Ear Hustle

Could telling Sadiq and Demarion’s story actually make things worse between them? And were we right to be concerned that SQ's public information officer wouldn't sign off on a story about penis modification? For our latest editorial roundtable, the outside team sits down to discuss two recent episodes: “Bag of Skittles” and “Over and Over and Over and Over.” 

Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radioto...

Earlonne relistens to the final episode of Ear Hustle’s first season, about one official and one unofficial way to get out of prison. 

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 ...

Even though they share a difficult past, Sadiq and Demarion had never met in person, and it was probably best that it stayed that way. When an event at San Quentin brought them together, Demarion faced an agonizing choice. 

This episode was scored with music by Derrell Sadiq Davis, Demarion English, David Jassy, and Antwan Williams. 

Thanks, as always, to Warden Andes, Lt. Berry, and Sgt. Graves at San Quentin Rehabilitatio...

At North Kern State Prison, incarcerated people are being trained to do what staff cannot: provide peer support, whether it’s with addiction, cellie drama, or just adjusting to prison life. Nigel and Earlonne pay a couple visits, and hit some walls along the way. 

This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams, David Jassy, Dwight Krisman, and Derrell Sadiq Davis. 

Big thanks to PIO Lt. Huckleberry and Warden H...

From obsessive body-building to extreme tattoos and other transformations: stories about the ways people in prison think about and try to change their bodies. Plus: “the California body,” explained. 

This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams, David Jassy, Dwight Krisman, and Derrell Sadiq Davis. 

Big thanks to Warden Andes, Lt. Berry, and Sgt. Graves at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warde...

Nigel says no matter where you are, everyone has a story to tell about a hug: good, bad, or awkward. Earlonne isn’t buying it. 

Thanks to Alonzo, Deonza, Harmon, Maurice, Ralph, Carlos, Michael, and Rocky for speaking to us on the yard at San Quentin. 

This episode was scored with music by David Jassy, Antwan Williams, Earlonne Woods, Derell Sadiq Davis, and Bruce Wallace.

Big thanks to Warden Andes, Lt. Berry, and Sgt...

For our latest installment in the ”revisiting” series, Nigel and Earlonne time-travel back to Season 4 and the uncertain futures of men who were living on San Quentin’s now-shuttered death row.  

Big thanks to everyone who shared their stories with us for this episode: Al aka Watson Allison, Abu Qadir Al-Amin, Lt. Sam Robinson, and Lonnie Morris.

This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams, David Jass...

The last time Domonica saw her dad, he was behind prison glass and she was just six years old. Now, more than two decades later, they’re trying to rebuild their relationship. But a few things stand in the way. 

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

Big thanks to Warden Andes, Lt. Berry, and Sgt. Graves at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center; Acting Warden Parker, Associate War...

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 b...

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. 

Th...

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 thei...

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 w...

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...

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 anot...

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 w...

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...

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 t...

In the first episode of Ear Hustle’s all-new, all-New-York series, Nigel and Earlonne head to Brooklyn to hang out with incarcerated kids and staff at the Crossroads Juvenile Center. 

For Earlonne, it’s a trip down memory lane. For Nigel, it’s a crash course in interviewing teenagers. For listeners, it’s a window into the world of incarcerated young people and an innovative program called Drama Club.&nbs...

Next week we’re dropping the first episode of our six-part series about kids who are involved, one way or another, in New York City’s criminal justice system, and an innovative program that’s teaching them the skills of theatrical improv. We’re calling it “The Loop.” Here’s a sneak peek. 

You can find the series, starting October 8, wherever you listen to Ear Hustle. 

Ear Hustle is ...