Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison.
Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the California Institution for Women, as well as stories about getting out of prison and starting over, post-incarceration.
From finding romance, to grappling with a life sentence, to trying to parent via 15-minute phone calls, Ear Hustle stories deliver what This American Life host Ira Glass calls a “"very real” and “untragic” take on prison life.
Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at radiotopia.fm and learn more about Ear Hustle at earhustlesq.com.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 164
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Future on Ice
Being an immigrant in an American prison can pose unique challenges, like deciding which racial group you’ll identify with. But sometimes the biggest hurdles don’t become apparent until the day you a…
00:40:02 |
Wed 26 Sep 2018
Birdbaths and a Lockbox
During a San Quentin lockdown, the prison grinds to a halt, and men are confined to their cells 24 hours a day. On the heels of a summer lockdown, we’re kicking off season three by looking into what …
00:38:21 |
Wed 12 Sep 2018
Season three preview
Ready for more stories about life inside? We bet. Season three of Ear Hustle drops September 12. In the meantime, enjoy this taste of what’s to come.
Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com…
00:05:54 |
Wed 05 Sep 2018
So Long
Leaving an organization or community often calls for an exit strategy – even in prison. In this final episode of season two, four men who are preparing to leave San Quentin share stories about what t…
00:41:36 |
Wed 20 Jun 2018
Down Low
Of the thousands of people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, no one is openly gay. No one. And only a few people are comfortable enough to talk about LGBTQ life inside. In this episode we div…
00:33:22 |
Wed 06 Jun 2018
The Row
San Quentin houses California’s only death row for male inmates. And though it’s technically not far from the media lab, access to this area of the prison is highly restricted. Still, Earlonne and Ni…
00:42:22 |
Wed 23 May 2018
Catch a Kite 2
A “kite” is prison slang for a written note. Since Ear Hustle launched, we’ve encouraged listeners to send in their questions about the show and life inside via postcards, or “kites.” In this episode…
00:32:14 |
Wed 09 May 2018
Thick Glass
Parenting is never easy, but from prison it's especially challenging. In this episode, incarcerated fathers share their stories of striving to be present in their children's lives. One inmate reconne…
00:35:39 |
Wed 25 Apr 2018
The Workaround
Looking good and feeling good matters just as much on the inside, as on the outside. But in prison, you can't just walk to the barbershop, or stop by the store for the products you need, to accomplis…
00:32:51 |
Wed 11 Apr 2018
Dirty Water
Sex trafficking crimes are hard to talk about. In this episode, Sara and LA share their individual experiences of being “in the life,” at the same time demonstrating the difficult, yet important work…
00:36:02 |
Wed 28 Mar 2018
Firsts
“Firsts” in prison can be especially memorable: the first time you meet your cellie, or leave the prison for medical treatment, or run your first marathon. Alongside these tales, Adnan Khan shares th…
00:39:03 |
Wed 14 Mar 2018
Season two preview
Ear Hustle is back March 14th! To tide you over until then, here’s a taste of season two.
Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that mig…
00:05:06 |
Wed 28 Feb 2018
Ear Hustle Bonus: Songs From S1
Music is an important part of Ear Hustle, and there are many talented musicians in the San Quentin community. Listeners responded so enthusiastically to the music in season one, we’ve highlighted a f…
00:22:35 |
Wed 20 Dec 2017
Getting a Date
There are only a few ways to leave prison: serve your time, get out early on parole... or escape.
Steve, Danny, Phillip and Ron are all trying to make their way out of prison. In our final episode o…
00:33:27 |
Wed 25 Oct 2017
Gold Coats and OGs
Dealing with aging and death is never easy. But in prison, these issues are fraught with extra challenges, both emotional and physical. Meet two inmates serving extended sentences who grapple with th…
00:24:05 |
Wed 11 Oct 2017
Left Behind
“I’m a stupid idiot who stole some money.” Curtis Roberts was sentenced to 50 years to life, under the three strikes law, for committing three non-violent robberies. Over the years he has struggled t…
00:35:19 |
Wed 27 Sep 2017
Unwritten
The color of your skin influences your life in prison, from sharing food to celebrating birthdays. Meet Andrew Sabatino (Drew Down) and Arthur Snowden (AR), two guys whose close friendship often chal…
00:30:00 |
Wed 13 Sep 2017
The Boom Boom Room
Being married in prison is common. Opportunities to get intimate with your spouse are not, and – like everything else inside – are governed by both official and unofficial rules. In this episode of E…
00:28:19 |
Wed 30 Aug 2017
Catch a Kite
“Kite” is a common term in prison for a written note. Over the course of the season, listeners have been encouraged to send in their questions about Ear Hustle via postcards, or “kites.” In this epis…
00:28:03 |
Wed 09 Aug 2017
The SHU
The hole, the box, solitary confinement. It doesn’t matter what you call it; doing time in the SHU (Security Housing Unit) means you are alone and segregated from the general prison population. In th…
00:28:26 |
Wed 26 Jul 2017
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are the property of Ear Hustle & Radiotopia ([email protected]). This content is not affiliated with or endorsed by eachpod.com.