One in three Americans is justice-impacted, and at The Hustler Files, we’re here to change the conversation. This isn’t just a podcast, it’s storytelling with grit, hope, and purpose. Each episode amplifies voices closest to the system: justice-impacted individuals, reformers, changemakers, and the guardians behind the wall who offer healing and opportunity. These are stories of truth, perspective, and possibility. Some involve real crime and real consequences, but we tell them with care, intention, and respect. Because there’s always a voice that can challenge what you thought you knew.
Mark McBrine grew up on a farm and expected that to be his lifelong calling, but God had another plan. When his father became ill and his family needed help running the farms, Mark, at the age of 49…
Whether you’re a sports fan or a parent in the stands, there is a distinct difference between the role of the Coach and the role of the Referees. Nowhere is it more apparent than watching the 2025 N…
In sports, there are Coaches and there are Referees, but what about in the criminal justice system? That was the question that Dr. Brian Lovins, currently President of Justice System Partners, asked …
Every name has a meaning. The name Gemma refers to ‘a bud ready to grow independently’. Appropriately, this name was chosen by the incarcerated women who originally founded The Gemma Project, a jail…
Jenifer McShane never planned on becoming an award-winning independent filmmaker, but life had other plans. From her early work on 'A Leap of Faith’, narrated by Liam Neeson, to her latest Netflix do…
Lara Love Hardin is a NY Times best-selling author, including a 2024 Oprah Book Club pick, a 5-time NY Times bestselling collaborative author, a literary agent, a Mother, and a prison reform advocat…
In Episode 117, Sheriff Brad Burkhart inspired us with his commitment to help those justice-impacted individuals under his watch return to their communities with a new lease on life. In this episode…
Drawing from his upbringing on an Indiana farm, Sheriff Brad Burkhart’s philosophy is grounded in the idea of “planting seeds of hope and opportunity” for those incarcerated individuals under his wat…
There aren’t many people who can transition from incarceration for a white-collar crime to CEO of an established educational nonprofit, but then again, Jeff Abramowitz is unlike most people you’ll ev…
In Franklin County, Massachusetts, Sheriff Lori Streeter may be the newest female Sheriff in Massachusetts. She joins Sheriff Donna Buckley of Barnstable County as one of two female Sheriffs across …
Upon driving into the State of Maine there is a sign that reads, ‘WELCOME TO MAINE, THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE’. For thirty-eight years, Kevin Joyce, the current Sheriff of Cumberland County, Maine, has …
In another milestone episode, retired prison Chaplain Peg Newman shares an insightful and heartfelt look inside her life journey at the intersection of faith, spirituality, and the criminal justice s…
In Episode 108, Attorney Charlie Weiss shared the wrongful conviction and exoneration of Josh Kezer, a man who spent sixteen years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. That interview led to a com…
In part 2 of this gripping story, former Sheriff Rick Walter dives deeper into the complex and haunting case of murder victim Mischelle Lawless. After years of investigation and a wrongful conviction…
In this milestone episode, The Hustler Files welcomes, for the first time, a Department of Corrections (prison) Commissioner. Randall Liberty is the head of the Department of Corrections in Maine, o…
Laurence Colletti is a seasoned podcast producer, writer, and attorney. For over a decade, he’s brought to light the stories and critical issues surrounding prison reform and wrongful convictions wh…
"The future isn't about what you do. It's about what you're for”. Charlie Weiss never thought he’d become an attorney, but a chance meeting with a man of the cloth led him to a scholarship at Notre D…
To date, 99 incarcerated men have participated in the Nurturing Fathers program at the Hampshire County Jail and it’s nothing short of transformative. Incarcerated fathers seeking to reconnect with …
What started as a gym is now a community where people belong together. In this space, surrounded by weight machines, free weights, and mats, they are valued as equals, and those with lived experience…