Ear Hustle, the award-winning podcast that offered a first-hand account of prison life, has launched a new initiative that it says will expand the audio storytelling possibilities of the series. It has formed a partnership with the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, CA, to build an audio production space on inside the prison walls. Ear Hustle says it will allow they begin working directly with incarcerated women inside who are interested in pursuing creative audio and podcasting:
“This has been in the works for quite a while, so it’s thrilling to see this project coming to fruition,” said Ear Hustle co-creator Nigel Poor. “A few weeks ago, we were at CIW setting up the podcast studio with all new equipment, and we had the opportunity to address the community and introduce them to the program we’ll be offering.”
With support from the Mellon Foundation, the new CIW podcast studio will feature collaboration with the Uncuffed project created by KALW San Franciso (91.7). Uncuffed also helps instruct inmates in digital audio storytelling, based at San Quentin and at California State Prison in Solano.
The Ear Hustle team says the new initiative now builds off recent reporting trips to CIW and creates an avenue for more women-centered stories to be heard on the podcast while providing increased support, training, and mentorship to incarcerated community members. The show has recently featured stories from women incarcerated at CIW in episodes regarding the experience of aging, the act of claiming personal privacy, and aspects of life inside.
“Things are looking great, and we’re ready for more women’s voices in the new season of episodes ahead,” Poor said.
Ear Hustle has hired Cat Schuknecht for its team. As a Senior Producer, spearhead its own training program. Schuknecht will help implement elements of audio training at the women’s prison, focusing on areas such as building stories, the intricacies of interviewing, and production. Schuknecht teaches podcasting at Loyola Marymount University and has served on podcast teams including Gimlet Media’s Crime Show, NPR’s Hidden Brain, and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting.
“Finally, these women will have a platform to express themselves beyond the prison walls,” said Ear Hustle’s Earlonne Woods. “As a person who spent a total of 27 years inside, I never heard from incarcerated women, as if their voices didn’t exist. Now they get to showcase their storytelling abilities to the world.”
Ear Hustle began telling stories out of San Quentin State Prison in 2017 and has since expanded its storytelling to other prisons as well as life after incarceration. Episodes have been downloaded more than 80.5 million times. Listeners tune in from across the U.S. and around the world, including from inside prisons in America and Europe.
Ear Hustle is a part of public media organization PRX’s Radiotopia podcast network.
“We thank the Mellon Foundation for helping to make it possible for Ear Hustle to expand its team, capabilities, and impact through storytelling and training,” said Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producer of Radiotopia from PRX.
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