\u201cThe idea was to tell everyday stories of life inside that didn\u2019t talk about violence, didn\u2019t talk about how people got to prison, didn\u2019t necessarily talk about the system, how we felt about it, but what happens when you need to make a life in prison,\u201d Poor said.<\/p>\n
Not only has \u201cEar Hustle\u201d changed Woods\u2019 trajectory, but it\u2019s also sparked a movement. Dozens of podcasts have since sprung up at prisons around the country and internationally. Since his release, Woods, 54, and Poor, 62, have visited prisons across California to train incarcerated people in podcasting. They\u2019ve even heard of \u201cEar Hustle\u201d \u2014 which means to eavesdrop \u2014 listening and discussion clubs in an Arkansas prison. The podcast, which has roughly 88 million downloads and is featured on major platforms, including Spotify<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a> and Amazon Music<\/a>, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlonne Woods records for the \u201cEar Hustle\u201d podcast at KQED in San Francisco. <\/p>\n (Josh Edelson \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n \u201cOur dream was only to air inside of San Quentin, and then our bigger dream was the 35 prisons,\u201d Woods said. \u201cSince then, we are heard in over 1,500 jails and prisons across the nation. We\u2019re heard in 112 prisons in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the \u201cEar Hustle\u201d team, who work out of the KQED office in San Francisco, is about to go on a third tour. The team is hitting venues in West Coast cities such as Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles and visiting a prison near each of those stops. It is the first to bring a podcast tour to prisons. During its L.A. visit in February, Woods and Poor will be hosting the show at the vibey Lodge Room in Highland Park, as well as the California Institution for Women in Chino.<\/p>\n \u201cEar Hustle\u201d episodes cover a variety of topics including how cellmates get along, taking care of pets in prison, being a parent in prison, cooking in a cell, the role mail plays and the lingering impact of three strikes laws. The L.A. stop, a homecoming for Woods, who grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, will feature popular clips and never-before-heard snippets. There will also be music, dance performances and a book signing of \u201cThis Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that a lot of currently incarcerated people are watching me, so I go into the prisons for work, of course, but as more of an inspiration, because they see me, they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, man, look he is coming back in, he is doing his thing,\u2019 \u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n When Woods was still at San Quentin, a commissioner from a prison in Indiana met with the \u201cEar Hustle\u201d team to get advice about how they could start a prison podcast in their state.<\/p>\n Former \u201cEar Hustle\u201d producer Julie Shapiro\u2019s son, Phin Shapiro, holds up a sign congratulating the team for being a Pulitzer Prize finalist, as seen at the podcast\u2019s studio. <\/p>\n (Josh Edelson \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThe commissioner came and told us straight up, \u2018If the incarcerated people in my prison would have ever sent me a request to do a podcast in the prison, I would have balled it up and threw it in the trash, but listening to your stories made me really consider that,\u2019 because it gave them a different outlook on the people that they serve,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n When they were first developing the podcast at San Quentin, Woods and Poor said it required some cooperation with prison administration. Poor said she had to earn their trust because she was getting audio from inside the prison and sending it out to the Bay Area KALW radio station for three- to five-minute segments.<\/p>\n After Woods\u2019 release, \u201cEar Hustle\u201d was able to evolve. Woods always knew he wanted to help bring a similar storytelling to women\u2019s prisons \u2014 now he does. He and Poor have taught podcasting classes at the California Institution for Women, just as they do at men\u2019s prisons.<\/p>\n \u201cUncuffed<\/a>,\u201d another podcast in California prisons, which launched in 2019, has aired more than 200 stories. It reports that released podcast participants had a zero percent return rate, and alumni have gone on to become professional podcasters and documentary filmmakers. It also teaches participants how to become radio DJs. In 2021, Inside Wire<\/a> in Colorado became the first radio station in the world to broadcast 24\/7 from inside prisons to the public. \u201cConcrete Mama<\/a>,\u201d which started in a Washington state prison early last year, calls itself \u201cmore than a podcast \u2014 it\u2019s a movement.\u201d<\/p>\n Ear Hustle Live!<\/p>\n![\"Earlonne](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769426418_913_.jpeg\")
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