Behind the scenes at Toronto Star’s podcast ‘This Matters’

A new blog post at INMA takes listeners behind the scenes of how COVID-19 had an impact on the rollout of the Toronto Star’s popular daily This Matters podcast.

Before pandemic hit, team members had begun recording episodes in a pre-COVID work environment. Things changed dramatically when the pandemic was declared and everyone began working from home.

Faced with a steep learning curve, team members decided to embrace uncertainty.

“We made our debut episode in part about launching our first daily podcast in a pandemic, draped under blankets for sound quality and shooing away pets,” said outgoing editor Irene Gentle.

To date, listener numbers have exceeded expectations. In many ways, the daily episodes have helped guide listeners through an uncertain time.

“By its nature, podcasting is an intimate medium — literally a voice in your ear when you’re feeling alone and isolated. Its strength is its depth, so you hear experts help you through a time when you feel scared,” Gentle said.

You can read the full piece at INMA here.