Former and current inmates can now consider themselves Pulitzer Prize nominees after “Ear Hustle,” a podcast about daily life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison, was nominated for the esteemed honor on Monday. The show—now in its fifth season—is the first podcast distributed worldwide from inside a prison, according to its co-hosts. Over its more than three-year lifespan, the podcast has shone a light on several topics, from prison guard and inmate dynamics to maintaining relationships between incarcerated and nonincarcerated people.
Co-hosts Rahsaan “New York” Thomas, an inmate at the prison; Earlonne Woods, a former inmate; and Nigel Poor, a visual artist and prison volunteer, said in a tweet Monday that they are honored to have been nominated: “WOW! What an incredible honor to be one of three finalists for the very first Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting,” they tweeted. “We cannot even begin to express our gratitude to the audio jury at the @PulitzerPrizes for recognizing our show — this is an amazing feeling!” They didn’t have such a lofty goal in mind when they started the podcast, though. They just wanted to share their stories with other inmates—until they won a podcast contest, Thomas wrote in a piece for The Marshall Project.
“In 2017, Ear Hustle launched to critical acclaim with ‘Cellies,’ featured on the Today Show, tallying nearly 2 million downloads,” Thomas wrote. He has served 19 years of his 15-to-life sentence for second degree murder, according to The Marshall Project where Thomas is a contributor. His sentence also includes a 35-year enhancement for using a firearm. Although he eventually became an accomplished writer and chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists San Quentin satellite chapter, he didn’t have an opportunity to work on the podcast until Woods was released from prison. There was an opening on the show and he “jumped at the chance to apply,” Thomas wrote.
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Woods was serving a 31-year-to-life sentence for attempted second degree robbery when the show initially aired in May of 2017, but former California Gov. Jerry Brown commuted his sentence that November after Woods served more than 20 years in large part because of his work on the show, according to PBS. Brown said Woods "set a positive example for his peers and through his podcast, has shared meaningful stories from those inside prison."
Thomas said he was just proud to be a part of the show after Woods surprised him with the news years ago. “‘It’s you, dog. You gonna be the new co-host,’” he said.
“Earlonne’s charisma and rapport with Nigel are a huge part of the podcast’s success. Plus he’s a three-striker, which gets him a measure of sympathy, whereas I’m convicted of murder,” Thomas wrote of his experience. “Would the world accept me becoming the voice of Ear Hustle?”
If acclaim is any indicator, the answer to his question is an overwhelming yes. Woods told HuffPost in 2018 transformation is what the show is about. Woods earned his GED, completed Coastline Community College classes, and finished vocational trade programs in prison, according to his Pulitzer Prize bio.
“What we did was humanize [inmates], just by telling their stories,” he said in the HuffPost piece. “Once you commit your crime, people think that’s what it is, but individuals change. They don’t stay the same people that they were when they committed their crime. They grow up ― literally.”
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