A compelling and often witty insight into the reality of life inside – and why it’s nothing like Orange Is the New Black

Crime podcasts are big business and Ear Hustle (Ear Hustle & Radiotopia/iTunes) gives a new perspective on the genre. It is created, recorded and produced in San Quentin state prison, by Earlonne Woods, who is serving 31 years-to-life and Antwan Williams (15 years), along with Nigel Poor, an artist who works with prisoners. And it is incredible from the first moments, dignified and humorous.

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and Williams and Woods are determined to show the reality of life inside. “You got all these TV shows, like Prison Break, Orange Is the New Black. They bullshit though! Prison ain’t really like that. We just living life, like everybody else,” they insist.

Each episode has to be approved by the authorities, but the podcast feels uncensored. The rapport between the three creators brings warmth and, even though Woods claims Poor “brings a softer touch to the show”, he is happy to call her out when she brings naive, outside-world analogies to prison life. The first episode is about cellmates and, in a discussion about finding the perfect cellie, she compares it to dating. “It’s not like dating, Nigel,” replies Woods, patiently but firmly.

Some of the stories are unbearable. One inmate describes his nightmare cellmate who terrorised him for six months, waking in the night threatening to kill him: “I would sleep with my back to the wall and one eye open.” Woods reveals that you can request a cellie you think you might be compatible with, but that it can go disastrously wrong when minor irritations are magnified in such a small space. One prisoner hated his cellmate watching TV drama The Young and the Restless because the theme tune brought back memories of his father beating his mother.

Next up is “the high price one man paid for loyalty to his gang” and future episodes will cover fashion, pets, isolation and starting a family. Ear Hustle gives a compelling and often witty insight into prison life, and tells stories without preaching.

If you like this, try … Actual Innocence.