Podfest 2025 with Sean James, Forbes Riley & Natasha Graziano on Owwill

Exploring The Villages: Insights from Podfest 2025

In this episode of Open Forum in The Villages, Florida, host Mike Roth introduces his passion project podcast, highlighting its aim to bring knowledge and inspiration to its audience. Recorded at Podfest 2025, the episode features discussions on various topics including the misconceptions about senior living in The Villages, the importance of staying mentally and physically active, and the educational opportunities at The Villages' Enrichment Academy, particularly courses on AI and podcasting. The show also delves into personal growth, the significance of lifelong learning, and the impact of community support on the show's sustainability. Additionally, Dr. Craig Curtis shares insights on Alzheimer's disease and the effects of alcohol use on brain health.

00:00 Introduction to the Open Forum Podcast
01:02 Support the Podcast
01:44 Humorous Interlude
01:57 Meet Mike Roth
02:34 The Villages and Podcasting
05:41 Secrets to Staying Young
07:47 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

Transcript

Mike Roth at Podfest 2025 with Sean James, Forbes Riley & Natasha Graziano

[00:00:00] Nancy: Welcome to the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida. In this show, we talk to leaders of clubs and interesting folks who live here in The Villages to get perspectives of what is happening here in The Villages, Florida. We are a listener supported podcast. There will be shout outs for supporters in episodes.

[00:00:25] Mike Roth: This is Mike Roth. Thanks for watching and listening. I'm thrilled to share with you this podcast, which is my passion project for you. Today you will see and hear me at Podfest 2025 in a video podcast done for Owwill. This podcast brings you knowledge, inspiration, and a lot of things that people need to know about the villages and the people living here. Be sure to hit the follow button to get the newest episode each week.

Creating this podcast is a labor of love. Even though it demands more time, I can easily spare. Now, here's where you come in. You can help us keep the podcast alive and thriving. How? By becoming a supporter. The easy way for you to support us is to visit our podcast: OpenForumInTheVillagesFlorida.com and click on the supporter button at the top of the page or the purple supporter box. Even a small donation of three to ten dollars a month makes a big difference and you can cancel your subscription at any time. Your support means the world to us. Stay curious, stay inspired, and keep those headphones on.

I hope everyone enjoys today's show.

You didn't 

[00:01:45] Forbes Riley: You didn't just say that out loud. Did you? Oh my god. You totally. 

[00:01:48] Mike Roth: Now, we know how old you are. There you go. 

[00:01:51] Forbes Riley: You're never supposed to. Don't we 

[00:01:52] Natasha Graziano: feel ancient? Thank you Natasha. 

[00:01:54] Mike Roth: Fell into a trap. Fell into a trap. No 

[00:01:55] Natasha Graziano: but congratulations. That's amazing. Okay and Mike, Ruff, tell us about you. 

[00:01:59] Mike Roth: I live in The Villages Florida.

I run a podcast called Open Forum in The Villages. Wait, wait, open what? Open Forum in The Villages, where we talk about all the truth and the good things that are happening in The Villages. I talk to real people, heads of clubs and organizations, even politicians. 

And What part of New York are you from?

I grew up In Brooklyn. 

Do know I was born in Maimonides Hospital in Flatbush. I get it. I know that I had to leave the accent. See, my accent wasn't as cute as Natasha's. If I could talk like Natasha, I'd have a much better word. . You know, my brother. 

[00:02:32] Natasha Graziano: Oh, I'm just got a British accent in Maimonides. 

[00:02:34] Forbes Riley: You know, I hear things about The Villages.

We just had Dr. Sex fair on, and I hear in The Villages there's a rampant amount of sex among seniors. Is that true? 

[00:02:44] Mike Roth: Of course there's sex among seniors, but the the rumors. are false. It is not the STD capital of the world. 

[00:02:54] Forbes Riley: All right. Tell everybody what you, what you do and what you want everyone to know why you're here today.

[00:02:59] Mike Roth: I'm here today to promote my podcast and learn more about podcasting and learn more about AI because I teach courses in both of those at the Enrichment Academy in The Villages. 

[00:03:09] Forbes Riley: You know what I love is that it's never too late. Is that one of your messages? Right. 

[00:03:13] Mike Roth: I mean, my, my enrichment academy course on AI.

Always sells out on the first day. That's amazing. 

[00:03:20] Forbes Riley: That's really amazing. 

[00:03:21] Mike Roth: It's amazing. I had a 92 year old gentleman. Take the course 

[00:03:25] Forbes Riley: Because it is never too late. I just hung out last week I was I did the Jacqueline juicer with jack and his wife, right? He started when he was 88 and we finished he died at 96 His wife is 98 years old on her way to being 99 and she just started a podcast You guys it's never too late.

Tell me one. What's one big takeaway from this event for you? 

[00:03:45] Sean James: I 

think

As someone that's about to turn 56 and you see the generation of AI and podcasts, the difference between broadcast and podcast is TV and what we're doing right this moment. And then I'm sitting next to a guy that's more gray than me, that's probably more relevant, has a bigger podcast than me, is what this is all about.

That there's older people in here, to what you said, it's not too late to be in the game. So I think it's extremely important that we can always get education, be around like minded people and learn. 

[00:04:22] Natasha Graziano: 100%. You know, it's never, there's never that point. It's just a new chapter in your life. When you decide, I want to have a podcast.

