And it was one of the restore justice symposiums. T WOODS: You know, he was ripping and running with the gangs. They're the co-hosts and co-producers of the podcast Ear Hustle, which features interviews with men incarcerated in San Quentin about their daily lives and their personal stories. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. But on the second term after - once you receive a life sentence, there's no guarantee that you'll ever be released from prison. [7] Co-creators Woods and Antwan Williams were inmates at San Quentin State Prison for the first three seasons of the show. I've changed my life. Author, Project Leader of CHOOSE1 Opinions are my own linktr.ee/Earlonnewoods Posts Reels Videos Tagged Show More Posts from earlonnewoods GROSS: So you know, you're a middle-aged man now. Other officers got involved. It received 1,537 entries from 53 countries. WOODSON: They told me that my son was murdered - well, killed. She inherits his dog, a 180-pound Great Dane, who, like her, is grieving. It's about a writer whose friend and former mentor kills himself. POOR: OK. Yes, he was quiet, but he was always present. Jerry Brown is releasing Woods from San Quentin State Prison after two decades behind bars. Like, me personally, what I took away from a lot of things is that, yeah, I may have robbed a person for, let's say, $1. Presently, Earlonne has not mentioned any details concerning his parents. He was sentenced to 31 years to life for attempted robbery in 1999. I think I was probably like eight years old when it came to me that one day I have to die. And it's just about - you know, they accept anybody, you know? But I'd say a lot of people, particularly in law enforcement, want to look at the crime only, and that's really the big debate. Woods is expected to be released on parole in the coming days, after serving 21 years of a 31-years-to-life sentence. Behind 'Ear Hustle,' The Podcast Made In Prison. I was hoping I could talk to you a little bit about it. Poor, a professor of photography at CSU Sacramento, was volunteering with the Prison University Project at San Quentin State Prison when she met Woods, who was serving a 31-year-to-life sentence. It was a private wedding ceremony, according to accounts. In March 2016, the Public Radio Exchange's Radiotopia network put out a call for new podcast ideas via an initiative called Podquest, with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. So we do stories about life inside prison. What's it like to not care about the person who you're robbing or the person who might be killed by a stray bullet? Woods said that the show chose the topic of cellmates for its first episode to ensure the show was relatable, since most people can relate to having a bad roommate. Ear Hustle was the first podcast to be created entirely inside a prison. Jerry Brown (D) has commuted the prison sentence of Earlonne Woods, whose hit podcast Ear Hustle explores life inside San Quentin State Prison. T WOODS: I received an email from one of my partners. POOR: Well, let me ask you this - do you feel like we're being unfair trying to make you do this? His net worth is estimated to be $657,586. E WOODS: So I'll give you example. I don't know if it's a lake. SHAPIRO: Earlonne Woods had to leave the media lab to take the call. Therefore, it is not known if Earlonne is single, dating, or married. [8][9][16] Vulture's Nicholas Quah noted a particular story a prisoner told about a frog in episode three: "a moment of levity in a setting often described in the worst of terms, a productive kind of conversation between the specificities of a person and the overpowering context of his incarceration. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College, and completed many vocational programs. NIGEL POOR: You know, E, you've been in prison 20 years. [5][6], The show is produced by Earlonne Woods, Rahsaan "New York" Thomas, and Nigel Poor. But I just - just took a course that was - seemed cool to me at the time. And he used to come see me, you know, a lot. GROSS: And you basically just described your own situation when you were incarcerated because you got 31 to life for attempted second-degree robbery. And he understood how to diffuse a situation. I enjoy every second of every day. Like, he just seemed lighter and shiny and fresh. POOR: You get a lot of calls from guys at San E WOODS: I get a lot of 15-minute calls from prison. Yes, he can come to my house. We'll be right back. Earlonne Woods was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. I realized that he had a really intense work ethic that matched my own and that we just really got along. He became affiliated with a local Crips gang in high school, and began selling marijuana at 14, and later sold cocaine. GROSS: My guests are Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods, the creators and hosts of the podcast Ear Hustle about life inside San Quentin Prison. But the law don't see your rehabilitation. Jerry Brown commuted his 31-years-to-life . His first book, OG Told Me, is a memoir-style collection of essays about Harshaw's. Earlonne Woods annual salary is $61,244 on average. And E WOODS: And of course I enjoy all the little moments. When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving thirty-one years to life at California's San Quentin State Prison. So now we're - I