Reformed N' Reel Mon, 14 Sep 2026 12:47:07 -0600 https://reformednreel.buzzsprout.com en-us © 2026 Reformed N' Reel yes Support this Podcast 60959209-7446-5271-a817-7b25d355a87f leeana@learninghow2live.org Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt episodic false Reformed N' Reel is a weekly conversation bringing together voices from every corner of the community to talk about corrections, reentry, and reform in Idaho's prison system.


Hosted by Mario Hernandez, a formerly incarcerated and fully reformed individual who now leads a reentry-focused nonprofit called Learning How 2 Live, and Wayne Birt, Program Director and Production Manager of Radio Boise. Wayne brings the perspective of an average citizen, and considers himself a curious moderator seeking to understand the system from the outside looking in.


Together, Mario and Wayne sit down and talk with a wide range of guests: formerly incarcerated people, social justice advocates, charity foundation leaders, and even directors from the Idaho Department of Correction.


Reformed N' Real brings all different perspectives together to better understand the correctional system and how it affects us all.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Criminal Justice, Incarceration, Corrections, Prison Reform, Rehabilitation, Community Impact, Justice System, Reentry, Restorative Justice, Nonprofit Organizations, Advocacy, True Stories Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt leeana@learninghow2live.org https://storage.buzzsprout.com/bqmyrduz3fjafcj7o7nyd4d6vxpz?.jpg Reformed N' Reel https://reformednreel.buzzsprout.com Mario Hernandez Wayne Birt You never know when it will happen to you. Fentynal taking our peoples lives.... You never know when it will happen to you. Fentynal taking our peoples lives.... Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down and talk about Haley Miller, Mario's cousin who he just lost to a fentynal overdose. Reformed and REEL is about people getting out of incarceration and discussing how the community around them feels and treats them. This personal journey is the story of hundreds of thousands of Americans and people around the world. Lets talk about it!

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Mario and Wayne sit down and talk about Haley Miller, Mario's cousin who he just lost to a fentynal overdose. Reformed and REEL is about people getting out of incarceration and discussing how the community around them feels and treats them. This personal journey is the story of hundreds of thousands of Americans and people around the world. Lets talk about it!

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19781512 Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:00 -0600 2522 1 28 full true No Riding the Fence: Carl Freeman on 20+ Years in the System and the Sunday Calls That Rebuilt His Family No Riding the Fence: Carl Freeman on 20+ Years in the System and the Sunday Calls That Rebuilt His Family Send us Fan Mail

This week Mario sits down with someone he's known for nearly 20 years — Carl Freeman, a friend he first met on the inside back in 2007. Carl's story starts in Kansas City, where he was exposed to drugs, violence, and things no kid should ever see — including watching his own uncle kill a police officer when Carl was just six years old. Carl talks about how alcohol quietly took over his life — from a beer at the dinner table as a kid, to weekends, to skipping work, to losing the job entirely. At 20, after a year and eight months in county, he walked into the Idaho prison system carrying a warning from an officer that a Black inmate had just been killed there — and a mindset built for survival, not for his kids waiting on the outside. The turning point? A letter from his mom. After Carl got busted making alcohol in his cell and thought it was funny enough to send her the pictures, she wrote back: "When does your family and your children become more important than being Mr. Big Man in there?" Then she didn't take his calls for 90 days. That silence changed everything. Carl opens up about taking a two-year flop from the parole board and using it to reassess — education, anger management, parenting classes, and letters home. He shares the moment his brother, who refused to help him for years, hugged him at his two-year mark and said "I'm proud of you." And he talks about the relationship he's most committed to rebuilding: his oldest daughter, now 27 and a teacher, who gave him another chance. He calls her every single Sunday — no exceptions — because being dependable and consistent is how you earn back love. Now just days away from three years out — the longest he's been free since he was a teenager — Carl explains why this time is different: no riding the fence between the old life and the new one. His advice to anyone coming home: "Believe in you. Because when you believe in you, you open the door for others to believe in you."

