As Eric Anderson enters into the fifth season of his community podcast YXE Underground, it’s worth looking back to see what’s happened since he began his project.
A global pandemic. More than 60 episodes published to Apple Podcasts. Dozens and dozens of interviews with people from all walks of life throughout Saskatoon.
The success of the podcast, Anderson said, is not something he takes for granted.
“I had no idea I was going to get through a first season,” he said with a laugh.
Anderson started YXE Underground back in 2018 as a way to tell the untold stories of community leaders and helpers throughout Saskatoon. Drawing on his prior experience as a radio journalist with CBC, he worked to develop a podcast that would continually get up close and personal with some of the best the city has to offer.
The podcast gives a snapshot of Saskatoon every time it comes out. From those working with our most vulnerable populations to artists and architects and university professors, Anderson has explored some of the most unsung heroes of his hometown.
One of the most surprising things he’s learned since doing the podcast, is how interconnected the community is.
He gave an example of how multiple episodes he had done — with organizations like the Friendship Inn, the Saskatoon Fire Department, Prairie Harm Reduction, OUTSaskatoon and more — featuring people working towards similar goals from different angles.
“You’ve got so many people from all different corners of our city … that’s been so neat for me to learn, and very inspiring as well,” he said. “I feel very, very lucky to speak with all of these different people.”
With four seasons of a podcast also comes experience. Looking back on his early episodes, Anderson said his approach to the show has changed over the years.
He’s become more creative with ambient sounds and his audio editing — a process he said he loves — and still does what he can to make each episode sound as polished as possible.
But most importantly, Anderson said a former CBC colleague of his encouraged him to be a little less serious.
“I needed someone to say, ‘You can be you, Eric,’” he said. “But the point of this podcast is not about Eric. It’s about these amazing people flying under the radar and doing great things in Saskatoon. But how I approach it and present it, I feel a lot more comfortable being myself and doing what I want to do.”
With such a feet-on-the-ground approach to doing his podcasts, Anderson noted that the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench into his podcasting plans.
As the world adapted to COVID-19, Anderson and YXE Underground did the same. As the communications leader for Sherbrooke Community Centre nursing home in Saskatoon, Anderson decided that his first podcast of the pandemic would be focusing on the centre and the people living there.
“To this day, it is the most popular episode of the podcast,” he said. “That gave me the confidence to say, ‘I can still do this.’”
Anderson has also had the opportunity to give back to the community while sharing their stories. Through podcast merchandise sales, Anderson and YXE Underground have raised more than $5,000 for Saskatoon charities during the first four seasons.
Anderson does not do YXE Underground to make money. But as he enters the fifth season of his show, it’s clear his labour of love continues on with the full support of the community behind it.
“I had no idea the podcast was going to find such a wide audience, and such a passionate audience too,” he said. “I’m just grateful to listeners in Saskatoon and beyond for supporting this.”
