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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The jig was up for Ryan, so he told police he’d turn himself in. His mom had one request: a... more

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

This season we're flipping the script on our traditional Catch a Kite episodes, exploring questions asked and answered between San... more

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes, when you’re up against a big state institution, you have to make some trouble. For this mini-episode, part of... more

We’re between seasons but have an exciting update to share with listeners: Our friend and colleague Rahsaan “New York” Thomas’... more

While Ear Hustle works on its next season, which starts March 2, we wanted to introduce you to the podcast... more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ear Hustle’s eighth season launches on September 8th with a dramatic account of one of the most notorious days in... more

With just a few weeks to go before Ear Hustle returns with Season 8, we wanted to introduce listeners to... more

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

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

Toothpaste, ramen noodles, sneakers, coffee creamer. If you want to shop from prison, it’s either the commissary or a prison-approved... more

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

A small Israeli bakery in downtown San Francisco has offered first jobs to dozens of lifers just out of prison.... more

Marcel and Angie each spent years in prisons determined by the gender on their birth certificate, not the one they... more

Visiting a loved one in prison is both emotionally intense and constrained by countless rules – from how much PDA... more

A lot has happened since we got behind the mics to record Ear Hustle’s first season. As we begin our... more

While we work on our next season, launching March 3, we’re excited to introduce you to a new podcast series... more

One in five incarcerated people in the U.S. has tested positive for COVID-19, and here in California, more than 100... more

In 1990, Leonard attacked a female hiker off a trail along the California coast. Three decades later, we hear the... more

Incarcerated people have long played an important role in firefighting in California. Now, in the middle of the state’s worst... more

Back before the pandemic, Nigel and Earlonne joined Jenn White (WAMU’s 1A, formerly WBEZ) on stage in Chicago for a... more

Incarceration doesn’t just separate a parent from his or her child, it changes that relationship forever, often leaving wounds that... more

For our first-annual Ear Hustle Cook Off, four formerly-incarcerated people replicate meals they used to make inside their cells, using... more

Six cubic feet. That’s how much stuff each incarcerated person in California is allowed to have in his or her... more

Being incarcerated doesn’t always mean staying in one place. Ear Hustle kicks off Season Six with stories from inside the... more

Ear Hustle will be back with new episodes starting September 9. In the meantime, we talk with people experiencing the... more

Getting out of prison means freedom, but this liberation often comes with caveats. In our final episode of the season,... more

Hollywood loves stories about fugitives on the run, but in reality that lifestyle is anything but glamorous, especially for those... more

Every season we answer questions from listeners in our Catch a Kite episode. This time around, formerly incarcerated people lend... more

Four women share their stories of loving incarcerated men, and the challenges they face in maintaining their relationships, staying hopeful... more

One crime is treated differently than all others, both inside and outside prison. People who commit sex crimes against children... more

The relationships between incarcerated people and the correctional officers who guard their prisons are often as bad as you might... more

As the Coronavirus pandemic locks down parts of America and the world, we revisit an episode from 2018, about how... more

In prison, almost everyone has a nickname, and whether true or not, nearly every nickname has a story behind it.... more

In honor of the launch of “Over the Road,” Radiotopia’s new show about long-haul trucking, Earlonne and Nigel talk with... more

Back in 2016, our podcast network, Radiotopia, made the Ear Hustle dream a reality. In honor of Radiotopia’s annual fundraiser,... more

Surprise! In this season four bonus episode, Earlonne sits down with Ear Hustle co-founder and sound design contributor, Antwan “Banks”... more

Tom was a cop; Jason was a teenager in a gang. One night in 1997, they had a violent encounter... more

Historically, death sentences in California have led to eventual execution by the state. But these days, public opinion and state... more

Sleep, soundtracks and signing in prison — the Ear Hustle crew tackles questions from listeners about these topics and more,... more

Getting a job after serving time is crucial to rebuilding your life, but a criminal record inevitably gets in the... more