I was saying it to my cousin the other day. I was like, when you want to have a podcast, you just do it. You know, and it's like you just wake up that day and say, I'm going to share my story. I have something irresistible to share with the world that nobody else has. I have something that I want to get out there.

And in fact, I want to educate people in this certain field. And you just decide, why am I doing this podcast? What's the feeling that I want to do with this podcast? Like my podcast is number five in the U S for education, right? And how do I stay in that top five on Apple all year round? Because I'm educating around my topic, which is the law of attraction.

So, I'm constantly teaching people about success and education and, you know, how to attract your dream life, but in a scientific way, in so many ways. You just have to dominate your field, and it's never too late. I want to learn from someone like Mike Roth. I want to learn from the 98 year old. I want to learn from the 17 year old, because I'm going to learn from every single person and every single walk of life.

[00:05:21] Mike Roth: Well, there's a lot to learn, it's all, it's a lot to learn, there are a lot more people out there. You know, we've got 150, 000 people now in The Villages, and it's a boom town. It's going to double in size in the next 10 years. Yes. I did 150 episodes, and I haven't begun to scratch the surface of the stories that I have to tell.

[00:05:41] Forbes Riley: What's one of your secrets for staying young? 

[00:05:45] Mike Roth: Be active. Be mentally active and be physically active. 

[00:05:49] Forbes Riley: Same thing for you, Sean. What's one of your secrets? 

[00:05:51] Sean James: I think to interact with the opposite sex. I think, I'm a big fan of Forbes. I love you. I'm a fan of yours and the ideal of men and women can come together and learn from one another is I think where the direction that we need to get back to that we can actually coexist because if you look at it, you have two men on the right and two women on the left and we're learning from one another.

[00:06:13] Natasha Graziano: So true 

[00:06:14] Sean James: That's what's important to me that we stop this division but really bring it back to learning from one another and start to Ask questions and get information and process that information to actually help people. 

[00:06:26] Forbes Riley: One of the things that I absolutely love about what I get to do, whether it's on this podcast or on my own is sharing information is bringing together new thought leaders and listening to what people have to say.

But more importantly, taking action. Implementation is really important. We have one minute left. I have one word of my word. Two years ago was implementation. Then I burnt out last year was delegation this year. Domination. What's your one word for 2025?

Oh, I love this. Think about it for a second, Sean. 

[00:06:54] Sean James: See, the beauty is, is I'm thinking. And people have, have, have not taken the time to think before they open their mouth. 

[00:07:01] Natasha Graziano: Maybe thinking is the one for you. It is. Oh, I love that for the moment. 

[00:07:05] Sean James: So, As I said, I learned from this pretty beautiful girl on the right that has a little bitty gold thing right here that's so fly.

I'm going to say thinking is my go to word for 2025. 

[00:07:16] Forbes Riley: That's fascinating. 

[00:07:18] Mike Roth: Action. 

[00:07:18] Forbes Riley: Action. 

[00:07:19] Mike Roth: Take action. 

[00:07:21] Forbes Riley: Motivation. Motivation. Domination. We are doing it. Can I hear a yes? Yes. 

[00:07:25] Mike Roth: I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. 

[00:07:27] Forbes Riley: Yes. Alright, how do people find you, Sean? 

[00:07:29] Sean James: SeanJames23 on Instagram, X, on all platforms. SeanJames23. 

[00:07:35] Forbes Riley: Can you wipe that down?

[00:07:37] Mike Roth: You can find me on my podcast, OpenForumInTheVillagesFlorida. com. 

[00:07:42] Forbes Riley: Hey, everybody watching behind the scenes, give my gentleman a big round of applause. Thank you.

[00:07:47] Mike Roth: This is Mike Roth and Dr. Craig Curtis talking about Alzheimer's disease. Yeah. Dr. Curtis, can you talk about alcohol use and Alzheimer's? 

[00:07:56] Dr. Craig Curtis: Yes, Mike. They have had studies out for years that show those with, that have one to two drinks a day actually have a lower risk of heart attack or stroke. And in a study published.

[00:08:08] Mike Roth: That's interesting that means that people who totally abstain from alcohol Have a higher risk? 

[00:08:14] Dr. Craig Curtis: That's a, difficult question, Mike. It's yes, those that abstain from alcohol, not with Alzheimer's disease, but actually had a slightly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. However, so this was a study published in June of 2023 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologies in stress signaling in the brain.

So essentially they had less stress, which we've always known. is a risk factor for a heart attack or stroke, but the American College of Cardiology currently is not advocating for the use of alcohol to reduce your risk of heart attack or strokes because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health.

[00:08:54] Warren: With over 20 years of experience studying brain health, Dr. Curtis's goal is to educate the village's community on how to live a longer, healthier life. To learn more, visit his website, craig curtis md.com, or call 3 5 2 5 0 0 5 2 5 2 to attend a free seminar.

[00:09:10] Nancy: Remember, our next episode will be released next Friday at 9 a. m. Should you want to become a major supporter of the show or have questions, please contact us at mike at rothvoice dot com. This is a shout out for supporters Ed Williams, Duane Rommich, Paul Sorgen, Kathy Loving, and Dr. Craig Curtis at K2 in the Villages.

We will be hearing more from Dr. Curtis with short Alzheimer's tips each week. If you know someone who should be on the show, contact us at mike at rothvoice dot com. The way our show grows is with your help. Text your friends about this show if you enjoyed listening, or just tell your friends about the show.

We thank everyone for listening to the show. The content of the show is copyrighted by Rothvoice 2025. All rights reserved.