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This week Mario sits down with someone he's known for nearly 20 years — Carl Freeman, a friend he first met on the inside back in 2007. Carl's story starts in Kansas City, where he was exposed to drugs, violence, and things no kid should ever see — including watching his own uncle kill a police officer when Carl was just six years old. Carl talks about how alcohol quietly took over his life — from a beer at the dinner table as a kid, to weekends, to skipping work, to losing the job entirely. At 20, after a year and eight months in county, he walked into the Idaho prison system carrying a warning from an officer that a Black inmate had just been killed there — and a mindset built for survival, not for his kids waiting on the outside. The turning point? A letter from his mom. After Carl got busted making alcohol in his cell and thought it was funny enough to send her the pictures, she wrote back: "When does your family and your children become more important than being Mr. Big Man in there?" Then she didn't take his calls for 90 days. That silence changed everything. Carl opens up about taking a two-year flop from the parole board and using it to reassess — education, anger management, parenting classes, and letters home. He shares the moment his brother, who refused to help him for years, hugged him at his two-year mark and said "I'm proud of you." And he talks about the relationship he's most committed to rebuilding: his oldest daughter, now 27 and a teacher, who gave him another chance. He calls her every single Sunday — no exceptions — because being dependable and consistent is how you earn back love. Now just days away from three years out — the longest he's been free since he was a teenager — Carl explains why this time is different: no riding the fence between the old life and the new one. His advice to anyone coming home: "Believe in you. Because when you believe in you, you open the door for others to believe in you."

Support the show

]]> Buzzsprout-19670340 Wed, 19 Aug 2026 16:00:00 -0600 2272 1 27 full false I'm Done: Jim Niederheiser on Federal Time, Lost Years, and Starting Over at 55 I'm Done: Jim Niederheiser on Federal Time, Lost Years, and Starting Over at 55 Send us Fan Mail

Send us Fan Mail: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556884/fan_mail/new

In this episode, Mario reconnects with an old friend — Jim Niederheiser, a 55-year-old Twin Falls native who just walked out of federal prison after nearly four years, his sixth stint behind bars overall. Jim is staying at Port of Hope halfway house and working at Learning to Live, taking it one day at a time.

Jim opens up about a life shaped by absent structure, a drug addiction that started at 13, and decades of cycling in and out of the system on parole violations. He talks candidly about the regret of being an absent father, losing his mother on Christmas Day 2023 while he was incarcerated — and the gut-punch of not getting to say goodbye. But Jim also brings something rare: genuine conviction. Not a sales pitch, not a broken record — just a man who sold himself on change before he ever hit that gate.

What makes this episode special is the history. Mario and Jim go back to age 15. The fact that Jim's first call out of federal prison led him straight to Mario — without either of them even knowing it — is the kind of full-circle moment that reminds you why this show exists. They also get into the real barriers facing returning citizens in Idaho: finding housing as a felon is harder than finding work, and the community has a role to play in changing that.

Jim's message to anyone still inside or sitting in a halfway house: "Be hopeful. Feel blessed for every little good thing that comes your way. Have faith, be confident, and work hard."

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/ReformedNReal/support

Support the show

]]> Send us Fan Mail

Send us Fan Mail: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2556884/fan_mail/new

In this episode, Mario reconnects with an old friend — Jim Niederheiser, a 55-year-old Twin Falls native who just walked out of federal prison after nearly four years, his sixth stint behind bars overall. Jim is staying at Port of Hope halfway house and working at Learning to Live, taking it one day at a time.

Jim opens up about a life shaped by absent structure, a drug addiction that started at 13, and decades of cycling in and out of the system on parole violations. He talks candidly about the regret of being an absent father, losing his mother on Christmas Day 2023 while he was incarcerated — and the gut-punch of not getting to say goodbye. But Jim also brings something rare: genuine conviction. Not a sales pitch, not a broken record — just a man who sold himself on change before he ever hit that gate.

What makes this episode special is the history. Mario and Jim go back to age 15. The fact that Jim's first call out of federal prison led him straight to Mario — without either of them even knowing it — is the kind of full-circle moment that reminds you why this show exists. They also get into the real barriers facing returning citizens in Idaho: finding housing as a felon is harder than finding work, and the community has a role to play in changing that.

Jim's message to anyone still inside or sitting in a halfway house: "Be hopeful. Feel blessed for every little good thing that comes your way. Have faith, be confident, and work hard."

Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/ReformedNReal/support

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]]> Buzzsprout-19637735 Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:00:00 -0600 1793 1 26 full false Stories From the Inside: Rashmi Mukherjee on Teaching Behind Bars, Breaking Stigma, and the Book She Can't Stop Writing Stories From the Inside: Rashmi Mukherjee on Teaching Behind Bars, Breaking Stigma, and the Book She Can't Stop Writing Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N' Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Rashmi Mukherjee, Associate Professor of Literature, Humanities, and Culture at Boise State University — and the woman who has been quietly doing some of the most human work inside Idaho State Correctional Institution. For the last several years, Rashmi has been bringing BSU students inside ISCI to take classes alongside the men who live there. She calls herself a "story collector." What she's built is something closer to a bridge.

