Award-Winning Podcast “Uncuffed” That is Created in Prisons, Debuts New Season

The award-winning podcast Uncuffed from KALW Public Media returns on January 30 with new stories from inside California prisons. For the first time, the show will include voices from the California Institution for Women while continuing to share stories from inside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and Solano State Prison. The season’s host is acclaimed producer Greg Eskridge (above), recently released from San Quentin after serving 30 years.

This season looks back on pivotal events that shaped people’s lives before, during, and after incarceration, from childhood abuse and homelessness to the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising. Throughout the season, Eskridge, a cofounder of the Uncuffed prison radio training program in 2012 at San Quentin, will reckon with his own past and the messy process of reintegrating into society.

“Leaving prison and having an opportunity to continue to work with Uncuffed is an absolute blessing. I’m grateful to remain connected with the program that helped enrich my life for so many years and the lives of many others,” says Eskridge, “Being the host of this upcoming season is truly an honor that I don’t take lightly. I will continue to do my best to represent not only myself but also those still behind bars seeking to share their stories with the rest of the world.”

Uncuffed is a project of KALW Public Media. Since 2012, the award-winning program has taught incarcerated individuals how to create audio stories and brought those stories to the public through radio broadcasts and the Uncuffed podcast.

Former participant Thanh Tran, who is now a documentary filmmaker and an advisor to the program, feels firsthand the impact of the program. “When you’re incarcerated, every morning you wake up, you see those barbed wires, you see those cell bars, and you’re reminded that you’re an incarcerated person,” says Tran. “But when you record your stories, you’re reminded that no, you’re also a storyteller, you’re also a journalist, and you’re all these things the prison doesn’t want you to be.”