Voices for Voices®

How To Find Your “Yes” In A World Of “No” | Episode 574 You know that idea you keep replaying in your head, the one you swear you will start when you have more time, better gear, more money, or more support? I want to challenge that story. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and this upbeat Voices for Voices message is about doing the thing anyway, even if someone has called it “just a hobby,” even if you have...

The Truth About Concussions: What You Need To Know Now | Episode 573 A concussion can look like a single moment on the field, but it can ripple into school, screens, work, and the rest of a person’s life. We dig into traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussions with a grounded, real-world perspective, starting with what I see as an instructor when student athletes get pulled from class for evaluat...

The Truth About Counterfeit Pills: Don't Let This Happen To You | Ep. 572 A pill can look “pharmacy legit” and still be a counterfeit tablet loaded with fentanyl. That’s not a headline to skim past. It’s a real-life setup that can unfold in a normal neighborhood, with a normal kid, on a normal weekend. We walk you through a guided story that starts with a sports injury, surgery, and a prescri...

Why I Couldn't Sleep: The Truth About My Dry Mouth Struggle | Episode 571 Dry mouth is not just annoying. When it messes with your sleep, your voice, and your daily routine, it can quietly take a real toll on mental health. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I’m sharing a very personal chain reaction that started with a dentist appointment and turned into a bigger conversation about medication side e...

Don't Let Analytics Define Your Worth | Episode 570 Your downloads spike, the compliments roll in, and suddenly it’s tempting to believe the hype. We’re celebrating a record-setting August for Voices for Voices, but we also slow down and talk honestly about what analytics can and cannot tell you. Numbers can be encouraging, but they’re still just a snapshot in time, and treating them like a s...

What If “Always Being On” Is The New Public Health Crisis | Episode 569 A selfie is never just a selfie anymore, and that’s the problem. We live in a world where kids and adults feel pressured to stay “on” at all times and to look camera ready on demand, even when it quietly wrecks self-esteem, sleep, and mental health. In this Voices for Voices solo talk, I connect that everyday pressure to a big...

When Life Doesn't Go To Plan: Finding Resilience After The Breaking Point | Episode 568 Life can change in a snap, and not always in the ways we would choose. We sit with the uncomfortable truth that things do not go as planned, then ask the bigger question hiding underneath it: if the hard parts never happened, would we still be who we are today? Justin shares a raw, personal reflection on r...

Is Your Teen Hiding Something? Why They Need a Shame-Free Exit Plan | Episode 567 Your kid texts one strange word and you’re on your way to pick them up. That part feels straightforward. The part most parents don’t plan for is what comes next: the fear of being judged at school, the whispering in the hallway, the worry about getting cut out of the next invite. We dig into how a “code word” pickup...

A hangout can go sideways in minutes: your kid is at a friend’s house, the hours stretch late, and then a couple people show up visibly drunk with alcohol in hand. Suddenly it’s not about video games or a movie night anymore. It’s about child safety, underage drinking risk, and whether your child has a clear way to get out without becoming the “dramatic one” in front of peers. We walk through a si...

Silence can feel like protection, until it starts feeling like pressure. We talk about what happens when you keep your hardest thoughts locked away, and why speaking up in therapy, psychiatry, or even a regular doctor visit can be the difference between staying stuck and finally moving forward. I share what I’ve learned the hard way: you often get out what you put in, and when you don’t share, you...

Life gets real when the gold stars stop. Once school ends and adulthood kicks in, a lot of us go from constant feedback to near silence and sometimes nonstop criticism. We sit with that shift and the questions it triggers: Why am I here? What am I supposed to do with my life? What do I want people to remember about me when time runs out? I share my own truth about major depression, the terrifying...

Silence is easy. It is also how the worst things keep winning. We sit with that tension and ask a blunt question: what is the meaning of our lives if we watch harmful realities pass by and say nothing? We trace a surprising comment someone shared with us, that Voices for Voices is a “modern day Martin Luther King Jr.” moment. We do not take that lightly or treat it like a compliment. Instead, we p...

