- May 21, 2023
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I was questioning everything. GROSS: Yeah. So I was nervous at first to go in because, I mean, my head was full of all the images that, you know, of - from bad TV, bad movies, bad media about what prison was going to be like. In 2020, Ear Hustle was named a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting the first time the . He is a man of average stature. GROSS: So you know, you're a middle-aged man now. For Walter "Earlonne" Woods, the path to freedom was podcasting. Governor Jerry Brown commuted his sentence in November, and Woods regained his freedom after serving 21 years of his sentence. On his release from San Quentin State Prison, Woods was hired full time to continue the work started inside but also adding reentry stories. What's it like to not think about that? Earlonne, congratulations on life outside of prison. Like, what was all this for? 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. And it really wasn't until I got into the healing circle that I understood what it was like to be a survivor of crime because in these circles, you're sitting across from crime victims. And so I want to play an excerpt of that. With grace and humor they walk through what life is really like behind bars, showing the humanity and depth of those they meet inside." --Catherine Burns, artistic director, The Moth "I listen to Ear . And one of my goals has been for us to travel to other prisons, and I never wanted to do that without Earlonne. Is he a good co-host? How do we present this? [9], On November 21, 2018, producer Earlonne Woods's sentence was commuted by California governor Jerry Brown. 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? And Nigel is also a professor of photography at California State University. GROSS: And you basically just described your own situation when you were incarcerated because you got 31 to life for attempted second-degree robbery. You're sitting across from law enforcement. Can I ask how your relationship is changing now that you're both outside? And I have a lot of friends that's in prison that has 200 years, 300 years to life for maybe attempted second-degree robbery. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. They eventually met this person. [2], Woods first went to prison at 17 for two concurrent convictions of kidnapping and robbing a drug dealer, and was released at 23. [3], Woods met artist and volunteer Nigel Poor, who was teaching photography at the film school. And that's pretty much what I did. We called up Nigel Poor today to ask her about it, and she said that when they got the news yesterday, they were in the middle of making an episode. 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. Earlonnes average salary is $61,244 per year. I think the scope of the number of people that could possibly listen to this, I'm just really nervous about that. Jerry Brown. And I believe, personally, that that will ease overcrowding because there are a lot of people in prison that deserve to be out. [13], The term "ear hustle" is prison slang for eavesdropping. They dont stay the same people that they were when they committed their crime. Nigel first went to San Quentin as a volunteer teaching photography. Earlonne Woods co-hosted the podcast Ear Hustle while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Earlonne was both host and inmate, but he was released in November after his sentence was commuted by California Governor Jerry Brown. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California . E WOODS: Well, I think - so I'll say this. Therefore, it is not known if Earlonne is single, dating, or married. [14] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Poor said the show is "about everyday life inside a prison. After you got out of San Quentin, you and Nigel went to the governor's mansion. [5] He served his last seven years at San Quentin. 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. And I just said, when you come back, you're going to be almost a free man. I've never had a problem. Earlonnes estimated net worth is $657,586. In some ways, like, I find it hard to understand that somebody, like, wouldn't have any empathy for the victim and wouldn't care. E WOODS: So on November 19, Tyler and his auntie and some other lady went to 7-Eleven to get a pack of cigarettes. You start attending different self-help groups. Jerry Brown commuted his sentence for attempted armed robbery. Just to be out there with her.. What keeps your hopes up? 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. Earlonne continues to co-host the show with Nigel. 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. You know, they get to see each other in passing. I'd rather not know. "[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. I was a clerk. What was your reaction when you found out? Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. 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. And I - I observed Earlonne a lot. 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. Or would you just as soon not know and just judge them based on what they present to you in their interactions with you? Like, I just walked away, you know? Earlonne Woods Wife Earlonne resides in the United States. You - you - you always feel that you're better than getting killed, like you would never get killed. POOR: OK. Earlonne is Shala Woods brother. But we knew that, you know, it's traditional for the governor to do these commutations right before Thanksgiving. POOR: So we were in the media lab working and - you know, trying to work, trying to stay concentrated. And I keep thinking, like, a week from now, Earlonne and I could be having dinner outside the prison together (laughter). You may be a changed individual, all the way changed, would never commit another crime. Your nephew, his son, Tyler, was born in 1994. Woods learned of his commutation the day before Thanksgiving. Behind 'Ear Hustle,' The Podcast Made In Prison. POOR: What are some of the things you think about when you fantasize about your life when you're out? So you become accustomed to that lifestyle. 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. The responding officers shot him five times, killed him. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. So I think as far as African-American culture in prison, I don't think nobody really cares why you're in prison. GROSS: Nigel, let me bring you into the conversation. 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. In 1997, Earlonne was sentenced to thirty-one years to life in prison. I went in and ended up in a security housing unit a couple of times for lengthy stays and just continued my pretty much destructive behavior all the way out. But the law don't see your rehabilitation. I'm not doing that. 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. And the assumption is that what you did at that moment is what you are today even though it's five years, 10 years, 20, 30 years later. It was a restorative justice group. Earlonnes net worth is estimated to be $657,586. Earlonne was born in 1972, in the United States. 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. I just stopped over there, went and sat on a rock and just watched the water for about an hour. Woods is expected to be released on parole in the coming days, after serving 21 years of a 31-years-to-life sentence. But I always go over to the fantasy game guys, and I'll just sit there for a minute and try to see if I even come close to understanding what's going on on that table. It received 1,537 entries from 53 countries. California Gov. So I'm going to enjoy. NIGEL POOR: You know, E, you've been in prison 20 years. They fell in love just like anyone else would. And I was - yeah, I was definitely nervous. In 1997, Woods was sentenced to thirty-one years to life in prison. POOR: And it's going to be a little bit hard. After 21 years in prison, Governor Brown the great governor of California decided that I served enough time, Woods said in the latest. 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. Jerry Brown is releasing Woods from San Quentin State Prison after two decades behind bars. I find it invigorating. Those are my partners. And it's the way people would hope other people think that, hey, OK, I've done my time. But the - the problem is is that a lot of the sentences are a hundred years, 200 years, 300 years. But you may have the African-Americans who go to prison and they're at certain places and you don't get that question. I'm always interested in people who - I'm quiet myself. When he was nine, Woods lifted up a faulty railroad crossing gate to allow cars to pass. Earlonne, until the end of November, was a prisoner. Im thinking about my mama, shes 70. Ive been taking showers for like 20 years.. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. 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. 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? GROSS: My guests are Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods, the creators and hosts of the podcast Ear Hustle about life inside San Quentin Prison. I was just done. 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. The prison also went on lockdown during production, halting work and requiring additional administrative steps to both create and release the audio. Earlonne Woods, co-host of the popular prison podcast Ear Hustle, had his sentence commuted by California Gov. And I hit the floor. POOR: That's his obsession. And I'm playing this because it's about knowing where the line is when you're interviewing prisoners and sometimes to have to ask something that's going to make them uncomfortable. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. Earlonne Woods is the co-creator, co-host, and co-producer of Ear Hustle (PRX & Radiotopia). And at one point, he revealed to me that he had raped quite a few women. 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. Oh, daddy, I'm not playing with no guns. And I stopped by this lake. Ear Hustle is a non-fiction podcast about prison life and life after incarceration created by Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, both formerly incarcerated, and Nigel Poor, an artist who volunteers at San Quentin State Prison. 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