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Ear Hustle — Documentary
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.

Latest Episodes:

Camp Grace Dec 22, 2021

Show notes

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 years. Through music, crafts, and games, the idea behind Camp Grace is to put aside prison personas and reconnect with fatherhood. But relationships strained by incarceration can be hard to fix.

Find out more about Camp Grace here.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Support our team and get even more Ear Hustle by subscribing to Ear Hustle Plus today. Sign up at earhustlesq.com/plus or directly in Apple Podcasts.

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Tray, Tumbler, Spork Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

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 our inside colleagues, changing the way we ate, got dressed, and exercised. The goal wasn’t to replicate prison life, but to see how constraint shapes the way we experience the world. We report back on what was hard, what was surprising, and what we discovered along the way.
You can learn more about the Ear Hustle Challenge here and about Tehching Hsieh’s performance art that inspired it here.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Yard of Dreams Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

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 oneself to peers and family. In this episode, one player battles for acceptance and a spot on the San Quentin baseball team, a two-time Super Bowl champion goes from partying with the Patriots to living in a 5x9 cell, and resident sports reporter Rahsaan “New York” Thomas attempts to win a one-on-one basketball game on behalf of all the nerds.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Counting Lines Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

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, and are thousands of miles from family and friends? Three Americans describe their experiences of incarceration in Japan, Thailand, and Iran.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Taxx Is Tripping Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

What does it take to be bonnaroo in prison? We explore the creative ways people inside transform and beautify their physical selves and their living environment, using whatever they can find within prison walls.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Stormy Monday Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

At Ear Hustle, we hear more from listeners about music than almost any other topic. In response, we bring you the Ear Hustle Mixtape, including stories about an unlikely instrument that’s been showing up on the yard at San Quentin, Native American sweat lodges and music, and getting the band back together post-incarceration.

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 PRX. Find a full list of episode credits at earhustlesq.com.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Do It Movin’ Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

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. Plus: Nigel confronts a man with no regrets, and Ear Hustle says goodbye to a friend of the show.

To find out more about the Ear Hustle 30-Day Challenge, and to participate with us, visit earhustlesq.com/challenge.

As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Acting 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 ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

August 21, 1971 Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

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 center of the story was a Black revolutionary named George Jackson. Who was he, and what makes him so controversial, even today?

As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Acting 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.

More on George Jackson and the Adjustment Center incident:

Freedom Archives’ 99 Books project

50th anniversary article by Kevin Sawyer, an editor at the San Quentin News

“Soledad Brother” 40 years later

“Day of the Gun” documentary from Bay Area news station KRON4

Making Contact’s radio documentary “The Struggle Inside”

New York Times narrative of August 21st

Los Angeles Times looks back at the day, and the trial of the San Quentin Six

British documentary about the weeks after August 21, 1971

Dick Nelson remembers August 21st, 1971

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Coming Soon: 50 Years After George Jackson Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

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: August 21st, 1971. By sundown, three guards and three incarcerated people lay dead. Fifty years later, the events of that day remain intensely contested, and emotions raw. We break down what happened, and why it still matters today.

As always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Acting Warden Ron Broomfield for their support of the show.

Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ear Hustle Presents: Life Jolt Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

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 our headphones: Life Jolt. In this first episode, “The Before Times,” incarcerated women look back on the uncertainty and dread they experienced in those early days while they waited to receive their sentences.

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