This 5-Year-Old’s Coronavirus Podcast is Just What We Needed


These days, it’s as important as ever to stay informed. But sometimes, the glut of coronavirus content can be overwhelming.

Enter the podcast “Keep Away Corona.”

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The voice you hear on each episode isn’t like that of most hosts. It belongs to 5-year-old Albie Gill, who lives in Chicago. Over the course of six episodes so far released, he’s offered tips on staying healthy and he’s checked in with his family and friends to see how they’re doing. (He also composed and performed the show’s theme song.)

Albie’s a natural, and he has some help from his parents. His dad, Andrew Gill, is a producer for the long-running WBEZ show “Sound Opinions” and is working from home. That sparked Albie’s curiosity.

“I saw his recording stuff and I was like, ‘What is that stuff for?’” Albie said.

  • (Courtesy Andrew Gill)

    (Courtesy Andrew Gill)

  • (Courtesy Andrew Gill)

    (Courtesy Andrew Gill)

Andrew says working on the podcast is a nice break from the deadlines of a weekly show. “This has no limits on what we can do, so it’s more fun,” he said with a laugh.

Andrew was the podcast’s first guest. In another episode, Albie sits down with his mom, Meghan Murphy-Gill, who works as a hospital chaplain.

“It’s a lot of the same work, but the hospital itself looks and feels completely different than it did even three weeks ago,” Meghan said. “Coming home from the hospital, I really try to leave all of that behind and spend as much time with my family as possible.”

Albie’s podcast is a lot of fun, though he’s very honest about the difficulties of living through a pandemic.

“I’m scared, not that I’m going to get coronavirus … I’m scared every store’s going to shut down and every place is going to shut down,” he said.

But for the most part, he’s got a great attitude … except about some of the other things that take up his day. “I’ve been doing a lot of schoolwork. Too much schoolwork,” Albie said. (“Barely any school work,” Meghan quickly countered with a laugh.)

Albie’s not sure if he wants to do another podcast after this one, but he’s taking it seriously. How does he see his role? “Being a journalist,” he said.

This young journalist might just have a hit on his hands. He’s got a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts. As one reviewer points out: “the theme song slaps.” (Agreed.)

The most recent episode of “Keep Away Corona” was released Tuesday. Take a listen (and send in a voice message) here. Albie’s got a few more interviews recorded for upcoming shows. He was also featured in the first episode of the new podcast “The Kids Are All ... Home.”


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