Veterans can benefit from assorted types of media outreach that familiarize them with their issues of concern. Whether it’s by video, radio or podcast platforms, there’s never a shortage of topics to communicate to Veterans.
VA’s efforts to highlight these media outlets are part of the newly launched VA Radio Outreach initiative. The heart of the initiative is VA’s internally recorded public service announcements (PSAs) on services, benefits and programs that benefit Veterans, including the PACT Act, VA’s new crisis line number, VA’s Million Veteran Program, VA’s new health and benefits app and much more. Every one of the PSAs is listed on this page and is available for download as an MP3 recording.
The following is a list of some of the many podcasts and radio stations with shows that focus on Veterans’ issues. Please share the names of any other such media outlets in the comments section of this article to help us identify more shows to reach out to.
Veterans Corner Radio Podcast
Veterans Corner Radio focuses on what Veterans and their families need to know to maximize the services and benefits due to them. No matter if someone is currently serving or left the military 50 years ago, the program provides answers to questions that Veterans didn’t even know they should be asking. Each show is roughly a 15-minute investment in the future of Veterans and that of their families. The podcast’s website includes a library of shows featuring more than 140 interviews.
Air Force Veteran Bill Hodges hosts Veterans Corner Radio, which airs on four radio stations in Florida: Sun Radio WSCQ FM 96.3; New Beginning Radio WKOT FM 102.1; Phoenix Community Radio WPHX FM 101.9; and Power 901 WYPW FM 90.1. The show is also available on podcast apps including Apple, Google, Pandora and Spotify.
The Veterans Voice
The Veterans Voice is aimed at giving a voice to Veterans and improving the lives of Veterans, active-duty military and their families in a weekly, one-hour format presentation. The podcast highlights transition, employment, housing, financial, food, health, wellness and recreational resources available to all members of the military-connected community. The Veterans Voice is a service of Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is presented by the United States Automobile Association (USAA).
Two hosts of The Veterans Voice are Mike Lewis, a 30-year Veteran of the Navy Reserve, and Ted Robertson, who was raised in an Army family and raised a Marine. Their broadcast airs on KRDO 105.5 FM, 1240 AM and 92.5 FM in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Army Veteran Cassime Joseph hosts The Veterans Voice on KTSC 89.5 FM in Pueblo, Colorado. The show is also streamed on Wreaths Across America Radio and is available on more than a dozen podcast apps, including Amazon Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, iTunes and Google.
Oscar MikeRadio
Hosted by Marine Veteran Travis Partington, Oscar Mike Radio is a show about real-life stories of active-duty military and Veterans. For more than six years, the show has been raising awareness about the people and programs that support the military and Veterans. Oscar Mike Radio has interviewed Veteran business owners, musicians and athletes, and has covered pressing issues like PTSD, military sexual trauma and Veteran advocacy.
Oscar Mike Radio is part of the Veteran Podcast Network and is available on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, YouTube and Facebook, among other platforms.
Sites Serve as a Hub for Veterans Podcasts
The Veteran Podcast Network is a hub of Veteran-hosted content. The network is home to more than 60 Veteran shows ranging in topics from transition, suicide, military sexual trauma, health care, business, nonprofits and hobbies. One can find a show that fits your needs. Episodes from all shows are posted in real-time on Facebook. Travis Johnson, a Navy Veteran, runs the Veteran Podcast Network and the Veteran Podcast Awards, which honor the community of Veteran podcasters.
For over a decade, American Warrior Radio has told the stories of those who protect us at home and abroad—the men and women of the U.S. military and first responders. Guests include nationally recognized names, as well as people you have never heard of but should know. Regular features include Veteran entrepreneurs, support-non-profit organizations and a quarterly Distinguished Flying Cross segment. The host, Ben Buehler-Garcia, never served, which is why he considers it his duty to support those who do.
American Warrior Radio’s flagship radio station is KVOI 1030 AM in Tucson, Arizona. The show also airs on
- KFNX 1100 AM in Phoenix
- KJJC 1230 AM in Salt Lake City
- KPPF 98.5/98.7 FM and 1040 AM in Colorado Springs, Colorado
- KWOC 93.3 FM/930 AM in Poplar Bluff, Missouri
- WOBL 107.7 FM/1320 AM and WDLW 98.9 FM/1380 AM in Oberlin, Ohio
- WGH 100.9 FM/1310 AM in Norfolk, Virginia
Plus, American Warrior Radio is streamed on Wreaths Across America Radio and is available on such podcast apps as iHeartRadio, Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher and TuneIn
Wreaths Across America Radio is a 24/7 internet radio station, not a podcast. But one thing that Wreaths Across America does is aggregate podcasts and radio shows that provide information for Veterans. Along with its informational and inspiring content, Wreaths Across America Radio plays various music with the roots firmly planted in patriotism. A country music thread runs through the stream. Wreaths Across America Radio has a live show every weekday from 6 to 10 a.m. EST, along with special programs that support the mission to remember, honor and teach. In addition to its national internet availability, Wreaths Across America is available on the platforms iHeartRadio, Audacy and TuneIn, as well as LIVE365, an internet radio network.
