Launched in 2017, Ear Hustle was the first podcast created and produced in prison, featuring stories of the daily realities of life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison, shared by those living it. Co-founded by Bay Area artist Nigel Poor alongside Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams — who were incarcerated at the time — the podcast now tells stories from both inside prison and from the outside, post-incarceration. In 2019, Rahsaan “New York” Thomas joined Ear Hustle as a co-host inside San Quentin. In 2020, Ear Hustle was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting — the first time the category was recognized — for bringing audiences “a consistently surprising and beautifully crafted series on life behind bars.” In 2021, the show won a duPont-Columbia University Award.

I worked as the interim digital producer on Ear Hustle from August 2020 to November 2020. I was responsible for running the Ear Hustle social media accounts as well as putting together their monthly newsletter, The Lowdown. I also helped coordinate audio ad promotions on other podcasts to promote season six of the show. You can hear Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods call me out in the credits of this episode!