Ear Hustle

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 transgender, intersex, and non-binary people to transfer to prisons that match their gender identity. For some, the law has been life-changing; for others… not so much. Big thanks to Guim'Mara Berry and A...

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 OG who schools us on the history of prison and what 46 years inside will do to a man. Big thanks to Guim'Mara Berry and Warden Oak Smith for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of R...

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 Smith for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia , from PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choice...

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 dreams to wet dreams to dreams of freedom, we ask how incarceration changes what you see when you sleep. Big thanks to Guim'Mara Berry and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle...

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. Big thanks to Lieutenant Guim'Mara Berry and Acting Warden Oak Smith for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia , from PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustles...

Lieutenant Sam Robinson has been with Ear Hustle since day one. As he retires from his post as Public Information Officer at San Quentin, we pay tribute to the man behind the mic. Big thanks to Lt. Guim'Mara Berry and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia , from PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com . Learn about your...

While she was in jail awaiting her sentence, Karen was housed with a pregnant cellie on the verge of giving birth. At the time, the experience barely registered. It took us a while to understand why. This episode contains references to suicide. Listener discretion is advised. You can reach out to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broom...

If you have to serve prison time, Norway is the place to do it … at least that’s what we’d heard. Incarcerated people in Norway wear their own clothes, cook delicious meals from scratch, and even take short leaves to re-acclimate to society. Are Norway’s prisons all they’re cracked up to be? Ear Hustle takes you inside to find out. Radiotopia’s fall fundraiser is here! Donate today to support Ear...

The Ear Hustle music episode returns! We catch up with some guys at San Quentin who are longing for love, and then, for the first time ever, we toss the mic to the ladies at the California Institution for Women. You can find out more about Musicambia here . Radiotopia’s fall fundraiser is here! Donate today to support Ear Hustle and help us reach our goal of 1,000 supporters. Thank you! https://on...

From 180s and 270s to “just one long-ass hallway,” different kinds of prison architecture leave different marks on the people who live there. In this episode, like the last one, we explore how architecture shapes the experience of incarceration, and how people push back to reclaim space for themselves. Learn more about the San Francisco Public Library’s 2022 One City One Book , This Is Ear Hustle...

Prisons are built with one thing in mind: surveillance. The architecture is designed to assert control and diminish privacy. But even in these spaces, people find ways to claim just a bit of privacy. In this episode and the next, we explore how individuals adapt to prison architecture. First: carving out pockets of privacy, real and imagined. Listen to Earlonne guest hosting the podcast Wrongful C...

Stories from our first-ever international reporting trip! From the nightclubs of Oslo, to Norway’s first in-prison Pride parade, to an incarcerated Danish guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer: Ear Hustle goes abroad, mics on , baby. Each episode this season will feature new artwork by an incarcerated artist. You can see their illustrations on our website . Hear the full episode of the “San Quent...

Sam Brown spent 24 years in prison not just denying his crime, but lying about it, over and over again. Finally, he decided to come clean. Would the parole board believe him? Each episode this season will feature new artwork by an incarcerated artist. You can see their illustrations on our website . Is this your first time listening to Ear Hustle? Are you trying to convince a friend to start liste...

Life in prison can mess with your senses. There are smells you can’t unsmell, and sounds you long to hear. Some tastes you forget about entirely, and some forms of touch are almost too evocative to bear. Five San Quentin residents reflect on the sights, tastes, touch, smells, and sounds of prison life. Each episode this season will feature new artwork by an incarcerated artist. You can see their i...

A special episode from Uncuffed : During the COVID lockdown at San Quentin, Steve and Darren both got unexpected letters that changed their lives. This is the second episode of the new season of KALW’s Uncuffed , a podcast training program at San Quentin and California State Prison, Solano. They’re in the middle of an emergency fundraiser right now, trying to keep their training and broadcast prog...

The Ear Hustle team is hard at work on our next season, which launches September 7! In the meantime, we’d like to tell you about a new podcast, hosted by Jason Reynolds. Reynolds is a New York Times bestselling author, and the Library of Congress' national ambassador for young people's literature. He’s ambitious, he says yes to everything, and he’s feeling overwhelmed. On the first episode of My M...

The jig was up for Ryan, so he told police he’d turn himself in. His mom had one request: a final family meal at Applebee’s. Plus, Earlonne and Nigel head to the intersection of Firmona and Marine Avenues in Lawndale, California, the scene of E's last memory before being locked up. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a pr...

The day before committing the crime that sent him to prison, Michael stood in a parking lot in Bakersfield, California, and looked up at the sky. Twenty-two years later, Earlonne and Nigel visit that same parking lot, then return to San Quentin to tell Michael what they found. If you need help for yourself or someone else, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or suicide...

This season we're flipping the script on our traditional Catch a Kite episodes, exploring questions asked and answered between San Quentin State Prison and the California Institution for Women. Do men in prison form unofficial families the way incarcerated women do? Do women sentenced for killing an abusive spouse receive fair sentences? Which candies from the prison package catalog appeal the mos...

Life in prison, without regular sex and intimacy, can cause all sorts of emotional and physical issues. Yep, we're going there — to explore the impact of this constraint inside prison, and for men and women seeking close relationships after they get out. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia , f...

What happens to a prison town when its main prison closes? The residents of Susanville, in Northern California, are about to find out. Ear Hustle took a road trip to see how Susanvillers — both inside and outside the prison — are reacting to the news. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia , from...

Six massive murals span hundreds of feet across the walls of a San Quentin chow hall, depicting the history of California in epic scale and detail. Residents of San Quentin eat their meals surrounded by this artwork, and thousands of people see it every year. The murals have inspired countless myths and mysteries, but for a long time, little was known about the artist who painted them. In this epi...

We talk about love on Ear Hustle, plenty, but it’s hard to think of prison as a “romantic” place. What does dating look and feel like, on the inside? Against all odds, sometimes true love prevails. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Thanks also to everyone who called in to tell us their one-minute love stories. Ear Hustle is a proud m...

In California and many other states, calls from prison are limited to 15 minutes and are monitored, recorded, and often difficult to come by. But whether you’re trying to fix a marriage or a broken wall heater, these short conversations are a lifeline for family on the outside. As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show. Ear Hustle is a proud...

Sometimes, when you’re up against a big state institution, you have to make some trouble. For this mini-episode, part of Radiotopia’s winter fundraiser , we share a few stories about incarcerated people trying to effect small change but not always getting the results they want. This special episode of Ear Hustle is a part of Radiotopia’s winter fundraiser. Your support helps foster independent, ar...