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Rating

★★★★★

4.6

from

255 reviews

Description

Life Jolt — prison slang for a life sentence — examines the lives of women navigating Canada’s correctional system. Our team gained unprecedented access to the Grand Valley Institution prison — the federal pen for women in Ontario — for a full year. We followed women going into prison for the first time, spoke with lifers who have been there for years, and parolees as they left. Hosted by Rosemary Green, a former inmate herself, Life Jolt focuses on individual women’s stories and the realities of prison life, and explores a wide range of issues including parenting behind bars, segregation, the over-representation of Indigenous women, addiction, trauma and the many obstacles of reintegration.

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Check latest episodes from Life Jolt podcast

Introducing: Ear Hustle

2021/09/13

Leslie has served more time in prison than anyone ever interviewed on Ear Hustle: over half a century, for a crime committed when she was 19. Four times, the parole board has deemed her fit for release. Each time, California’s governor denied it. What does it mean to live a meaningful life when nearly all of it is spent behind bars? More episodes of Ear Hustle are available at https://www.earhustlesq.com/listen

Episode 9: Legacy

2021/06/14

Prison isn’t just painful for the person sent away. Rosemary left four children behind when she was locked up. She sits down with her two oldest twins for a difficult conversation about what her incarceration and absence was like for them. They talk about the challenges of being together after Rosemary’s release and learning to trust that she wasn’t going to leave them again.

Episode 8 : Surviving the Hole

2021/06/07

The hole, the shoe, segregation. Whatever you call it, many human rights advocates consider solitary confinement a form of torture. Rosemary recounts her experience in solitary – what she describes as the most difficult moments of her life, and how the experience haunts her to this day.

Episode 7: The After Times, Part 2

2021/05/31

Hard reality begins to set in for Diana as her home life starts to crumble. Mary’s hopes for freedom are derailed by her struggles with addiction.

Episode 6: The After Times, Part 1

2021/05/24

Surviving a prison sentence is only half the battle. Getting out - and staying out - can be just as tough. Emily was a successful entrepreneur before she became a drug mule. Now that she’s out, she’s ready to start over with a new prison-inspired venture, but first she has to tackle her relationships with drugs, alcohol and men. Diana faces the challenge of healing her marriage and her family.

Episode 5: Inside and Indigenous

2021/05/17

Indigenous people account for five percent of Canada’s population, yet Indigenous inmates make up 30 percent of the country’s federal prison system. For Indigenous women, the number jumps up 42%. We share the stories of Chance and Alison, whose experiences illustrate how decades of intergenerational trauma lead people to prison. And how for Indigenous offenders, finding a connection to their heritage is what may ultimately set them free.

Episode 4: Parenting from the Pen

2021/05/10

Prison can be especially difficult for mothers. They struggle with separation and guilt as their kids are raised by grandparents, partners, exes or worse - by strangers. Melissa was staring down a three-year sentence with a baby only weeks away. She thought the child welfare system was her only option until she learned about a program that allows mothers to raise their children in prison.

Episode 3: The Loop

2021/05/03

For repeat offenders like Mary, the criminal justice system can feel like a never-ending loop. It’s a cycle of crime and incarceration rooted in poverty, addiction and trauma. Mary learns how prison can feel inevitable when small mistakes carry enormous consequences.

Episode 2: Welcome to Grand Valley

2021/04/26

Grand Valley Institution is the federal penitentiary for women in Ontario, and it’s where first time prisoners Diana and Emily will serve their time. It’s where they learn the ropes of prison life and begin personal reckonings about the paths and choices that brought them here.

Episode 1: The Before Times

2021/04/26

The road to prison begins with a period of uncertainty and dread – the time between arrest and sentencing. It’s before your day in court, before you've been convicted or acquitted. First time prisoner Diana learns that if you’re lucky you get bail, and if you don’t, the wait can be excruciating.

Introducing: Life Jolt

2021/04/01

Life Jolt — prison slang for a life sentence — brings you the lives of women navigating Canada’s correctional system. Host Rosemary Green, who spent five years in prison herself, guides us through tough issues like solitary confinement, parenting on the inside and the over-representation of Indigenous people in Canada's prisons. She takes us inside a federal penitentiary in Ontario, where we get unprecedented access to the inmates who call it home.

Podcast reviews

Read Life Jolt podcast reviews

4.6 out of 5

255 reviews

★★★★★

Nikki Morales 2022/03/17

Insightful, compelling, raw with deep emotion

I’m leaving these 9 episodes with a deeper understanding of the lives of incarcerated women and their experiences in prison. The narrator’s vulnerabil...

★★★★★

applezmoi 2021/11/15

Well done audio journalism

Life Jolt is another example of really well done audio storytelling about Ontario’s Grand Valley Institution for Women - a federal prison in Canada. T...

★★★★★

Ballzsack69 2021/10/28

Deep!

What an amazing podcast!! It had me hooked from the first second. Life jolt and Ear hustle are the best podcasts that I have ever listened to. Keep ...

★★★★★

Oldstudent1212 2021/10/19

Keep an open mind

As I read the reviews I could feel the disdain for those who have been incarcerated. There are hundreds of crime podcasts that allow people to hate ...

★★★☆☆

BluEyes0220 2021/10/27

Good but whining at times

I enjoyed listening to this podcast but I feel Rose Mary doesn’t take account for her actions. She might say she does but her crying and having to tak...

★★★★★

amfm450 2021/10/11

Love

I’m only one episode in…..completely hooked! What incredible, real stories that hits your heart. Thank you for letting all these beautiful women be he...

★★★★★

Claudia awesome 2021/09/18

Excellent podcast

Rose Mary is real, authentic, vulnerable, and honest. I’m so impressed by her story and the podcast in general. Thank you for making us more human and...

★★★★★

Xavi Mom 2021/08/25

Excellent stories

I love the narrator voice

★★☆☆☆

montroniica 2021/09/15

Seriously

Never in my life have wrote a review but felt necessary to write this one because seriously she cries way too much

★☆☆☆☆

dflores88 2021/09/07

Stop making it about you

Her crying annoys me