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.
Our Editor's Take
Everyone knows that life in prison is hard. After all, it wouldn't be prison otherwise. Every other week, for 30 to 45 minutes, the Ear Hustle podcast explores an aspect of life in prison with care and compassion. The production team records some episodes from San Quentin State Prison.
Ear Hustle has existed since 2017. Its original cohosts were artist Nigel Poor and inmates Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams. Woods and Williams have since left prison. Woods still cohosts the show. Rahsaan “New York” Thomas then took over as incarcerated cohost. In 2023, Thomas also left prison. California Governor Gavin Newsom commuted Thomas's murder sentence. The cohost's work on rehabilitating himself was a factor. Poor continues to work as the podcast's cohost and coproducer.
The Ear Hustle podcast tells of life inside a prison in intricate detail. Through the stories of inmates, listeners hear strategies to survive a lockdown. They learn what it's like to age in prison and about life on death row. They witness the impact of three-strikes laws on people's lives. Music, dating, love, privacy, and letters also get discussed.
Listeners also get to hear what happens after people get out. They also hear about what life is like for other recently released inmates. In one episode, the Ear Hustle podcast interviews two once-incarcerated men. While there is happiness in getting out, there is also much fear, too.
It's almost impossible for the uninitiated to imagine life in prison. So listeners have many questions. Once every season, the show's hosts invite listeners to send “kites.” Kite is prison slang for an illegal note passed between inmates. In the context of Ear Hustle, a kite is a postcard or voicemail with a question about prison life. Kites are an opportunity to dispel common myths and also answer funny questions.
Ear Hustle is a great listen for anyone curious about life in prison. It treats its subjects with dignity and humanity. In this way, it becomes easier for listeners to see the person behind the labels of “inmate,” “con,” or “thug.”
Episodes