Is Marvin Dearing Innocent? Hear His Story.

The Prison Pen Pal Podcast with Big Steve

Yes, it's a podcast about prison pen pals! Many believe prison inmates are undeserving of a pen pal, and shouldn't be allowed to find love or friendships. Big Steve, host of the Prison Pen Pal Podcast, disagrees. He discusses the value of having a pen pal, both for the inmate and for the free-world individual. Hear insightful interviews and stories from people who write prisoners, prison staff, and the inmates themselves.

Recent Episodes

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Nov. 10, 2025

Prison Pen Pals: Still Human

Prison Pen Pals, defined as prison inmates who write letters to people on the outside, may be incarcerated for doing really bad things, but they're STILL HUMAN. That's the belief of Salena in Indiana, a 22-year-old student (a...

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Oct. 31, 2025

Locked Up on Halloween: Hear Real Stories from Inmates

As we celebrate Halloween today, we thought we'd invite inmates around the USA to join in on the fun, eat some candy, and share their traditions both in and out of prison. We wondered if they watch scary movies from the prison dayroom, if they make homemade goodies or buy homemade candy from other …

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Oct. 30, 2025

Is Marving Dearing Innocent?

Over 25 years ago, just a few days after the turn of the millennium and the Y2K madness, Marvin Dearing was arrested, interrogated, and ultimately convicted of murder. But did he do it? New DNA evidence suggests not, but the ...

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Oct. 15, 2025

David Bomber: Incarcerated Artist, Blogger, and Actor

Prison Pen Pal David Bomber has been incarcerated for 15 years at Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Virginia, but there's so much more to his story. This blogger and artist once acted in the same movie with Tom Crui...

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July 31, 2025

Jason Kurtz - Incarcerated Author

Jason Kurtz, an incarcerated author at the Waupun Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, has written four highly praised books: Secrets to Wealth , Secrets to Wisdom , Secrets to Wealth and Wisdom , and Secret Tales of the Su...

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July 17, 2025

Easter Nightmare: An Interview with Colby Brookman

It was Easter, 2020. PenPals.Buzz member Colby Brookman was driving home from dinner at his mother-in-law's house, where he had been drinking. His wife, J'lynne Stothers, was a passenger in the front seat. In the back were Co...

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About the Host

Big Steve

Founder of PenPals.Buzz, Podcast Host

The founder of PenPals.Buzz and a former radio personality in San Francisco, Big Steve has extensive first-hand experience with both the prison system and a microphone. In 2014, he met his European wife, Anya, on a prison pen pal website. They married in his front yard in 2022. Big Steve worked for many years in corporate America, both as founder of a successful online retail business at the turn of the millennium, and as Marketing Director for a Fortune 500 company. Now that he's older and wiser, he hopes to make a difference in the lives of incarcerated men and women, and their loved ones. During the few minutes a day when he’s not working or sleeping, Steve enjoys chess, poker, football, wine tasting, carnitas nachos, reality TV shows, and sitting in his hot tub while thinking of ways to give incarcerated men and women a sense of hope and purpose, thereby reducing the recidivism rate. Big Steve lives in Northern California and has hosted the Prison Pen Pal Podcast since March, 2024. Email him at podcast@penpals.buzz