Running a prison takes a lot of work, and not just by the staff running the place. At San Quentin... more

I think we can all agree: It’s high time we devoted a full episode to the music of San Quentin.... more

How does dating work in your 30s when you’ve been locked up since you were 15? How soon do you... more

Serving a prison sentence is hard, but getting out isn’t exactly a cakewalk, either. A lot depends on who’s waiting... more

Hardly anyone writes letters anymore. On the streets it’s all texting, posting, sharing and liking. But in prison, pens, paper,... more

Ear Hustle is back with season four! Let’s get oriented: to a new format and a new inside host, and... more

Ear Hustle is back with season four, starting June 5. Mark your calendars and tell your friends!

Ear Hustle will return with season four later this year, but in the meantime, here’s a timely bonus episode. Nigel... more

As the annual Radiotopia fundraiser wraps up, we bring you one final missive of the year, including an appeal for... more

In prison, life’s major milestones usually pass at a distance. In our season three finale, Earlonne gets up close to... more

Earlonne and Nigel got some big news earlier this week, from the office of California Governor Jerry Brown. Stay tuned for... more

Despite the additional hurdles involved, daters in prison fall into the same categories as daters on the outside: romantics, hopefuls... more

When you’re incarcerated, falling in love with prison staff or volunteers is prohibited. But… it happens. And it happened to... more

A “kite” is prison slang for a written note, and since Ear Hustle launched we’ve encouraged listeners to send in... more

This time on Ear Hustle we’re trying something different: we’re diving into San Quentin’s 166-year history. Normally, we get the... more

Being an immigrant in an American prison can pose unique challenges, like deciding which racial group you’ll identify with. But... more

During a San Quentin lockdown, the prison grinds to a halt, and men are confined to their cells 24 hours... more

Ready for more stories about life inside? We bet. Season three of Ear Hustle drops September 12. In the meantime,... more

Leaving an organization or community often calls for an exit strategy – even in prison. In this final episode of... more

Of the thousands of people incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, no one is openly gay. No one. And only... more

San Quentin houses California’s only death row for male inmates. And though it’s technically not far from the media lab,... more

A “kite” is prison slang for a written note. Since Ear Hustle launched, we’ve encouraged listeners to send in their... more

Parenting is never easy, but from prison it's especially challenging. In this episode, incarcerated fathers share their stories of striving... more

Looking good and feeling good matters just as much on the inside, as on the outside. But in prison, you... more

Sex trafficking crimes are hard to talk about. In this episode, Sara and LA share their individual experiences of being... more

“Firsts” in prison can be especially memorable: the first time you meet your cellie, or leave the prison for medical... more

Ear Hustle is back March 14th! To tide you over until then, here’s a taste of season two. Find out more... more

Music is an important part of Ear Hustle, and there are many talented musicians in the San Quentin community. Listeners... more

There are only a few ways to leave prison: serve your time, get out early on parole... or escape. Steve, Danny,... more

Dealing with aging and death is never easy. But in prison, these issues are fraught with extra challenges, both emotional... more

“I’m a stupid idiot who stole some money.” Curtis Roberts was sentenced to 50 years to life, under the three... more

The color of your skin influences your life in prison, from sharing food to celebrating birthdays. Meet Andrew Sabatino (Drew... more

Being married in prison is common. Opportunities to get intimate with your spouse are not, and – like everything else... more

“Kite” is a common term in prison for a written note. Over the course of the season, listeners have been encouraged... more

The hole, the box, solitary confinement. It doesn’t matter what you call it; doing time in the SHU (Security Housing... more

The need to nurture and show love for another living being (or, in San Quentin parlance, “looking out”) is an... more

Tommy Shakur Ross grew up in South Central Los Angles in the 1980’s. As a boy, he was seduced by... more

At San Quentin Prison, the typical cell measures approximately 4’ x 9’ and contains a bunk bed, toilet, sink, two... more

Ear Hustle brings you stories of life inside prison, shared and produced by those living it. The podcast is a... more