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
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...
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KYLE BLACK - YOU ARE WORTHY OF LOVE, DIGNITY AND HOPE
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
In this episode we return to Oregon to continue the story of CREW (Connecting Resources to Empower Women) and meet Client Services Specialist Kyle Black. Once incarcerated herself for almost three decades at Coffee Creek Correctional, Kyle now spends her days driving newly released women, from the same prison, to probation appointments, safe housing, treatment programs, and the first chapter of a new life. But these aren't simply rides, they are conversations filled with fear, hope, shame, courage, grief, and possibility. Kyle speaks candidly about the tragic events that led to her...
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DR. LATOYA BOSWORTH- FREDERICK DOUGLASS AND THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
In the annals of American history there is one speech delivered in 1852, by a former slave, that stood at the precipice of what today, we call social justice. This week on The Hustler Files Dr. LaToya Bosworth of Mass Humanities explores the enduring legacy of Frederick Douglass and the Massachusetts statewide initiative, Reading Frederick Douglass Together. His speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” still resonates around the world, and each year in Massachusetts, from public parks to correctional facilities, communities gather to read Douglass's powerful words aloud,...
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DR. SHEENA MEADE - INVISIBLE CAGES AND THE CLEAN SLAYE INITIATIVE
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
What happens when one mistake follows you for the rest of your life? Dr. Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, calls it ‘invisible cages’ and for her it was 2004 and an $87 bounced check that led to her arrest. Despite making restitution, that arrest still appears on her record, today, and has created a lifelong lesson about second chances, collateral consequences, and turning her pain into purpose. These barriers are not lost on Sheena as there are millions of Americans still in invisible cages, even long after they've paid their debt to society. It was Sheena’s...
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DR. TARYN VANDERPYL- AT COFFEE CREEK, NO WOMAN WALKS ALONE
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
At Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Oregon, there's a simple belief: no woman should walk alone. This week we’re speaking with prison scholar, educator, researcher, advocate and Safe Ride creator, Dr. Taryn VanderPyl. For more than a decade, Taryn has worked alongside incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, listening to their experiences and helping amplify voices too often left out of conversations about justice and rehabilitation. The discussion explores the surprising role of prison Lifers Clubs, the power of peer accountability, and the creation of the Transformative...
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CHANDLER DUGAL-BREAKING STEREOTYPES BEHIND AND BEYOND THE WALL
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
"Every success that I have isn't just for me. It's disproving stereotypes." When Chandler Dugal entered the correctional system right after graduating college, few could have predicted what the next three years would look like. During his incarceration, Chandler earned a graduate certificate in Homeland Security Studies, completed a Master's in Public Administration through Penn State and became the first person at Maine Correctional Center to begin remote employment with a Manhattan law firm. And if that wasn’t setting the bar, both literal and figurative higher, he competed in...
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A LIFE ASSIGNMENT MONTAGE - ONE QUESTION, MANY ANSWERS
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
For more than three plus seasons, every episode of The Hustler Files has ended with the same question: "At this moment in your life, what do you believe is your life assignment?" The answers have been inspiring, surprising, deeply personal, and often transformative. In this special compilation episode, we revisit some memorable responses from guests across The Hustler Files universe, so many individuals whose journeys have been shaped by incarceration, redemption, second chances, public service, advocacy, leadership, faith, resilience, and personal growth. It is in these reflections...
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SEAN ELLIS -22 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME HE DIDN’T COMMIT
The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Will Challenge What You Thought You Knew
What happens when the justice system gets it wrong? For Sean Ellis of Boston, he served 22 years for the murder of a Boston police detective, a crime he didn’t commit. After two hung juries and a third conviction, Sean faced the reality of dying behind bars while fighting to uncover evidence that had been withheld for decades. Sean shares the devastating impact of wrongful conviction, the challenges of rebuilding a life after exoneration, and the emotional toll of losing years to a system that failed him. He also discusses his work, now, as Director of the Exoneree Network at the New...
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.