Revisiting “Camp Grace”

Next up in our “sleeper hits” series, our editor Amy listens back to “Camp Grace,” a 2021 episode that she had started producing until she was sidelined by COVID. In it, we follow a group of kids to Salinas Valley State Prison to spend two days with their dads, whom they hadn’t seen in years. Through music, crafts, and games, the idea behind Camp Grace is to put aside prison personas and reconnect with fatherhood. But relationships strained by incarceration can be hard to fix. Big thanks to the team at The Place 4 Grace: Karen, Jenny, Candace, Sandra, and Maria. We also want to thank campers Alex, Geneva, Andrew, Angel, Gigi, Eli, and Christian, and their dads, Jose, Peter, Frankie, Gilbert, Gabriel, and Ramon, as well as Angelica and Theresa, for talking with us. Thanks also to Alma, Jen, Adriana, Officer Muros, Officer Guevara, and Warden Atchley at Salinas Valley State Prison. This episode was scored with music by Antwan Williams and Rhashiyd Zinnamon. Support our team and get even more Ear Hustle by subscribing to Ear Hustle Plus today. Sign up at earhustlesq.com/plus or directly in Apple Podcasts.  Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX. 

Om Podcasten

Ear Hustle is prison slang for eavesdropping, and that’s what listening to the show feels like: a raw, often funny, and always surprising peek into the reality of life inside prison.  Hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods co-created the show that launched in 2017 while Earlonne was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, where Nigel was a volunteer teaching photography. Since Earlonne’s release in 2018, the show has expanded to include stories from prisons across the state, including the California Institution for Women, as well as stories about getting out of prison and starting over, post-incarceration. From finding romance, to grappling with a life sentence, to trying to parent via 15-minute phone calls, Ear Hustle stories deliver what This American Life host Ira Glass calls a “"very real” and “untragic” take on prison life.  Ear Hustle is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent listener-supported podcasts. Discover audio with vision at radiotopia.fm and learn more about Ear Hustle at earhustlesq.com.