For this blog post, I thought I’d do something a little different and jump ahead. To recap, I have been following the podcast, Ear Hustle, which is a prison slang term for eavesdropping, and every episode gives an inside look into the American prison system and what life is like as an inmate, and post-incarceration. For the past two posts, I started from the beginning listening to the very first episodes of the Ear Hustle podcast in order to see how they were developing. This time, I jumped to the most recent episode from this past October, the season 4 finale called “Tell Christy I Love Her”.
This episode tells an amazing story. It is told from separate interviews between former police officer, Tom Morgan, and now parolee, Jason Samuel, but pieced and intertwined together to give the listeners both sides of the story at every point. Back in 1997, when Jason was 17 and Tom was 39, the two got into an altercation and Jason shot Tom in the throat, beat him up, and attempted to kill him. Tom miraculously survived to tell the story of his and his wife’s, Christy’s experience and Jason was sentenced to 19-years-to-life. This episode varies from most of the past episodes as the majority of this episode is narrated by Tom, Tom’s wife Christy, and Jason. Usually you hear hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods dominate the discussion, but this time they were able to take a step back and just guide the episode and interjected here and there, allowing these people to tell their story.
This was an intense episode, and some parts were hard to listen to. In his interview with Nigel, Jason talked about his rough and abusive upbringing, giving some background as to why he found himself in that position that night. In Tom and Christy’s interview, they recount the nightmare of a memory that was the night of his shooting. Both get choked up and at one point during the interview you hear them stop talking as Tom goes over to comfort his crying wife saying, “I’m sorry I put you through that”. Even I got choked up listening to that because it was such an intimate moment between the two that I felt like I was intruding.
When Jason, Tom, and Christy are talking about the most horrific times of their lives, there is no music playing. That was a smart editing choice as it gives the listener nothing else to focus on, so nothing is being taken away from these people telling their stories, and the listeners can just hear the depth and gravity of what is being said.
However, although this story is pretty heavy, it is ultimately about forgiveness and grace. Tom, Jason, and Christy were able to participate in a restorative justice program together about 20 years later. After Tom had an emotional reunion with Jason, Christy requested to see him as well. Christy recalls she had so much pent up hatred and anger. The night of Tom’s shooting, she wanted to kill Jason, and it wasn’t until this moment that those emotions finally started to subside. Jason said when he saw Christy, he put his hands behind his back, thinking she was going to hit him, and he was going to let her because he felt he deserved it. Instead, Christy embraced him. They cry as Christy hugs him, because she said she could see his remorse and it meant so much to her just to know how ashamed he was and to see him acknowledge his past mistakes. Using the CNN documentary audio you hear Jason tell her “Thank you for seeing me for who I am today” and she responds, “I see you. And I am proud of you—and who you are, everything you’re doing” It was a really powerful moment that the podcast production team was able to incorporate seamlessly.
During the more uplifting moments, like after this encounter when Christy remembered “I kept telling everyone, ‘I feel so light. I feel so light I feel like I could fly or something’” uplifting music starts softly building in, adding to the inspirational and awe-inspiring message of this story. She and Tom were both able to forgive Jason, and now talk about the rehabilitation of their relationship.
This was an excellent episode, it struck all the right chords and was beautifully executed and produced. The heart of the podcast is no different from the first episodes of season 1: all the emotion and passion is still there–if not greater than before and they are still there to uncover the big ideas that need to be talked about. That being said, I could tell that over time it has been taken to the next level. It sounds more professional with the sound mixing, editing and effortless transitions that when you listen to the podcast, you are solely focused for 43 minutes on this story and can’t help but be completely enraptured. Suffice to say, I can’t wait to hear what Ear Hustle has planned next for season 5.
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Hi Julia!
Great work on your final blog post! This seems like a very interesting podcast and I will definitely be taking a listen when I get the time. It sounds like a truly amazing story that we are lucky to get the inside take on. I really enjoy how you chose to take a look at the season 4 finale in comparison to how the podcast was when it originally began.
I thought the use of interviews in your podcast was interesting as in my program, there were none included. I definitely agree that by the hosts taking a step back and allowing these people to tell their personal view it offered listeners the opportunity to hear both sides of the story. I think this gives the listeners an interesting take on the story as they are no longer hearing potentially biased and maybe incorrect evidence and are hearing directly from the sources themselves. Although for my podcast it would be difficult to include interviews from former cult members, it is something I wish they are able to include in future episodes. These interviews add such a unique interpretation of the events that provides listeners a better look into what actually happened.
I also enjoyed how you analyzed the music in this final podcast. I agree with you that when Jason, Tom, and Christy are sharing their most horrific times, having no music playing was definitely the smart editing choice. Along with giving the listener nothing else to focus on, I think it is also a sign of respect. They are having to share something so personal and gratifying for them that it is only fair the audience pays attention and is not distracted by background music. They deserve for their voice to be heard when their story is being shared and having no music playing was one way to accomplish this. Overall, I really enjoyed your final blog post, great work!
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