Reviving my podcast: learning how to be old

Reviving a podcast that snored

It’s time to revive my podcast and revamping it to suit today’s world.

I feel sad whenever a favourite podcast stops — yet I let my own one take an extremely long nap. Its name, rather alarmingly, is How To Be Old.

Finally I’m paying attention to this dear little comatose podcast, and giving it CPR.

Stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive… Hey, look at that: it’s waking up, like Rip Van Winkle. It was not dead, it was dormant. I have reason to hope that soon my revived podcast will start talking to you again.

It was only asleep for two and a half years. But if a podcast sleeps for even two and a half years, it wakes up to a world that has changed. And so I am about to renovate.

Perils of the introvert podcaster

At first the podcast How To Be Old was based on my poems, it was a little bit literary, and then — it lost its way. I had interviewed a couple of other poets but it was mostly about me, for me. In more ways than one.

Now this is natural, because I’m an introvert. So I’m perfectly happy thinking my own thoughts, either inside my skull (which is almost a definition of the introvert) or out loud in a podcast. I like to riff and rant even if nobody is listening. Talking to myself is quite fun too.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Like most introverts I have learned that other people are really interesting and I love listening to your thoughts. But with a podcast it’s particularly easy to forget about the audience. They’re invisible. And on most podcast platforms there’s no comments section, so there’s none of the lovely interaction that we get with a blog. That is the number one risk for an introvert. No feedback, no reality checks.

• I never once looked at the stats for my podcast.
• I assumed that about four people listened to it. Maybe five. Ever. That didn’t bother me.
• I was delighted and astonished when anyone told me they listened and liked it.
• But it was something I did purely for my own amusement. I was just having fun, and feeling my way.

What changed my attitude to podcasting

So. I’ve just spent two years working on a play called The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People. As a result, I’m different and my goals are different.

The play was a runaway success, with a sold-out season. People travelled from Keri Keri, Te Awamutu, Ohope Beach, Whanganui, Rotorua, Christchurch, Gisborne and Gore to see it. (Those are big and little towns all over New Zealand.)

The theatre was full almost from the start, and initially it must have been the topic that attracted audiences. Unusually, this was a play that declared its topic like a headline: The Secret Lives of Extremely Old People. And it did what it said on the tin. Now (judging by the feedback we’ve received) I foresee the play having a life of its own in community theatres.

So I deduce that that there’s a hunger out there for meaty content about old age, especially extreme old age. That is a hunger that I can satisfy, if I put my mind to it. After all, I’ve been reading and thinking and writing about this for about seven years now.

Back to my dormant podcast. In New Zealand, I can’t find any enduring, regular podcast about old age, just intermittent episodes and otherwise a void.

My new year resolution: reviving the podcast

• I’m revamping my podcast about aging to make it more useful and appealing
• I will make every effort to reach a big general audience
• I will find a way to make the podcast social and encourage conversation
• This time, it won’t be only for my own amusement: I will do it to help others.

This introvert (me) is serious. I’ve even written a business plan. And by going public, I’m committed, I’m accountable, I’m answerable to you. (Heavens! Am I crazy?)

Learning how to be old can be a social thing

My premise: I’m learning how to be old. I’m 83, and I’m learning from books, from other people, from scientific research, from experts, and from personal experience. And so are you: learning how to be old We are alone as we face old age — but we are all aging together.

My subtext: humans tend regard old humans as Others. Then suddenly, the penny drops and we realise that we too might be old one day. It’s great when the moment of enlightenment is a good one and we start to look forward to the next stage of life.

My process: I’ll aim for an episode every two weeks. Wish me luck. In every episode I will be learning how to be old. There’ll be tips and quotes and poems and maybe jokes, who knows? Sometimes I’ll interview people of 80 or older and ask them about their own aging. My first subject is an artist friend who has just been awarded her black belt in tae kwando.

Next steps for the introvert’s podcast

I will be focused outwards for this project. But that won’t stop me having fun!

1. I will need new artwork with one extra word inserted: Not just How To Be Old, but Learning How To Be Old. (Done! That was fun.)
2. I’ll do a few episodes before publishing, to find my feet. (That’ll be fun.)
3. I’ll do a lot of research around the geeky technical stuff. (That’ll be fun.)
4. Then I’ll set things up, technically. (I’m getting some help.)
5. Then I’ll launch. And carry on with the rest of the plan.

That’s it. I’ll soon be reviving my podcast, which was snoring alone in a corner. I’m feeling very brave and also scared.

Links to posts and notes about podcasts

• 17 essential Podcast statistics — the Social Shepherd
• When and how to change a podcast name—Castos (I decided not to)
• How to find my podcast—Rachel, February 2021