The Story of Empower Radio
Empower Radio Returns for our 17th Anniversary!
Empower Radio began as an idea scribbled on the back of a receipt following a lunch in 2007.
What if there was a way to leverage the power of radio to help raise consciousness and connect with people in a deeper, more meaningful way.
What if... there was a radio network designed to lift people up.
Something that wasn’t religious or political, but appealed to our highest potential and the greater good. Instead of tearing people down, we built them up. Gave them hope and tools to use during challenging times. Created a safe haven away from the negativity that surrounds us every day.
A network to EMPOWER people in every area of their lives.
The idea finally became a reality in 2009 when founder Brent Carey resigned his radio programming position out West and headed back to Michigan to launch Empower Radio.
Empower Radio began as an internet station broadcasting from the basement of a group of stations in Northern Michigan where Brent was consulting.
Live shows were made available after broadcast as podcasts. The audience wasn’t really sure how to use podcasts, so they were called “shows on-demand” while the audience was educated what this new podcast world was all about.
Empower was one of first national podcast networks offering podcast subscriptions for shows broadcast on the station
Slowly, but steadily, Empower Radio found an audience – and the right voices. Radio veterans and emerging leaders in personal development, spirituality, and health/wellness from across the country began to join our team.
The station moved into the Specs Howard School of Media Arts building in 2012 and continued to expand our lineup of hosts. The network grew organically into one of the leading online platforms for personal development and spirituality content. We also built a dedicated studio team to help bring it all together every day.
Core programming topics on Empower Radio include: Self-help, relationships, health & wellness, mental health, mindfulness, meditation, women’s issues, finances, spirituality, metaphysics, consciousness, the power of gratitude, and overcoming life challenges.
While life continued to change more quickly with every passing year, our programming adjusted to offer support and help people navigate those changes successfully.
Changing Times
Empower Radio moved into a new expanded studio in Spring of 2019. Unfortunately, just as we were getting used to our new surroundings, the world changed in March 2020. Thanks to our incredible studio team and hosts, we managed to keep going during the difficult days of the pandemic. A few shows added video to compliment the audio content and expand reach while people were homebound. While Empower was able to continue, the rising costs and other challenges led to us to press pause on the network in 2022.
The Evolution of Empower
After 13 years as an online radio station and podcast network, we transformed into The Empower Channel in 2024.
The same mission of personal empowerment, now with a video focus on YouTube, Facebook, X and Substack. We launched Empower TV on our YouTube channel to celebrate our 16th anniversary in 2025, offering a 24/7 stream of our most inspiring conversations. Now for our 17th anniversary, we’re going back to where it all started.
Empower Radio Returns
We’re celebrating our 17th anniversary by bringing back Empower Radio for a limited time. The station is online now at www.empowerradio.com featuring the very best conversations from 2009 right up to today.
We’ve opened up the archives to highlight our wonderful hosts and shows that in many cases, are even more relevant today than when they first aired. You will also hear new episodes from hosts Bonnie Wirth and Lisa Campion each week. Empower Radio will remain live through the summer.
A sincere thank you to every host, listener, supporter, contributor and team member over the past 17 years. We appreciate you!
Great job, Brent and crew! I promise to get back to you soon...