Season Four of Radiotopia’s “Ear Hustle” Podcast Launches Today

Ear Hustle, the acclaimed podcast featuring stories of daily life inside San Quentin State Prison from the perspective of those living it--created by Bay Area visual artist Nigel Poor, former inmate Earlonne Woods, San Quentin resident Antwan Williams, and Radiotopia--today kicked off season four and introduced a new co-host to listeners.

Today’s episode brings listeners to San Quentin’s Reception Center, where incarcerated men wait to find out where they will serve their time. In new episodes released every other Wednesday through October 2, Ear Hustle will feature stories that touch on a variety of experiences from within the prison, such as the significance of mail, musical culture in San Quentin, the complexities of restorative justice, and living in prison after decades on death row.

After co-hosting the podcast as an incarcerated man at San Quentin for three seasons, Woods’ sentence was commuted in 2018. New this season, Ear Hustle will also bring listeners stories of life outside prison and reentry into society.

Also new this season, Rahsaan ‘New York’ Thomas--who has been incarcerated at San Quentin for more than five years--joins Ear Hustle as a co-host, alongside Woods and Poor. Thomas has appeared on previous episodes of the podcast and has written for publications including The Marshall Project and San Quentin News. San Quentin’s John ‘Yahya’ Johnson also joins Ear Hustle as a new producer.

“This season, we expanded the team and are pushing ourselves to tell stories that won’t always have tidy endings,” said Nigel Poor, co-host and co-creator. “Some of the episodes will ask listeners to dig deep and contemplate challenging topics. As always, our mandate is to pass the mic to those not often asked to speak.”

“This season will be a little different than what’s come before, with stories from both life inside prison and of life outside,” said Earlonne Woods, co-host and co creator. “My own life has changed a lot since the podcast began, so it’s natural that with this new season, the podcast is changing a little too. And, I’m thrilled Rahsaan is part of our team. There are a lot of stories to tell, and a lot to hear.”

“In 2016, PRX’s Radiotopia embarked on Podquest, an open call to creators everywhere, seeking a bold new podcast that would reach new audiences and tell stories not yet heard,” said Julie Shapiro, executive producer of the Radiotopia podcast network. “Ear Hustle emerged from more than 1,500 international entries. Nigel, Earlonne and the production team have an unmatched ability to tell stories that have a direct line to the heart, and are heard by millions. We can’t wait for listeners to hear this new, vital season of the podcast.”

Nominated for a Peabody Award in 2017 and 2018, Ear Hustle is the recipient of the 2019 iHeartRadio Podcast Award for Best Social Impact, the 2019 Webby Award for Podcasts and Digital Audio and the 2019 SPJ NorCal James Madison Freedom of Information Award for Audio Journalism. Ear Hustle has been praised by The New Yorker as “ambitious… empathetic and quietly shocking” and by Rolling Stone for providing a “fascinating, harrowing [and] deeply entertaining look into life on the inside that runs the full gamut of emotions.”

Poor and Woods have recently appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. and at the 2019 Code for America Summit in San Francisco. In 2019, they will be featured speakers at Podcast Movement in Orlando, Florida (August 13-16), the Internazionale a Ferrara festival in Italy (October 4-6), and at additional venues to be announced.

Ear Hustle is available on RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, and where podcasts are available.