mean, we're friends, and we're colleagues. I'm not doing that. POOR: You can't blend into what the guys inside wear. And it was just like - it didn't even register with me. When he was nine, Woods lifted up a faulty railroad crossing gate to allow cars to pass. Bernard Antwi Boasiako, Lana Wolf, Eric Marcus, Robert Marawa, Who is Redmond ONeal? E WOODS: (Laughter) Not no time soon, no. [3] After two rounds of judging, Ear Hustle was selected as the winner and added to the Radiotopia network. And then Trevor was arrested when their son, Tyler, was 10. No. I had to really work through it and think about it. Can I ask how your relationship is changing now that you're both outside? And her son had attended a party. [5], Prior to Ear Hustle, Poor ran a photography class at the prison during which one of her students proposed making a documentary. Ear Hustle was selected from 1,537 submissions, securing the funding for a 10-episode first season. I find it invigorating. Due to the complex and time-consuming bureaucratic challenges associated with unusual prison activities, she decided that audio would be easier to manage than video. GROSS: Nigel, when you first started volunteering in San Quentin, what were some of the things you had to deal with as a woman teaching in a prison of men? In 2020, Ear Hustle was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting the first time the . Earlonne Woods was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. That stuff carries 17 years. It focuses on both the personal and the political, shedding light on issues of mass incarceration and the criminal justice system by telling intimate, humanizing stories, like the tale of one inmates obsession with keeping small critters as pets in his cell or anothers struggle to be intimate with his wife while behind bars. Earlonne continues to co-host the show with Nigel. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. Do you usually know what somebody is in for and do you ask, or is that considered wrong to ask? Her latest novel "The Friend" won the National Book Award for fiction and is about to be published in paperback. We're able to share food. I've never felt scared or disrespected. [3][4] In 1997, at the age of 25, he was arrested for attempted second degree robbery. It looked so good on you. But after you recorded that interview, you found out something about him and decided, like, you could not play that interview unless you asked him another question. And you start thinking differently, you know? "When. GROSS: Earlonne, how did you learn how to keep your calm and live in the kind of confined situation you were in during the more than two decades that you were incarcerated? A post shared by @earhustlesq on Mar 13, 2018 at 8:35pm PDT. Woods, 47, was recently released from San Quentin State Prison after California Gov. Earlonne is of white ethnicity and American nationality. I think the scope of the number of people that could possibly listen to this, I'm just really nervous about that. And I listen very carefully to how you talked about your relationship and how much you thought about it and how painful and joyous the whole experience was for you. You know, he was - you know, I even - I'm talking to him all the time. For the first few months after Earlonne Woods was released from San Quentin in November, his "Ear Hustle" podcast co-host Nigel Poor kept receiving photos of ice cream on her phone. GROSS: That people can change and that you should look at the person and not just the crime - that you'd still be in prison, I mean? So I want to ask you each to choose one thing that you would like to change in the system of - in the prison system or in mass incarceration. There's a story you did about how people like you from the outside who come in to volunteer - because you started at San Quentin volunteering teaching photography before you started doing the podcast Ear Hustle. I was just done. Therese Madden directed today's show. I felt like in Earlonne I found a true professional colleague. Look. (SOUNDBITE OF GOLDMUND'S "THE BALLAD OF BARBARA ALLEN"). And when you're in that moment, I think it's more of crime to people in society that commit crime. POOR: While you're thinking, can I tell you some of the things that are just going through my mind about it? And, like a lot of inmates, he's been thinking about this moment for a long time. He's been behind bars for more than 20 years. Oh, daddy, I'm not playing with no guns. He and Nigel also co-wrote This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life, a book inspired by the podcast and published by Crown/Random House. I don't know what tomorrow brings, but I know what's happening today and right now. The responding officers shot him five times, killed him. And that's the only way of life that you're accustomed to 'cause that's all you see. And he's standing in a group. Earlonne became busy reporting on re-entry stories and daily life for originally incarcerated people, while also documenting his own experiences. And as they questioned the driver, the passenger officer seen tattoos and Tyler's face and started questioning him, made him get out the car. But he was released in November after his sentence was commuted by California Governor Jerry Brown. So I think what kept me sane is that I had the philosophy where, I am going to live to the