1 00:00:02,466 --> 00:00:05,766 JUDY WOODRUFF: Next: how a podcast is providing an intimate look at life behind bars in California's 2 00:00:06,566 --> 00:00:08,633 oldest prison. 3 00:00:08,633 --> 00:00:13,000 The audio series "Ear Hustle," the first podcast to be produced entirely inside a prison, has 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,266 steadily grown in popularity by laying out in vivid detail the everyday experiences of 5 00:00:20,166 --> 00:00:22,400 the inmates at San Quentin. 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:23,933 Jeffrey Brown has our story. 7 00:00:23,933 --> 00:00:27,600 MAN: You are now tuned into San Quentin's "Ear Hustle." 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:29,633 MAN: What gives you hope in prison? 9 00:00:29,633 --> 00:00:30,900 MAN: Damn. 10 00:00:30,900 --> 00:00:33,400 Getting out, that's all I can hope for. 11 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:38,400 JEFFREY BROWN: On the popular podcast, "Ear Hustle," they call this yard talk. 12 00:00:39,900 --> 00:00:41,200 MAN: What does it mean to be institutionalized in prison? 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,066 MAN: Like, just being stuck in a rut. 14 00:00:45,066 --> 00:00:49,666 Even though that you know these things are not right, but you're still doing them, though. 15 00:00:49,666 --> 00:00:54,233 JEFFREY BROWN: For the inmates at San Quentin, it's a chance to be heard far beyond these 16 00:00:54,233 --> 00:00:56,300 prison walls. 17 00:00:56,300 --> 00:01:01,300 "Ear Hustle"'s stories and the sketches by inmates that accompany them offer a rare look 18 00:01:03,533 --> 00:01:05,666 at life inside a prison. 19 00:01:05,666 --> 00:01:07,666 The phrase is slang in here for eavesdropping. 20 00:01:07,666 --> 00:01:10,266 NIGEL POOR, Co-Host, "Ear Hustle": How do you take your coffee? 21 00:01:10,266 --> 00:01:12,866 MAN: I don't usually drink coffee in here, because I like don't like to stay up. 22 00:01:12,866 --> 00:01:15,300 I like to sleep it off. 23 00:01:15,300 --> 00:01:18,966 JEFFREY BROWN: Sitting just north of San Francisco, San Quentin is a California state facility 24 00:01:20,933 --> 00:01:24,666 that's home to some 4,000 men, most under medium security, but it includes more than 25 00:01:26,300 --> 00:01:29,800 700 on death row. 26 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:34,800 It's a place known for its education and work opportunities for prisoners, including a media 27 00:01:36,666 --> 00:01:40,466 lab, where we watched the show's co-hosts in action, inmate Earlonne Woods and Nigel 28 00:01:43,233 --> 00:01:48,233 Poor, a San Francisco-based artist who's been volunteering in San Quentin since 2011. 29 00:01:50,233 --> 00:01:53,733 NIGEL POOR: The purpose of the podcast is to try to tell the everyday stories of life 30 00:01:53,733 --> 00:01:58,633 inside prison, and trying to find the commonalities between what happens inside and what happens 31 00:01:58,633 --> 00:02:00,733 outside of prison. 32 00:02:00,733 --> 00:02:05,400 MAN: I did not realize that I could potentially be facing life in prison. 33 00:02:07,333 --> 00:02:10,400 JEFFREY BROWN: "Ear Hustle"'s stories can be raw and intense about the realities of 34 00:02:11,266 --> 00:02:12,266 race relations, for example. 35 00:02:12,266 --> 00:02:15,066 MAN: You're one with your race. 36 00:02:15,066 --> 00:02:19,866 If something happens between two races, everyone is supposed to go, whether it's fighting or 37 00:02:19,866 --> 00:02:21,866 whatever. 38 00:02:21,866 --> 00:02:25,633 JEFFREY BROWN: But there's also plenty of humor and relatable problems, such as sharing 39 00:02:25,633 --> 00:02:29,266 a tiny space, as in the episode called "Cellies." 40 00:02:29,266 --> 00:02:31,766 MAN: You can't walk by each other. 41 00:02:31,766 --> 00:02:34,600 One person either got to sit on his buck and the other person can walk by. 42 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:39,600 MAN: The rule is, don't touch my stuff, don't look through my mail, don't look at my pictures, 43 00:02:41,500 --> 00:02:45,200 do not put your hands on my shelf, because, if you do, that's like the ultimate form of 44 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,366 disrespect. 45 00:02:47,366 --> 00:02:51,100 JEFFREY BROWN: Earlonne Woods, who has served nearly 20 years on a 31-year-to-life sentence 46 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:56,100 for attempted second-degree robbery, says that "Ear Hustle" is a reflection of his own 47 00:02:57,366 --> 00:02:59,400 coming to terms. 