"Jeopardy!" champ Mattea Roach hosting podcast about Canadian politics

Jeopardy!

Mattea Roach took Canadians along for an exciting ride during her legendary winning streak on Jeopardy!.

But the ride doesn’t stop there.

After making Canadian history on the game show, the Halifax-born 23-year-old is moving from your TV screens to your headphones.

On Tuesday, Roach revealed that she is the new host of Canadaland’s The Backbench, a podcast that “digs into Canadian politics from the best seats in the House.”

“I’ve been a Canadaland listener for almost five years, so getting to host a show on their network and talk about issues of national importance is a genuine thrill for me!” said the Toronto resident in a tweet.

I’ve been a Canadaland listener for almost five years, so getting to host a show on their network and talk about issues of national importance is a genuine thrill for me!

— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) September 6, 2022

Roach launches her host tenure on the podcast’s 46th episode (which you can listen to here) alongside producers Aviva Lessard and Noor Azrieh.

She begins the episode with a short introduction.

“I’m here today because I’m your new host for the upcoming season of The Backbench,” says Roach.

“Some of you may remember me from my appearance on Short Cuts back in May; others may know me from my 23-game tenure as a Jeopardy! champion in the spring; and some of you also probably have no idea who I am which is totally okay.”

It’s hard to believe that someone may not know who Roach is since she dominated Canadian headlines earlier this year.

Azrieh jokes saying that she’s “joined by a celebrity.”

“I love being a D-list Canadian celebrity,” Roach replies with a laugh.

The producers asked Roach how she got the job and why she’s interested in politics.

“I’m here because I have been passionate about Canadian politics for a super long time,” she says.

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Roach recalls the first time she became interested in federal politics was in a chance encounter with her parents’ Member of Parliament (MP) during a Timbits soccer game.

“Because I was such a curious, annoying kid with a bunch of questions, I immediately want to know, like, ‘Who was that guy you were talking to?'” she explains.

“As my mum explained to me the concept of what an MP was, and the fact that there was such a thing as the federal government in Ottawa, I was entranced immediately.”

Roach says she carried that interest into adulthood, working as a parliamentary guide in Ottawa where she got to connect with people from around the world “about the way that Parliament works.”

She adds that as she’s gotten older, she’s also become more cynical about politics because many of the conversations are “so invested in just partisanship.”

“Part of why I’m so excited to be here with the team from The Backbench is because I think that the history of the show has been really about fostering space for actual conversations where people listen to what one another say and aren’t just trying to articulate an agenda,” says Roach.

The new host ended her Jeopardy! run in May after her opponent bested her by a single dollar.

During her streak, the trivia superstar got a shoutout and standing ovation in the House of Commons.

Roach earned the title of fifth-longest streak in show history and walked away with USD$560,983 or over CAD$700,000.