‘It\u2019s a full-circle moment now, because I was teaching at the same school in the class that\u2019s now called Radio Doc and Podcasting \u2014 and I\u2019m referencing my own book’<\/p>\n
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When Amanda Cupido first stood in front of a crowd to deliver a podcasting workshop in Toronto nearly a decade ago, she never imagined she\u2019d one day be on a book tour because of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a publisher in the audience who came up to me afterward and said, \u2018Just turn this workshop into a book. I\u2019ll publish it,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIn my head, I thought, oh, that\u2019ll be easy! It was so much work.\u201d<\/p>\n
That hard work became Let\u2019s Talk Podcasting, first released in 2018 at a time when podcasting in Canada was still finding its legs. \u201cIt was a really good time to release the book,\u201d she says. The response was immediate \u2014 post-secondary programs across the country began incorporating the book into broadcasting curricula, and aspiring podcasters reached out to thank her for helping them launch and sustain their shows.<\/p>\n
Nearly seven years later, the former Morning Show Co-Host on Moose FM (Now Jet FM) is coming to North Bay later this month with not one, but two books. A second edition of Let\u2019s Talk Podcasting came out last November, with updated insights to reflect a rapidly evolving industry. And in March, Cupido released a new children\u2019s book, \u201cLet\u2019s Talk Podcasting for Kids,\u201d to inspire a younger generation of audio storytellers.<\/p>\n
Cupido\u2019s love for the medium goes back further than most \u2014 all the way to her final year of journalism school at Toronto Metropolitan University. \u201cWe were allowed to submit our final stories in whatever medium we wanted, and I submitted what I called a podcast,\u201d she says, laughing. \u201cMy professors were like, \u2018What is this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That was 2011 \u2014 three years before Serial <\/a>helped bring podcasting into the mainstream. \u201cI was already dabbling with the medium and making a podcast for a magazine I was interning with,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a full-circle moment now, because I was teaching at the same school in the class that\u2019s now called Radio Doc and Podcasting \u2014 and I\u2019m referencing my own book.\u201d<\/p>\n For Cupido, it\u2019s not just a personal milestone \u2014 it\u2019s a sign of how far podcasting has come. \u201cIt\u2019s an audio nerd\u2019s dream come true.\u201d \u201cI had already made a couple of podcasts by that point,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd right when I moved to North Bay, I actually picked up a client who wanted me to produce her podcast. I didn\u2019t even call myself a podcast producer \u2014 I looked back at my emails and I called myself a \u2018media coordinator.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The project was for a Toronto-based client producing a show focused on women\u2019s empowerment and stories of resilience. It was Cupido\u2019s first paid podcasting gig \u2014 remote work before it was commonplace \u2014 and a taste of what was to come.<\/p>\n When she left North Bay, her next stop was a video production agency in Toronto. She pitched the idea of creating a podcasting arm for the company. \u201cThey said, \u2018Sure, let\u2019s try it out. See if you can sell some branded podcasts,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI did manage to sell and produce a few, but honestly, it was too early. I\u2019d be pitching clients and they\u2019d say, \u2018Wait \u2014 what\u2019s a podcast?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n It was a tough sell, but Cupido didn\u2019t give up. Instead, she began watching the industry more closely, analyzing its business potential and looking for market gaps. That mindset served her well when she moved into the non-profit sector, joining World Vision\u2019s communications department and producing three podcasts for global audiences.<\/p>\n By then, she had published her first book, and offers to produce more shows were pouring in. \u201cIt was getting to be too much,\u201d she says. \u201cI had all these side projects, and then the pandemic hit, and everything changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Cupido saw a crossroads ahead. World Vision offered voluntary buyouts during the uncertainty of COVID-19, and she took it. \u201cI put my hand up and said, \u2018I\u2019ll take the severance,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cThat money gave me the cushion to launch my business.\u201d<\/p>\n In September 2020, Cupido incorporated Lead Podcasting, and within six months, she hired her first full-time employee. \u201cIt\u2019s been growing ever since,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s wild to think that something I started on the side in North Bay eventually became a full-fledged company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nLong before she became a published author or ran her own production company, Cupido was behind the mic at Moose FM in North Bay. It was 2013, and while she was still relatively new to radio, her interest in podcasting had already taken root.<\/p>\n