0:02

Hey listeners, it's Erlon and Nigel.

0:05

We're over here getting our next season ready to

0:07

go. Yes, look for that first episode

0:09

in your feeds in a few short weeks.

0:13

In the meantime, we want to tell

0:15

you all about our new Ear Hustle

0:18

Plus subscription, which serves up bonus Ear

0:20

Hustle treats wherever you get your podcasts.

0:23

That's right. In addition to

0:25

ad-free episodes of Ear Hustle, subscribers get

0:27

behind the scenes, off the cuff conversations.

0:30

Including our Ask Me Anything episode

0:32

where you and I answer questions

0:34

sent in by subscribers. And

0:37

we will answer anything. The

0:39

only bad question is the one you

0:41

don't ask. And honestly, the

0:43

weirder the question, the better. We're also

0:45

making these commentary episodes where you and I

0:48

listen to a classic Ear Hustle episode and

0:50

talk about how it came together, the hard

0:52

decisions we made along the way, and

0:55

where the people in the episodes are today. Those

0:57

are super fun and I can't wait to record the

0:59

next one. Nudge, maybe we should

1:01

give listeners a taste of what we're talking

1:03

about. I agree. So here's

1:05

a little teaser of our bonus episode

1:07

where you and I listen to our

1:09

very first episode Selle's. And then

1:11

we unpack it with our executive producer, Bruce

1:14

Wallace. Do

1:17

you guys know what we're in the studio doing today? Oh

1:20

man, we're coming in here to record something

1:22

with you. No. When our

1:24

EP come through. We are coming in to

1:26

listen to our very first episode, which was what

1:28

called what, Erlon? Selle's.

1:31

When was the last time you heard this? It's

1:35

been a while. It's been a while. It's been

1:37

a couple of years for me. Actually, what,

1:39

how long have we been doing this? Six years. We've been doing

1:41

it six years. I bet I haven't heard this one in five years.

1:44

Wow. Really? This is our

1:46

most downloaded episode. I don't love it, but I haven't listened

1:48

to it in so long. So I want to ask you

1:50

this. When you think about

1:52

this episode, what is something you

1:54

remember from it? Like what's the story that what's the first

1:57

story that pops up in your mind? Emile

2:01

and Eddie the brothers.

2:03

Yeah, I think that's what is

2:05

the first thing I remember too But I also think

2:07

about Ron self. Oh Yeah,

2:10

I think about the Sabbath See

2:14

it's been that long I know Excited

2:17

to see what I forgot about Sabbath.

2:19

Okay, and oh now I know you're talking

2:22

about it has to do with So

2:24

a very popular soap opera the young

2:26

and the rest of the rest of us No,

2:29

is there anything you're nervous about going back to hear

2:31

this? Um, I

2:33

wouldn't say nervous, but I do want to see

2:36

what our production was like then do you

2:38

think you're gonna cringe at anything? Probably

2:44

Being on my that's when I I feel like

2:46

I'm gonna have some cringe moments listening to the

2:48

near. Yeah, probably definitely

2:51

Probably, you know, I talk fast. So when

2:54

I slow down I thought I sound ready

2:57

so I think What

2:59

I think is not gonna be disappointing. I think

3:01

the sound design is gonna hold up. Okay.

3:03

Okay The sculpting of the stories is gonna

3:06

hold up right the characters

3:08

and the surprise. I Feel

3:10

like the thing that yeah, like that might be a

3:12

little shaky as our narration. We'll see.

3:14

Okay, but do you remember? Why

3:17

we did this episode? Yes Why

3:20

we do why we do it Okay we did it because

3:22

we wanted our first story to be something that

3:24

people on the outside could totally relate to and

3:26

that would connect them to People inside and

3:28

that way everybody needs to get along

3:31

with the person they live with or find someone they

3:33

can live with especially when they're saying

3:35

like a five by nine space

3:40

Is this also the episode that has the

3:43

this is the episode that had the question That

3:46

drove you nuts that I asked you just thinking of

3:48

that one Right Bruce. What type of

3:50

animal would I be? This

3:56

is a really behind the scenes thing Or

4:00

should I wait? I'll wait till we have that part. I'll

4:03

get to the moment and question. Thank you, y'all

4:05

remember it? Hell yes, because it scarred me. Aww.

