While most teenagers are streaming the latest pop hits, Caleb Schneider is programming big band music from the 1940s. The Georgia teen runs G.I. Jive Radio, a free online station that streams Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and the Andrews Sisters 24 hours a day to thousands of listeners who remember when this music topped the charts.
What started as one boy's fascination with World War II history at age nine has evolved into something much bigger: a
streaming radio station featuring 1940s big band music that serves a loyal audience of veterans, history enthusiasts, and listeners in their 40s through 80s. The format includes not just music, but period-correct commercials and educational segments about WWII history.
Building Community Around History
The station stands apart from its main competitor, SiriusXM's 40s Junction channel, in several ways. While that service requires a monthly subscription, Schneider keeps his station free. More significantly, where SiriusXM's 40s Junction Facebook page has sat dormant for nearly six years, Schneider actively engages with his audience daily. His Facebook community has grown organically through these interactions.
Schneider's commitment extends beyond the microphone. He's an active member of the Atlanta WWII History Round Table, the Eighth Air Force Historical Society Georgia Chapter, and the Winston Churchill Society of Georgia. He volunteers regularly at Camp Toccoa at Currahee and helps with the National Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum's Flags for the Fallen Event.
Recognition and Impact
This work earned him the 2025 Billy Michal Student Leadership Award from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Only one student per state receives this honor, and Schneider will represent Georgia. The nomination came specifically for his work with WWII veterans, including friendships he's cultivated with several of them.
He's put his platform to practical use, too. When a local WWII veteran needed a new sofa, Schneider used his
online radio platform to raise more than $1,100 for the purchase. Local media took notice—the Gainesville Times has featured him three separate times.
Looking Ahead
Schneider's ambitions match his drive. He's watching his listener numbers climb and thinks big: potentially launching a SiriusXM channel or even taking over the existing 40s Junction slot. More importantly, he wants to continue leveraging the station to support living WWII veterans while they're still here.
The station fills a genuine gap. Finding quality big band music without a paid subscription was difficult before Schneider created his solution. Now, anyone can tune in and hear the same songs that kept spirits up during wartime, complete with the historical context that makes this
WWII history and music service educational as well as entertaining.
It's an unusual business model: a free service run by someone too young to drive, serving an audience old enough to be his great-grandparents. But in an age of algorithm-driven playlists and isolated listening experiences, Schneider has created something genuinely communal—a gathering place for people who remember this music the first time around, and those who want to understand that era better.
