MICHELLE CIROCCO - AT THE TELEVERDE FOUNDATION IT’S OKAY TO SAY THE F WORD
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Release Date: 02/14/2026
CHARLES ROSARIO – HOLDING THE DOOR FOR OTHERS LIKE HIM
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Charlie Rosario spent 19 years in prison. While incarcerated, he was fortunate to be admitted to the Emerson Prison Initiative. This program earned him a bachelor’s degree, and with that education he began to see new possibilities for his life. Now released from prison, he works for the same program, at Emerson, helping other students and returning citizens navigate education and reentry. Charlie also talks about growing up in Worcester, his experience in the youth and adult prison systems, and the persistence it took to reach college, gain parole, and why helping others recognize...
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MNEESHA GELLMAN – UNLOCKING THE PERSON INSIDE THE PRISONER
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
What changes when someone in prison is given the chance to become a college student? Dr. Mneesha Gellman, Founder and Director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, (EPI), in Boston, Massachusetts, believed a rigorous college degree program could help create that change. It didn’t take much with her background in education in prison, human rights, immigration, and the politics of violence to convince her that college behind bars was a necessity. In 2017 she launched EPI, sharing that she was also inspired by the Bard College Prison Initiative which was launched in 2001. Currently MCI - Norfolk...
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KEN W. GOOD – A MILLION-DOLLAR BOND GONE WRONG
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Texas bail attorney Ken W. Good breaks down the often-confusing differences between bail, bond and pretrial release, and examines what happens when the safeguards designed to protect the public fail. This conversation centers on the case of Lee Gilley, a Houston man charged with capital murder in the death of his pregnant wife, Christa Bauer Gilley. After being released on a $1 million bond with GPS monitoring, Gilley removed his ankle monitor and fled through Canada to Italy using a fraudulent passport. How did he get such a significant head start? Ken explains how electronic monitoring...
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RON WADDELL - THE MEN HE REFUSES TO GIVE UP ON
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
A second chance only matters when someone is standing there ready to help you believe your life can actually be different. Ron Waddell, co-founder of Legendary Legacies in Worcester, Massachusetts, knows firsthand how easily a young person can fall through the cracks. After losing his mother at 15, experiencing homelessness and navigating instability without many of the supports young people need, Ron eventually found his own path, and a calling to make sure other young men wouldn't have to find theirs alone. Founded in 2018, Legendary Legacies works with men affected by gangs, violence and...
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ESTHER & EVE – AN UNWAVERING BELIEF IN HER INNOCENCE
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Twenty years, that’s the sentence she received for refusing to take a plea deal. Now Elizabeth Mercedes Hernandez, a former nurse practitioner, a mother of five and a healthcare professional with no prior criminal record is serving in a Florida federal prison after being convicted of committing healthcare and wire fraud. In this episode, her mother, Esther Pino, and sister, Eve Hernandez, say the government got her story wrong. Elizabeth’s journey from working in the rapidly expanding world of telemedicine to discovering what the prosecutors, at her trial, say was the...
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ELIAS HUSAMUDEEN – A RIKERS RESET FOR AMERICA’S MOST INFAMOUS JAIL
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
Rikers Island has been synonymous with violence, dysfunction and controversy for decades. But as New York City moves toward closing one of America’s most infamous jail complexes, former NYC Correction Officer and union leader Elias Husamudeen believes there’s another option: reinvent it. After 34 years working inside the New York City correction system, Elias brings a perspective shaped by firsthand experience. His ambitious Rikers Reset proposal would dramatically reduce the island’s jail footprint while creating space for education, transitional housing, mental health...
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BRIAN KOEHN – FROM WARDEN TO CORRECTIONS REFORMER
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
For decades, the conversation around corrections has largely centered on two models: government-run facilities which operate 92% of prisons, and private prisons, which own and run the other 8%. But what if there was another option? Creating a third model is Brian Koehn, (pronounced Kane), Founder and CEO of Social Purpose Corrections, the nation's first nonprofit corrections organization and the third leg in the proverbial correction stool. After more than three decades leading prisons across the country, Koehn walked away from a successful career with one question he couldn't...
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DUSTY TURNER - 31 YEARS BEHIND BARS BUT FREEDOM ISN'T FREE YET
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
The truth surfaced years before justice finally prevailed, but for Dusty Turner, freedom wasn't the end of the story. After spending 31 years in prison for a crime he maintains he did not commit, Dusty has chosen a path unlike many wrongly convicted people. Rather than quietly rebuilding his life, he's stepped into the public eye through documentaries, podcasts, interviews, and a massive, daily, social media campaign, run by his team of advocates and posted under the @freedustyturner handle. In Dusty’s own words, sunlight is the greatest disinfectant, and that mantra helps him...
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CHERRI GREGG & YVONNE LATTY - DYING ON THE INSIDE: AGING WOMEN IN PRISON
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
America's prisons were built for punishment, not to become nursing homes. Across the United States, thousands of incarcerated men and women are growing old behind bars, facing chronic illness, declining health, and the possibility that prison will also become the place where they die. This week we speak with Emmy Award-winning journalist and attorney Cherri Gregg and investigative journalist Yvonne Latty, co-creators of the powerful NEW podcast series Dying on the Inside: Women Lifers at Muncy Prison. Together they discuss what they discovered inside Pennsylvania's oldest women's...
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TARYN VANDERPYL & TRESSA JUMPS - HEALING THE TRAUMA COMES FIRST
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
You don't have to be incarcerated for this conversation to matter. We all have had a yesterday experience that shaped us, wounds that followed us, and patterns we sometimes don't even realize we're repeating. This week we conclude our first-ever trilogy with a most meaningful yet simple lesson. Over the past few episodes, we introduced you to Oregon's Transformative Justice Community, their innovative programs at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, and the volunteer-run CREW Safe Rides program that helps women return home safely after release from prison. Now we turn to what may be the...
info_outlineFrom a felony to the CEO of a Global foundation, Michelle Cirocco knows firsthand that second chances work, because she lived it. After serving time in prison, Michelle rebuilt her life by taking a job at a call center, inside a local correctional facility. Today, she leads the Televerde Foundation, helping incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women gain workforce credentials, employment, and long-term success. With over 5,000 women served and a recidivism rate that is under 2%, Televerde’s model is transforming reentry outcomes and economic impact across states like Arizona and Indiana. In a powerful and heartfelt conversation, Michelle talks about leadership, the stigma of having a felony, workforce development, her ‘Cinderellas’, her pet peeves, why failure is not the end, and that it’s okay to say the F word.