The conversation opens with how she first heard Mario's name — not from a colleague or a nonprofit brochure, but from inside ISCI itself, where the men in her classes kept saying "learning to live" and pointing in his direction. From there, she walks us through the Inside Out program: BSU students and incarcerated students watching The Shawshank Redemption together, writing and reading each other's personal stories aloud, and what happens when a 19-year-old college student reads the story of a man who's been locked up for twenty years and cut off from his children. "It's a very heavy, very emotionally heavy experience," Rashmi says. "That was the point."

The emotional center of the episode is a story told by a student named Chris — a man who, at six years old, ran to his teacher's house to borrow money for a loaf of bread so his hungry sister could have something on Christmas Eve, and came back with sprinkles from the gas station attendant. Rashmi didn't know what to do with it. "I don't care if this is true or false or what," she told him. "It's a fantastic story." That story opened the floodgates. Men started writing. Stories started stacking up. Rashmi started going home at night and crying. Her husband told her she had to do something with them. A book was born.

She's honest about the transformation that happened inside her, too. She came in careful. She left more forgiving. She says the conversations she has inside ISCI are "the best conversations I can have as an academic — I don't have that kind of intellectual stimulation outside." Mario reflects on why that is: men in a box with nothing but time and themselves tend to think deeply. Rashmi calls them Zen Buddhists. Mario calls them broken souls who just want to be normal.

The episode ends on a challenge to all of us: "People have to look at the human inside and not just get stuck by the space like prison." The book is almost done. The stories keep coming.

Support the show

]]> Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N' Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Rashmi Mukherjee, Associate Professor of Literature, Humanities, and Culture at Boise State University — and the woman who has been quietly doing some of the most human work inside Idaho State Correctional Institution. For the last several years, Rashmi has been bringing BSU students inside ISCI to take classes alongside the men who live there. She calls herself a "story collector." What she's built is something closer to a bridge.

The conversation opens with how she first heard Mario's name — not from a colleague or a nonprofit brochure, but from inside ISCI itself, where the men in her classes kept saying "learning to live" and pointing in his direction. From there, she walks us through the Inside Out program: BSU students and incarcerated students watching The Shawshank Redemption together, writing and reading each other's personal stories aloud, and what happens when a 19-year-old college student reads the story of a man who's been locked up for twenty years and cut off from his children. "It's a very heavy, very emotionally heavy experience," Rashmi says. "That was the point."

The emotional center of the episode is a story told by a student named Chris — a man who, at six years old, ran to his teacher's house to borrow money for a loaf of bread so his hungry sister could have something on Christmas Eve, and came back with sprinkles from the gas station attendant. Rashmi didn't know what to do with it. "I don't care if this is true or false or what," she told him. "It's a fantastic story." That story opened the floodgates. Men started writing. Stories started stacking up. Rashmi started going home at night and crying. Her husband told her she had to do something with them. A book was born.

She's honest about the transformation that happened inside her, too. She came in careful. She left more forgiving. She says the conversations she has inside ISCI are "the best conversations I can have as an academic — I don't have that kind of intellectual stimulation outside." Mario reflects on why that is: men in a box with nothing but time and themselves tend to think deeply. Rashmi calls them Zen Buddhists. Mario calls them broken souls who just want to be normal.

The episode ends on a challenge to all of us: "People have to look at the human inside and not just get stuck by the space like prison." The book is almost done. The stories keep coming.

Support the show

]]> Buzzsprout-19572504 Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0600 1644 1 25 full false Laura Watson: Inside the BHU at ISCI — The Trauma Behind People In Prison Laura Watson: Inside the BHU at ISCI — The Trauma Behind People In Prison Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Laura Watson, licensed clinical social worker who runs the Behavioral Health Unit at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. That's a 240-bed mental health unit inside ISCI, and Laura has been doing this work for 17 years — long enough that many of the residents call her "Mama Watson." She's seen the department change. She's helped change it. And she came on the show to talk about what it actually looks like to do real mental health work behind the walls.