48 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,500 EARLONNE WOODS, Co-Host, "Ear Hustle": As you go through time, you have to get real 49 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:04,900 with yourself and you have to come to the conclusion, well, I did do this. 50 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:08,533 You know, and I am accountable for my actions. 51 00:03:08,533 --> 00:03:13,533 And I think most people that are here that's been locked up over a decade are on that path, 52 00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:19,166 to where they're trying to atone for whatever may have happened in the past or just trying 53 00:03:19,166 --> 00:03:23,266 to find some type of understanding, you know? 54 00:03:23,266 --> 00:03:28,266 JEFFREY BROWN: Woods met co-host Nigel Poor while she was teaching a photography class 55 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:33,800 at San Quentin. 56 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,800 The pair hit it off and quickly built an easy rapport that has become the backbone of the 57 00:03:39,266 --> 00:03:41,233 show. 58 00:03:41,233 --> 00:03:43,400 NIGEL POOR: One of the original intents was to show that inside and outside people can 59 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:48,233 work together as colleagues with professionalism and mutual respect. 60 00:03:48,233 --> 00:03:53,133 And I also can be the voice of the person who doesn't have experience in prison. 61 00:03:53,133 --> 00:03:57,300 So, I can ask the maybe embarrassing questions or push Earlonne a little bit. 62 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:02,300 JEFFREY BROWN: Last year, a pilot of the series won an international contest put on by PRX's 63 00:04:04,266 --> 00:04:07,800 Radiotopia that helped introduced "Ear Hustle" to a much larger audience. 64 00:04:09,866 --> 00:04:12,900 Within a few months, it was at the top of the iTunes podcast charts, and, to date, episodes 65 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:16,500 have been downloaded more than six million times. 66 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:19,733 EARLONNE WOODS: We wasn't trying to send no messages, nothing like that. 67 00:04:19,733 --> 00:04:21,300 We were just, let's tell some good stories. 68 00:04:21,300 --> 00:04:23,800 Let's get some good people to tell stories. 69 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,766 JEFFREY BROWN: Nigel Poor says finding good stories at San Quentin has never been a problem. 70 00:04:27,766 --> 00:04:29,633 NIGEL POOR: There's a lot of gossip inside prison. 71 00:04:29,633 --> 00:04:31,766 JEFFREY BROWN: Yes. 72 00:04:31,766 --> 00:04:33,733 NIGEL POOR: So, it's not hard to get the word around that you're looking for something specific. 73 00:04:33,733 --> 00:04:38,466 So, at this point, we can get people coming to us and saying, I want to do this story. 74 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,533 JEFFREY BROWN: For the podcast's sound designer, Antwan Williams, who is serving a 15-year 75 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:50,333 sentence for armed robbery, the challenge is to capture the feel of daily life here, 76 00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:54,000 including what he calls the sound of despair. 77 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,466 What would despair feel like? 78 00:04:56,466 --> 00:04:58,566 What would it sound like? 79 00:04:58,566 --> 00:05:02,466 ANTWAN WILLIAMS, Sound Designer, "Ear Hustle": It can be just the sound of breathing by itself, 80 00:05:04,533 --> 00:05:07,566 with no interruptions, with no echoes or with no chimes, just the sound of a breath. 81 00:05:13,066 --> 00:05:18,066 JEFFREY BROWN: "Ear Hustle" follows the long tradition of inmate-produced content at San 82 00:05:18,533 --> 00:05:19,966 Quentin. 83 00:05:19,966 --> 00:05:22,200 The prison's newspaper has been published since the 1920s. 84 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,333 CURTIS ROBERTS, Inmate: The first time I'm eligible for parole is 2044. 85 00:05:26,333 --> 00:05:31,333 JEFFREY BROWN: One episode, called "Left Behind," included the story of Curtis Roberts, who 86 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:38,200 is in his 23rd year after being sentenced under California's three strikes law. 87 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:42,300 CURTIS ROBERTS: The crime I committed was that I walked into a liquor store, I snatched 88 00:05:42,300 --> 00:05:46,633 two $20 bills out of the cash register, no weapon. 