Walton Arts & Idea Series - Ear Hustle Podcast

415 North College Avenue,Clarksville AR 72830

09 September, 2021

Description

This year’s series, “The Impact of Storytelling,” will begin on Sept. 9 with journalist Nigel Poor, the co-creator of Ear Hustle Podcast. Walton Arts and Ideas Series is made possible by an endowment established by the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation. There is no charge for admission to any of the events. The University will require masks and social-distancing protocols for the WAIS events this year and may also limit attendance based on the status of the COVID pandemic at the time of the event. Ear Hustle Podcast7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021 Seay Theatre, Walton Fine Arts Center Ear Hustle is a popular Peabody and Pulitzer-nominated podcast that provides an illuminating view of prison life as told by currently and formerly incarcerated people. When Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods met, Nigel was a photography professor volunteering with the Prison University Project and Earlonne was serving 31 years to life at California’s San Quentin State Prison. Initially drawn to each other by their shared interest in storytelling, neither had podcast production experience when they decided to enter Radiotopia’s contest for new shows . . . and won. Using the prize for seed money, Nigel and Earlonne launched Ear Hustle, named after the prison term for “eavesdropping.” It was the first podcast created and produced entirely within prison and would go on to be heard millions of times worldwide, garner Peabody and Pulitzer award nominations, and help earn Earlonne his freedom when his sentence was commuted in 2018. In their 2021 book, “This Is Ear Hustle,” Nigel and Earlonne share their stories of how they came to San Quentin, how they created their phenomenally popular podcast amid extreme limitations, and what has kept them collaborating season after season.