We get into the hard parts. More than a third of IDOC's population is followed by mental health at some level — and Laura puts the number of people carrying real trauma at 90 to 95 percent. Idaho is one of only four states without an insanity plea, which means the most severely ill end up in her unit instead of a hospital. She's honest about why prison therapy is so brutal: "It always gets worse before it gets better," and you're asking someone to go through that sober, without supports, and with no safe room to go cry in afterward. We also dig into the cruel paradox of the system — that access to therapy is easier inside prison than outside, where waitlists run three months and transportation and money get in the way.

Mario reflects on still calling himself "one of us" even after release, and Laura tells him why that matters. The episode lands on a line worth sitting with: "True public safety doesn't happen until people get better." Laura's call to listeners is simple — start normalizing mental health conversations in your own family. Especially with the men in your life. Make "are you doing okay?" a normal thing to ask.

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]]> Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Laura Watson, licensed clinical social worker who runs the Behavioral Health Unit at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. That's a 240-bed mental health unit inside ISCI, and Laura has been doing this work for 17 years — long enough that many of the residents call her "Mama Watson." She's seen the department change. She's helped change it. And she came on the show to talk about what it actually looks like to do real mental health work behind the walls.

We get into the hard parts. More than a third of IDOC's population is followed by mental health at some level — and Laura puts the number of people carrying real trauma at 90 to 95 percent. Idaho is one of only four states without an insanity plea, which means the most severely ill end up in her unit instead of a hospital. She's honest about why prison therapy is so brutal: "It always gets worse before it gets better," and you're asking someone to go through that sober, without supports, and with no safe room to go cry in afterward. We also dig into the cruel paradox of the system — that access to therapy is easier inside prison than outside, where waitlists run three months and transportation and money get in the way.

Mario reflects on still calling himself "one of us" even after release, and Laura tells him why that matters. The episode lands on a line worth sitting with: "True public safety doesn't happen until people get better." Laura's call to listeners is simple — start normalizing mental health conversations in your own family. Especially with the men in your life. Make "are you doing okay?" a normal thing to ask.

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19391590 Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0600 1908 1 24 full false From the Black Box to Central Office — Tony & Stetson on Addiction, Being Locked Up Out of State, and the People Who Reached In From the Black Box to Central Office — Tony & Stetson on Addiction, Being Locked Up Out of State, and the People Who Reached In Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez and co-host Wayne Burt sit down with Tony and Stetson — two of Mario's own Learning How 2 Live Media employees, both currently residents at the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center.

What follows is the part of the conversation that most "lock 'em up" coverage never gets to — the part about what actually moves the needle.

Tony's blunt assessment of the warehouse model: "You take somebody like me and you give me seven years and I'm in a cell the whole time, after that seven years you're just hitting the pause button. You're going right back out to where you were." The fix isn't a longer sentence. The fix is what happened next: a friend pulling him to a minimum-custody facility, a CRC bed, a job at LH2L Media, a reason to show up.

For Stetson, walking away from the gang in custody — months of what he calls psychological warfare on the tier — opened the door to a five-month leadership development course. He talks about his grandma, who he hadn't seen in years, walking into his graduation on a walker. His parents calling him "son" in front of his classmates. Breaking down crying in front of everybody he'd spent the last decade trying to look hard for. He now facilitates that same course for incoming students, and he stands at IDOC's Central Office during new-employee orientation telling his story to the staff who are about to spend their career working with people like him.

The conversation lands somewhere people in corrections don't expect it to: on trust. When you have nothing to lose, no fence is high enough. When you have something to lose — a job, a wife and kids at home, a sergeant who treats you like a person, a manager who hired you on purpose — the fence stops doing the work. The motivation comes from inside.

Stetson, paraphrasing the line that opens the back half: "Acquire what you admire."

Tony, on what changed: "For somebody to reach in and give you an opportunity is kind of everything when you don't have anything."

Content warning: This episode contains a first-person description of a suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text.

Learning How 2 Live — learninghow2live.org



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]]> Send us Fan Mail

This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez and co-host Wayne Burt sit down with Tony and Stetson — two of Mario's own Learning How 2 Live Media employees, both currently residents at the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center.

What follows is the part of the conversation that most "lock 'em up" coverage never gets to — the part about what actually moves the needle.

Tony's blunt assessment of the warehouse model: "You take somebody like me and you give me seven years and I'm in a cell the whole time, after that seven years you're just hitting the pause button. You're going right back out to where you were." The fix isn't a longer sentence. The fix is what happened next: a friend pulling him to a minimum-custody facility, a CRC bed, a job at LH2L Media, a reason to show up.

