Ear Hustle is back with season four! Let’s get oriented: to a new format and a new inside host, and through the stories of guys learning the prison ropes in Reception, while they wait to find out where they’ll serve their time.

A heads-up: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence. Listener discretion is advised.

Thanks to <a href="https://www.hellofresh.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HelloFresh</a> for sponsoring this episode.

For a full list of credits and to find out more about the show, head to <a href="https://www.earhustlesq.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">earhustlesq.com</a>, where you can sign up for our newsletter and order a T-shirt, sticker pack or mug. Ear Hustle is a proud member of <a href="https://www.radiotopia.fm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Radiotopia</a>, from PRX.

Respect the Paper

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 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the California Institution for Women, as well as stories about getting out of prison and starting over, post-incarceration.From finding romance, to grappling with a life sentence, to trying to parent via 15-minute phone calls, Ear Hustle stories deliver what This American Life host Ira Glass calls a “"very real” and “untragic” take on prison life. Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at radiotopia.fm and learn more about Ear Hustle at earhustlesq.com.