best of my ability every day that I have left on this Earth no matter where I'm at. So on December 7, 1994, I murdered my ex-girlfriend, the mother of my now-25-year-old daughter. GROSS: And - so you interviewed him about commuting your sentence. Ear Hustle was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting, and won a Alfred I. duPontColumbia University Award in 2021. Earlonne Woods is the co-creator, co-host, and co-producer of Ear Hustle (PRX & Radiotopia). Now Earlonne will be doing interviews with people like him who are transitioning back into society. I told him that constantly. And I was - yeah, I was definitely nervous. Their tenth season finished airing in December 2022. In 1997, Earlonne was sentenced to thirty-one years to life in prison. Earlonne is busy reporting on re-entry stories and daily life for originally incarcerated people, while also documenting his own experiences. But we knew that, you know, it's traditional for the governor to do these commutations right before Thanksgiving. Earlonnes sentence was recently commuted, but the two proceed to tell stories of life behind bars. Governor Jerry Brown commuted his sentence in November, and Woods regained his freedom after serving 21 years of his sentence. Earlonne Woods is the co-creator, co-host, and co-producer of Ear Hustle (PRX & Radiotopia). You may be a changed individual, all the way changed, would never commit another crime. [1][10] As of Season 4, Woods continues to make the podcast from outside prison, while Rahsaan "New York" Thomas was announced as a new co-host for recordings done inside San Quentin. Also with us is Nigel Poor. After California Governor Jerry Brown commuted his sentence last month, Woods reflects on. After you got out of San Quentin, you and Nigel went to the governor's mansion. So I've technically only been free 20 years in my life, and, since I was 17, I've been free maybe three years all together. Trevor was wanted and was on the run. You start attending different self-help groups. And you've said in the past that he was always the quietest person in the room, but you could tell he was a good observer. Woods' sentence was recently commuted, but the two continue to tell stories of life behind bars. Shes holding on. Through his podcast, [Woods] has shared meaningful stories from those inside prison.. Therefore, it is not known if Earlonne is single, dating, or married. And then the question is, well, what do we do about that? Williams was serving a 15-year sentence for armed robbery with a gun enhancement. Our senior producer today is Roberta Shorrock. It focuses on both the personal and the political, shedding light on issues of mass incarceration and the criminal justice system by telling intimate, humanizing stories, like the tale of one inmates obsession with keeping small critters as pets in his cell or anothers struggle to be intimate with his wife while behind bars. So you become accustomed to that lifestyle. So I think I did what, pretty much, my community did that was around me. [16] In 2021, Woods and Poor co-authored the book This Is Ear Hustle. She started going to San Quentin to volunteer teaching photography. E WOODS: Right. Eventually, the marriage fell apart. GROSS: A job because you thought it was, like, your only source of income? [6] While in San Quentin, Woods was unpaid for his work on Ear Hustle, though fans would often send him money. So now we can actually do that and even POOR: Hopefully go to other countries, too. I have all the different people that I talk to as I work my way down to the media lab. It was - and it's not just her. Woods learned of his commutation the day before Thanksgiving. He had just became a paramedic or something. "[9] The series is not overtly political, but Poor emphasizes the way the show can have a humanizing effect, making listeners care about the men they hear on the show and wonder why one of the hosts might serve a life sentence for attempted robbery. Earlonne is a brother to Shala Woods. GROSS: The new, as yet, unannounced host will be with you (laughter). I'm fine working with him now. WOODS: That's something that a lot of us behind bars fantasize about - getting out and leading a normal life. And you have another 11 to go. And it was just - I just seen him slipping through my fingers because I wasn't there to snatch him up. Woods said he was only trying to be helpful, but was arrested by local sheriffs who did not question why he had lifted the gate; Woods subsequently had to appear in juvenile court. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California . Woods helped create Ear Hustle while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. What are some of the ways you think you've changed over the years? It instead offers the even more illuminating dialogue of individual prisoners. Once the details concerning Earlonne's marital status are available we shall update. Everybody we know live the same lifestyle, you know? And at one point, he revealed to me that he had raped quite a few women. Earlonne is 5 feet 7 inches tall ( Approx1.7 m). Woods' sentence was recently commuted, but the two continue to tell stories of life. I mean, there's two likely outcomes if you're robbing drug dealers. In 1997, Earlonne was sentenced to thirty-one years to life in prison. GROSS: And you chose Earlonne. Or is he a good talker? I'd rather not know. Thank you both so much for talking with us. And Jerry Brown was then the governor of California. Earlonne was born in 1972, in the United States. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. But very quickly, when we started talking about photography - I was teaching a history of photography class - that kind of melted away. And I think it would help demystify a lot of the assumptions that people have about who's in prison and who should be there. In November 2018, Woods' sentence was commuted by California governor Jerry Brown. [9], On November 21, 2018, producer Earlonne Woods's sentence was commuted by California governor Jerry Brown. So to hear Governor Brown say that, it was like this is how we actually think. We get - I mean, it's - you know, it's - we're just E WOODS: You're able to go out now. So you're interviewing a prisoner who - he and one of the volunteers fell in love, and so she stopped working there in any capacity, and they got married. Woods was convicted of attempted second-degree robbery but because of the three-strikes law was sentenced to 31 years to life, most of which was served in prisons other than San Quentin. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College and completed many vocational trade programs. I don't know. Brown cited Woods'. And then I saw him in this awesome, orange T-shirt that had some brown in it. HuffPost visited Woods at San Quentin earlier this year to discuss why he created the podcast. And it might help you. When Earlonne was in, I was probably in there 40-plus hours a week, and I'm not a masochist. So it be at prison, I'm going to enjoy my day every day because at the end of the day, this is all I got, you know? E WOODS: Right. Copyright 2019 NPR. E WOODS: Hey - so I always go over to the L - I call them L7s. And it was one of them, I guess could you say, moments where you just feel embarrassed about your previous conduct. So I think as far as African-American culture in prison, I don't think nobody really cares why you're in prison. GROSS: So something I found really interesting is that the group that is multicultural and not segregated by race or ethnicity is the group that's into, like - the nerds, the group that are into, like, sci-fi fantasy and stuff like that. Just to be out there with her.. POOR: I can let Earlonne answer that one. So, Nigel, when you decided you wanted to start, like, a interview series that started on KALW - the public - one of the public radio stations in San Francisco, and then it became a podcast - you wanted a co-host and co-producer who was incarcerated in San Quentin. GROSS: That was Governor Jerry Brown interviewed by my guests Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor. Why am I doing this? Woods is an inmate of the San Quentin State Prison in California. He understood human nature. I get to see how they express love and tenderness and fear and frustration and how they posture and what's behind that. Earlonne Woods is the co-creator, co-host, and co-producer of Ear Hustle (PRX & Radiotopia). And I got out in '95. POOR: And the other thing is we've always - we've tried to always keep this as equal as possible. And, you know, we was clowning on the phone. ARI. And I'm like - I'm telling my son, son, look. Redmond O'Neal is the son of American actor Ryan O'Neal and Farah Fawcett (an America. You have to go through a lot of E WOODS: Yeah, it's a lot of stuff you have to go through. I was questioning everything. The victims of a crime are faceless. [12] On October 19, 2021, co-hosts Poor and Woods released a book on the podcast, This Is Ear Hustle. And to hear - to take that in and to not be afraid and to not judge a person but to, like, sit with it and think about it and think about this was 30 years ago, like I just - I had to do a lot of work around that. Nigel is a professor at California State University. [5] Woods role on the podcast was well-received, with Sarah Larson from The New Yorker describing him as an "immediately warm and likable presence",[10] while Eddie Harana from Rolling Stone praised the sense of humor he brought to the show. [8][9] Poor is a visual artist in the San Francisco Bay area who volunteers at the prison. Earlonne Woods, co-host of the popular prison podcast Ear Hustle, had his sentence commuted by California Gov. Nigel, I want to play an excerpt of an episode that you were very prominent in. Since the podcasts launch in 2017, its been downloaded millions of times, featured in media outlets from NPR to The New York Times, and made several best of podcast rankings. Our associate producer for digital media is Molly Seavy-Nesper. I mean POOR: No, we're not allowed. SHAPIRO: Nigel Poor told us that when Earlonne Woods came back POOR: He was walking with a lot of air in his step. You were OK with that? And many people around me wasn't like that. And it's fine. I actually oddly enjoy being in there. He is also involved in the Repeal California's Three Strike Coalition, which aims to end California . He went up there. Earlonne is Shala Woods brother. GROSS: Who - give us an example of somebody who you spoke to who had been a victim of a crime similar to the one that you committed that made you feel this, you know, sense of feeling bad for what you'd done. Woods has served 21 years of a 31 to life prison sentence. Therefore, Earlonne