Stories That Live In Us
What if the most powerful way to strengthen your family’s future is to look to the past?
I’m Crista Cowan, known online as The Barefoot Genealogist. I created this podcast to inspire you to form deeper connections with your family - past, present, and future. All families are messy and life is constantly changing but we don’t have to allow that to disconnect us. I’ve spent my whole life discovering the power of family history and I know that sharing the stories that live in you can change everything.
Tune in weekly to receive inspiration and guidance that will help you use family stories to craft a powerful family narrative, contributing to your family’s identity and creating a legacy of resilience, healing, and connection.
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Want to climb your family tree and uncover your own family stories? Visit my website - CristaCowan.com - and sign up for my free newsletter.
Episodes
137 episodes
A Phone Call From Heaven (with Jenny Ashcraft) | Episode 36
When Jenny Ashcraft joked with her dying father about needing a 'cell phone call from heaven' to start family history... that's exactly what she got. Just days after her father's funeral, a mysterious package arrived from a stranger who felt co...
Sometimes You Don't Like the Answer (with Lisa Elzey) | Episode 35
Two genealogists discover they might share a Mayflower connection - but there's a twist.In this special Thanksgiving episode, my producer Lisa Elzey and I explore our connection to America’s founding story, take a memorable trip to Plym...
Back to the Cherokee Nation (with Nicka Sewell-Smith) | Episode 34
Not everyone stumbles on a photo of a relative hanging in a hotel bathroom, but Nicka Sewell-Smith isn’t just anyone. And, that’s not even the most interesting story she has to tell. From family reunions to battles for tribal citizenship,...
The Fabric of Who You Are | (with Diahan Southard) | Episode 33
Have you ever thought about how deeply you can trace your roots with just a simple DNA test?Listen in on my conversation with Diahan Southard, a trailblazer in consumer genomics and the founder of Your DNA Guide. She takes u...
Dad, I Want to Know About the War (with Becky Ellis) | Episode 32
For 43 years, Becky Ellis's father refused to speak about his World War II service — until one conversation at age 89 changed everything. What started with a simple "Dad, I want to know about the war" led to seven years of profound revelations ...
Not Much of a Saint | Episode 31
Does the veil between worlds thin as October turns to November? I certainly think so.Born on All Saints Day, my birthday celebrations always mingled with Halloween festivities. But, it was my 18th birthday, spent cleaning up a ...
La Cugina d'Americana (with Suzanne Russo Adams) | Episode 30
A young girl sits at her Italian family's dinner table, absorbing stories of sea monsters, witches, and prohibition-era St. Louis — while her cousins run off to play. Today, that curious child has become Director of Brigham Young University’s C...
Why Didn't We Know This Story (with Gayle George) | Episode 29
What if uncovering a family story you never knew could change the way you see yourself and the world? In 2019, Ancestry's documentary Railroad Ties revealed how the Underground Railroad connected descendants of the enslaved with those ...
I Had Come Home | Episode 28
When someone asks where you're from, do you think of a place or the people? For me, that question took on new meaning when I unexpectedly burst into tears on a Glasgow train platform, feeling an inexplicable sense of coming home. In this episod...
Be At The Things That Matter Most (with The Cowan Niblings) | Episode 27
"Cowans show up for each other!" When seven cousins gather in a podcast studio after their Alaskan adventure, this family motto comes alive...Join me and "the niblings" – my six nephews and one niece – just hours after returning from the...
Moments of Really Beautiful Things (IAJGS LIVE) | Episode 26
What do Lake Como, Italy, a Jewish genealogy conference, and a surprise discovery in Chicago all have in common? They're woven together in a story that reminds us why family history matters — a story I shared in front of a live audience in Augu...
A Whole Other Tree of Possibilities (with Todd Godfrey) | Episode 25
What if solving your family history was like tackling a 5000-piece puzzle without the box? For Todd Godfrey, Vice President of Global Content at Ancestry, this metaphor became startlingly real when a high school yearbook photo revealed his biol...
HBO Gift Lounge | Episode 24
It’s Emmys Weekend in Los Angeles. What does that have to do with family stories?Well, back in 2018, Ancestry hosted a luxury gift lounge during a Hollywood award show weekend. Unlike typical gift lounges where celebrities grab swa...
You Lose Them Twice (with Julie Taggart) | Episode 23
We call ourselves Gen X women but many of us are quickly becoming the “sandwich generation.” It’s a term that invokes feelings of being squeezed between raising children, welcoming grandchildren, and caring for aging parents all while juggling ...
From People Who've Done Hard Things (with Jordan Lundskog) | Episode 22
When Jordan Lundskog lost his beloved grandfather at age 16, he discovered that family stories aren't just tales from the past – they're bridges between generations. Now a product manager at Ancestry® and father of young children, Jordan shares...
Turn It Into the Wind (with Erik and Emily Orton) | Episode 21
Ever wondered what it takes to turn an ordinary life into an extraordinary adventure? When former Broadway professional Erik Orton suggested his family of seven live on a sailboat for a year, it seemed impossible — until his daughter asked "do ...
Open Heart, Open Mind, Open Ears (with Maria Mendoza) | Episode 20
"What's it like holding and looking at your own DNA?" This simple question about her newborn son sparked something profound in Maria Mendoza, who grew up adopted. Years later, a DNA test revealed not just her ethnicity, but an entire family — i...
Laugh 'Til We Cry (with Scott Seiffert and Lisa Dyson) | Episode 19
When animation executive Scott Seiffert learned that generations of his family drank at bars and told stories in Montana, something clicked into place about his own storytelling journey... At DreamWorks Animation, Scott shepherds stories for th...
Families Have Always Been Messy | Episode 18
What happens when an 18-year-old girl questions her faith in 1727 England? For my ancestor Margaret Lawrence, that choice set off a chain of events that would echo through generations. I've spent decades unraveling the true story behind our fam...
Police Don't Have Nothin' On Me (with Rusty Wright and Lisa Elzey) | Episode 17
What if the secrets to your family's past were hidden in plain sight, waiting to be discovered in the most unexpected places - like a county jail?When U.S. Marshal Rusty Wright set out to learn about the grandfather he never met, he neve...
Fearless Women (with Cathy Hughes) | Episode 16
When children are raised knowing the stories of the strong, fearless women in their family tree they are more likely to feel empowered to chase their own dreams.Raised with tales of the trailblazing women in her family, Ms. Cathy Hughes...
Familial Sudoku (with Josh Harman) | Episode 15
Do you revel in solving a good brain teaser or completing a crossword puzzle? Climbing your family tree can feel a little like piecing together a tricky jigsaw. But what happens when solving the puzzle reveals a blind great-grandfather who buil...
What Is Your American Story? (with Mary Tedesco) | Episode 14
How did a simple search on Ancestry.com spark a lifelong passion, a stronger mother-daughter bond, and a stint as a host on a popular genealogy television show?Mary Tedesco's journey began with discovering her Italian grandparent...
Their Stories in Their Words | Episode 13
In 1891, Martha Mills Brown wrote a heart-wrenching letter to her children and grandchildren, detailing her family's harrowing experiences during the Civil War in Northwest Arkansas. I discovered this remarkable first-hand account through an An...
We're Doing This Together (with Steve Cowan) | Episode 12
Every Sunday night at 9:30 PM, my dad and I meet virtually to solve family history mysteries together — a tradition we've kept for over seven years, no matter where we are in the world. A tradition that has transformed our relationship from fat...