National Defense Network
The National Defense Network produces two shows hosted by radio industry veteran Randy Miller: The National Defense (radio) and Celebrity Salute (podcast). The network’s mission is to inform, entertain and honor the men and women who wear or have worn the uniform. The network covers all relevant issues related to active-duty military, Veterans and their families, and it serves as kind of a “USO of the radio,” with top celebrities and newsmakers coming on each week to support the troops. The shows cover transition issues, employment, health care and legislation, while spotlighting a different Veterans service organization (VSO) each week from its partnerships with 24 of the top VSO’s in the country, including Team Rubicon, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans and the Wounded Warrior Project.
The National Defense, a weekly two-hour show, is heard on more than 100 radio stations in the United States and worldwide on the Armed Forces Radio Network. Celebrity Salute, a weekly podcast, is available on multiple apps, including iHeartRadio, iTunes, Spotify and Google.
Army Matters Podcast
The Army Matters Podcast by the Association of the United States Army amplifies the voices of the Army one story at a time. The stories speak to the listeners’ wide range of interests and lived experiences, with episodes covering inspirational leadership stories, current issues for non-commissioned officers, the journeys of military families and an in-depth look into the Army’s past, present and future. Topics of interest to Veterans are woven into the programming, including Veteran entrepreneurs (Growing the Grains of Success) and stories of battlefield heroes and survivors: Moral Courage and the Fight, Three Million Stories of Heroism and Bravery and The Importance of Getting Back Up Again… and Again… and Again.
Army Veterans Les Smith and Dan Dailey host the Army Matters Podcast, which airs on multiple radio stations and is available on apps including Spotify, iTunes, Google and Podbean.
Got Your Six Podcast
The Got Your Six Podcast is a weekly podcast that brings together active-duty service members and Veterans. They share their methods, strategies and ideas in an informative and, most importantly, actionable way that will help in one’s transition from the battlefield to the board room. Leveraging the lessons of embracing failure and overcoming adversity are common themes discussed by the show’s guests. Tony Nash, an active-duty Army field artillery offer, hosts the Got Your Six Podcast. His passion about transformational leadership inspired him to create the show.
The podcast airs on Wreaths Across America Radio and is available on Apple, Spotify and Google, among other platforms.
American Hero Show
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills is a wounded warrior, motivational speaker, bestselling author and an advocate for Veterans and amputees. On the American Hero Show, Mills brings his larger-than-life personality, sense of humor and uniquely inspirational perspective to conversations with Americans from all walks of life: military, business, sports, first responders and many more. For instance, he has interviewed Mike Eruzione, captain of the U.S. hockey team that inspired the country by capturing a Gold Medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics, and former New York Congressman Peter King, an Army Veteran. The project benefits the Travis Mills Foundation, which supports special-needs Veterans and their families. Mills is a quadruple amputee from injuries he suffered in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The American Hero Show airs on Wreaths Across America Radio and is available on such podcast platforms as Spotify and iTunes.
Never Stop Serving Podcast
The Military Officers Association of America’s (MOAA’s) Never Stop Serving Podcast, hosted by retired Army Lt. Col. Olivia Nunn, tackles issues important to service members, Veterans and their families. Now in its third season, the podcast shares first-person accounts from the post-9/11 conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The audience hears directly from the men and women who survived the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan about how their combat experiences shaped the people they are today. Past seasons have included topics such as retirement pay, Veteran suicide, Agent Orange and burn pits.
Each episode can be streamed on MOAA’s website and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Podchaser and TuneIn.
Sitch Radio
[Both of these podcasts are now on Apple]
Sitch Radio produces several podcasts, including The Field Op and Combat Vet Vision. The Field Op, hosted by Marine Veteran Francisco “Pacho” Correa Hernandez, is a forum for service members and Veterans to share and acquire information on many different topics, including transitioning out of the service, mental health, VA claims and benefits and suicide prevention. Combat Vet Vision, hosted by Navy Veteran and Purple Heart recipient Aaron Seibert, focuses on non-profit organizations that are doing wonderful things for Veterans. Seibert is a keynote speaker for many military, civilian and non-profit groups, as he supports the needs of combat Veterans and educates the public.
Both podcasts are available on more than 10 platforms, including iTunes, Spreaker, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts and Pod.link.