This Matters

About This Matters

The world is changing every day. Now, more than ever, these questions matter. What's happening? And why should you care? This Matters, a daily news podcast from the Toronto Star, aims to answer those questions, on important stories and ideas, every day, Monday to Friday. Hosts Saba Eitizaz and Ed Keenan talk to their fellow journalists, experts and newsmakers about the social, cultural, political and economic stories that shape your life.

Publisher

Toronto Star

Category

news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Mar 2020

Latest episode

19 Jan 2026

Latest episodes

157 of 1,102 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   19 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Olympian Kingpin: The Hunt for Ryan Wedding

   Guest: Calvi Leon, Staff Reporter In 2002, Ryan Wedding represented Canada an Olympic snowboarder. Today, the FBI describes him as a modern-day Pablo Escobar. Alleged to be the mastermind behind a massive, violent drug trafficking empire, Wedding is now the target of a global manhunt with a $15 million bounty on his head. Star reporter Calvi Leon has been reporting on this case for years, likely longer than any other reporter. In this episode, she takes us through the chilling transformation of an elite athlete into "El Jefe."; from allegedly engineering narco-terrorism programs to orchestrating targeted murders and moving record-breaking amounts of cocaine into Canada. Calvi also brings us up to speed on the latest news of the case. Plus: We've been sitting on a secret. At the end of this episode, we can finally let you in on it. Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston and Sean Pattendon

2. 

   5 Dec 2025TRANSCRIPT

   A shadowy crypto-to-cash system is surging in Canada. Star reporters went undercover to reveal how it works

   Toronto Star journalists Sheila Wang and Emma McIntosh discuss their undercover investigation exposing Canada's unregulated crypto-to-cash system and its risks for money laundering, in this interview episode.

3. 

   3 Dec 2025

   Why so many skilled immigrants are leaving Canada

   Immigration reporter Ghada Alsharif discusses a new study revealing why highly skilled immigrants are leaving Canada, highlighting a growing crisis as the country loses top global talent in this interview.

Inside a recent episode

Olympian Kingpin: The Hunt for Ryan Wedding

Published 19 Jan 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Ryan Wedding. Yeah, I mean, former coaches and teammates sort of described him as a little bit of a mixed bag. I mean, some sort of said he was confident. He was kind, energized, focused, and then others described him as a bit more cocky and arrogant, you know, sort of that classic teenage boy. He was one of the youngest members of the team at the time. And he had been training amongst the best for a couple of years. Well, he was still finishing high school. And he was doing well too. We know that he only plays 24th at the Olympics, but he had potential. Right. Okay, so 24th didn't meddle, but still quite an achievement to go to the Olympics. […]

Who has been a guest on This Matters

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Sheila Wang
• Emma McIntosh
• Ghada Alsharif
• Ben Mussett
• Omar Mosleh

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

1,093,715,475

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.4 / 5

16 ratings

Spotify

4.1 / 5

104 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 84 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

93

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

97

Contact This Matters

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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