4:09

So this is episode

4:12

one of Ear Hustle. Selleys, we're

4:14

revisiting it because we're about to do a little

4:16

director's cut type thing where you're going to listen

4:18

back for the first time in a while and

4:21

see what strikes you. See

4:23

how bad Erlon wasn't narrating back in 2018? Wait,

4:28

is that right? We

4:30

probably recorded it in 2016. It dropped in 2017. On

4:35

a little sad note, I also wonder if my

4:37

voice sounds different. I thought

4:39

it came back. I don't think. Well, we're going

4:41

to find out. All right,

4:43

we need quiet now. We're

4:47

going to record. You're

4:50

now tuned in to San Quentin's Ear

4:52

Hustle from Radio Topia. The

4:55

following podcast contains language that may not

4:57

be appropriate for all our listeners. Sorry,

5:01

let me pause. Yep, Shah. He always sounds

5:03

good. I just finished a shot yesterday. You

5:06

know what's going to be interesting? How many

5:08

people are out? Probably. Let's

5:11

count. That's the first one. Except one person in

5:13

here. Yeah, so Shah is the only one that's

5:15

still in. It's

5:18

probably Eddie. Having

5:20

spent all my adult life in the Marine Corps,

5:23

Special Forces, been in combat, raised

5:26

in military schools, I thought, you know, okay, you know,

5:28

prison. How bad can that be? That's

5:31

Ron Self, an inmate at San Quentin.

5:34

He's serving 25 years to life for

5:36

attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

5:39

Oh. Inmate. Wait a minute. Yeah,

5:42

sorry. Inmate, which we don't say anymore. Incarcerated

5:45

person. Yeah. Someone's incarcerated somebody. But I

5:47

hate to say that's not what I

5:49

was reacting to. You hear

5:51

my voice? How you just came in hot. It

5:54

just didn't sound very mellifollous. Is that

5:56

the word? No. Nigel, it was... We

5:59

were... We were BGs. We were

6:01

beginning this was... But you know what I

6:03

do love? The way it just has that

6:05

cold open. You just hear somebody talking. You

6:07

don't know what it's about. Right. And

6:10

he's got a great voice, Ron Cels. Definitely. He's

6:13

out. And this was actually our fourth episode we

6:15

made. But the first one too.

6:17

The first one I put out. But okay, let's keep

6:19

track. So we had Shai. We got Shai's out, Ron

6:21

Cels is out. And let's see what happens. Okay.

6:25

He's been locked up for 20 years. His

6:27

first stop was Corcoran, a level four

6:29

maximum security state prison in California. Where

6:32

am I in the backyard? We're

6:36

so much better now narrating. We arrive

6:38

on the bus. Then we get off. We go through

6:40

process. Our pause game wasn't too cool. Reception

6:43

area. Where they issue you your state

6:45

blues and whatnot. And I meet

6:47

this guy. He's a Native American

6:49

like myself. And his name's Duck.

6:52

And I stick my hand out. He

6:56

may as well spit on me. This guy's just evil.

6:58

I mean, he just, he scared the shit out of

7:00

me. Not often that

7:02

things or people scare me. But this man

7:04

actually scared me. Ron

7:07

was in receiving a release, or R&R, which

7:09

is basically the intake into the prison system.