For Stetson, walking away from the gang in custody — months of what he calls psychological warfare on the tier — opened the door to a five-month leadership development course. He talks about his grandma, who he hadn't seen in years, walking into his graduation on a walker. His parents calling him "son" in front of his classmates. Breaking down crying in front of everybody he'd spent the last decade trying to look hard for. He now facilitates that same course for incoming students, and he stands at IDOC's Central Office during new-employee orientation telling his story to the staff who are about to spend their career working with people like him.

The conversation lands somewhere people in corrections don't expect it to: on trust. When you have nothing to lose, no fence is high enough. When you have something to lose — a job, a wife and kids at home, a sergeant who treats you like a person, a manager who hired you on purpose — the fence stops doing the work. The motivation comes from inside.

Stetson, paraphrasing the line that opens the back half: "Acquire what you admire."

Tony, on what changed: "For somebody to reach in and give you an opportunity is kind of everything when you don't have anything."

Content warning: This episode contains a first-person description of a suicide attempt. If you or someone you know is in crisis, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call or text.

Learning How 2 Live — learninghow2live.org



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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19321372 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0600 2903 1 23 full true Tristen Maes on Addiction, Brotherhood, and Showing Up for His Daughters Tristen Maes on Addiction, Brotherhood, and Showing Up for His Daughters Send us Fan Mail

Tristan Maes is 43, lives in the Treasure Valley, runs his own painting business — and as of April 6, 2026, has been sober from the addiction that has tracked him since he was 12 years old.

This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez sits down with co-host Wayne Burt and his old friend Tristan to talk about the long road from juvenile detention to a fresh sobriety date. They met inside Idaho's prison system around 2006 — both running with people they probably shouldn't have, both trying to "make a name." They've been in and out of each other's lives ever since.

Tristan is candid about all of it: starting weed and drinking at 12, escalating through county jail and a prison stretch from 2006 to 2010, the relapse that came one day after he'd put together a month sober, the felony drug charge that finally got his attention, and the rehab program that started turning things around. And in the middle of it, a story he keeps coming back to — Mario, asking no questions, taking over Tristan's truck payment while he was in treatment so he wouldn't lose it. That kind of loyalty doesn't show up in the gangster movies. It shows up here.

The conversation moves from prison stories to what real recovery looks like — his daughters Patience (18) and Malia, whitewater rafting on the river the Sunday before recording, jiu-jitsu training at 43, reading Psalms in the morning, and the two rules he's trying to live by: time, and consistency.

If you're early in recovery, mid-relapse, or watching someone you love try to find their way out, this one's for you.

"You learn more from a loss than you do a win. So just remember that — if you fall, don't give up." — Tristan Maes

Need a paint quote in the Treasure Valley?   Tristan owns and operates Amazing Painting (interior + exterior, residential + commercial). Reach him at 208-761-8793.

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]]> Send us Fan Mail

Tristan Maes is 43, lives in the Treasure Valley, runs his own painting business — and as of April 6, 2026, has been sober from the addiction that has tracked him since he was 12 years old.

This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez sits down with co-host Wayne Burt and his old friend Tristan to talk about the long road from juvenile detention to a fresh sobriety date. They met inside Idaho's prison system around 2006 — both running with people they probably shouldn't have, both trying to "make a name." They've been in and out of each other's lives ever since.

Tristan is candid about all of it: starting weed and drinking at 12, escalating through county jail and a prison stretch from 2006 to 2010, the relapse that came one day after he'd put together a month sober, the felony drug charge that finally got his attention, and the rehab program that started turning things around. And in the middle of it, a story he keeps coming back to — Mario, asking no questions, taking over Tristan's truck payment while he was in treatment so he wouldn't lose it. That kind of loyalty doesn't show up in the gangster movies. It shows up here.

The conversation moves from prison stories to what real recovery looks like — his daughters Patience (18) and Malia, whitewater rafting on the river the Sunday before recording, jiu-jitsu training at 43, reading Psalms in the morning, and the two rules he's trying to live by: time, and consistency.

If you're early in recovery, mid-relapse, or watching someone you love try to find their way out, this one's for you.

"You learn more from a loss than you do a win. So just remember that — if you fall, don't give up." — Tristan Maes

Need a paint quote in the Treasure Valley?   Tristan owns and operates Amazing Painting (interior + exterior, residential + commercial). Reach him at 208-761-8793.

