The yard at San Quentin
Hi- I am a Marin resident and often take the ferry to the city. Years ago, I would see men on the yard that faces the bay when floating by on the ferry. But now when I look, I realize that this yard could not possibly be the one you guys describe on the show and I never see anyone on it anymore. Where is the main yard on SQ and what is the smaller yard facing the bay for? Absolutley LOVE the show and tell everyone I know that they need to listen. Thanks for your work! Sue (listen on Apple podcasts)
A most surprising thing
Hi Earlonne and Nigel I wonder if each you could name something about your tour that was surprising, maybe something unexpected. Ear Hustle is my favorite podcast of all time. I have learned so much and feel like I’m a better human for it. Thanks so much for your courage and for how you inspire courage in the people you interview and the people who listen.
Chain Gang All Stars
Hi Earlonne & Nigel, So grateful for your show. It is truly the most transformative podcast I’ve ever heard. It’s my number one recommendation when anyone asks for a podcast. You are both such gifted interviewers! Wondering if you, or anyone on the team, has read Chain Gang All Stars. As I was reading it, I was so curious to hear how someone might relate or process this novel about an imagined carceral system of a distopian near-future. How is our current system set up to reward incarcerated folks who turn on one another rather than encouraging collaboration and mutual support? And how does a gruesome sort of voyeurism play in to how the public at large interacts with prisons (and all the true crime we consume)? After reading the book I was left feeling that while it’s a work of speculative fiction, it’s closer to our reality than it should be…but maybe this might not hold true for folks who have actually experienced incarceration. Thanks again for your amazing work!!!! Liza
Power Dynamics in the Team
Hi there, I'm a mental health peer worker, and part of our training is around being very aware of power dynamics in peer/consumer or clinician/peer relationships. As peers, we strive for mutuality as much as possible. This means we might remove our lanyards when meeting a consumer, certainly invite the consumer to choose as much as possible about the way we meet, and how the meeting is documented - things like that. My question: how do you address power dynamics at Ear Hustle? How do you think about/talk about the power dynamics of interviewing an incarcerated person as a free person? How do you talk about them in terms of you guys as a team, with some incarcerated folks, some once incarcerated folks, and some never incarcerated folks? Do you do any exercises around privilege/power as a team? The last part of my question is about trauma. As interviewers, many times I imagine you have to ask the hard questions. Sometimes though, I must say I flinch a little bit, when someone gets asked a really devastating question about some terrible thing that can't be undone, in such a way that I wonder if the trauma, or effect of being asked that question, was weighed up - and what are the ethics of that, given the various power dynamics at play? I love the podcast, thanks for your work on it.
Prison education programs
Hi! Big fan of Ear Hustle. I recommend it frequently to others. I am a math professor and listening to Ear Hustle contributed to me volunteering to teach in the prison education program that was recently started at my institution (Virginia Wesleyan University). I taught a course in the spring semester and I am currently teaching another course. I have loved the experience so far. I know there are statistics about the reduction in recitivism rates for incarcerated people who complete college courses and/or degrees. Question for Earlonne and Nigel: Do you think the reduction in recitivism is related to completing the courses; having someone from the outside coming in to do the teaching and work with incarcerated people; a combination of those; other factors? Although I am currently only on the 2nd course in a correctional facility, I have seen that some of the logistical challenges for teaching are really different. Question for Nigel: A particular problem I have faced with my courses is what to do if I can't hold class. For example, I lost 2 weeks of class in the spring semester due to a lockdown and another week due to weather. Occasionaly, individual students can't come to class because their housing unit is on lockdown. On the outside, I would be able to use the internet to post materials for class. My incarcerated students don't have internet access (although we are told broadband is coming next year). How do you manage things like that when trying to fit your course in a correctional facility with an academic calendar and the need to have the course completed at the end of the semester?
Feelings of guilt, also Dateline
Hi Ear Hustle team! I have 2 questions today. 1. Some people think that incarcerated people should feel guilty about their crimes every day. What do you think the role of guilt should play in the lives of incarcerated people? And to clarify, I mean feelings of guilt, feeling bad, feeling sad etc, not guilt in terms of the law. 2. I love listening to the Dateline podcast too! Do either of you have any experience with someone who was on the show, and how did it impact them? Thanks so much, love you guys!