7:11

It's where you get your ID card and

7:13

your prison number which will follow you through

7:15

your whole incarceration. And

7:17

it's where you go through a litany of questions to find

7:19

out where you'll be housed. It just felt

7:21

like the whole time I was in R&R, this guy

7:23

wanted to kill me. I was like, I couldn't get

7:26

processed fast enough to get out of R&R. So

7:29

they finished processing me out. I go to

7:31

the building, which is like a mile long

7:33

walk in chains. You know, guns out on

7:35

the rails. And I, you know, electronic door

7:38

opens. I walk into the building. The door

7:40

closes behind me. And then another

7:42

door I hear pop open. And

7:45

that's the cell I'm going to. And

7:47

the door opens all the way. And

7:49

it's Duck. The

7:52

guy looking at me like he wants to kill me. And

7:55

I just, my heart dropped. They

7:57

said, go into that cell and close the door.

8:00

behind you. Can

8:03

we stop for a second? You

8:06

know when we talked about we have to find a good storyteller? Ron

8:09

Self was a really good storyteller. We barely

8:12

prompted him, he just told us this story.

8:14

And now I'm remembering when I heard this as someone

8:17

who had never been incarcerated, hearing

8:19

him talk about walking into the cell and closing the

8:21

door, I got this totally

8:24

claustrophobic, freaked out feeling. It was

8:26

one of the first times I realized how terrifying it would

8:28

be to be locked in a cell with somebody who

8:32

does not dig you. Right, and you

8:34

know when I was just tripping? He

8:36

went from R&R with

8:39

the guy and he left and

8:41

then he went to the building and the same guy

8:43

was in the cell. Right.

8:46

Like how weird that happened? No, it was just like there

8:48

was no time. He went, like the guy was still at

8:50

work, how you get to the cell. He's

8:55

a little, what did he call it? A jump cut? A jump

8:57

cut that way he did? That's what I was just

8:59

like, he just left the guy, then they hit a

9:01

button and then this guy is in the cell. Okay,

9:04

alright. We're condensing time, remember these

9:06

episodes were very short at the beginning. So

9:08

beautiful. One of my favorite things about them.

9:10

Bruce, are you going to feel sad after we listen to this? Because

9:12

we never could get to this 24 minutes. This

9:15

was a powerful last 23 minute episode. That's

9:18

what I'm saying. That's what he's talking

9:20

about. What

9:22

about Ron Self makes him a good storyteller? He

9:26

is good with details, but not too

9:28

much. He doesn't ramble. He

9:30

tells a story where one event

9:33

follows another. And he's got

9:35

a voice it's very easy to listen to. He's

9:38

commanding and you hear that he's in the Marines. And

9:40

so you get this, you can

9:42

totally picture that he's going to be a big guy. Like

9:45

the cartoon American dad. But

9:48

in shape. How did you

9:50

guys find him? Do you remember? Would

9:52

you have found him back then? I

9:54

think I used to always be around.

9:56

He worked in education because he created

9:58

the thing he now. works

10:00

for today which was the veterans

10:03

thing. Well yes but he was actually one of my

10:05

students when I taught for the prison university project so

10:07

that's how I knew him and he

10:09

was like that in class he was very

10:11

commanding but yeah he was always around education

10:13

and I don't know how He had an

10:15

office in education. But did I mean we used to go around

10:18

ask people do you have a story do you have a story I'm sure

10:20

that's what we did and he's like yeah I got a story for you.

10:23

They said go into that cell and close the door

10:25

behind you. Cliffhanger.

10:30

See what I mean? Ron Self

10:32

is such a great storyteller. Listeners

10:34

if you want to hear the rest

10:37

of this special behind the scenes episode

10:39

including the rest of Ron's story and if

10:41

you want to find out who from that

10:43

first episode is out of prison now and

10:46

what question drove Erlan crazy They

10:49

already know. Subscribe

10:51

to Ear Hustle Plus at earhustlesq.com

10:54

slash plus or subscribe in the

10:56

Apple podcast player. That's earhustlesq.com

11:00

slash plus or the Apple

11:02

podcast player. We've got a lot

11:04

of great stuff planned for the Ear Hustle

11:06

Plus feed this year so don't

11:08

miss out. And as always thank you

11:11

for your support.