
Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Gwen Hughes
-
By:
-
Megan Smolenyak
About this listen
You've heard of the Dog Whisperer? Meet the Ancestor Rescuer. Part forensic scientist, part master sleuth, Megan Smolenyak has solved some of America's oldest and most fascinating genealogical mysteries. You've read the headlines; now get the inside story as the "Indiana Jones of genealogy" reveals how she cracked her news-making cases, became the face of this increasingly popular field - and redefined history along the way. How did Smolenyak discover Barack Obama's Irish ancestry - and his relation to Brad Pitt? Or the journey of Michelle Obama's family from slavery to the White House? Or the startling links between outspoken politicians Al Sharpton and Strom Thurmond? And why is Smolenyak's name squared? Test your own skills as she shares her exciting secrets. Whether she's scouring websites to uncover the surprising connections between famous figures or using cutting-edge DNA tests to locate family members of fallen soldiers dating back to the Civil War, Smolenyak's historical sleuthing is as provocative, richly layered, and exciting as America itself.
©2012 Megan Smolenyak (P)2014 Audible Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Chester Creek Murders
- Venator Cold Case Series, Book 1
- By: Nathan Dylan Goodwin
- Narrated by: Bryn Austin
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Detective Clayton Tyler is tasked with reviewing the formidable archives of unsolved homicides in his police department’s vaults, he settles on one particular cold case from the 1980s: the Chester Creek Murders. Three young women were brutally murdered - their bodies dumped in Chester Creek, Delaware County - by a serial killer who has confounded a slew of detectives and evaded capture for over 38 years.
-
-
Nathan Dylan Goodwin does not disappoint
- By Rick Casey on 06-10-21
-
The Lost Family
- How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
- By: Libby Copeland
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
-
-
Some Science Would Be Nice
- By C. Ashley White on 09-03-20
By: Libby Copeland
-
Babel
- Around the World in Twenty Languages
- By: Gaston Dorren
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
English is the world language, except that most of the world doesn’t speak it - only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s 7.4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than 20 languages. He sets out to explore these top 20 world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali).
-
-
Breezy
- By Bessie Mae on 11-01-23
By: Gaston Dorren
-
Aristotle's Children
- How Christian, Muslims and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom
- By: Richard E. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Richard E. Rubenstein brings the past to life in this engrossing story of social, religious, and scientific revolution during one of the darkest periods in European history. When a group of Dark Ages scholars rediscovered the works of Aristotle, the great thinker's ideas ignited a firestorm of enlightened thought. This is the endlessly fascinating account of the pivotal period in history when the modern era took root.
-
-
Interesting story of the rediscovery of Aristotle
- By John on 12-16-04
-
The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a war correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany, having a front-row seat to Hitler’s rise in influence and power. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account of life in the tyrannical state, a country transformed by war and dictatorship. The author was originally commissioned to write The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler for a young adult audience. This account loses none of the immediacy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich....
-
-
Shirer and Gardner--perfect together!
- By CD318 on 07-08-20
-
The Faded Map
- Lost Kingdoms of Scotland
- By: Alistair Moffat
- Narrated by: Neil McFarlane
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Modern communications have driven motorways and pylons through the countryside, dwarfed us with TV and telephone masts, and drastically altered the way in which we move around, see, and understand Scotland. Recent politics and logistics have established borders and jurisdictions which now seem permanent and impervious. The Faded Map looks beyond these to remember a land that was once quiet and green.
-
-
Well narrated Etymological and historical travel through Scotland
- By Doug C on 06-15-24
By: Alistair Moffat
-
The Chester Creek Murders
- Venator Cold Case Series, Book 1
- By: Nathan Dylan Goodwin
- Narrated by: Bryn Austin
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Detective Clayton Tyler is tasked with reviewing the formidable archives of unsolved homicides in his police department’s vaults, he settles on one particular cold case from the 1980s: the Chester Creek Murders. Three young women were brutally murdered - their bodies dumped in Chester Creek, Delaware County - by a serial killer who has confounded a slew of detectives and evaded capture for over 38 years.
-
-
Nathan Dylan Goodwin does not disappoint
- By Rick Casey on 06-10-21
-
The Lost Family
- How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are
- By: Libby Copeland
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Lost Family, journalist Libby Copeland investigates what happens when we embark on a vast social experiment with little understanding of the ramifications. Copeland explores the culture of genealogy buffs, the science of DNA, and the business of companies like Ancestry and 23andMe, all while tracing the story of one woman, her unusual results, and a relentless methodical drive for answers that becomes a thoroughly modern genetic detective story.
-
-
Some Science Would Be Nice
- By C. Ashley White on 09-03-20
By: Libby Copeland
-
Babel
- Around the World in Twenty Languages
- By: Gaston Dorren
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
English is the world language, except that most of the world doesn’t speak it - only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s 7.4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than 20 languages. He sets out to explore these top 20 world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali).