Follow up on #123 (the one on DUIs): Can you tell us more about Olivia's state of denial?
In episode 123, between minutes 9 and 11, Olivia says a combination of meds and not wanting to know kept her from finding out what happened the night she drove while intoxicated and ended up killing several people. But she was in a prison ward of a hospital, complete with bars separating her from visitors. I'm very surprised that she was able to keep herself from questioning her situation and that no hospital staff ended up telling her what happened. Did she say anything more about this that you didn't end up including in the episode? This is the first time, after listening to dozens of episodes, that you didn't ask all the questions that I would have liked to ask. Or maybe you did ask, but she didn't have any more answers than what you included.
Talent Envy
What's one talent you wish you had? I've always wanted to be able to sing (and dance) better than I do. Tam's beautiful voice and guitar playing on today's episode made me think about this. Thanks, as always, to the EH team for your gorgeous, heartwrenching storytelling! Kirsten (from Milwaukee)
Ear Hustle in other countries
How different would Ear Hustle be if you were to produce to in prisons in other countries? What do you think makes this show typically American? I am Ditjola and I listen from Zurich, Switzerland. Listening to your show has been such an experience. When I discovered it about 2 years ago I literaly "breathed" all the seasons in :D I am always a little sad when you are on a break because my podcast life gets less exciting. Please do consider a Europen tour, or just a Swiss tour :P
Regularly Featuring Justice Involved Women
I LOVED hearing the voices of women at CCWF and CIW. Women are the fastest growing incarcerated population and easily forgotten by the general public as well as many program providers and advocates in part because they are a small (~10%) proportion of the total incarcerated population. Because the pathways to and experiences of incarceration are very different for justice-involved men and women, the contrast as well as similarities in their stories is really important and would be compelling for listeners. What are your plans to more regularly feature women and their stories?
Envelope art
When I was a kid my dad was in and out of prisons across California (but mostly San Quentin). This was throughout the 90’s. I remember for birthdays he would mail my siblings and i letters that had elaborate color pencil drawings on the envelope- Mickey Mouse or other cartoon characters- always in colored pencil. Is this still common in San Quentin today or has the internet/technology changed this practice? And why colored pencil only? Thanks!
Incarceration in Media
Hi Ear Hustle Team! I feel like I'm constantly wondering about the portrayal of incarcerated people and prisons in various forms of media. Is it challenging for either of you to watch shows or movies that revolve around incarceration as the end goal for the "bad guy?" Does that type of programming usually have any type of nuance or does it feel reductive in terms of "good vs bad?" Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work! -Emma W from Massachusetts
Commutation - does it happen more often in California?
I’m listening to Ear Hustle Plus episode about Ant Ammon. I really like these “where are they now?” episodes. He’s another person whose sentence was commuted. He was a young offender and he took advantage of the programs offered and learned to make better choices. Are you aware of another state that commutes sentences as often or more California? Or another state with prison programs meant to break the cycle of people offending again? Thanks, Elizabeth Gardner See you in Austin, TX!
Stigma
I live in London and work with a lot of people who have dependency, addiction and associated issues. Stigma - amongst friends and families, in communities, and in systems - is never far from the surface and so hard to address. I believe Ear Hustle has done more to address stigma around people with prison experience globally than anything that has gone before. Was this always part of the plan and baked into the approach from the start, or has it emerged as one of the benefits of your extraordinary show as time has passed? Sending love and respect from the UK, Henry.
For Ears that Don't Hustle
Our household are big Ear Hustle fans, and recently my partner was at dinner with a friend and his wife touting the show's praise about your episode on popular books in prison. The friend's wife got uncomfortable and stated that she could never listen to Ear Hustle—her dad used to work at San Quentin (as what, we don't know). She explained that she and her family were always terrified he'd go into work and not come back. My partner felt this was close minded of her, but I felt more understanding that personal experiences can make the show hard to listen to for some. I know you have gotten complaints from listeners at times for the controversial contents of the show, but have you ever encountered anyone who says they straight up won't listen to Ear Hustle because of their personal experiences? What do you say to those people? And what might you say to our friends wife?