Personal Stories

André Davis is about to get a college degree at San Quentin. But he wasn’t always a star student.

Meet the incarcerated producers joining the San Quentin Uncuffed crew this year and get to know them through their favorite songs.

As a teenager, Daniel Ruiz was a soccer star. That talent was supposed to keep him out of trouble, but trouble found him anyway.

Uncuffed Solano producer Jay Evans interviews Jerry Reyes about the time his mother abandoned the family, and how he learned to make sense of the loss.

In California, incarcerated people legally have to work. One thing the jobs have in common? The next-to-nothing pay. Uncuffed gets down to business on the topic of involuntary servitude.

Brian Asey at San Quentin on "All My Life," by K-Ci & JoJo. It's the Uncuffed My Mixtape, where we listen to our producers' favorite songs.

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Transcripts are available within a week of the episode coming out, at www.kalw.org/podcast/uncuffed

Childhood trauma, embracing differences, and putting your heart out there - what it feels like to return home after prison. A special re-entry episode of Uncuffed.

Anthony Ivy and Tim Hicks on “Locked Up” by Lil Durk and "Grinding All My Life" by Nipsey Hussle. It’s the Uncuffed My Mixtape, where we hear producers’ favorite songs.

Before prison, Javier Serna was on the run for 14 years. He shares what it was like to build a life in hiding and the rehabilitation that can happen despite incarceration.

Meet an Uncuffed producer as he leaves prison. Luis shares his hopes for a new life, and his colleagues inside talk about getting used to a reality without him.