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
Ear Hustle Extra: A Sneak Peek at "Cellies, with Commentary"
Season 13 is coming soon; in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of what’s going on in Ear Hustle Plus, our new subscription feed. In this excerpt, Nigel and Earlonne listen back to their very first episo…
00:11:20 |
Wed 14 Feb 2024
Bunkies
In honor of our 100th episode (!), Ear Hustle revisits our very first one – “Cellies” – this time with a twist: Residents of the California Institution for Women tell us stories about “bunkies,” the …
00:46:22 |
Wed 20 Dec 2023
Shine Some Light
When she was in her 20s, Shanna was the victim of a violent attack. Ten years later, she’s ready to talk about the experience and the “full-time job” of recovery.
Big thanks to Acting Warden Oak Sm…
00:42:19 |
Wed 29 Nov 2023
That World
Nigel and Earlonne visit the largest women's prison in the world, the Central California Women's Facility, and speak to five people about building a life in a tough environment, and calling that plac…
00:47:18 |
Wed 15 Nov 2023
Do You Think There Are Ghosts Here?
Can a prison be haunted? And why are good ghost stories — inside or outside of prison — so hard to come by? The Ear Hustle team goes ghost hunting at San Quentin and the California Institution for Wo…
00:38:00 |
Wed 01 Nov 2023
San Quentin: The Magazine
If San Quentin were a magazine, what would it sound like? Ear Hustle’s new team inside – Sadiq, Steve, Tam, and the Two Tonys – delivers audio stories hot off the press, from the institution’s popcor…
01:00:07 |
Wed 18 Oct 2023
Transitional
Producer Rahsaan “New York” Thomas takes us inside the parole-ordered transitional housing he’s been living in since getting out of prison. For many people, these residences are a godsend. For others…
00:38:19 |
Wed 04 Oct 2023
Once You're in the Ocean, You're Going Everywhere
Prisons weren’t designed for older folks, and the California Institution for Women is no exception. Nigel and Earlonne pay a visit to CIW’s Senior Center to hang out with a group of women aged 70 and…
00:54:22 |
Wed 20 Sep 2023
12 Hours on the Yard
Inspired by the classic This American Life episode “24 Hours at the Golden Apple,” the Ear Hustle team documents one day in the life of San Quentin’s lower yard, from Haka dancing to dominoes; gospel…
00:49:19 |
Wed 06 Sep 2023
Ear Hustle Presents: Violation
It’s summertime! Which means the Ear Hustle team is off cooking up a new batch of stories for our next season — Season 12 — launching September 6.
In the meantime, we’re bringing you an episode fro…
00:35:50 |
Wed 05 Jul 2023
Ear Hustle Extra: Pride Month Special
In honor of Pride month, we’re serving up some of our best stories about the LGBTQ community inside prison, including: a love story set out on the yard at San Quentin State Prison; two trans women on…
00:50:25 |
Wed 21 Jun 2023
Articles of Hustle
Is there such a thing as a prison uniform? Turns out, it takes two podcasts to answer that question. Nigel and Earlonne team up with Avery Trufelman from the Radiotopia pod Articles of Interest to fi…
00:52:34 |
Wed 07 Jun 2023
The Preacher
Over at San Quentin, a new preacher has started drawing crowds on the yard. He’s charismatic, soft-spoken, and devout. He says he’s a different man than he was when he committed the crimes that put h…
00:44:33 |
Wed 24 May 2023
Abundant and Passionate Trash
Imagine you’re an archaeologist tasked with going through someone’s garbage. What will you learn about their habits and desires, their values, and how they spend their resources? For seven days, the …
01:05:04 |
Wed 10 May 2023
Catch a Kite 8
Can incarcerated women dye their hair? Do they have enough tampons and pads? What makes them happy, and how realistic is “Orange Is the New Black”? Ear Hustle listeners have questions about life insi…
00:33:11 |
Wed 26 Apr 2023
Do You Know Who I Am?
For years, we’ve asked incarcerated people to speculate on the difference between life inside a men’s prison and inside a women’s. Now we’re finally getting answers, thanks to a 2021 law allowing tra…
00:31:35 |
Wed 12 Apr 2023
Saber-Toothed Cat
What’s the difference between an over-under and a lower-lower? How many pairs of underwear do you get in prison? And how long does a bar of soap last? We spend an entire episode with one San Quentin …
00:38:48 |
Wed 29 Mar 2023
OGs Got Hella Tricks
San Quentin’s population is changing, and a lot of the old ways are dying out. But some prison OGs don’t want to let go of the past.
Big thanks to Lieutenant Guim'Mara Berry and Acting Warden Oak S…
00:34:39 |
Wed 15 Mar 2023
Dream On
When you’re incarcerated, are your dreams set outside prison walls? Or out on the prison yard? Are they a comforting space to escape to? Or a painful reminder of what you no longer have? From lucid d…
00:45:42 |
Wed 01 Mar 2023
Ear Hustle Extra: Welcome Home, New York
After 22 years in prison, our inside colleague Rahsaan “New York” Thomas is now a free man. We meet him at the gates of San Quentin, and tag along for his first meal outside and a trip to Target.
B…
00:15:40 |
Wed 22 Feb 2023
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