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Aiden Levy is a Gen Alpha teen who has grown up with streaming, smartphones and TikTok. But the soundtrack to his childhood has always been the Beatles.
At just 15, he's the youngest host in the history of SiriusXM's The Beatles Channel. Through their show We Want to Tell You, Levy and cohost Elizabeth Bonker are helping reshape Beatles coverage for a new generation.
Levy and Bonker bring warmth, humor and genuine fandom to the show. But the show stands out for another reason: Both are nonspeakers with autism who use text-to-speech technology to share their commentary.
"I'm amazed that technology allows a nonspeaker to host a radio show," Levy tells Yahoo. "I never imagined the possibility."
The long and winding road to radio
Levy was 6 years old when he communicated for the first time, pointing to letters on a letterboard, a tool for spelling out words. Because of autism and apraxia, the latter a neurological condition that affects motor planning, he can't speak or write with a pen.
With a way to communicate came the ability to share what mattered most to him. That quickly became the Beatles.
"I shared that the Beatles were my favorite band, and Paul McCartney was my dream concert," Levy says. "The Beatles Channel became our primary radio station in the car after that."
One of the channel's programs, My Fab Four, invites fans to share their favorite Beatles songs. Levy's father, Piet Levy, a music reporter with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, encouraged his son to submit his list in 2023. The following year, SiriusXM came calling.
Levy says SiriusXM's vice president of programming, Lou Simon, was intrigued by the perspective of a young Beatles fan who happened to be a nonspeaker and invited him to cohost the monthly show.
"It was one of the most thrilling moments of my life," he says.
Levy already knew Bonker through her advocacy work following her viral college commencement address in 2022. As SiriusXM explored the logistics of creating a show presented by nonspeakers, Levy recommended Bonker, who soon joined him as cohost.
"It was important to me for our show to celebrate our love of the Beatles and talk about our mission to free nonspeakers from suffering in silence," says Bonker, the 28-year-old founder of the nonprofit Communication 4 All.
The new custodians of Beatles storytelling
More than six decades after Beatlemania, the band remains one of the world's biggest music brands, with new documentaries, anniversary releases and streaming introducing the Fab Four to successive generations. Levy and Bonker are among those now carrying that legacy forward.
Their entry points reflect that perspective. Asked about their favorite Beatles movies, they don't name A Hard Day's Night or Yellow Submarine. Instead, Levy says Peter Jackson's 2021 documentary The Beatles: Get Back turned him into a superfan. Bonker's pick is Julie Taymor's Across the Universe, the 2007 movie musical built around Beatles songs.
Their expertise is self-taught and well-researched. Levy keeps a stack of Beatles books nearby while writing each episode. Bonker says she studies the songs themselves for inspiration and turns to A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song as a reference.
Their generation may consume music differently than previous ones, but they say the emotional pull of the Beatles hasn't changed.
"Times are different, but the Beatles' music is eternal, and the big feelings they generate in a person are as powerful as ever," Levy says. "I imagine the joy I feel listening to the Beatles is similar to the joy a teenager experienced at the height of Beatlemania in 1964."
Bonker agrees. "I am 28 years old and can relate to the Beatles just as much as my mother and grandmother."
A day in the life
Every episode of We Want to Tell You begins with Levy suggesting a theme — like animals and fictional characters. Then he and Bonker swap song selections and build the script together, passing it back and forth until it's complete.
Their words are then converted into audio using text-to-speech software and voices they selected themselves. Because Levy communicates by pointing to one letter at a time, producing about 10 minutes of finished commentary can take several hours. "It's a very long process," the high school student says.
Bonker credits Microsoft's Speech Studio for helping make their voices sound more natural. The result is a show that feels like eavesdropping on two friends obsessing over the Beatles.
There is "joy in our shows," says Bonker — and that's important. "People often associate disability with sadness. We want to show how people with disabilities have gifts to share with the world."
Beatles love
Levy has fulfilled his childhood dream of seeing McCartney in concert — twice — last fall. He also saw Ringo Starr live. The three separate shows were "the three greatest nights of my life."
He says McCartney and Starr have "gone above and beyond making us feel welcome." Sean Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison and Dhani Harrison have sent messages sharing their support and love of the show, which "meant the world to me."
The positive feedback extends beyond Beatles royalty.
"Definitely some of the most rewarding responses have been from nonspeakers and their loved ones who are so excited that nonspeakers are on the radio," Levy says.
Bonker recalls one listener, Carolyn, who told her she had to pull off the road because she was crying.
"Her son is a nonspeaker with autism, and we had given her hope that he, too, could learn to type to communicate and live a life filled with meaning and joy."