earns a decent salary as a full-time producer, co-host, and co-creator of Ear Hustle at PRX alongside Nigel Poor. And so being in prison has just really altered that. Earlonnes sentence was recently commuted, but the two continue to share their experiences behind bars. But of course when someone's in prison and the other person's not, there's so many things you can't do. So in that case, I didn't dig in. Toni Storm is well-known in the wres. T WOODS: One the 19 - November 19, 2013 - federal prison - we have phones, and we have emails. Or would you just as soon not know and just judge them based on what they present to you in their interactions with you? But you may have the African-Americans who go to prison and they're at certain places and you don't get that question. GROSS: So Tyler's father, your brother, is still in San Quentin during the final year that you were in San Quentin. He commuted my sentence to be released forthwith, immediately, right now, its time to go, time to walk out that gate, he added, laughing. And I was paroled when I was 23, about to turn 24. Im thinking about my mama, shes 70. And they shot at Tyler, like, 40-something times. As a result, it is unknown whether Earlonne is single, dating, or married. While incarcerated, he received his GED, attended Coastline Community College, and completed many vocational programs. And Earlonne just had his sentence commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in November after serving 21 years. GROSS: And, Earlonne, I look forward to your interviews with people who, like you, are transitioning back into society from prison. I hope you'll join us. TYRA WOODSON: And he began acting out. And they - and I received 31 years to life. But apparently it's fine - like, if you fall in love, the prisoner and the volunteer fall in love, that's fine as long as the volunteer or the staff person is no longer going to be working there in any capacity. They surrounded Tyler around a - at a apartment building, where he was trying to climb up to the roof. You start really understanding what the word community means and what your participation in community is about, you know? China. The show was still challenging to create, in part because none of the three producers had a background in audio production, but also because of prison administration red tape. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Woods is expected to be released on parole in the coming days, after serving 21 years of a 31-years-to-life sentence. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. GROSS: Their brothers are the people who live in a similar world of fantasy as opposed to defining their brothers as being, you know, a skin color or ethnicity. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. We know because they did a whole episode on getting parole. So I think that's very damaging. Woods has served 21 years of a 31 to life prison sentence. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Wake up to the day's most important news. Not one bit, you know? But the things that you do in your past do add dimension to who you are in this moment. The rest of it is just an enhancement. And that's pretty much what I did. E WOODS: So I think that goes into, like, what they call politics in prison and where, you know, you may have certain prisons that it matters what you're in prison for like - and it's a difference on a race level. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. The prison also went on lockdown during production, halting work and requiring additional administrative steps to both create and release the audio. GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guests are Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor, the co-creators of the podcast Ear Hustle. Does that mean we're self-absorbed? So I'm going to enjoy. So even though I'm hearing stuff and then I'm talking to him, he playing - he downplaying it. He is a man of average stature. And I - I observed Earlonne a lot. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. No, and I laugh because had Governor Brown probably not been the governor, I would still have 10 years of my sentence left. Those are my partners. What's it like to not think about that? Even though you can't do nothing about your past, you just feel embarrassed about even going down that route, even victimizing anybody. I'm always interested in people who - I'm quiet myself. "[15], The New Yorker's Sarah Larson said the show "might be the best new podcast Ive heard this year" and described it as being "about the creativity required to live a satisfying lifeor even a sane lifein prison, and is itself a product of that creativity. So what - what were the first communications like in which you tried to see, but is he a good interviewer? OK. They had left the auntie's house. And, Earlonne, since you served so much time, let's start with you. You guys are killing me (laughter). Poor's teaching work led her to a vast archive filled with photographs taken from life inside the prison that she began using in . Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods are gifted storytellers, and their ability to draw intimate, authentic stories out of others is extraordinary. The two established a rapport,[6] and Poor proposed the idea of creating a podcast to Woods, who had previously not known what a podcast was. [9], In a Rolling Stone article about the show, Tana Ganeva called it "a fascinating, harrowing and also deeply entertaining look into life on the inside that runs the full gamut of emotions. (SOUNDBITE OF JOHN COLTRANE'S "OUT OF THIS WORLD"). POOR: But I get to see his brother and catch him up on what you're doing. The podcast title, Ear Hustle, is prison slang for eavesdropping or being nosy. Earlonne Woods was released from San Quentin in November after his sentence was commuted by Governor Jerry Brown. I've spent a total of 27 years in prison. He had served 21 years of a 31-years-to-life sentence. But then someone will research you and be like, did they just feed me a bunch of bull [expletive]. WOODSON: I used to work for the captain at CIW in the program office. It's a job. What we did was humanize [prisoners], just by telling their stories, Woods said in February. And I think that's a shared philosophy with everybody that's in prison - is that you have to just deal with what's going on today, you know, and just not let the pressures of prison just get to your core and crush you. Earlonne Woods was born in the United States in 1972. Self's story opens the first episode of Ear Hustle, an engrossing new podcast out of San Quentin prison, a state facility in California. POOR: So I'm just going to be very blunt with you. You're able to go POOR: We're able to go out. And Trevor, your brother, speaks first. And I'm always interested in people who kind of fade into the background a little bit because I suspect they could be the most interesting people in the room. [13], The term "ear hustle" is prison slang for eavesdropping. Earlonne has not yet revealed any information about his parents. Woods was involved in an attempted robbery in 1997, when he was in his 20s. They fell in love just like anyone else would. She'll continue to do interviews inside San Quentin. You know, at that particular moment, in that mindset - like today, am I OK with that? POOR: I don't ask unless it comes up as part of the story. And the captain comes in. Jerry Brown. After 21 years in prison, Governor Brown the great governor of California decided that I served enough time, Woods said in the latest episode of Ear Hustle. --. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. E WOODS: But I wouldn't have it no other way. GROSS: Yeah. GROSS: OK, so that was a little more than five years ago that Tyler was killed. It's - it's - I think being in a position to step away from it all and look back and say, man, I was on something else. As of now, he works as a full-time producer, co-host, and co-creator of Ear Hustle at PRX alongside Nigel Poor. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. And the officer came back, was like, you're too tall for that name. E WOODS: I like my colors bright these days. We will update you once we have more information about Earlonnes marital status. POOR: I walked him to the gate; you know, wished him good luck. POOR: And it's going to be a little bit hard. GROSS: So can I ask you an honest question? I was going to Nigel's house the other day, and I was an hour early. She co-created the podcast with Woods and has co-hosted and co-produced it with him. You're not really looking at the person. And so to hear this is what happened to him - ah. Mentally, it do, you know? Poor, a professor of photography at CSU Sacramento, was volunteering with the Prison University Project at San Quentin State Prison when she met Woods, who was serving a 31-year-to-life sentence. His sentence was commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in November. Vice President . Content Creator @CoinAcademy; Pres. So I still had a 17-year-old mentality. Like, in the county jail, I was like, OK, I'm done with this side of life because even though our philosophy growing up was for death though - you know, meaning I'd rather be carried by six than judged by 12 - that was just the philosophy we had growing up, you know? GROSS: We talk about the podcast and before we talk about your work together, Earlonne, I want to talk with you about life outside. Nigel Poor assures us the podcast will continue with Earlonne contributing stories from the outside. And when it actually happened, it was a - it was an awakening in me, like, oh, I don't - why is we living this way, you know? I mean, I guess I had a kind of low estimation of men and what they were like. (SOUNDBITE OF NOEL BONNEVIE'S "DAHIL SA'YO"). SHAPIRO: Like in a restaurant, at your house, any POOR: Yes. While incarcerated at California State Prison, Centinela, Woods saw a documentary about the film school at San Quentin State Prison, and applied to transfer to that prison. They ask how you are. E WOODS: I don't - I think when you're living in the moment, you feel untouchable. Woods and Poor cohost the show while Williams does the show's sound design, working in San Quentin's media lab to record music and effects, including foley work. No, people get up to a thousand years to life for something that they've done in their past. His mother was a postal worker and his father was an unemployed alcoholic, who Woods described as violent and distant. GROSS: That's the sound of the San Quentin prison door slamming as my guest Earlonne Woods was released in late November after being incarcerated there for seven years. I got