YXE Underground podcast a part of history as its third season begins

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When COVID-19 shut down the Junos along with almost everything else in the province, Anderson was forced to temporarily reorient the focus of his podcast.

“When the pandemic first started, I wanted to tell stories where the pandemic was directly impacting certain people, maybe certain organizations,” he said.

His first COVID-19-related podcast came from his own place of employment — the Sherbrooke Community Centre — where he focused on how people in the city were keeping vulnerable citizens safe. Then it featured housing advocate Chris Randall to discuss the homeless population’s struggles in the pandemic, followed by Candace Gabriel talking about the importance of the Summer Snack Program.

Stevie Horn, a special collections librarian with the Saskatoon Public Library, said someone recommended Anderson’s podcasts to her for the COVID-19 collection project, so she reached out to him personally to make the request.

Horn said the collection currently includes more than 200 individual items, both digital and physical. The project is still accepting submissions, and Horn said digital items like a podcast fill a different niche for the library.

“Podcasts seem to be enduring in a way blogs and other media aren’t necessarily,” Horn said. “They’re less ephemeral than some online things are.”

As Anderson steps into his third season — the recently-released first episode is about Wanuskewin and the people working there — he said it’s exciting to know some of his podcasts will be preserved for future listeners.

Going into a new season, there are always more stories to tell.

“Right now, we’re living in the midst of a historical event,” he said. “I just admire the people that are continuing to do what they do to make this community such an amazing place.”

maolson@postmedia.com