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Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle
Ear Hustle & Radiotopia

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always... more

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Episodes

Hope Lacquer

Inside prison, as well as out, some of us cling to stuff and some of us let go. In this... more

17 Apr 2024 · 49 minutes
Five Mirrors

Twelve years ago, Nigel asked San Quentin resident Greg Eskridge to write a list of everything he owned in prison.... more

03 Apr 2024 · 44 minutes
What's Up, Michael Freeman?

A bucolic garden, six kinds of breakfast cereal, and around-the-clock bedside vigil: How one California prison is trying to mitigate... more

20 Mar 2024 · 53 minutes
A Rock Across a Lake

We’ve never based a whole episode on a poem before, but this one, by Sky, took us by surprise. It’s... more

06 Mar 2024 · 28 minutes
Ear Hustle Extra: A Sneak Peek at "Cellies, with Commentary"

Season 13 is coming soon; in the meantime, here’s a glimpse of what’s going on in Ear Hustle Plus, our... more

14 Feb 2024 · 11 minutes
Bunkies

In honor of our 100th episode (!) Ear Hustle revisits our very first one – “Cellies” – this time with... more

20 Dec 2023 · 46 minutes
Shine Some Light

When she was in her 20s, Shanna was the victim of a violent attack. Ten years later, she’s ready to... more

29 Nov 2023 · 42 minutes
That World

Not long ago, Nigel and Earlonne spent time at the largest women’s prison in the world: The Central California Women’s... more

15 Nov 2023 · 47 minutes
Do You Think There Are Ghosts Here?

Can a prison be haunted? And why are good ghost stories — inside or outside of prison — so hard... more

01 Nov 2023 · 38 minutes
San Quentin: The Magazine

If San Quentin were a magazine, what would it sound like? Ear Hustle’s new team inside – Sadiq, Steve, Tam,... more

18 Oct 2023 · 1 hour,
Transitional

Producer Rahsaan “New York” Thomas takes us inside the parole-ordered transitional housing he’s been living in since getting out of... more

04 Oct 2023 · 38 minutes
Once You're in the Ocean, You're Going Everywhere

Prisons weren’t designed for older folks, and the California Institution for Women is no exception. Nigel and Earlonne pay a... more

20 Sep 2023 · 54 minutes
12 Hours on the Yard

Inspired by the classic This American Life episode “ 24 Hours at the Golden Apple,” the Ear Hustle team documents... more

06 Sep 2023 · 49 minutes
Ear Hustle Presents: Violation

It’s summertime! Which means the Ear Hustle team is off cooking up a new batch of stories for our next... more

05 Jul 2023 · 35 minutes
Ear Hustle Extra: Pride Month Special

In honor of Pride month, we’re serving up some of our best stories about the LGBTQ community inside prison, including:... more

21 Jun 2023 · 50 minutes
Articles of Hustle

Is there such a thing as a prison uniform? Turns out, it takes two podcasts to answer that question. Nigel... more

07 Jun 2023 · 52 minutes
The Preacher

Over at San Quentin, a new preacher has started drawing crowds on the yard. He’s charismatic, soft-spoken, and devout. He... more

24 May 2023 · 44 minutes
Abundant and Passionate Trash

Imagine you’re an archaeologist tasked with going through someone’s garbage. What will you learn about their habits and desires, their... more

10 May 2023 · 1 hour, 5 minutes
Catch a Kite 8

Can incarcerated women dye their hair? Do they have enough tampons and pads? What makes them happy, and how realistic... more

26 Apr 2023 · 33 minutes
Do You Know Who I Am?

For years, we’ve asked incarcerated people to speculate on the difference between life inside a men’s prison vs inside a... more

12 Apr 2023 · 31 minutes
Saber-Toothed Cat

What’s the difference between an over-under and a lower-lower? How many pairs of underwear do you get in prison? And... more

29 Mar 2023 · 38 minutes
OGs Got Hella Tricks

San Quentin’s population is changing, and a lot of the old ways are dying out. But some prison OGs don’t... more

15 Mar 2023 · 34 minutes
Dream On

When you’re incarcerated, are your dreams set outside prison walls? Or out on the prison yard? Are they a comforting... more

01 Mar 2023 · 45 minutes
Ear Hustle Extra: Welcome Home, New York

After 22 years in prison, our inside colleague Rahsaan “New York” Thomas is now a free man. We meet him... more

22 Feb 2023 · 15 minutes
Ear Hustle Extra: Sam Quentin

Lieutenant Sam Robinson has been with Ear Hustle since day one. As he retires from his post as Public Information... more

11 Jan 2023 · 27 minutes
Karen

While she was in jail awaiting her sentence, Karen was housed with a pregnant cellie on the verge of giving... more

