It destroys hope, and it violates the principle that redemption is at the essence of what it is to be human. Just to be out there with her.. POOR: You know, a kind of joy I never really experienced before - I mean, it's - you know, to be so happy for him and being in prison and not wanting to cry (laughter) - you know, trying to hold it together. And when I went in the second time, my friend Furman Little (ph) was killed the night we were arrested. She inherits his dog, a 180-pound Great Dane, who, like her, is grieving. 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. You know what I mean? Like, I take you as the man you are in front of me. Earlonne Woods is a popular American podcaster. ERIN: Oh, [expletive]. SHAPIRO: Nigel Poor told us that when Earlonne Woods came back POOR: He was walking with a lot of air in his step. When I called my mother, she told me this, right? (SOUNDBITE OF NOEL BONNEVIE'S "DAHIL SA'YO"). [5], Prior to Ear Hustle, Poor ran a photography class at the prison during which one of her students proposed making a documentary. Earlonne continues to co-host the show with Nigel. Woods was involved in an attempted robbery in 1997, when he was in his 20s. I'm on a podcast. You're able to go POOR: We're able to go out. Woods, 47, was recently released from San Quentin State Prison after California Gov. And it was one of them, I guess could you say, moments where you just feel embarrassed about your previous conduct. And, Earlonne, again, I want to thank - I want to congratulate you again for your new freedom. 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. 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. Earlonnes sentence was recently commuted, but the two continue to share their experiences behind bars. So, Nigel, when you decided you wanted to start, like, a interview series that started on KALW - the public - one of the public radio stations in San Francisco, and then it became a podcast - you wanted a co-host and co-producer who was incarcerated in San Quentin. Presently, Earlonne has not mentioned any details concerning his parents. It was other people telling, you know, their stories about being robbed or losing a child, losing a loved one. I probably was like 14. Woods was unaware his two convictions as a juvenile counted as two 'strikes', which made his conviction at 25 count as his third under California's three strikes law. POOR: Yeah, not skewed, not skewed. Namcy Wong. Who is Kourtney Kellar? And you may be incarcerated 15, 20 years. I don't know. Earlonne Woods, co-host of the popular prison podcast Ear Hustle, had his sentence commuted by California Gov. [1][2] Since his release, Woods has continued to co-host the podcast with Poor from outside prison, with Poor recording some parts in San Quentin with new co-host Rahsaan "New York" Thomas. Yes, he was quiet, but he was always present. I'm not doing this. Despite the lack of physical or forensic evidence, Caramad Conley was convicted of conspiracy to commit first degree murder, two counts of first degree murder, and eleven counts of attempted 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. explores life inside San Quentin State Prison. Why we living like we don't care - because this is somehow how we grew up and how - since as early teenager we've been living in the streets, in the gangs. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Hae-soo married his non-celebrity bride on January 14, 2019, according to sources. [8] Galen Beebe's review for The Atlantic called it a "brilliant series" which "return[s] some of the humanity that the carceral system removes and provide[s] a link between inmates and outsiders. Earlonne is a brother to Shala Woods. He is 49 years old. OK. GROSS: Nigel, when you first started volunteering in San Quentin, what were some of the things you had to deal with as a woman teaching in a prison of men? But the - the problem is is that a lot of the sentences are a hundred years, 200 years, 300 years. A person can get certain - a certain amount of time for the crime that they commit. 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? POOR: There's something I have to talk to you about. You were OK with that? After you got out of San Quentin, you and Nigel went to the governor's mansion. Author, Project Leader of CHOOSE1 Opinions are my own linktr.ee/Earlonnewoods Posts Reels Videos Tagged Show More Posts from earlonnewoods You start attending different self-help groups. [16], Alfred I. duPontColumbia University Award, "Immigrants facing deportation, drug offenders and a former state lawmaker receive pardons from Gov. So right now there would be a problem with me going back to see him because I'm currently on parole. And you start thinking differently, you know? Woods helped create Ear Hustle while incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. In 2016, it was selected by the Radiotopia network as the winner of its Podquest competition, and the following year released its first season. But we knew that, you know, it's traditional for the governor to do these commutations right before Thanksgiving. So I think that's very damaging. Earlonne Woods, Nigel Poor, welcome to FRESH AIR. In March 2016, the Public Radio Exchange's Radiotopia network put out a call for new podcast ideas via an initiative called Podquest, with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The victims of a crime