San Quentin houses California’s only death row for male inmates. And though it’s technically not far from the media lab, access to this area of the prison is highly restricted. Still, Earlonne and Nigel figured out a way to reach out to the guys there, and interviewed three men about daily life on death row.

Thanks to: Kevin Sawyer for recounting his memory of the execution that took place at San Quentin in 1999, Father George Williams and Rabbi Paul Shleffar for sitting down with us in the media lab, Steve Champion, Joseph Manuel Montes and Daniel Wozniak for speaking to us from death row, and Mesro Coles-El for his poem during Count Time. And as always, big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Davis for supporting the show.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods, with help from outside producer Pat Mesiti-Miller who comes in to lead the sound design team. This episode was scored and sound designed by Antwan Williams with contributions from David Jassy. Our story editor is Curtis Fox, and executive producer for Radiotopia is Julie Shapiro. Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com.

Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. Thank you for listening.

A “kite” is prison slang for a written note. Since Ear Hustle launched, we’ve encouraged listeners to send in their questions about the show and life inside via postcards, or “kites.” In this episode, Earlonne and Nigel dig into the pile of 1021 (!) postcards that have arrived from all over the world.

So many people contributed to this episode: Thanks to all the men in blue and volunteers who tried to guess the most common question we get asked. Thanks to Kevin Sawyer for talking books; Adnan Khan, Eddie Herera, Khalifa Christensen and Shadeed Wallace-Stepter for talking TV; Luke Colondres, Antwan Williams, Kevin Sawyer, Greg Eskridge, E Phil Phillips and Jason Jones for singing TV theme songs; Bruce Brew Fowler for explaining his tattoos; Rodney Card Man Wiley for performing his magic; Maserati E for performing music for us, and big thanks for Officer Girard for being the first Corrections Officer to get on the mic. Now and always: thanks to Lt Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Davis for their support of Ear Hustle.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods with help outside producer Pat Mesiti-Miller, who also comes in to lead the sound design team. This episode was scored and sound designed with music by David Jassy and Antwan Williams. Our consulting editor is Curtis Fox and executive producer for Radiotopia is Julie Shapiro.

Find out more at earhustlesq.com, including how to send a kite that might get answered in a future episode — just like this one. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

p.s. That answer to your question about whether we have t-shirts for sale? Yes, we do.

Parenting is never easy, but from prison it's especially challenging. In this episode, incarcerated fathers share their stories of striving to be present in their children's lives. One inmate reconnects with his son after 20 years. Another stays very involved through letters and visits. And a third gets the opportunity to give his teenaged son a haircut.
 
 Thanks to the fathers who shared their stories: Derrick, John and Maverick, and to Derrick Jr. for talking with us.
 
 Thick Glass was scored and sound designed by David Jassy and Antwan Williams, with contributions from Lee Jaspar (aka Matthew Lee Jasper), Eric “Maserati E” Abercrombie and Charlie Spencer. You can download Thick Glass here.
 
 Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Find out how Derrick has been doing since this episode originally aired, in the Ear Hustle Plus episode “Thick Glass Reflections.” To listen to all EH+ bonus content, sign up at earhustlesq.com/plus or directly in Apple Podcasts. 

Looking good and feeling good matters just as much on the inside, as on the outside. But in prison, you can't just walk to the barbershop, or stop by the store for the products you need, to accomplish either. In this episode, guys share their favorite workarounds that help them feel more human in prison, both physically and mentally.

Thanks to David Jassy, Wall Street, Jason Jones, Jesse Vasquez, Andres Yancey, Lady Jae, Eric Durr, Mesro Coles-El and Nicola Bucci for sharing their workarounds. This episode included music by David Jassy, Lee Jaspar (aka Matthew Lee Jasper) and Antwan Williams.

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

p.s. Speaking of looking good…have you ordered your Ear Hustle t-shirt yet?

Sex trafficking crimes are hard to talk about. In this episode, Sara and LA share their individual experiences of being “in the life,” at the same time demonstrating the difficult, yet important work of restorative justice.

