Behind 'Ear Hustle,' The Podcast Made In Prison
Inmate Earlonne Woods and artist Nigel Poor have created a hit podcast from inside California's San Quentin State Prison. Ear Hustle tells stories of prison life, and is now in its second season.
Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods wanted to start a podcast about life in prison. It would be for inmates, by inmates, to be played on the closed-circuit station in San Quentin State Prison in California — "for the inside," as Woods says.
Woods is serving a 31-years-to-life sentence for attempted second-degree robbery. Poor is a visual artist who volunteers at San Quentin.
Their humble expectations grew when they found out about a talent contest for new podcasts, sponsored by the distributor Radiotopia. They entered. They won. And their podcast, Ear Hustle, became a hit. ("Ear hustle means eavesdropping in on other peoples' conversation — being nosy," Woods explains.)
Poor says,
