Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle & Radiotopia
Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle & Radiotopia
Ear Hustle brings you the daily realities of life inside prison shared by those living it, and stories from the outside, post-incarceration. The podcast is a partnership between Nigel Poor, a Bay Area visual artist, and Earlonne Woods, formerly incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, and was co-founded with former San Quentin resident Antwan Williams. The Ear Hustle team works in the San Francisco Bay Area, both in San Quentin State Prison’s media lab and from offices on the outside, to produce stories that are sometimes difficult, often funny and always honest. Episodes offer a nuanced view of people involved with the American prison system and those reintegrating into society after serving time.
Wednesday 08 June 2022 : 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,...
Wednesday 25 May 2022 : 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...
Wednesday 11 May 2022 : This season we're flipping the script on our traditional Catch a Kite episodes, exploring questions asked and answered between San Quentin...
Wednesday 27 April 2022 : Life in prison, without regular sex and intimacy, can cause all sorts of emotional and physical issues. Yep, we're going there — to...
Wednesday 13 April 2022 : What happens to a prison town when its main prison closes? The residents of Susanville, in Northern California, are about to find out. Ear...
Wednesday 30 March 2022 : 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...
Wednesday 16 March 2022 : 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,...
Wednesday 02 March 2022 : In California and many other states, calls from prison are limited to 15 minutes and are monitored, recorded, and often difficult to come...
Wednesday 23 February 2022 : Sometimes, when you’re up against a big state institution, you have to make some trouble. For this mini-episode, part of Radiotopia’s...
Wednesday 26 January 2022 : We’re between seasons but have an exciting update to share with listeners: Our friend and colleague Rahsaan “New York” Thomas’...
Wednesday 29 December 2021 : While Ear Hustle works on its next season, which starts March 2, we wanted to introduce you to the podcast Written Off. It features formerly...
Wednesday 22 December 2021 : This past fall, we followed a group of kids into Salinas Valley State Prison to spend two days with their dads, whom they hadn’t seen in...
Wednesday 08 December 2021 : Earlier this year, some of the Ear Hustle team spent a month living under a specific set of constraints informed by the daily routines of...
Wednesday 17 November 2021 : Sports in prison are more than just games. They can be an outlet for stress, the realization of dreams deferred, or a positive way to prove...
Wednesday 03 November 2021 : Going to prison in your home country can be disorienting enough. What about when you’re new to the culture, don’t speak the language,...
Wednesday 20 October 2021 : What does it take to be bonnaroo in prison? We explore the creative ways people inside transform and beautify their physical selves and...
Wednesday 06 October 2021 : At Ear Hustle, we hear more from listeners about music than almost any other topic. In response, we bring you the Ear Hustle Mixtape,...
Wednesday 22 September 2021 : We bring you stories about the ups and downs of making bail and the bittersweet taste of freedom when you know you’re about to lose it....
Wednesday 08 September 2021 : August 21, 1971 was the deadliest day in San Quentin history, and it’s still a painful topic, both inside the prison and out. At the...
Wednesday 25 August 2021 : Ear Hustle’s eighth season launches on September 8th with a dramatic account of one of the most notorious days in San Quentin’s history:...
Wednesday 11 August 2021 : With just a few weeks to go before Ear Hustle returns with Season 8, we wanted to introduce listeners to a new show that’s been in all of...
Wednesday 09 June 2021 : Leslie has served more time in prison than anyone we’ve ever interviewed on the show: over half a century, for a crime committed when she...
Wednesday 26 May 2021 : A year after George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer, the Ear Hustle team and friends talk about their first interactions...
Wednesday 12 May 2021 : Toothpaste, ramen noodles, sneakers, coffee creamer. If you want to shop from prison, it’s either the commissary or a prison-approved...
Wednesday 28 April 2021 : Can you have an Xbox in your prison cell? Is it OK to say “inmate”? How have stimulus checks affected the prison economy? Ear Hustle...
Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle & Radiotopia
Last Memory: Ryan and Earlonne
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,...
Last Memory: Michael
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...
Catch a Kite 7
This season we're flipping the script on our traditional Catch a Kite episodes, exploring questions asked and answered between San Quentin...
What Is This?
Life in prison, without regular sex and intimacy, can cause all sorts of emotional and physical issues. Yep, we're going there — to...
Gabrieleen Silver Queen
What happens to a prison town when its main prison closes? The residents of Susanville, in Northern California, are about to find out. Ear...
Is Your Name Alfredo?
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...
Boots and Max
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,...
15 Minutes
In California and many other states, calls from prison are limited to 15 minutes and are monitored, recorded, and often difficult to come...
Ear Hustle Extra: Making Trouble
Sometimes, when you’re up against a big state institution, you have to make some trouble. For this mini-episode, part of Radiotopia’s...
Ear Hustle Extra: A Call from Sacramento
We’re between seasons but have an exciting update to share with listeners: Our friend and colleague Rahsaan “New York” Thomas’...
Ear Hustle Presents: Written Off
While Ear Hustle works on its next season, which starts March 2, we wanted to introduce you to the podcast Written Off. It features formerly...
Camp Grace
This past fall, we followed a group of kids into Salinas Valley State Prison to spend two days with their dads, whom they hadn’t seen in...
Tray, Tumbler, Spork
Earlier this year, some of the Ear Hustle team spent a month living under a specific set of constraints informed by the daily routines of...
Yard of Dreams
Sports in prison are more than just games. They can be an outlet for stress, the realization of dreams deferred, or a positive way to prove...
Counting Lines
Going to prison in your home country can be disorienting enough. What about when you’re new to the culture, don’t speak the language,...
Taxx Is Tripping
What does it take to be bonnaroo in prison? We explore the creative ways people inside transform and beautify their physical selves and...
Stormy Monday
At Ear Hustle, we hear more from listeners about music than almost any other topic. In response, we bring you the Ear Hustle Mixtape,...
Do It Movin’
We bring you stories about the ups and downs of making bail and the bittersweet taste of freedom when you know you’re about to lose it....
August 21, 1971
August 21, 1971 was the deadliest day in San Quentin history, and it’s still a painful topic, both inside the prison and out. At the...
Coming Soon: 50 Years After George Jackson
Ear Hustle’s eighth season launches on September 8th with a dramatic account of one of the most notorious days in San Quentin’s history:...
Ear Hustle Presents: Life Jolt
With just a few weeks to go before Ear Hustle returns with Season 8, we wanted to introduce listeners to a new show that’s been in all of...
Home for Me Is Really a Memory
Leslie has served more time in prison than anyone we’ve ever interviewed on the show: over half a century, for a crime committed when she...
Cracked Windshield
A year after George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer, the Ear Hustle team and friends talk about their first interactions...
The Whole Shabang
Toothpaste, ramen noodles, sneakers, coffee creamer. If you want to shop from prison, it’s either the commissary or a prison-approved...
Catch a Kite 6
Can you have an Xbox in your prison cell? Is it OK to say “inmate”? How have stimulus checks affected the prison economy? Ear Hustle...
