How to elevate your genealogy journey – from records to revelation
As someone interested in genealogy, have you ever stopped to ask why building a family tree feels so compelling? The thrill of discovery goes far beyond collecting names, dates, and documents. Those are only the beginning. The deeper challenge is found when we give ourselves the task of understanding how our ancestors actually lived, what shaped their choices and how their stories developed within the wider currents of history.
That shift – from record-hunting to story building – is exactly what Findmypast’s new podcast, A Family History Of… sets out to explore. Presented by expert genealogist Jen Baldwin, the show combines meticulous archival research with immersive narrative, offering a compelling new way to engage with family history.
Here, we take a closer look at what this approach can teach us about uncovering the human stories behind our own ancestors.
A new way to experience genealogy
Each series focuses on one family’s unique story, inviting listeners to delve deeply into a past life and its historical context. It’s a structure that mirrors the way many genealogists work: starting with a fragment of information – a census entry, a newspaper clipping – and gradually building up a richer, more human picture. A Family History Of… takes this process further, layering expert insight, historical interpretation and storytelling to bring discoveries vividly to life.
Featuring leading voices from across the genealogy and history world, the series helps listeners deepen their understanding of the past, while simultaneously sharpening their approach to research.
Series 3: Meet William Lawther
In May’s featured series, prepare to step back in time to 1920s Britain as you follow miner William Lawther’s journey through the UK General Strike of 1926 – 100 years on. Available from May 2026 on all major podcast platforms and YouTube, A Family History Of… The General Strike traces Lawther’s life as his story unfolds against the backdrop of one of the most dramatic industrial conflicts in British history.
From a crowded Northumberland colliery home to the politically charged community of Chopwell – sometimes labelled ‘Little Moscow’ – the series captures the atmosphere of a nation on edge. Through Lawther’s experiences, listeners are drawn into a world of tightening hardship, rising solidarity and growing unrest, as one man’s working life becomes entangled with a national crisis.
A deep dive into the archives
A Family History Of… takes research a step further with its use of original material, including rare first-hand audio from Lawther himself. Combined with expert insight from Jonathan Kindleysides, Head of Industry at Beamish Museum, these elements help to bridge the gap between the historical record and the lived experience it represents.
Listeners are taken from the pit-head to the courtroom during the Emergency Regulations, following the pressures and challenges faced by individuals and communities as the strike unfolded. In doing so, the series highlights not only what happened, but how it might have felt to live through such a moment.
A learning journey
While A Family History of… is an entertaining audio experience, it also functions as a form of learning. By observing how a single life is researched and reconstructed, listeners are encouraged to reflect on their own approaches – considering how they might ask different questions of the records they encounter or look for connections they may have previously overlooked.
In that sense, the podcast sits at an interesting intersection of storytelling and research. It offers a way to engage with history that is both accessible and grounded in scholarship, encouraging a more thoughtful and imaginative approach to genealogy.
Ultimately, it suggests that every life contained within the archive has the potential to become a story. One that reveals not just who people were, but how they lived.
Listen to A Family History of… on Apple, Spotify or watch on YouTube now.