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19288538 Wed, 03 Jun 2026 16:00:00 -0600 2047 recovery, addiction, sobriety, second chances, Idaho, prison, family, brotherhood, jiu-jitsu, faith 1 22 full true Mario's Worst Prison Story — and Why It Ended Up Being a Good Thing Mario's Worst Prison Story — and Why It Ended Up Being a Good Thing Send us Fan Mail

Most episodes of Reformed N Reel follow the climb back — addiction, prison, recovery, return. This one goes the other way: deep into what actually happens inside. Host Mario Hernandez tells co-host Wayne Burt the worst story of his last prison term — eight days in solitary at Orofino for something he didn't do. Mario was keeping his head down, working a video editing job in the prison school, aiming for a dorm placement. Then an inmate connected to the tier's correctional officer decided Mario "thought he was better than everyone." Days later he was surrounded, cuffed, and dropped in the hole on a fabricated disciplinary report — with no one willing to back the claim. He fought it the only way he could: by writing over the facility's head to IDOC Central Office, which investigated and dismissed the charge. It was the lowest point of his time inside — and the moment that proved standing on the truth, even from a cell, still works. The chapter that should have broken him ended up being the one that confirmed he was already on the way out.

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Most episodes of Reformed N Reel follow the climb back — addiction, prison, recovery, return. This one goes the other way: deep into what actually happens inside. Host Mario Hernandez tells co-host Wayne Burt the worst story of his last prison term — eight days in solitary at Orofino for something he didn't do. Mario was keeping his head down, working a video editing job in the prison school, aiming for a dorm placement. Then an inmate connected to the tier's correctional officer decided Mario "thought he was better than everyone." Days later he was surrounded, cuffed, and dropped in the hole on a fabricated disciplinary report — with no one willing to back the claim. He fought it the only way he could: by writing over the facility's head to IDOC Central Office, which investigated and dismissed the charge. It was the lowest point of his time inside — and the moment that proved standing on the truth, even from a cell, still works. The chapter that should have broken him ended up being the one that confirmed he was already on the way out.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19249253 Wed, 27 May 2026 16:00:00 -0600 3474 1 21 full false Generational Struggle, Generational Healing Generational Struggle, Generational Healing Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with Kelsey Korvela, who 21 years ago walked into the Boise Rescue Mission as a homeless woman — not staff. Shaped by both parents' addiction and her own felony past, her turning point came when her father became the first in the family to get sober, sparking a ripple of recovery and faith. Today, Kelsey is an intake coordinator at that same mission, meeting people at their lowest with understanding instead of judgment. Generational struggle, transformed into generational healing.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with Kelsey Korvela, who 21 years ago walked into the Boise Rescue Mission as a homeless woman — not staff. Shaped by both parents' addiction and her own felony past, her turning point came when her father became the first in the family to get sober, sparking a ripple of recovery and faith. Today, Kelsey is an intake coordinator at that same mission, meeting people at their lowest with understanding instead of judgment. Generational struggle, transformed into generational healing.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19128954 Wed, 06 May 2026 16:00:00 -0600 1709 1 20 full false From addiction to servitude From addiction to servitude Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with Melanie Chroninger where melanie tells her story from being homeless to serving Idaho's citizens through their addiction.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with Melanie Chroninger where melanie tells her story from being homeless to serving Idaho's citizens through their addiction.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-19128269 Tue, 05 May 2026 09:00:00 -0600 1764 1 19 full false The 42 year redemption story! The 42 year redemption story! Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rodney Araiza. Together, they discuss Rodneys journey as a young impressionable boy in prison to a man finding redemption and building a life for himself against all odds.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rodney Araiza. Together, they discuss Rodneys journey as a young impressionable boy in prison to a man finding redemption and building a life for himself against all odds.

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18945566 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 16:00:00 -0600 2618 1 16 full false Serving The Treasure Valley: Empty Hand Combat's Impact on Troubled youth.ode Serving The Treasure Valley: Empty Hand Combat's Impact on Troubled youth.ode Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Cosmo Zimik and Courtney Hastings, to talk about Empty Hand Combat DOJO and serving Idaho troubled youth. Cosmo shares how he left working as acorrectional officer and a chaplain to opening a nonprofit DOJO to help get troubled youth get off of the streets and empowering them by mentoring and training them. Courtney Hastings who is VP at TRACE, volunteers at Empty Hand Combat tells her story as a recovering addict and victim of domestric abuse and how Cosmo has mentored her. Join us for a powerful conversation about Loving our youth  and conquering adversity.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Cosmo Zimik and Courtney Hastings, to talk about Empty Hand Combat DOJO and serving Idaho troubled youth. Cosmo shares how he left working as acorrectional officer and a chaplain to opening a nonprofit DOJO to help get troubled youth get off of the streets and empowering them by mentoring and training them. Courtney Hastings who is VP at TRACE, volunteers at Empty Hand Combat tells her story as a recovering addict and victim of domestric abuse and how Cosmo has mentored her. Join us for a powerful conversation about Loving our youth  and conquering adversity.

