Last year, Sue and I took our first road trip to St. Augustine, Florida and drank from the famous Fountain of Youth. (Spoiler Alert: it tasted terrible and we continue to physically age)
Doing a Radio Show in Retirement
However, I recently learned that being youthful has a lot to do with how you use your voice. If you use it fully, emotionally and creatively, it will keep you young. Who knew?
I know that being behind the mic six days a week doing my oldies radio show on 105.9 WMEX-FM is something I enjoy. I don’t play golf, tennis or pickle ball, but I do continue to broadcast over the radio; the equivalent to those other things, for me.
I started volunteering at this lower power FM radio station out of Rochester, New Hampshire 15-years ago, while I was still a broadcast professor at The School of Broadcasting and Journalism at WKU. When I retired in 2017, I continued doing my daily radio show and playing the music of my high school and college days. It’s the music I grew up with, and truly makes me feel young again.
Age Is Elastic Behind the Mic
Justine Reiss, known as the Vocal Igniter, is a bestselling author, speaker, podcaster, narrator and certified meditation facilitator. With over two decades in voiceover and vocal empowerment, she champions authentic human expression in an AI-driven world.
Justine says that “one of most freeing truths about voiceover is that we are not cast by our birth certificate. We are cast by our range.”
Voiceover is about controlling your breath, controlling your energy, controlling your emotional access and controlling your curiosity.
“A person’s voice doesn’t age the way your body does,” says Justine. “It ages the way your spirit does – and spirit can remain remarkably young.”
Humans Breathe, AI Does Not
“Breath is one of the most powerful anti-aging tools we have,” says Justine. “Research consistently shows that intentional breath lowers cortisol, improves cardiovascular health, and strengthens cognitive resilience.”
“The more AI expands, the more valuable authentic human frequency becomes.”
I’m not perfect, I make mistakes, I sometimes laugh uncontrollably while doing my radio show, and it all makes for a human connection with the radio listener.
Blue Zones
Dan Buettner wrote in his book Blue Zones: Living Like the World’s Healthiest People how important it is to have strong social connections, emotional expression and purpose in living a longer life. Blue Zone communities prioritize connection, storytelling, contribution and daily engagement – much like what happens when doing a radio show.
Theater of the Mind
Radio is called “Theater of the Mind” because it involves for both the performer and the listener — imagination. Through voice pitch, tone & texture, pacing, emotion and intensity, a radio disc jockey stays cognitively agile and keeps their brain young.
Radio personalities are curious, playful and expressive people.
My Fountain of Youth
“When you breathe deeply, speak honestly, stay emotional agile, sharing instead of selling, keep learning, and refuse to let AI replace the human connection, you extend more than lifespan, says Justine, “you extend force.”
South from where I live, is a little community by the name of Bumpass, Virginia. As far as I can tell, the FCC have never licensed a radio station to this little community of 8,792 people.
and perspectives. It also works with some of the country’s largest newspapers, magazines and television networks to broaden its scope of news coverage.
Two such operations that come to mind are: “yourKawarthaOLDIES.com” and “1059WMEX.com” that are filling a gap left by Big Box broadcasters. WMEX-FM 
recently added an LPFM to its operation, this allows locals in Rochester, NH to hear the station easily when in their cars.
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