WBEZ Chicago has announced the expansion of its special radio broadcast, “Prisoncast!”, into a new seasonal podcast format, with the first three episodes set to drop today. Originally established as an innovative live audio and journalism project on WBEZ and Illinois Public Radio stations, “Prisoncast!” was created to provide news, information, music and audio directly to people currently and formerly incarcerated in Illinois, as well as their loved ones. The broadcast has traditionally been used to create a shared experience for families, even when separated by miles of road, brick walls and wire fencing. Now, the project is bringing these vital, hidden stories to a wider audience through its new podcast release.
Hosted by Erin Allen, the lead voice of WBEZ’s “Curious City”, alongside Executive Producer Lauren Frost, Editor-At-Large Robert Wildeboer and Engagement Editor Alex Keefe, the podcast is built directly with the people experiencing incarceration. WBEZ journalists spend time inside the facilities to build trusted relationships and teach audio storytelling skills so incarcerated individuals can use their own voices to share their stories.
“Illinois prisons are designed to be invisible,” said WBEZ Engagement Editor Alex Keefe, who’s the lead editor of the “Prisoncast!” project. “Our job, as journalists, is to show the world what goes on inside of them. And our duty, I believe, is to do that in a way that serves and engages the people most affected by our carceral systems.”
The debut podcast episode highlights the complex realities of the system, featuring children navigating relationships with their incarcerated parents; a man's request to hear the sound of his family's bowling league that he misses most; and Adonis Veal, a man working from inside prison to shape state legislation for tattoo removal programs.
While the general public can listen to the new episodes anywhere podcasts are found, people who are locked up generally don’t have access to podcast feeds. That’s why WBEZ is so pleased to announce that “Prisoncast!” episodes and newsletters will soon be available for free to incarcerated individuals in 1,500 correctional facilities nationwide including in Illinois through the Edovo app on tablets provided in prisons. The launch of the Edovo app ensures that the very people contributing to the stories have direct, free access to the final product.
The continued work and expansion of “Prisoncast!” is supported by a three-year, $650,000 grant awarded to WBEZ Chicago by the Mellon Foundation in 2024.
By bringing humanity, complexity and real solutions to a dehumanizing system, the “Prisoncast!” podcast hopes to broaden the conversation around mass incarceration in the United States. Listeners can hear the trailer here and are encouraged to subscribe for future episodes and join the conversation by sending their feedback and questions about life in prison to prisoncast@wbez.org.