Suave
You can leave prison, but does the lingering trauma of prison ever leave you? A podcast about the system that sentences juveniles to life in prison, told through one man’s story of incarceration and redemption.
Season 2
Seven years after his release from prison, former juvenile lifer Luis "Suave" Gonzalez seems to be thriving. His career has taken off, he’s in a committed relationship and he’s received public recognition after telling his story on the podcast. Suave always thought once he was out of prison and found stability in his new life, he would finally feel truly free. But freedom, it turns out, is more complicated than it seems.
In Season Two, we look at the long shadow of prison as Suave struggles with the challenges of life on the outside. It is a deeply intimate portrait of a man battling his demons and searching for happiness in the outside world after a near-lifetime in prison as we explore Suave’s quest to define for himself what freedom really means.
Episodes from Season 2
Introducing – Suave: Season Two
Roses and Manure – Ep. 1
Parole & The Pursuit of Happiness – Ep. 2
Someone’s Hand to Hold – Ep. 3
Old Head – Ep. 4
Let The Chips Fall – Ep. 5
A Homecoming – Ep. 6
Patience – Ep. 7
Season 1
Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting. The U.S is the only country in the world that allows minors to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Approximately 2,500 juveniles have been effectively sentenced to die in prison—considered “irredeemable” by the state for crimes committed when they were just teenagers.
One of them was David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez, who entered prison at 17 expecting to leave in a coffin. Suave tells the story of what happens when your whole world is a prison cell, and you suddenly get a second chance at life. It’s the story of one man’s incarceration and redemption and an unusual relationship between a journalist and a source.
Episodes from Season 1
Trailer: Suave
1. The Sentence
2. The Hustle
3. The Old Head
4. The Release
5. The Doubts
6. The Corner
7. The Reckoning
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Maria Hinojosa
HOST AND PRODUCER
Maggie Freleng
PRODUCER
Julieta Martinelli
EDITORS
Marlon BishopAudrey Quinn
ENGINEER
Stephanie Lebow
