Prisoncast! is a show made with and for people in Illinois prisons and jails, and their loved ones on the outside. We feature stories, investigations, interviews, and sounds from beyond prison walls – all requested by our incarcerated listeners. Each episode is a bite-sized bundle of some of our favorites. Take a glimpse inside a carceral system that’s designed to be invisible. Engage us at prisoncast@wbez.org. Listen free in prisons and jails on the Edovo app.
"Once they heal, they can help others heal around them." We visit the Building Block program, led by peer educators incarcerated at Illinois River Correctional Center. Later, a listener request takes us to Chicago's Bud Billiken Parade.
10 Aug 2026
S2E6: Fires at a Joliet prison
The Joliet Treatment Center, designed to treat people with serious mental illness, repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires despite two deaths. That's according to a recent investigation by The Marshall Project, WBEZ and the Sun-Times.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, help is available by calling or texting 9-8-8
10 Aug 2026
S2E5: The rebirth of sound
Remembering a life-changing concert inside Stateville prison. Learning piano, using creativity and cardboard. And one listener requests the sound of pure joy: babies laughing.
3 Aug 2026
S2E4: How to grieve in prison
A candid conversation between two men who lost their mothers while they were locked up. Tips for processing grief in an environment like prison. And, whenever you're feeling overwhelmed — follow along with this box breathing exercise.
27 Jul 2026
S2E3: Defining ‘rehabilitation’
An incarcerated scholar tells us the history of Illinois' constitutional language around the purpose of prison. Plus, people at Kewanee's low security prison each share the one thing that's helped them through their sentence.
20 Jul 2026
S2E2: Inside a cell, summer is sweltering
Many summer seasons bring excruciating heat inside Illinois prison cells. A prison watchdog group tells us what it's like to endure high temperatures behind bars. And Michael Broadway’s widow reads his poetry to mark his death during a heat wave.
13 Jul 2026
S2E1: A college class behind bars learns audio reporting
Segments about family and re-entry that were guided, from pitch to final production, by incarcerated Northwestern University students. A song recorded in a former music studio at a state prison. Plus, meet our new co-host for Season 2!
18 May 2026
S1E7: The Catholic sister-turned-activist against the death penalty
Sister Helen Prejean has been counseling people on death row since the 1980s. To mark the 15th anniversary of Illinois abolishing the death penalty, she joins Prisoncast! to make the case against capital punishment. Plus, some original music produced behind bars.
11 May 2026
S1E6: Father and son, reunited -- behind bars
An incarcerated dad asks to be transferred to a more restrictive prison so he can reconnect with his son who is locked up there. We hear original music written and recorded behind bars. And by request, sounds of a longed-for date on Chicago's Navy Pier.
4 May 2026
S1E5: Forgiveness and a mother's love
Lisa Daniels knows all about forgiveness. When her son Darren was murdered, she did what would be unthinkable for so many of us: She forgave her son’s killer.
27 Apr 2026
S1E4: Is Chicago's best pizza made inside Cook County Jail?
Making pizza, hot for delivery, inside Cook County Jail. One man's 18-year fight to get his GED. The value of education for someone serving a life sentence.
17 Apr 2026
S1E3: How to make a prison pianist
How to learn piano with toothpaste and paper. What people locked up in Illinois want you to know about them and their lives on the inside. By request: a roller coaster ride for one incarcerated listener.
17 Apr 2026
S1E2: Parenting from behind bars
Visiting one of the few in-prison nurseries in America, where incarcerated new moms get to live with their babies. Advice on parenting behind bars from formerly incarcerated moms with the Women's Justice Institute and Women Initiating New Directions (WIND). A meditation on letting go from one dad in an Illinois prison.
17 Apr 2026
S1E1: A Chicago mayor walks into a prison
What it takes to get gussied up inside Illinois prisons. How tattoo removal can be life-changing for people inside. Bringing the sounds of the family bowling alley to one incarcerated listener.
3 Apr 2026
Prisoncast Trailer
A podcast that asks: What do the 30,000 people locked up in Illinois state prisons most want to hear?
Executive Producer: Lauren Frost
Editors: Al Keefe and Rob Wildeboer
Host: Erin Allen
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
17 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
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