Welcome back to another Ear Hustle blog post installment. To recap, the term “ear hustle” is named after a prison slang for eavesdropping, and the entirety of the podcast takes place inside the San Quentin State Prison. Hosts Nigel and Earlonne bring you right there with them as they expose the all too true stories of what it’s like to live like an inmate. In my last post, I talked about the first episode of Ear Hustle, and why the idea of the podcast was so intriguing. After listening to a couple more episodes, I could already hear improvements and changes being made to the podcast–specifically by the sound editor and inmate Antwan. The transitions between pre-recorded interviews and the hosts’ narrations have become more seamless and every so often there will be drawn out pauses after an interview clip to let the depth and the gravity of what was said sink in. More music was added in between segments, and more sound effects were being played to reflect the mood of the topics being discussed. For example, in the episode “Looking out”, Earlonne and Nigel are good-naturedly poking fun at Rauch, the resident prison oddball, laughing at how one might see him out in the yard sniffing his dreads. Then there was an abrupt interruption and record scratch and you hear Rauch say, “FYI, I do smell on my dreads. I put different oil on each one of them. They smell good. They smell like I just came out the dirt, hanging out with roots and stuff” and then there is another record scratch and the podcast resumes with Nigel and Earlonne. That stood out to me a lot because it made me laugh out loud a little bit. That got me thinking about the juxtaposition of this podcast and the balancing act they are performing in producing the podcast. The topics discussed throughout the episodes are pretty dark and depressing, and yet I laughed at one point. Sound effects can be used in this podcast for dramatic effect, but they can provide some comic relief as well. Sound effects, going off script on a little tangent, a joke, or simply a change in tone can be the little bit of light to balance out the dark. They knew they had to ease the tension somehow, because people cannot deal with hearing only depressing stories. Thus, they found the means to soften it up in a way that does not take away from the truth that needs to be told. It is a thoughtful balance and strategy to keep the podcast appealing and keep listeners coming back.
As I continued to listen to more episodes, it has become more and more apparent to me just how compatible Nigel and Earlonne are as hosts for this podcast. Their voices and personalities create a nice balance. They are honest and believable. This idea is something that I started thinking about more after reading Colleen’s comment on my last post. She pointed out “Having an inmate [Earlonne] take on a lead role in this podcast adds to the trustworthiness of how prison is described and also challenges some of the perceptions society places on people who end up in prison”. It is interesting to think about associating the quality of trustworthiness with an inmate. Yet after just a few minutes of listening to Earlonne, I trust him as a legit and credible host and I think it comes from the way he presents himself. He is very well spoken, articulate, and charming. He has been in the system for a long time and has been able to grow and turn his life around by getting his GED, attending a community college and completing various vocational trade programs. Earlonne’s time and experience in prison has allowed him to learn from his past mistakes and become a better man. This is a common theme talked about throughout the episodes. While in prison it is critical that if you get out, you are a smarter, better, changed person–otherwise you will just find yourself back in trouble. Earlonne has expressed this idea and its importance, speaking on his own past experiences. All of this makes him the ideal co host and counterbalance to the empathetic, soft spoken, Nigel.
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