CAZENOVIA — For more than six years, Cazenovia resident and psychotherapist Nicole Christina has been using her multi-award-winning podcast, “Zestful Aging,” to spread the message that aging is about growing better, not just older.
The interview-format podcast is heard in 106 countries and can be found on all major podcast platforms. It is also streamed on WCNY/Community FM.
Guests include filmmakers, writers, advocates, poets, musicians, scientists, athletes, and entrepreneurs, many of whom are top experts in their fields.
“[The through line is] optimism as we age,” said Christina. “I want to challenge the narrative of decay and decline. In fact, many people over 60 report that they’ve never felt happier. It’s important to navigate the challenges as well as the joys. It’s a balancing act. Living with zest is the basic theme.”
Christina has over 30 years of experience in psychotherapy. Her private practice specializes in anxiety, depression, grief, food and body issues, and positive aging.
She tried out podcasting at the suggestion of her technical assistant, who was helping with her online courses and suspected her personality would make for a good podcast host.
“The next day, I took my laptop to my meditation retreat co-leader Vicky Lane’s house,” Christina recalled. “She’s a New York State fishing guide and volunteers with women who are recovering from cancer. We had led a fly fishing and meditation retreat together in Chittenango. While we were talking, I knew I wanted to do more [interviews]. It felt effortless and wonderful. I’ve never looked back.”
She decided to focus her podcast on aging to help address topics repeatedly brought up by her clients.
“I was noticing that my psychotherapy clients were asking questions that were also on my mind,” she said. “[They asked things] like, ‘What’s next?’ ‘How do I want to spend the rest of my life?’ ‘What’s important to me?’ ‘What might retirement look like?’”
As of March 18, Christina had released 367 interviews with 20 more waiting to be aired.
The podcaster said a particularly memorable episode was with python elimination specialist Donna Kalil.
“People love the story of riding shotgun with python hunter Donna Kalil in the Florida Everglades,” Christina said. “Her mission is to remove the invasive Burmese python because they are eating all the mammals. I was down in Florida playing tennis in the National Senior Games and asked if I could shadow her. It was quite an adventure. If you have a strong stomach, look her up on Facebook.”
Christina has also interviewed actress Sandy Fish, who was on the Netflix drama series “Sense8” and spends her free time leading an initiative to train incarcerated people in San Quentin State Prison in end-of-life caregiving.
“Many of the prison population are also aging, and she wants to bring some humanity to the dying process,” noted Christina.
Another impactful interview was conducted with two women climate scientists in the North Pole via satellite.
“Honestly, there are too many great [interviews] to mention,” Christina said. “I’m a social worker by training, so most of my interviews have some kind of humanitarian theme. I don’t do any episodes about how to look younger. I focus on living with purpose.”
In 2021, the “Zestful Aging” podcast was selected as a finalist at the International Women’s Podcast Awards.
The following year, the show won gold in the best podcast category at the Hermes Awards, silver in the best podcast category at the Anthem Awards, and silver in the best podcast host category at the Communicator Awards.
Most recently, the podcast received a 2023 Speak Up Talk Radio Positive Change Award and a 2023 Davey Award for Social Good.
Christina is also the author of the book “Not Just Chatting: How to Become a Master Podcast Interviewer,” in which she shares her interviewing expertise to inspire the next generation of podcast hosts.
On May 2, Christina will present “Embracing Change: Cultivating Positive Body Image in Midlife” at the Cazenovia Public Library.
She is hoping to facilitate conversations that challenge the negative view many women have about their aging bodies.
The presentation will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Betsy Kennedy Community Room.
For more information, find the event on the calendar at cazenoviapubliclibrary.org.
To learn more about Christina’s work and her podcast, visit the zestfulaging.com.
