Sheila Solomon Comes Full Circle

After decades in print journalism, Sheila Solomon has come full circle to audio storytelling.

One year after our last conversation, the host of Aging Rewired has won her first award in audio and is preparing for a third season. Here, she reflects on the transition from print to podcasting, the stories that surprise her most, and why bridging generational gaps has become central to her mission.

You recently won The Communicator Award for your podcast work. How does that feel, especially as someone who transitioned from print journalism to audio?

It’s such a wonderful surprise, and I especially love this one because it’s so different from the print awards I’ve received over the years. To me, it feels like I’ve come full circle.

The award feels like someone is saying, “Keep going. We like this. This is information we want to share.” There’s a responsibility going into the next season because you want to do even better and reach even more people.

What’s driving your excitement as you plan for the third season?

A number of episodes now include questions from listeners, which has been awesome. It’s made the show more interactive and responsive to what people actually want to hear about.

We have so many ideas—I don’t know if we’ll ever get to all of them.

What themes are calling to you most for the upcoming season?

I think a lot about intergenerational friendships and relationships—both the ones people have and the ones they want. This is something I experience through other organizations I’m involved with that help educate older adults, and by that I mean people 65 and older, though generally people 50 and older have similar concerns.

Whether it’s a 50-year-old thinking about interacting with a 25-year-old colleague, or grandparents wanting to connect with their grandchildren, these conversations keep coming up.

Why is bridging generational gaps so important to you?

I keep running into people who hear “AARP” and their face changes. They think “old people”. But everybody is getting older, right? I’ve found so many things about AARP that I had no idea about, even as someone who was already a big fan attending webinars and doing all those things long before I knew I’d be doing a podcast.

There’s this perception barrier we need to break down. Younger people can shape this work too, and they should be engaged because they’re going to be older at some point themselves.

Was there someone from this season who sparked something unexpected for you?

One guest who comes up all the time now on my Instagram feed is someone who goes by “Jet Set Sarah”. We did a podcast about travel, and while we absolutely hit on areas of importance to adults older than 60, just as much of the information she gives, the joy she brings in discussing her travels is universal.

I bet you’d learn something if you listened to that podcast that you didn’t know and that would help you the next time you’re traveling. That’s exactly how I felt. Toward the end, she gave us information that none of us knew—I won’t spoil it, but most of these conversations are like that. You walk away thinking, “I never thought about doing that” or “I never reached out to someone like that.”

How has your confidence evolved from season one to now?

Season one still felt new because it was new. I didn’t feel as confident as people may think, despite how I might have sounded. Going into season two, I felt more confident because I’d been given a season two. Now here we are going into season three, with even more confidence and excitement about reaching people and topics we may not even be thinking of yet.

What energizes you most about this work?

Being part of the podcast helps me see how older people are ‘bucking’ stereotypes. The way our society is changing, it’s so different for some older people now. It’s exciting to talk to people and older adults who are helping even other older adults, 80-something, 90-something people still going, still creating. It’s energizing.

I’m always learning something, and that’s been a hallmark of the work I’ve been blessed to do all these years. That curiosity drives everything.

You’ve mentioned having a responsibility with this platform. How do you approach that?

I care about the people we interview. I want them to feel good about the experience, and maybe even more so because we want them to share and possibly come back. I love being able to circle back and see how things have developed.

What does “aging with attitude” mean to you now?

It absolutely still applies from when we first talked about it. Making a difference to help someone’s life be better in some way.

YOUR TURN

What people or topics would you like to learn more about in “Aging Rewired”?  Let us know in the comments!

 

NaBeela Washington, an emerging Black writer, holds a Master’s in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University and Bachelor’s in Visual Advertising from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has been published in Eater, The Cincinnati Review, and others. Learn more at nabeelawashington.com.

 

Photo: Sheila speaking at OATS 20th anniversary & podcast launch party. Jason DeCrow/AP Content Services for OATS from AARP.