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.
- Update frequency
- every 3 days
- Average duration
- 22 minutes
- Episodes
- 1077
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Could the 2020s be the Roaring Twenties again?
In the early 1920s, the world began to transform. The job market exploded. Culture, nightlife and the arts flourished. Long-held beliefs about gender, race, religion and politics were being challenge…
Will Ford change his tune? The fight over sick pay in Ontario
Public health officials, city mayors and small businesses have called for it: paid sick leave. It has been cited as a factor that’s been proven to slow the spread of COVID-19 — without the protection…
How Black health leaders took on COVID’s impact on Black communities and vaccine hesitancy
Dr. Allen Upton talks to "This Matters" host Saba Eitizaz about how Black health leaders pushed for a grounbreaking pilot project to find out why COVID-19 was disproportionately impacting Black commu…
Who’s allowed into Canada to work right now (and who isn’t)?
Despite restrictions, immigration data shows more than 322,000 people were granted work permits under temporary foreign worker programs. The second largest number of permits went to migrant workers. …
Vaccines, variants and the grey zone: Where Ontario is at now
Ontario is now fully in reopening mode after Toronto and Peel Region moved into the grey zone on Monday. Yet despite this sign of progress, case counts are inching upward and hit 1,600 earlier this w…
COVID collapsed ground gained for Indigenous women in business
Research has revealed despite a steady growth in recent years, Canadian businesses owned by Indigenous women already up against systemic barriers have fallen prey to COVID. Tabatha Bull, an Anishinaa…
Could Ontario’s Health Care Consent Act be suspended?
There’s a reason why some people refer to COVID-19 variants as “scariants.” If widespread, some of the modelling numbers are quite scary and eventual cases could overwhelm our health care system. If …
Airlines in panic mode as Canada clamps down on travel
The airline industry is in a financial tailspin as travel remains limited and borders of many countries are restricted because of COVID-19. In Canada’s aviation industry, airlines are under more pres…
There is a ‘diversity deficit’ in Canadian non-profits
In Canada’s non-profit sector, where many disenfranchised and racialized communities are considered, there is actually a diversity problem. A recent survey has revealed BIPOC are not represented in l…
Toronto’s encampments and homeless crisis: a view from the ground
Hundreds of encampments have popped up in Toronto’s city parks since the start of the pandemic. On “This Matters” we hear first-hand stories from Dom, an encampment resident who lives in Alexandra Pa…
Feeling pandemic fatigue? Here’s what’s happening in our brains and how to fight it
If you’re feeling tired and rundown: you’re not alone. There’s a name for what you’re feeling — pandemic fatigue — a biological response to your brain processing the “fight or flight” instinct over a…
Is this heaven? No, it’s Dunedin. Toronto Star baseball columnists talk Blue Jays
The boys of summer have reported for Spring Training, and thanks to some new additions, excitement for the Blue Jays is very high. Gregor Chisolm and Mike Wilner, the Star’s baseball columnists, join…
The rise of eating disorders in pandemic isolation
Digital culture has long had an impact on our relationship with our bodies. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has fed into that too. Managing our health is harder than ever. One result is an alarming rise o…
Who’s on (and who’s allowed to be on) Clubhouse?
A new voice chat-based social media app called Clubhouse has become the talk of tech town. Clubhouse offers something different in the social media space in that it’s focused on audio. Data shows dow…
O’Toole pushes the Conservatives to the political middle. Can it work?
The Conservative Party of Canada is in a rebuilding phase as leader Erin O’Toole says there is “no place for the far right” in the party and has signalled a shift to the middle of the political spect…
Kevin Donovan discusses the Sherman family’s succession battle
The battle over the multibillion dollar estate of Barry and Honey Sherman is something worthy of Shakespeare or HBO’s “Succession.” From business to charitable pursuits, the children of the Shermans …
Boko Haram survivors, Mellissa Fung and the complexity of shared trauma
In 2008, Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung was abducted while on assignment in Afghanistan. She survived 28 days of torture and captivity inside a hole in the ground. In her new documentary “Captive,…
How communities are fighting MZOs (Ministerial Zoning Orders)
The Province of Ontario is facing several battles over zoning after use of a tool called MZOs — Ministerial Zoning Orders — was found to expedite the planning process for new development. Some commun…
Double masks, vaccines and variants: your COVID cheat sheet
As lockdown orders have eased, many elements are still at play in the fight against COVID-19. Dr. Colin Furness, epidemiologist at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto,…
Flight risk: Canada’s new travel rules, explained
Are your travel plans up in the air? Do you want to make a run for the border? Canadians have been warned about non-essential travel, but for those who still cross borders the federal government has …