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18907806 Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:00:00 -0600 1852 1 15 full false Coming out of addiction a winner, and never looking back. Coming out of addiction a winner, and never looking back. Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest Miya Ashby, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Miya shares how incarceration impacted her life and her bout with breast cancer. Join us for a powerful conversation about her new path, loving herself and finding love.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest Miya Ashby, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Miya shares how incarceration impacted her life and her bout with breast cancer. Join us for a powerful conversation about her new path, loving herself and finding love.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18871886 Wed, 18 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0600 1920 1 14 full false Second Chances: Jamie Sherman on Life After Prison & the Power of Drug Court Second Chances: Jamie Sherman on Life After Prison & the Power of Drug Court Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Jamie Sherman, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Jamie shares how incarceration impacted his relationship with his daughter, his opportunity to regain stability through work at IHOP, and he reflects on the role drug court played in his recovery journey. Join us for a powerful conversation about accountability, family, and second chances.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Jamie Sherman, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Jamie shares how incarceration impacted his relationship with his daughter, his opportunity to regain stability through work at IHOP, and he reflects on the role drug court played in his recovery journey. Join us for a powerful conversation about accountability, family, and second chances.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18823481 Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:00:00 -0600 1716 full false Finding Your Way: Recovery, Self-Love, and Purpose with Rebecca White Finding Your Way: Recovery, Self-Love, and Purpose with Rebecca White Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rebecca White. Together, they discuss Rebecca's journey in recovery as a single mother, as well as topics such as loving yourself and helping others find their way in life. 

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rebecca White. Together, they discuss Rebecca's journey in recovery as a single mother, as well as topics such as loving yourself and helping others find their way in life. 

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18784667 Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:00:00 -0700 2459 1 full false Healing Forward: From Addiction to Advocacy with Sarah Hill Healing Forward: From Addiction to Advocacy with Sarah Hill Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with Sarah Hill, Executive Assistant and Substance Abuse Programs Manager at St. Vincent de Paul, to talk about her powerful journey from incarceration and addiction to recovery and leadership. Together, they discuss hope, healing, and change.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with Sarah Hill, Executive Assistant and Substance Abuse Programs Manager at St. Vincent de Paul, to talk about her powerful journey from incarceration and addiction to recovery and leadership. Together, they discuss hope, healing, and change.

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18658193 Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:00:00 -0700 1663 full false A Conversation About Service with Leeana Snell & Danielle Maddux A Conversation About Service with Leeana Snell & Danielle Maddux Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Leeana Snell and Danielle Maddux. Together, they discuss their roles supporting individuals reentering the community, and how they play a part of Learning How 2 Live's organization. 

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Leeana Snell and Danielle Maddux. Together, they discuss their roles supporting individuals reentering the community, and how they play a part of Learning How 2 Live's organization. 

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]]> Buzzsprout-18585480 Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0700 1671 1 10 full false Wayne Visits the Prison with Mario Wayne Visits the Prison with Mario Send us Fan Mail

This week, Mario and Wayne discuss their experiences touring Idaho State Correctional Institution - a medium-security men's prison, where Mario used to live. Mario shares his experience revisiting the past, while Wayne shares his experience seeing the environment for the first time as an outsider.

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This week, Mario and Wayne discuss their experiences touring Idaho State Correctional Institution - a medium-security men's prison, where Mario used to live. Mario shares his experience revisiting the past, while Wayne shares his experience seeing the environment for the first time as an outsider.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18541398 Wed, 21 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0700 4208 9 full false Central District Health on Connecting Health, Community, and Corrections Central District Health on Connecting Health, Community, and Corrections Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests from Central District Health, one of Idaho's seven public health districts. Together, they discuss the overlap in resources between themselves and Idaho Department of Corrections.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests from Central District Health, one of Idaho's seven public health districts. Together, they discuss the overlap in resources between themselves and Idaho Department of Corrections.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18508091 Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0700 1796 8 full false Justice & Education with Luna McCusker Justice & Education with Luna McCusker Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Luna McCusker, a college student studying criminal justice. Together, they discuss the justice system, Idaho's prison system, and more, from the perspective of a college student focused on the field. 