Thanks to Sara Kruzan and Anthony Avil Scott (aka LA) for sharing their stories and for coming together to talk. You can read more about restorative justice and Sara’s work, here.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods, with help from outside produce Pat Mesiti-Miller who also leads the sound design team. This episode was scored by David Jassy with contributions from Antwan Williams. Our story editor is Curtis Fox and executive producer for Radiotopia is Julie Shapiro.

Big thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Davis for supporting the show. Thanks also to our sponsor NECTAR Sleep.

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

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. 

“Firsts” in prison can be especially memorable: the first time you meet your cellie, or leave the prison for medical treatment, or run your first marathon. Alongside these tales, Adnan Khan shares the story of his first visit from his mom, 13 years after he was incarcerated.

Thanks to Adnan Khan for sharing his story and Shane, Michael Thompson, Rahsaan Thomas, Jason Jones and Antwan Williams for also sharing their firsts.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods. Outside producer Pat Mesiti-Miller comes inside to lead the sound design team. This episode includes music by David Jassy, Antwan Williams, Joshua Burton & Dwight Krizman Our story editor is Curtis Fox and executive producer for Radiotopia is Julie Shapiro.

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com where you can also buy a brand new EH t-shirt! Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

Eternal thanks to Lt. Sam Robinson and Warden Ron Davis for supporting the show, and to our sponsors Burrow and NECTAR Sleep.

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

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Music is an important part of Ear Hustle, and there are many talented musicians in the San Quentin community. Listeners responded so enthusiastically to the music in season one, we’ve highlighted a few of the songs and musicians who performed them, in this bonus episode – just in time for the holidays.

Thanks to the these guys for contributing their musical talents to season one of Ear Hustle:

“Trying to Carrying On” was written by Richie Morris and performed by Richie Morris, Dwight Krizman and Charlie Spencer of Quentin Blue.

“Darn that Dream” was performed by Lee Jaspar (aka Matthew Lee Jasper) (original song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Eddie DeLange).

“Worth It” was written and performed by Jovon aka Scoob Stacks aka Novoj Mills.

“Jingle Bell Rock San Quentin” was written by Antwan Williams and performed by Antwan Williams, AJ aka Amador Gonzales and Maserati-E aka Eric Abercrombie.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor, Antwan Williams and Earlonne Woods with consulting editor Curtis Fox, outside production advisor Pat Mesiti-Miller and executive producer Julie Shapiro. Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @earhustlesq. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Happy holidays, thanks for listening, and stay tuned for season two, coming next March!

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

Steve, Danny, Phillip and Ron are all trying to make their way out of prison. In our final episode of the season, these men share their stories of going through the parole hearing process, and contemplate life on the outside after being incarcerated for decades.

Big thanks to Steve Wilson for telling his story, and to  Danny Plunket, Phillip Melendez and Ron Self for sharing their parole board experiences.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor, Antwan Williams and Earlonne Woods with consulting editor Curtis Fox, outside production advisor Pat Mesiti-Miller and executive producer Julie Shapiro. Music used in this episode was contributed by Antwan Williams, David Jassy, E. “Phil” Phillips and Earlonne Woods.

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Yet more thanks to our this season’s sponsors: Mail Chimp, Squarespace, Texture, Casper and Bombas, for supporting the show.

p.s. It’s hard to believe this is our final episode of Season One! Thanks tons to our amazing listeners all over the place, who have sent thousands of postcards and photos of where they listen.Your support and responsiveness has meant the world to us. Stay tuned for Season Two coming up in March, 2018! And in the meantime we’ll drop a few surprises in this feed, so stay with us. 

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. 

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.

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 of Andres’ shit talk.

Ear Hustle is produced by Nigel Poor, Antwan Williams and Earlonne Woods with consulting editor Curtis Fox, outside production advisor Pat Mesiti-Miller and executive producer Julie Shapiro. Sound design for this episode is by Antwan Williams, with extra music tracks supplied by JB Burton.

Find out more about the show at earhustlesq.com, including how to send us a question (by postcard) that might get answered in a future episode. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX.

Lastly! Yet more thanks to Mail Chimp, Squarespace and Texture for supporting the show.

Find out how Lonnie Morris has been doing since this episode originally aired, in the Ear Hustle Plus episode “Where’s Lonnie Now?” To listen to all EH+ bonus content, sign up at earhustlesq.com/plus or directly in Apple Podcasts.