-
-
Breezy
- By Bessie Mae on 11-01-23
By: Gaston Dorren
-
Aristotle's Children
- How Christian, Muslims and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom
- By: Richard E. Rubenstein
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling author Richard E. Rubenstein brings the past to life in this engrossing story of social, religious, and scientific revolution during one of the darkest periods in European history. When a group of Dark Ages scholars rediscovered the works of Aristotle, the great thinker's ideas ignited a firestorm of enlightened thought. This is the endlessly fascinating account of the pivotal period in history when the modern era took root.
-
-
Interesting story of the rediscovery of Aristotle
- By John on 12-16-04
-
The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
- By: William L. Shirer
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
American journalist and author William L. Shirer was a war correspondent for six years in Nazi Germany, having a front-row seat to Hitler’s rise in influence and power. His most definitive work on the subject, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, is a riveting account of life in the tyrannical state, a country transformed by war and dictatorship. The author was originally commissioned to write The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler for a young adult audience. This account loses none of the immediacy of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich....
-
-
Shirer and Gardner--perfect together!
- By CD318 on 07-08-20
-
The Faded Map
- Lost Kingdoms of Scotland
- By: Alistair Moffat
- Narrated by: Neil McFarlane
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Modern communications have driven motorways and pylons through the countryside, dwarfed us with TV and telephone masts, and drastically altered the way in which we move around, see, and understand Scotland. Recent politics and logistics have established borders and jurisdictions which now seem permanent and impervious. The Faded Map looks beyond these to remember a land that was once quiet and green.
-
-
Well narrated Etymological and historical travel through Scotland
- By Doug C on 06-15-24
By: Alistair Moffat
-
We Did That?
- By: Sophie Stirling
- Narrated by: Christine Kiphart
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How did we come up with that? Everyone knows about mousetraps, but did you know they were originally inspired by burglar alarms? What was so important to Samuel Hopkins that he became the first person to have a US patent? Many curious creations have been born over the centuries, and author and historian Sophie Stirling dives into the curious minds behind these unique (and sometimes wild) ideas throughout history.
By: Sophie Stirling
-
Flu
- The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It
- By: Gina Kolata
- Narrated by: Gina Kolata
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Feeling feverish, tired, or achy? Listening to Gina Kolata's engrossing account of the 1918 Influenza epidemic is sure to give you the chills. A gripping work of science writing, Flu addresses the prospects for a great epidemic recurring, and considers what can be done to prevent it.
-
-
overexcited
- By Marilyn on 07-23-03
By: Gina Kolata
-
1948
- Harry Truman's Improbable Victory and the Year That Transformed America
- By: David Pietrusza
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Award-winning historian David Pietrusza unpacks the most ingloriously iconic headline in the history of presidential elections - DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN - to reveal the 1948 campaign's backstage events and recount the down-to-the-wire brawl fought against the background of an erupting Cold War, the Berlin Airlift, the birth of Israel, and a post-war America facing exploding storms over civil rights and domestic communism.
-
-
1948 Presidential election retold by Truman hater
- By The Fabulous GT on 01-21-19
By: David Pietrusza
-
I Got a Monster
- The Rise and Fall of America's Most Corrupt Police Squad
- By: Baynard Woods, Brandon Soderberg
- Narrated by: Ryan Vincent Anderson
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Baltimore Police Sergeant Wayne Jenkins said he had a monster, he meant he had found a big-time drug dealer - one who he wanted to rob. This is the story of Jenkins and the Gun Trace Task Force (GTTF), a super group of dirty detectives who exploited some of America’s greatest problems: guns, drugs, toxic masculinity, and hypersegregation. In the upside-down world of the GTTF, cops were robbers and drug dealers were the perfect victims, because no one believed them.
-
-
A bit one sided...
- By Hvelte on 09-03-20
By: Baynard Woods, and others
-
Anatomy of Malice
- The Enigma of the Nazi War Criminals
- By: Joel E. Dimsdale
- Narrated by: J. Paul Guimont
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the ashes had settled after World War II and the Allies convened an international war crimes trial in Nuremberg, a psychiatrist, Douglas Kelley, and a psychologist, Gustave Gilbert, tried to fathom the psychology of the Nazi leaders using extensive psychiatric interviews, IQ tests, and Rorschach inkblot tests. Never before or since has there been such a detailed study of governmental leaders who orchestrated mass killings.