A trafficker rarely looks like a stranger in a dark alley. Sometimes he looks like a charming boyfriend with money to burn, big promises, and a plan to isolate you. That’s why this conversation with Jeanette Bradley hit so hard for us. Jeanette is the founder of 2nd Chance Ministries in Ohio, a survivor of trafficking, and a relentless advocate for people who are treated as invisible. Her lived ex...

Someone steals a pair of shoes from a school locker and for a few hours it feels like they are just gone. That small moment turns into a bigger truth we do not say out loud enough: if you did not ask and you did not get permission, it is stealing. We walk through what happened, how it was done, and why clear language matters when you are trying to protect yourself and the people around you. From t...

Trying to “push through” alone can look strong from the outside, but it often feels brutal on the inside. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and this Voices for Voices solo conversation is a real-time check-in on what happens when we stop pretending we can carry our mental health, our stress, and our anxiety without help. I share why this show has become my version of journaling without a pen and how speaking...

Somebody’s lying, and a whole community is paying for it. We turn the floor over to our guest, David Solomon, who comes to Voices for Voices with a direct challenge to Lore Haven Episode 365 and a plea for what he says has been missing from the public conversation: receipts, context, and a fair hearing without threats. We walk through David’s timeline and the claims he says are being repeated abou...

Nearly one billion dollars in penalties. Court ordered teen protections. And one blunt question that every parent, coach, and guardian has to face: why are social platforms still making it so easy for adults to reach children directly? We dig into reporting on a New Mexico court ruling targeting Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, and we treat it like what it is to us: a public safety...

Your clothes don’t just reflect your body. They can shape your mood, your confidence, and the story you tell yourself when you look in the mirror. We get real about what happens when you return to the gym after years of being inactive and, only a few weeks in, shorts and shirts suddenly stop fitting. Is it muscle gain, leftover weight, or a mix of both? We walk through the uncertainty, the frustra...

Your plans are set, your mind is ready, and then you get the message: canceled. Power outage. No appointment today. We start from that exact frustration and talk honestly about the mental whiplash that comes with last-minute changes, especially when you were counting on that meeting to help you move forward. We walk through what “adaptability” really looks like when it’s not optional: separating w...

Consistency doesn’t start with a huge burst of motivation. It starts with a simple promise to yourself: get there, then do something. We share what it looks like to rebuild a gym routine after time off, why exercise can be “some of the best medicine,” and how staying in motion supports your health, mindset, and the people who count on you. If you’ve ever worried you’ll “fall off the horse” once th...

The camera makes it look simple, but the real work happens before the record button. I’m talking about the unglamorous, human side of podcasting and filming: picking a topic that matters, writing down ideas before they disappear, and finding the energy to execute when stress and anxiety are loud. If you’ve ever assumed creators “just talk,” this is a transparent look at everything you don’t see. I...

“Come as you are” is more than a lyric. It’s a blueprint for building a life and a community that doesn’t require you to clean yourself up before you’re allowed to belong. I’m Justin Alan Hayes, and I use this solo conversation to lay out what Voices for Voices stands for: real people, real struggles, and a place where you can show up in whatever season you’re in, including the messy one. We talk...

Tired, Imperfect, Still Learning | Real Talk On Fatherhood | Episode 552 Parenthood doesn’t politely fit into your old life. It takes over your calendar, rewrites your priorities, and asks you to become more patient than you thought possible. We share a real, close-to-home reflection on fatherhood, what it means to watch your child find joy, and why being present is often the most powerful kind of...

Court Dockets Don't Lie: Separating Fact from Trending Fiction | Episode 551 The easiest way to cut through a loud rumor is to look at the record that doesn’t care who’s trending. We talk about the lawsuit tied to Voices for Voices and why a public court docket matters when people claim “we’re the ones being sued” or try to flip the roles. If you’ve ever watched an online controversy turn int...

The First Amendment Doesn't Protect Threats—Here's Why Leaders Must Act | Episode 550 A single comment can travel the world in seconds, and when that comment hints at swatting or bodily harm, it stops being “internet drama” and becomes a public safety problem. We talk candidly about the line between free speech and threats, why we refuse to normalize violent talk, and what it means to ac...