The letters come from all over: incarcerated men and women listening to Ear Hustle on their tablets, fans tuning in from as far as Australia and the Philippines. Most of the time, the feedback is positive — but not always. On this first-ever letters episode, we follow up with a few of those listeners. 

Thank you to Caroline, Gabby, and Jennifer, for talking to us for this episode. 

This episode was scored with music by David Jassy, Antwan Williams, Dwight Krizman, and Bruce Wallace. 

Big thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Avina at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of the show. 

Don’t miss Ear Hustle Live on tour! Get the scoop at earhustlesq.com/tour. 

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. 

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

Today, we're sharing something a little different in the feed: an episode of the podcast Blood Will Tell. 

Blood Will Tell chronicles the aftermath of a birthday party in suburban San Jose that turned deadly. Two 18-year-olds were arrested for suspicion of murder. One brother spent nearly two years in jail before the truth came out: Authorities locked up the wrong twin. 

How could one brother let his twin take the fall? And why would the other sacrifice his freedom for a crime that he didn't commit? Blood Will Tell is a modern-day saga following Vietnamese-American brothers whose unbreakable bond is tested by silence, sacrifice, and an unthinkable choice. 

You can find more episodes of Blood Will Tell at wondery.com/shows/blood-will-tell.

From beatboxing, to blues, to a song of praise once heard in the Met Museum, musicians in San Quentin have created some indelible songs. And we have featured a number of them on Ear Hustle. In this episode, Earlonne and Nigel listen back to some of their favorites.  

You can hear more of the music we’ve featured on Ear Hustle here, and watch Silas Farley’s “Songs from the Spirit” at the Met here. 

Thank you to Matthew “Redbone” Brown III, Jason “Jukebox” Griffin, Tam Nguyen, the Mexican Nationals Band, David Jassy, Lemar “Maverick” Harrison, Charlie Spencer, and Richie Morris, for playing music for us. 

This episode was scored with music by David Jassy and Antwan Williams. 

Big thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Avina at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of the show. 

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. 

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

Earlonne brings his second selection from the archives: an episode from Ear Hustle’s first season about how people care for each other in a harsh place. 

Dealing with aging and death is never easy. But in prison, these issues are fraught with extra challenges, both emotional and physical. Meet two inmates serving extended sentences who grapple with the idea of dying in prison, and have also stepped up to take care of their fellow aging prisoners.

Sound design for this episode is by Antwan Williams, with extra music tracks supplied by JB Burton. Thanks to Lonnie Morris, Richard Lathan, and Andres Eric Watson for sharing their stories. And special thanks to Anthony Marzett for being on the receiving end of Andres’ shit talk. 

Big thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Avina at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of the show.
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. 

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

At the start of a new year, Nigel revisits an episode about time passing and one man’s experience of four decades behind bars: our 2023 episode “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 how long does a bar of soap last? We spend an entire episode with one San Quentin OG who schools us on the history of prison and what 46 years inside will do to a man.

Episode artwork by Scott McKinstry, part of a collaboration between Ear Hustle and the San Quentin Prison Arts Project, which is part of the William James Association (WJA) and is also supported by California's Arts in Corrections program. 

This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams, Earlonne Woods, Rhashiyd Zinnamon, and David Jassy. 

Big thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Avina at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of the show.

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. 

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

For the final episode of our all-NYC series, we take the train uptown to the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, where a group of incarcerated dads from Rikers Island are playing games, eating lunch, and doing arts and crafts with their kids. 

This is the sixth episode of “The Loop,” Ear Hustle’s six-part series about kids in New York City who are caught up, one way or another, in the criminal justice system. 

Ear Hustle would like to thank Leslie Bushara, Chief Program Officer; and Dava Schub, Chief Executive Officer and Museum Director at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan; as well as the following people at New York City Department of Correction: Patrick Gallahue, Deputy Commissioner of Public Information; Annais Morales, Press Secretary; Latima Johnson, Press Officer; Anne Penson, Executive Director of Reintegration Services; Douglas Shore, Director of Reintegration Services; Jessica Medard, Executive Director of Facility Programs (RNDC); and Betty Melecio, Executive Director of Facility Programs (OBCC). 

As always, thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Newborg at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of our work.

Tickets are now on sale for our upcoming live shows in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles! Get them before they're gone, at earhustlesq.com/tour. 

