Humans of the House, a podcast by the Samara Centre for Democracy, produced by Media Girlfriends, won silver in the Canadian Online Publishing Award (COPA) ‘Best Podcast’ Consumer category. The six-episode series features in-depth and candid interviews with former Members of Parliament who reflect on their time in office, the hurdles and barriers they encountered, and what those experiences taught them about public service.
“The purpose of the show is to provide a gateway to civic engagement through stories about the human side of politics,” says Sabreena Delhon, podcast host and CEO of the Samara Centre for Democracy. “We are proud of the impact that Humans of the House is having. Listeners have said this podcast has taught them things they never knew about the inner-workings of our political system, that it has been eye-opening, revealing and informative. We are very grateful to our interviewees for being so open with us and are thrilled to receive this recognition from COPA.”
Humans of the House has received national media coverage and topped the Apple Podcast’s Government chart. The show is also assigned listening in high school and post-secondary classrooms across Canada. Podcast teaching resources were created to enhance curriculum and programming about Canadian politics and society. This material is available for Humans of the House and the Samara Centre’s French-language podcast Les Personnages de la Chambre, which explores the lived experience of former Members of Parliament from Quebec.