGS41:55 GRIP 46:05 Gena’s courses at SLIG47:47 How Gena fits it into her schedule & reading goals52:20 What Gena’s currently readingWHAT'S HAPPENING56:30 The National Genealogical Society 2025 Family History Conference “Tales & Trails” May 2025.59:20 BCG adoption of two-part portfolio for CG application process1:00:50 APG scholarships for the Professional Management Conference1:02:27 NYG&B seeking volunteers and interns for their digitization team1:03:21 Scholarship and awards deadlines on Conference KeeperTEA TIME1:04:00 New York vital records availability update.1:06:18 Second Life chapter APG reorganizationRESOURCESAncestry Pet DNA - https://petdna.ancestry.com BIRLS - https://www.birls.org/ RootsTech https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/ Elizabeth's Blog about Relatives at RootsTech - https://www.thefamilyheart.com/relatives-at-rootstech/ Imagetotext.io - https://www.imagetotext.io/ FamilySearch Labs - https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/ FamilySearch Group Trees - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/family-group-trees-learning-center FamilySearch New Change Log - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/using-the-improved-person-changelog-experiment FamilySearch AI Help ChatBot - https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/Content Authenticity Initiative - https://contentauthenticity.orgMyHeritage Cousin Finder - https://blog.myheritage.com/2025/03/introducing-cousin-finder-gain-dna-level-insights-without-a-dna-test/ Storied - https://storied.comSOAR - https://try.soar.com/teamRemento - https://www.remento.coAncestry Scanner - https://support.ancestry.com/s/article/Scanning-Images-with-the-Ancestry-App?language=en_US Vivid Pix - https://www.vivid-pix.com GRIP - https://grip.ngsgenealogy.orgSLIG - https://slig.ugagenealogy.orgGoodReads - https://www.goodreads.comThe Quest for Annie Moore of Ellis Island - https://www.amazon.com/Quest-Annie-Moore-Ellis-Island/dp/0996599312 NGS 2025 Family History Conference - https://conference.ngsgenealogy.orgBCG Springboard - https://bcgcertification.org/springboard APG Scholarships - https://www.apgen.org/apg_awards_and_scholarships.phpNYG&B Internships - https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/content/internships NYG&B Volunteers - https://www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org/volunteer ConferenceKeeper Awards/Grants/Scholarships - https://conferencekeeper.org/grants-scholarshipsSL-APG https://slapg.wordpress.com SLVGS https://slvirtualgenealogy.org

In this episode, co-hosts Elizabeth and Tami share the stories that got them hooked on genealogy. Next, they discuss several tools for collecting, transcribing, and sharing your family’s stories (some are low-tech and free). They also offer story-collecting gift ideas for family members who missed the holiday get-togethers, as well as those who may be shy or less tech-savvy. During What’s Happening, Elizabeth shares a call to action to support the Bring Our Heroes Home Act, and Tami shares a reminder to submit your nominees for NGS awards. Finally, Elizabeth spills the tea on recent genetic genealogy lawsuits, but Tami “cleans up” with good news about recently announced RootsTech keynote speakers and kudos to an amazing 92-year-old FamilySearch volunteer. TIMESTAMPS: 02:04 Tami’s “lost” family story 03:56 Elizabeth’s “lost” family story Collecting Family Stories 08:01 The importance of listening and collecting stories 09:18 MyHeritage Live Memory 13:33 The Oral History Association 14:03 Vivid Pix Memory Station Software 17:19 StoryCorps 19:02 FamilySearch Memories 19:45 MyHeritage Mobile App 19:53 Pixstori 20:36 StoryMaps 21:43 Nominate someone for America 250 Recording & Transcribing Tools 24:12 Voice memo apps for iPhone 25:24 Otter.ai 25:53 Zoom transcription 26:53 Google Docs voice typing Story Collecting Gift Ideas 28:32 StoryWorth 31:47 Storii 33:32 Remento 35:03 The DIY Way (low tech & low cost) What’s Happening 37:00 APG supports Bring Our Heroes Home Act 38:35 NGS Awards Tea Time 40:07 Genetic Genealogy lawsuits 42:33 RootsTech Keynote Speaker announcement 43:18 Kudos to FamilySearch Indexing volunteer Marilyn Clement RESOURCES: MyHeritage Live Memory - https://cm.myheritage.com/livememory/ Oral History Association - https://oralhistory.org/ Vivid Pix Memory Station Software - https://www.vivid-pix.com/memorystationsoftware/ StoryCorps - https://storycorps.org/ FamilySearch Memories - https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/tag/memories PixStori - https://www.pixstori.com/ StoryMaps - https://storymaps.com/ America 250 (nominate someone) - https://america250.org/nominate/ Voice Recorder & Audio Editor (Apple app) - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voice-recorder-audio-editor/id685310398 Otter.ai - https://otter.ai/ Zoom Transcriptions - https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0064927 Storyworth - https://www.storyworth.com/ Storii (Save 20% with code FESTIVE24) - Remento (Save $15 with code SAVE15) - https://www.remento.co/ APG’s 1-Page Summary of BOHHA - https://members.apgen.org/ct.php?lid=346409795&mm=111054848883 Find your Senator - https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm Find your Representative - https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative NGS Awards - https://www.ngsgenealogy.org/awards/ The DNA Geek: It Just Got Real (GEDmatch lawsuits) - https://thednageek.com/it-just-got-real/ The DNA Geek: FTDNA Joins the “So Sue Me” Party - https://thednageek.com/ftdna-joins-the-so-sue-me-party/ The Legal Genealogist: Of money and chances - https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2024/11/22/of-money-and-chances/ RootsTech Keynote Speakers - https://www.familysearch.org/en/newsroom/rootstech-2025-first-four-keynotes-announced This episode is sponsored by Vivid Pix. All product opinions are our own.