Side Effects Public Media took home two national awards over the weekend for its reporting in 2018. This included a first place honors from Public Radio News Directors Inc. for best collaborative effort for the The Workaround podcast.
Released last summer, the six-episode podcast detailed the sometimes shocking ways Americans get around roadblocks in our medical system. Reporters Bram Sable-Smith, Christine Herman, Jake Harper, Esther Honig, Emily Forman and Sarah Fentem explored a wide range of issues, including rising insulin prices, aging in prison and lack of access to addiction treatment.
Herman won a second place PRNDI award for reporting on parents who surrender custody to obtain expensive mental health treatment for a child, an issue featured in the podcast.
Side Effects also received a regional Emmy for its companion video series The Workaround: Wrestling With American Healthcare. The video series was produced by Kyle Travers.