out, stayed out two years, 10 months and found myself back in jail for attempted second-degree robbery. [7] They recruited fellow inmates Antwan Williams as the show's sound designer,[8] and submitted their idea for a podcast to a contest hosted by Radiotopia. And he said the thing that all women fear is that I raped women because I could. Ear Hustle co-hosted by Woods and Nigel Poor, an artist and volunteer at San Quentin interviews men in the prison about their lives there. Kourtney Kellar models for a variety of periodicals, companies, Toni Storm is a famous New Zealand-Australian wrestler, social media influencer, Instagram personality, OnlyFans star, and entrepreneur from Auckland, New Zealand. Part of HuffPost News. You know what I'm saying? And I just said, when you come back, you're going to be almost a free man. Some might say that Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods were destined to meet. And your brother is still in San Quentin. So I gave him, you know, a handshake with as much emotion as I could muster POOR: Appropriately. GROSS: Nigel, let me bring you into the conversation. So I'm trying to like - I'm trying to partner with you here. "[9] She also praised its originality, "[using] prisoners' storytelling skills to show what it's like to spend decades behind bars. You know, they get to see each other in passing. And I spend a lot of time in there. Then she started doing interviews, and then they started working together co-producing a radio show and then the podcast. SHAPIRO: That's Earlonne Woods from the podcast "Ear Hustle." What keeps your hopes up? It addresses important issues about being human and how prisoners can be contributing citizens. Usually, you can't go back into a correctional facility on parole. Earlonne Woods is a popular American podcaster. And so I want to play an excerpt of that. Los Angeles, CA. (SOUNDBITE OF ETIENNE CHARLES' "MIDNIGHT"). Brown cited Woods' leadership in . SHAPIRO: Well, yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown commuted Earlonne Woods' sentence. GROSS: Earlonne, what's the custom among men in San Quentin? Instead of me representing it, Earlonne and I can represent it together. And I want to play what he said to you. Earlonne Woods is an American podcaster and author, best known for co-hosting and co-founding the podcast Ear Hustle in 2017, and co-authoring the book This Is Ear Hustle in 2021. So you recorded interviews with Trevor and Tyra talking about how difficult it is to maintain a relationship with your child when you're incarcerated and how difficult it is to help them stay out of trouble. And I'm not even talking about physically intimate, but just emotionally intimate is against regulations. This piece has been updated with news of Woods hiring onto the podcast team. Is that OK? And, Earlonne, again, I want to thank - I want to congratulate you again for your new freedom. A person can get certain - a certain amount of time for the crime that they commit. ERIN: No, I don't feel you're being unfair at all, and I don't ultimately know what my hesitancy is. They grow up literally., In Browns letter announcing the commutation, the governor echoed that thought, saying Woods has clearly shown that he is no longer the man he was when he committed this crime., He has set a positive example, Brown wrote. Accuracy and availability may vary. But that was a case that challenged my desire to not know and to - how to deal with the knowing once it's been presented to you. Then there are those marriages that become the subjects of books . Earlonne was not only one of the co-hosts, he was one of the men incarcerated until his release in late November after California Governor Jerry Brown commuted his sentence. And they won't get that opportunity to present the person that they are today. Co-founded by San Francisco 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. "Ear Hustle" the phrase is slang for eavesdropping is a collaboration between Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, both prisoners at San Quentin, and Nigel Poor, a Bay Area visual artist who teaches photography classes at the prison. They eventually met this person. And then when I got out, I hadn't put any skill sets together, you know? [17], Last edited on 21 December 2022, at 04:36, "Host Of The Prison Podcast 'Ear Hustle' Reflects On His 27 Years Behind Bars", "After parole, podcast producers are turning skills learned in prison into paying gigs", "Prison-produced podcast 'Ear Hustle' lets you listen to real stories of incarcerated life", "The story of "Ear Hustle", a podcast made by prisoners at San Quentin", "Podcast on prison stories wins PRX backing", "California inmate Walter 'Earlonne' Woods takes unlikely path to freedom: A popular podcast called 'Ear Hustle', "With eyes on the inside, 'Ear Hustle' makes the big time with its look at prisoners", "Earlonne Woods, Co-Host Of 'Ear Hustle' Podcast, Gets Prison Sentence Commuted", "San Quentin's Breakthrough Prison Newsroom", "This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earlonne_Woods&oldid=1128635338, This page was last edited on 21 December 2022, at 04:36. It was like 2 in the morning. You know what I mean? E WOODS: He got a hell of a collection of vinyl. Woods was serving a 31-years-to-life sentence for attempted 2nd degree robbery due to a three-strikes