I have recently got into the world of podcasts. I found one podcast in particular called Ear Hustle. The show is hosted by an inmate at San Quentin State Prison in California. His cohost is a volunteer in the Media Center at the prison. They choose topics to discuss and pose questions or prompts to other inmates among other aspects of their show. Each show is listened to and approved by a lieutenant at the prison.

I enjoy listening to it. I find it is easy to empathize with them because at the end of the day, they are people too. The podcast will usually mention what the inmate they are speaking to is in prison for. However, that’s not the focus and you can quickly focus on the experiences they are expressing over what put them in prison. This is easy for me bc ultimately, I think our prison system needs reform anyhow.

I was telling my mom about this podcast and she was immediately turned off by the whole idea. She stated that she did not like the idea that inmates were allowed to broadcast and share their thoughts and opinions with the “outside world”. Her stance is that if you go to prison as a punishment that separates you from the greater public, why do you still get access to the public? They have T.V. and have webpages and the public is encouraged to write letters to inmates, etc.

So, question: is it too much of a privilege for inmates to be able to broadcast their experiences and thoughts while still in prison?