89 00:05:46,633 --> 00:05:51,633 After I got caught for stealing the $40, I pled guilty to burglary robbery, and they 90 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:54,533 gave me 50 years to life. 91 00:05:54,533 --> 00:05:58,833 JEFFREY BROWN: Roberts says he eventually felt safe enough with the "Ear Hustle" team 92 00:05:58,833 --> 00:06:03,533 to talk about something rarely spoken of: He'd been raped inside San Quentin. 93 00:06:03,533 --> 00:06:06,600 CURTIS ROBERTS: They really helped me feel comfortable and calm. 94 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,266 And I never felt threatened. 95 00:06:09,266 --> 00:06:11,600 It was a comfortable environment. 96 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,333 JEFFREY BROWN: What do you think is the biggest misperception about people in prison? 97 00:06:16,333 --> 00:06:21,333 CURTIS ROBERTS: I think the perception is that we're these monsters in here. 98 00:06:22,566 --> 00:06:25,133 I am not a monster. 99 00:06:25,133 --> 00:06:29,733 I'm a stupid idiot that did drugs and stole money. 100 00:06:29,733 --> 00:06:32,233 I'm still human, though. 101 00:06:32,233 --> 00:06:35,933 JEFFREY BROWN: Every "Ear Hustle" story, no matter the topic, must be approved by Lieutenant 102 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,500 Sam Robinson, San Quentin's public information officer. 103 00:06:39,500 --> 00:06:41,600 LT. 104 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,500 SAM ROBINSON, San Quentin Public Information Officer: I think, as a society, we're responsible. 105 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:46,533 We pay for what takes place behind the walls of a prison. 106 00:06:46,533 --> 00:06:48,500 And you're accountable for it. 107 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:50,966 And so, if you're accountable for it, you should be informed about what that is. 108 00:06:50,966 --> 00:06:55,966 JEFFREY BROWN: Robinson says the only episode he nearly prevented was titled "The Boom Boom 109 00:06:57,366 --> 00:07:00,200 Room" about conjugal visits, both legal and illicit. 110 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,933 MAN: At San Quentin, the married guys who have them get to spend 48 hours with their 111 00:07:04,933 --> 00:07:07,233 family in a cottage on prison grounds. 112 00:07:07,233 --> 00:07:10,866 NIGEL POOR: OK, that's the official, legitimate way. 113 00:07:10,866 --> 00:07:14,300 But people being who they are, they're going to find a way to do their thing. 114 00:07:14,300 --> 00:07:15,800 LT. 115 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:16,733 SAM ROBINSON: I have been here 21 years, so I have... 116 00:07:16,733 --> 00:07:17,733 (LAUGHTER) 117 00:07:17,733 --> 00:07:19,433 LT. 118 00:07:19,433 --> 00:07:21,500 SAM ROBINSON: You know, it's not the first time that I have heard it. 119 00:07:21,500 --> 00:07:24,000 It's not the first time that I'm aware of illegal sexual activities taking place inside 120 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,066 the prison. 121 00:07:26,066 --> 00:07:28,333 JEFFREY BROWN: "Ear Hustle"'s creators say they have been overwhelmed by the response 122 00:07:28,333 --> 00:07:30,933 to the series so far. 123 00:07:30,933 --> 00:07:35,600 But I asked Woods what he'd tell those, including victims of crime, who might question his freedom 124 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:37,733 to do this work. 125 00:07:37,733 --> 00:07:39,800 EARLONNE WOODS: Everybody has their truth, you know? 126 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,233 Even the victims and the survivors that you're speaking of, they have their truth, whether 127 00:07:43,233 --> 00:07:45,866 we should have this or not. 128 00:07:45,866 --> 00:07:50,866 But I believe that the whole purpose of the Department of Corrections or prisons is for 129 00:07:51,733 --> 00:07:53,733 one to correct themselves. 130 00:07:53,733 --> 00:07:58,200 So, if the underlying reasons is for us to correct ourselves, there should be some type 131 00:07:59,266 --> 00:08:03,333 of rehabilitative services. 132 00:08:03,333 --> 00:08:08,333 JEFFREY BROWN: Woods and the rest of the team are now at work on season two of "Ear Hustle," 133 00:08:12,700 --> 00:08:14,800 set for next march. 134 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:19,300 For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in San Quentin Prison, California.