Inside the Nation's First and Only Statewide Prison Radio Station

Date:  10-17-2022 Though low wattage, the programming is as plentiful and varied as any commercial station on the outside, with shows covering everything from heavy metal to self-improvement

From the Marshall Project: As soon as I drive past the East Tempe Church on the outskirts of Livingston, Texas, I can hear the laugh track on my radio. It’s from “Martin,” a three-decade-old television sitcom. The fictional Detroiters’ racy wisecracks seem incongruous crackling through my car speakers on a winding country road. When the laughter dies down, the slight Southern lilt of a DJ named “Megamind” cuts in to introduce the next segment. “Bringing it to you room service-style,” he says, signing off with a catchphrase that’s a little bit tongue-in-cheek: Like most of his listeners, Megamind doesn’t have a room. He lives on a metal bunk in a maximum security prison, and his real name is Ramy Hozaifeh. To the men in the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, he is best known as a regular voice on 106.5 FM The Tank, the prison’s own radio station. Continue reading >>>