-
-
History Lover
- By Tamara on 03-02-17
By: Joel E. Dimsdale
-
Lingo
- Around Europe in Sixty Languages
- By: Gaston Dorren
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lingo spins the listener on a whirlwind tour of 60 European languages and dialects, sharing quirky moments from their histories and exploring their commonalities and differences. Most European languages are descended from a single ancestor, a language not unlike Sanskrit known as Proto-Indo-European (or PIE for short), but the continent's ever-changing borders and cultures have given rise to a linguistic and cultural diversity that is too often forgotten in discussions of Europe as a political entity.
-
-
Perfect narrator fit!
- By John S. on 08-31-16
By: Gaston Dorren
-
Ancestor Trouble
- A Reckoning and a Reconciliation
- By: Maud Newton
- Narrated by: Catherine Taber
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ancestor Trouble is one writer’s attempt to use genealogy - a once-niche hobby that has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry - to expose the secrets and contradictions of her own ancestors, and to argue for the transformational possibilities that reckoning with our ancestors offers all of us.
-
-
Crazy Evil Parents = Crazy Author
- By MiMi on 12-28-23
By: Maud Newton
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
Chicago's Great Fire
- The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City
- By: Carl Smith
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From an acclaimed historian, the full and authoritative story of one of the most iconic disasters in American history, told through the vivid memories of those who experienced it. Carl Smith’s compelling narrative at last gives this epic event its full and proper place in our national chronicle.
-
-
A good read
- By Lori on 11-23-24
By: Carl Smith
-
Medicine Men
- Extreme Appalachian Doctoring
- By: Carolyn Jourdan
- Narrated by: Carey Jones
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the most memorable moments from old-school rural physicians who each practiced medicine for more than 50 years in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Hilarious, heroic, heartwarming true stories of miracle cures, ghost dogs, and much madcap medical mayhem.
-
-
Mediocre for Me
- By Jami on 09-28-15
By: Carolyn Jourdan
-
Tobacco
- A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced Civilization
- By: Iain Gately
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tobacco was first cultivated and enjoyed by the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who used it for medicinal, religious, and social purposes long before the arrival of Columbus. But when Europeans began to colonize the American continents, it became something else entirely - a cultural touchstone of pleasure and success and a coveted commodity that would transform the world economy forever.
-
-
Interesting until a pro-smoking ending
- By Kelli on 12-25-20
By: Iain Gately
-
Futureface
- A Family Mystery, an Epic Quest, and the Secret to Belonging
- By: Alex Wagner
- Narrated by: Alex Wagner
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The daughter of a Burmese mother and a white American father, Alex Wagner grew up thinking of herself as a "futureface" - an avatar of a mixed-race future when all races would merge into a brown singularity. But when one family mystery leads to another, Wagner's postracial ideals fray as she becomes obsessed with the specifics of her own family's racial and ethnic history. Drawn into the wild world of ancestry, she embarks upon a quest around the world - and into her own DNA - to answer the ultimate questions of who she really is and where she belongs.
-
-
fun story
- By Michael Cook on 06-10-18
By: Alex Wagner
What listeners say about Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julie W
- 06-26-19
It Was "Okay"
I was excited about this book because one review said that it was essential reading for anyone with an interest in genealogy. I didn't find it essential at all. It is an interesting book,with various stories of cases the author has worked on. I was hoping to learn more about genealogy research techniques, but it was more about newspaper-worthy genealogy stories. The author has extensive research credentials, and I was hoping to learn more about that. Unfortunately the book came across more like boasting or trying to prove something. Perhaps it was the narrator's tones that drove that. When I first heard her voice, I wondered if it was an electronic vocalization (computer), it is somewhat robotic sounding. I wish the author had narrated the book, because I think the inflection and tone would have conveyed more sincerity and competence. I found myself just wanting to get through it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Danni
- 10-15-23
Love the way your mind works!
It was interesting to see how others go about solving genetic mysteries. More books please, Meagan.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kristen11
- 05-22-21
must read for genealogist aficionado
loved her stories of how she did it and kept me listening to the end
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joanne
- 10-27-16
Fun
I'm into genealogy & solving mysteries so I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not a how to but you can definitely get a few tips out of it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sydney J
- 11-08-15
Myths from the family tree
What did you like best about Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing? What did you like least?
I liked when the author would explain the research process; how community is formed, and resources shared.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
The least interesting were things about the Obama family, a lot of time was spent going over Michelle's roots.
What about Gwen Hughes’s performance did you like?
She brings exactly the type of tone you want for this narration. She uses punctuation well top set up pacing and articulates very cleanly.
The tone is orated in such a gentle setting that it is fine for playing in the background or given full attention.
Did Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing inspire you to do anything?
It should inspire people to get started on reaching out to their relatives and finding out their past.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SueLynn Sandifer
- 05-18-15
Great learning aid.
What made the experience of listening to Hey, America, Your Roots Are Showing the most enjoyable?
This book leads you through different senarios for finding your ancestors and work-arounds to make it easier.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!