14 Dec 2022 · 37 minutes
What’s Dangerous About Trees

If you have to serve prison time, Norway is the place to do it … at least that’s what we’d... more

30 Nov 2022 · 43 minutes
Wishful Thinking

The Ear Hustle music episode returns! We catch up with some guys at San Quentin who are longing for love,... more

16 Nov 2022 · 44 minutes
Fences

From 180s and 270s to “just one long-ass hallway,” different kinds of prison architecture leave different marks on the people... more

02 Nov 2022 · 40 minutes
Pockets

Prisons are built with one thing in mind: surveillance. The architecture is designed to assert control and diminish privacy. But... more

19 Oct 2022 · 44 minutes
Some Darkness and Some Light

Stories from our first-ever international reporting trip! From the nightclubs of Oslo, to Norway’s first in-prison Pride parade, to an... more

05 Oct 2022 · 54 minutes
Actual/Factual

Sam Brown spent 24 years in prison not just denying his crime, but lying about it, over and over again.... more

21 Sep 2022 · 44 minutes
The Five Senses

Life in prison can mess with your senses. There are smells you can’t unsmell, and sounds you long to hear.... more

07 Sep 2022 · 36 minutes
Ear Hustle Presents: Uncuffed

A special episode from Uncuffed : During the COVID lockdown at San Quentin, Steve and Darren both got unexpected letters... more

24 Aug 2022 · 25 minutes
Ear Hustle Presents: My Mother Made Me

The Ear Hustle team is hard at work on our next season, which launches September 7! In the meantime, we’d... more

03 Aug 2022 · 33 minutes
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... more

08 Jun 2022 · 50 minutes
Last Memory: Michael

The day before committing the crime that sent him to prison, Michael stood in a parking lot in Bakersfield, California,... more

25 May 2022 · 29 minutes
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... more

11 May 2022 · 37 minutes
What Is This?

Life in prison, without regular sex and intimacy, can cause all sorts of emotional and physical issues. Yep, we're going... more

27 Apr 2022 · 38 minutes
Gabrieleen Silver Queen

What happens to a prison town when its main prison closes? The residents of Susanville, in Northern California, are about... more

13 Apr 2022 · 42 minutes
Is Your Name Alfredo?

Six massive murals span hundreds of feet across the walls of a San Quentin chow hall, depicting the history of... more

30 Mar 2022 · 36 minutes
Boots and Max

We talk about love on Ear Hustle, plenty, but it’s hard to think of prison as a “romantic” place. What... more

16 Mar 2022 · 27 minutes
15 Minutes

In California and many other states, calls from prison are limited to 15 minutes and are monitored, recorded, and often... more

02 Mar 2022 · 19 minutes
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... more

23 Feb 2022 · 6 minutes
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’... more

26 Jan 2022 · 4 minutes
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... more

29 Dec 2021 · 33 minutes
Camp Grace

This past fall, we followed a group of kids into Salinas Valley State Prison to spend two days with their... more

22 Dec 2021 · 39 minutes
Tray, Tumbler, Spork

Earlier this year, some of the Ear Hustle team spent a month living under a specific set of constraints informed... more

08 Dec 2021 · 54 minutes
Yard of Dreams

Sports in prison are more than just games. They can be an outlet for stress, the realization of dreams deferred,... more

17 Nov 2021 · 53 minutes
Counting Lines

Going to prison in your home country can be disorienting enough. What about when you’re new to the culture, don’t... more

03 Nov 2021 · 54 minutes
Taxx Is Tripping

What does it take to be bonnaroo in prison? We explore the creative ways people inside transform and beautify their... more

20 Oct 2021 · 55 minutes
Stormy Monday

At Ear Hustle, we hear more from listeners about music than on almost any other topic. In response, we bring... more

06 Oct 2021 · 56 minutes
Do It Movin’

We bring you stories about the ups and downs of making bail and the bittersweet taste of freedom when you... more

22 Sep 2021 · 49 minutes
August 21, 1971

August 21, 1971 was the deadliest day in San Quentin history, and it’s still a painful topic, both inside the... more

08 Sep 2021 · 55 minutes
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... more

25 Aug 2021 · 2 minutes
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... more

11 Aug 2021 · 37 minutes
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... more

09 Jun 2021 · 1 hour, 6 minutes
Cracked Windshield

A year after George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer, the Ear Hustle team and friends talk... more

26 May 2021 · 41 minutes
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... more

12 May 2021 · 44 minutes
Catch a Kite 6

Can you have an Xbox in your prison cell? Is it OK to say “inmate”? How have stimulus checks affected... more

28 Apr 2021 · 45 minutes
Ear Hustle
Home for Me Is Really a Memory
Ear Hustle
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Description

Leslie has served more time in prison than anyone we’ve ever interviewed on the show: over half a century, for a crime... more