law before having his sentence commuted in 2018. GROSS: And Nigel, just as a person who's constantly interacting with inmates at San Quentin, do you want to know what they're incarcerated for, what crime they were convicted of? GROSS: I want to thank you both so much. And he was always ready to help. Once you commit your crime, people think thats what it is, but individuals change. Here you guys are, poking and - poking and prodding. He likes to keep his personal life private hence Earlonne has not mentioned any details concerning his marital status. Earlonne Woods, 47, was recently released from San Quentin State Prison after California Gov. And my mindset, regardless of where I'm at, I'm going to live to the best of my ability. I was on some - I would like to say other words, but I'm holding my (laughter) E WOODS: (Laughter) I'm on the radio. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. But I took way more from that person than $1. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California . Tyler had missed a court appearance, so he feared that he would be locked up. "[12] Woods later traveled to thank Brown and interview him for the podcast. "[9] The show's unique lens and intimate first-person storytelling is noted in most reviews. E WOODS: It is - they see something that I can't see. It was the first podcast to be entirely created and produced inside a prison. And the phone rang in the media lab. So what - one of the things that I've really taken away from being in prison is that I've gotten an incredible glimpse into what it means to be a man and what men deal with. Don't be out there doing no robberies, none of that stuff. POOR: Yeah, not skewed, not skewed. After a break, we'll hear and talk about excerpts of two episodes of Ear Hustle, one about a death that was devastating for Earlonne, the other about an interview that raised serious ethical questions for Nigel. And I got into this group. Like, what was all this for? I'm Terry Gross. Nigel is a professor of photography at Cal State. Earlonne Woods is the co-creator, co-host, and co-producer of Ear Hustle (PRX & Radiotopia). And when I went to prison, it was pretty much the California Department of Corrections, and there was not a rehabilitation on the name then. The podcast team announced Tuesday that it will hire Woods as an employee on the show. He was hired to continue co-hosting and producing the podcast after his release. Like, you may have guys that are Hispanics or whites who, when they get to a certain prison, their race is like, let me see your paperwork. SHAPIRO: When you said goodbye to him, were you crying? You know, he running the streets. [8] Galen Beebe's review for The Atlantic called it a "brilliant series" which "return[s] some of the humanity that the carceral system removes and provide[s] a link between inmates and outsiders. In 2020, alongside his Ear Hustle co-hosts, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting. He and Nigel are also the authors of This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life, a book that was inspired by the podcast and released by Crown/Random House. All rights reserved. And so we just started talking, and I realized that he was interested in thinking about how we could do interviews from more of an artistic perspective and not as journalists. Kristi Tjaden. But yeah, I can't. So this is JERRY BROWN: It all goes to this point that something very bad happens, and people will say, OK, now we're putting you in jail for a very long time. And he said Tyler got killed by the police. Earlonne Woods, Nigel Poor, welcome to FRESH AIR. Along with Nigel Poor, he is a full-time producer, co-host, and co-creator of Ear Hustle at PRX. GROSS: So this gets back to something you were just saying. And we used to do, like, healing circles. And the thing that I noticed in particular about him was that whenever there was an issue going on - and, of course, inside prison, there's all kinds of issues - and if we would have to sit down to solve a problem, Earlonne was the one who would speak up, cut through all of the baloney and get to the point. And Nigel is also a professor of photography at California State University. Woods was raised in South Los Angeles with his parents and his older brother Trevor. I think my mother told me she loved Jesus more than she loved me. E WOODS: It was devastating because I had - one, I had just talked to Tyler, like, probably the day before. He is 5 feet 7 inches tall ( Approx1.7 m). And they say Tyler just took off running. I'm on a podcast. How do you deal with family, love, depression, having children, finding meaning in life? And that surprised me greatly. Earlonne Woods co-hosted the podcast Ear Hustle while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. jim rutherford wife leslie age, ionic calcium supplement, old town school of folk music christmas sing along, what are the 4 principles of the fish philosophy, eastvale police activity today, ncis jack sloane baby daddy, wawa covid policy for employees, reynolds cornhole bags, parents' rights against cps ohio, marta andretti net worth, dr mary toft mccoy, rdr2 horse names arthur will say, obituaries for purcell, oklahoma, list of plane crashes in newfoundland, oysters rockefeller recipe with hollandaise sauce,
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