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Luna McCusker, a college student studying criminal justice. Together, they discuss the justice system, Idaho's prison system, and more, from the perspective of a college student focused on the field. 

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]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18468338 Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0700 2036 7 full false Ryan Hertling on Reentry with Idaho Department of Correction Ryan Hertling on Reentry with Idaho Department of Correction Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Ryan Hertling, a Reentry Specialist at Idaho Department of Correction. Together, they discuss the ways Idaho Department of Correction has taken reentry into their own hands, and how it looks from their side. 

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Ryan Hertling, a Reentry Specialist at Idaho Department of Correction. Together, they discuss the ways Idaho Department of Correction has taken reentry into their own hands, and how it looks from their side. 

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]]> Buzzsprout-18433221 Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0700 1799 1 6 full false Through a Sister's Eyes: Addiction, Incarceration, & Family Support Through a Sister's Eyes: Addiction, Incarceration, & Family Support Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Cherie Padilla, the sister of Quentin Padilla, who Mario spent years in prison with. Together, they discuss addiction and incarceration through the lens of a loving sister, as Cherie shares her brother's story with you.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Cherie Padilla, the sister of Quentin Padilla, who Mario spent years in prison with. Together, they discuss addiction and incarceration through the lens of a loving sister, as Cherie shares her brother's story with you.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18400872 Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0700 1711 1 5 full false Film, Second Chances, and Why Opportunity Matters with Steph Cullen Film, Second Chances, and Why Opportunity Matters with Steph Cullen Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down for a discussion with this week's special guest, Steph Cullen, who leads two production companies, #OMGFemaleFemaleFilmMakers and OMG Studios Boise, as well as a digital media company, OMG Media Outlet. Together, they discuss Steph's role as an active member of the film industry, along with her ability to empathize with incarcerated individuals. Steph talks about her understanding of the need for opportunity within the industry, specifically for formerly incarcerated filmmakers.

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Mario and Wayne sit down for a discussion with this week's special guest, Steph Cullen, who leads two production companies, #OMGFemaleFemaleFilmMakers and OMG Studios Boise, as well as a digital media company, OMG Media Outlet. Together, they discuss Steph's role as an active member of the film industry, along with her ability to empathize with incarcerated individuals. Steph talks about her understanding of the need for opportunity within the industry, specifically for formerly incarcerated filmmakers.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18345681 Wed, 17 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0700 1717 1 4 full false A Conversation with Joe Scott: The Impact of Community Reentry A Conversation with Joe Scott: The Impact of Community Reentry Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down for a discussion with this week's special guest: Joe Scott, Founding Chairman and Director of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. Together, they discuss the important role of Community Reentry Centers, connection to the cause, what the future of reintegration looks like, and much more.

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Mario and Wayne sit down for a discussion with this week's special guest: Joe Scott, Founding Chairman and Director of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. Together, they discuss the important role of Community Reentry Centers, connection to the cause, what the future of reintegration looks like, and much more.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18309864 Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0700 1737 1 3 full false Recovery, Resilience & Redemption: Danielle Maddux's Story Recovery, Resilience & Redemption: Danielle Maddux's Story Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Danielle Maddux, for a powerful conversation about her experiences with the justice system and her journey in overcoming a life of addiction and adversity. Danielle opens up about the challenges she's faced, the pivotal moments that reshaped her, and how she's now using her story to mentor and support others.

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Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Danielle Maddux, for a powerful conversation about her experiences with the justice system and her journey in overcoming a life of addiction and adversity. Danielle opens up about the challenges she's faced, the pivotal moments that reshaped her, and how she's now using her story to mentor and support others.

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]]> Buzzsprout-18286726 Wed, 03 Dec 2025 16:00:00 -0700 1752 1 2 full false Mario's Story Mario's Story Send us Fan Mail

Mario and Wayne sit down to discuss Mario's journey of being incarcerated and how he got to where he is now - a nonprofit organization founder, business owner, and podcast host. 

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Mario and Wayne sit down to discuss Mario's journey of being incarcerated and how he got to where he is now - a nonprofit organization founder, business owner, and podcast host. 

Support the show

]]> Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt Buzzsprout-18227162 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:00:00 -0700 3465 1 1 full false