An unlikely path to freedom

In California, inmates typically are granted parole by doing good deeds or showing they have been rehabilitated by becoming pastors, drug counsellors or youth advocates. For Walter (Earlonne) Woods, the path to freedom was podcasting. Woods, 47, was recently released from San Quentin State Prison after California Gov. Jerry Brown commuted his 31-years-to-life sentence for attempted armed robbery. Brown — whose last day as governor was Jan. 7 — cited Woods’s leadership in helping other inmates and his work at Ear Hustle (earhustlesq.com). Woods has since been hired as a full-time producer for the often funny and at times heartwrenching podcast, which has been a smashing success since its launch in 2017. The show ’s roughly 30 episodes have been downloaded 20 million times by fans all over the world.

Listeners have praised Ear Hustle online as “eye-opening” and “incredibly humanizing.” But for Woods, one of the most meaningful reviews came from the governor’s office when they called with the good news.

“The one thing that the lady said, you know, she told me, ‘We love the podcast in this office,’” Woods said of the commutation call from Brown’s office. “I don’t know if the governor listens, but people in his office listen.”

During their podcast, Woods and fellow creator and outside co-host, prison volunteer Nigel Poor, give listeners a peek into the hardships and small joys of men incarcerated at the medium-security facility. In interviews with the hosts, inmates discuss struggles such as finding a compatible cellmate to share a five-by-10-foot cell, share why they take care of frogs or black widow spiders as if they were pets, or describe the impact of solitary confinement.

Woods, an affable man with a quick smile and a sharp sense of humour, helps listeners understand prison life, while Poor brings an outsider’s perspective, asking insightful questions that at times push inmates to reflect on what put them behind bars.

The podcast offers listeners an intimate look into lives society doesn’t spend much time thinking about, said Woods, who spent 21 years behind bars.