Rephonic
Artwork for Ear Hustle
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin
California Institution For Women
Prison Life
Incarceration
Death Row
California
Mental Health
Camp Grace
Family Dynamics
Gang Culture
Drama Club
Rikers Island
Prison Experience
Comfort In Prison
Prison Reform
Parenting
Hair In Prison
George Jackson
Bank Robbery

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison.

Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in... more

PublishesTwice monthlyEpisodes236Founded9 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
DocumentarySociety & Culture

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Ear Hustle

Latest Episodes

Inside producers Tam and Sadiq take over the mic to introduce us to a (mostly) new crop of musicians heard out on the yard at San Quentin. And: some big news from an OG friend of the show. 

Subscribe to Ear Hustle Plus! Coming up: a never-before-air... more

YouTube

Jack spent 35 years in a security housing unit, aka "the hole," and he’s got some stories to tell. 

You can hear more about Jack's story on the PBS documentary The Strike. 

Subscribe to Ear Hustle Plus! Last week, Nigel took Ear Plustlers on a myst... more

YouTube

E and Nyge would like a quick word. 

Sign up for Ear Hustle Plus at earhustlesq.com/plus. 

(Supercast subscribers: Keep an eye on your email for instructions on how to set up your new EH+ feed.)

Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX... more

YouTube

We solicited questions about life in prison from audience members at our live shows. Then, we took those questions into a couple prisons we'd never been to before — Folsom State Prison in California, and SCI Chester in Pennsylvania — and got answers.... more

YouTube

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Derrell Sadiq Davis
Ear Hustle inside producer, sound designer, and musician at San Quentin
Ear Hustle
Episode: Inside Music: The Takeover!
Tam Nguyen
Ear Hustle inside producer and musician at San Quentin
Ear Hustle
Episode: Inside Music: The Takeover!
Jason Jackson
Spoken-word artist known as Supreme
Episode: Inside Music: The Takeover!
Juan Rodríguez Ibañez
Cuban musician who plays guitar and sings bossa nova
Episode: Inside Music: The Takeover!
Mestral Coles
San Quentin musician and longtime Ear Hustle contributor
Ear Hustle
Episode: Inside Music: The Takeover!
Jack Morris
Formerly incarcerated man who spent about 35 years in security housing units.
Episode: 13 to 29
Joy Alfrenes
Youth Justice Advocate
Episode: Catch a Kite: On the Road
Nicholas Scandaliato
Inmate, shares Catch a Kite questions from live shows
San Quentin (inmate)
Episode: Catch a Kite: On the Road
Jordan Hyatt
Brains behind the Little Scandi experiment
Little Scandinavia program, Drexel University
Episode: Catch a Kite: On the Road

Hosts

Nigel Poor
Photographer who volunteered teaching photography at San Quentin.
Earlonne Woods
Co-creator who was incarcerated at San Quentin before his release in 2018.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 28.8k ratings
  • In my top 10 shows

    I've been listening for years and ear hustle is easily one of my top 10 podcasts. Always insightful, funny, touching, and above all: deeply human. Thanks for podcasting!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    B3n S6z
    United Statesa month ago
  • Another beg for money

    You should be ashamed of yourself. I guess you don’t give a damn about the poor or incarcerated. Unless all your listeners are guilty white people…..

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Ark-and-spark
    United Statesa month ago
  • More plus money grabs

    Very good podcast overall, but as with many other podcasts money is never enough and now you get to constantly hear the hosts sell their plus tier and grab for more cash. Tons of ads are not enough now you can pay even more “cups of coffee” to listen to your shows.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    Chicken wingy
    United Statesa month ago
  • Thank you for opening my heart through my ears

    I have been listening to air hustle for several years now. I can honestly say it has completely changed my perspective of incarceration and rehab rehabilitation. Thank you for opening my heart and my mind through my ears and your storytelling.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Maryweather
    United States3 months ago
  • I’ve been listening since the beginning. Now for July ‘26 episode

    Finally, you all wrestle with the seeming contradiction in Ear Hustle: your focus on the humanity of incarcerated which is good for teaching people about who goes to prison and how they may grow and evolve while skirting the horror show existing in the prisons of the country with the most incarcerated people in the world. I want you to skew further in that direction-

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    pzod
    United States4 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Many listeners find the reporting moving, thought-provoking and perspective-changing, even when the subjects are painful.
A minority object to subscription appeals and fundraising, and some want more attention to the harsh conditions of incarceration.
Listeners praise the compassionate storytelling for centering incarcerated people as full, complex individuals rather than defining them by their crimes.
The hosts are often described as genuine and engaging, with a natural rapport that helps make difficult stories accessible.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Inside Music: The Takeover!
Q: What helped Tam change his perspective after his setback?
After joining friends at the tennis court, he noticed the pink sky and felt grateful for his health, friends, partner, and creative work, while recognizing the gravity of the harm he had caused.
Inside Music: The Takeover!
Q: How did Moises experience questions about whether he was Mexican or American?
He felt caught between identities growing up and was challenged in prison to choose one. He identifies as Mexican American, and his band wrote a song about that experience.
13 to 29
Q: Can you tell us one of your lowest moments while you was in there?
Jack recalls anxiety attacks after decades in solitary, describing fear, sweating, difficulty breathing, and believing he might die in his cell. He eventually stopped fighting the fear and found that it began to subside.
13 to 29
Q: Could you just explain, you know, what it looks like and how do you hear people? How do you see people?
Jack describes isolation cells as locked, bare spaces where a person stares at a wall and becomes absorbed in memory, with time seeming to stop.
Ear Hustle Presents: The Science of Happiness
Q: What turning points helped you get to Berkeley and pursue this work?
Danny and Gilbert describe family adversity, therapy, education access, and exposure to college that redirected their paths toward activism, policy work, and academic opportunities.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Ear Hustle

What is Ear Hustle about and what kind of topics does it cover?

First-person documentary storytelling explores daily life in California prisons and the experiences of people before, during and after incarceration. Nigel Poor, a photographer, and Earlonne Woods, who was incarcerated at San Quentin before his release, guide intimate interviews and carefully produced scenes with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, their families, prison staff and community members. Stories range from relationships, music and prison routines to parole, rehabilitation, trauma, forgiveness and rebuilding life after release.

The distinctive approach centers people's own voices, balancing difficult realities with humor, warmth and thoughtful questions rather than reducing subjects to their crimes. Episodes also revi... more

Where can I find podcast stats for Ear Hustle?

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How many listeners does Ear Hustle get?

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What are the audience demographics for Ear Hustle?

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How many subscribers and views does Ear Hustle have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Ear Hustle has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to Ear Hustle?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Ear Hustle:

1. Criminal
2. Snap Judgment
3. This is Love
4. This American Life
5. Heavyweight

How many episodes of Ear Hustle are there?

Ear Hustle launched 9 years ago and published 236 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Ear Hustle?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Ear Hustle?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Ear Hustle from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on Ear Hustle?

Recent guests on Ear Hustle include:

1. Derrell Sadiq Davis
2. Tam Nguyen
3. Jason Jackson
4. Juan Rodríguez Ibañez
5. Mestral Coles
6. Jack Morris
7. Joy Alfrenes
8. Nicholas Scandaliato

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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