are faceless. He went up there. He said Woods has clearly shown that he is no longer the man he was when he committed the crime. E WOODS: Right. Jerry Brown. It was transformational symposiums. Earlonne continues to co-host the show with Nigel. POOR: I walked him to the gate; you know, wished him good luck. The podcast team announced Tuesday that it will hire Woods as an employee on the show. But very quickly, when we started talking about photography - I was teaching a history of photography class - that kind of melted away. I wouldn't spend time in a place that made me uncomfortable or I didn't like. I just stopped over there, went and sat on a rock and just watched the water for about an hour. SHAPIRO: Earlonne Woods had to leave the media lab to take the call. While incarcerated at California State Prison, Centinela, Woods saw a documentary about the film school at San Quentin State Prison, and applied to transfer to that prison. She co-created the podcast with Woods and has co-hosted and co-produced it with him. HuffPost visited Woods at San Quentin earlier this year to discuss why he created the podcast. POOR: While you're thinking, can I tell you some of the things that are just going through my mind about it? POOR: Oh, plus, I - we get to see each other in all different color clothing because POOR: In prison, Earlonne always had to wear blue. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California . I'll say I've - on the second term - so the first term is where I did all the solitary stuff. And that's the only way of life that you're accustomed to 'cause that's all you see. Woods is a full-time producer, co-host, and co-creator of PRXs Ear Hustle with Nigel Poor. I hope you'll join us. Ive been taking showers for like 20 years.. His net worth is estimated to be $657,586. And when it actually happened, it was a - it was an awakening in me, like, oh, I don't - why is we living this way, you know? No. And you really get a better understanding of your impact that you've personally had on people in society. And they open fired on him. POOR: So one of the things is that I really believe that people change. Other officers got involved. He had served 21 years of a 31-years-to-life sentence. California Gov. Earlonne has not yet revealed any information about his parents. E WOODS: I don't - I think when you're living in the moment, you feel untouchable. (SOUNDBITE OF GOLDMUND'S "THE BALLAD OF BARBARA ALLEN"). Earlonne is busy reporting on re-entry stories and daily life for people who were previously incarcerated, as well as documenting his own experiences. GROSS: And that was because - you got such a long sentence because one crime had you convicted on two counts, so that counted as two strikes. He also founded CHOOSE1, which aims to repeal the California . Yes, he can come to my house. ALEX BLUMBERG: And so a friend of Earlonne's, a volunteer at the prison, had an idea: with this spotlight on his work, and having served now two decades of his 31-to-life sentence, Earlonne should put in for a commutation -- make an official appeal to the governor, to set him free. E WOODS: Hey - so I always go over to the L - I call them L7s. You - you - you always feel that you're better than getting killed, like you would never get killed. GROSS: Wait; so that means, like, you'd rather die than be E WOODS: Yes, yes. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. ERIN: No, I don't feel you're being unfair at all, and I don't ultimately know what my hesitancy is. His sentence was commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in November. Earlonne still co-hosts the show alongside Nigel. [8][9] Poor is a visual artist in the San Francisco Bay area who volunteers at the prison. He works as a full-time producer, co-host, and co-creator with Ear Hustle at PRX alongside Nigel Poor. No, people get up to a thousand years to life for something that they've done in their past. They had left the auntie's house. 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. It was like 2 in the morning. TREVOR WOODS: You know, so Tyler was out there trying to grow up on his own, trying to be something that he didn't know nothing about. And on their way back to the auntie's house, they were pulled over by Long Beach Police Department - two officers. And the phone rang in the media lab. I enjoy every second of every day. "[16] Quah contrasts standard prison narratives told entirely from an outsider's point of view with the interplay of insider and outsider perspectives provided by the hosts of Ear Hustle, with stories primarily told through Woods' and Williams' words and perspectives, and Poor in an active role adding "key narrative housekeeping". POOR: But I get to see his brother and catch him up on what you're doing. He is a man of average height. The two established a rapport,[6] and Poor proposed the idea of creating a podcast to Woods, who had previously not known what a podcast was. She started going to San Quentin to volunteer teaching photography. And as they questioned the driver, the passenger officer seen tattoos and Tyler's face and started questioning him, made him get out the car. [7] Co-creators Woods and Antwan Williams were inmates at San Quentin State Prison for the first three seasons of the show. And I just said, when you come back, you're going to be almost a free man. 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