Podcasts have earned a reputation as a format that's well-suited for documentarians, and the winning podcast in this category demonstrates exactly why that is, uncovering an untold story with sensitivity and depth, impressing the judges with its power and heart. Making listeners think as well as feel, it demonstrates why podcasting is such an impactful medium.
Winner: Nobody Dies Here
Nobody Dies Here is a remarkable solo-produced 12-part series that takes listeners somewhere they likely will never have been: Melbourne’s Medically Supervised Injecting Room.
The show thoughtfully brings audiences beyond tabloid condemnation, and introduces the real people involved — both staff (medical and non-medical) and the people who inject drugs themselves. The engaging one-on-one interviews with the latter humanises those often looked down on by society, testing stereotypes and assumptions that may be deeply held.
Beyond the interviews, the show provides portraits of the centre’s ‘zones’, and even into the injecting room as patients receive their shot. Hearing staff deal with an overdose with incredible calm professionalism is a stunning moment, and really showcases the power of audio and the podcasting medium. Raw, hopeful and surprisingly funny, Nobody Dies Here is truly a remarkable piece of mind-opening public service journalism.