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. 

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

Kaysha is in her early 20s: low on resources, but big on dreams. Sometimes, those dreams feel tantalizingly close to reality; other times, she's pulled back into a life she badly wants to leave behind. We follow Kaysha for a year and a half as she tries to break out of the loop. 

This is the fifth episode of “The Loop,” Ear Hustle’s six-part series about kids in New York City who are caught up, one way or another, in the criminal justice system. 

Ear Hustle would like to thank: Joanne Smith-Darden, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Ruth T. Koehler Endowed Professor in Children's Services, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; Heather McCauley, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; and Adam Brown, Associate Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York, for their tremendous support of this project. 

Big thanks, too, to the Drama Club team — including Josie Whittlesey, Cesar Rosado, Tiffany “Tiny” Cruz, Abby Pierce, Sophie Jones, and Ashley Adams. You can find out more about their work here.

And thanks to Nancy Ginsberg, Aylese Kanze, and Commissioner Danhauser at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services for saying “yes” to this project.

As always, thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Newborg at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of our work.

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. 

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

Boys at Crossroads outnumber girls 10 to one, but if you ask staff about who’s harder to work with, it’s the girls, hands down. To find out for ourselves and learn more about life on the girls’ hall, we follow two sisters who have cycled in and out of New York’s juvenile justice system. 

This is the fourth episode of “The Loop,” Ear Hustle’s six-part series about kids in New York City who are caught up, one way or another, in the criminal justice system. 

Ear Hustle would like to thank: Joanne Smith-Darden, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Ruth T. Koehler Endowed Professor in Children's Services, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; Heather McCauley, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; and Adam Brown, Associate Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York, for their tremendous support of this project. 

Big thanks, too, to the Drama Club team — including Josie Whittlesey, Cesar Rosado, Tiffany “Tiny” Cruz, Abby Pierce, Sophie Jones, and Ashley Adams. You can find out more about their work here.

And thanks to Nancy Ginsberg, Aylese Kanze, and Commissioner Danhauser at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services for saying “yes” to this project.

As always, thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Newborg at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of our work.

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. 

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

At Crossroads, just three little letters — SMD — can spark some very big drama. This episode is all about conflict: watching it, responding to it, and getting it started. Keys fly, milk is thrown, and insults are hurled, while adults and kids figure out how to deal with it and keep the peace.

This is the third episode of “The Loop,” Ear Hustle’s six-part series about kids in New York City who are caught up, one way or another, in the criminal justice system. 

Ear Hustle would like to thank: Joanne Smith-Darden, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Ruth T. Koehler Endowed Professor in Children's Services, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; Heather McCauley, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; and Adam Brown, Associate Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York, for their tremendous support of this project. 

Big thanks, too, to the Drama Club team — including Josie Whittlesey, Cesar Rosado, Tiffany “Tiny” Cruz, Abby Pierce, Sophie Jones, and Ashley Adams. You can find out more about their work here.

And thanks to Nancy Ginsberg, Aylese Kanze, and Commissioner Danhauser at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services for saying “yes” to this project.

As always, thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Newborg at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of our work.

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. 

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

Nigel and Earlonne get a peek inside one of Crossroad’s residential halls, and hear from kids and staff about what it’s like to live and work here. Along the way, they cause some drama of their own. 

This is the second episode of “The Loop,” Ear Hustle’s six-part series about kids in New York City who are caught up, one way or another, in the criminal justice system. 

Ear Hustle would like to thank: Joanne Smith-Darden, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Ruth T. Koehler Endowed Professor in Children's Services, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; Heather McCauley, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Michigan State University and Co-Director, SPARK Lab; and Adam Brown, Associate Professor, Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York, for their tremendous support of this project. 

Big thanks, too, to the Drama Club team — including Josie Whittlesey, Cesar Rosado, Tiffany “Tiny” Cruz, Abby Pierce, Sophie Jones, and Ashley Adams. You can find out more about their work here. 

And thanks to Nancy Ginsberg, Aylese Kanze, and Commissioner Danhauser at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services for saying “yes” to this project. 

As always, thanks to Warden Andes and Lt. Berry at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate Warden Lewis, and Lt. Newborg at the California Institution for Women; and Warden De La Cruz and Lt. Williams at the Central California Women’s Facility for their support of our work. 

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. 

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