Episodes

The Prison Pen Pal Podcast explores all aspects of prison inmates and their pen pals. Thinking of writing a prisoner? Already have a loved one who is incarcerated? Curious about why someone would write a letter to an inmate? Or, maybe you just want to learn about an entirely new way of making frien…

St. Peter, Minnesota boasts a plethora of sights: a beautiful arboretum, a Veteran's Memorial, the Paddlefish Brewing Company (with 12 homemade beers on tap) and last but not least, the prison artist known as Alfson. This artist, whose real name is Benjamin Alverson, can't really be considered a pr…

For over 16 years, Andrew, a real-life 40-year-old virgin, has been sending money to male inmates, hoping to find love. We applaud him for being brave enough to share his story on the podcast. Hear how much money he has sent to prison inmates, why he feels he does what he does, how he deals with th…

In the early morning hours of May 1, 2019, Paris Siripavaket (also known as Sirii) was involved in a traffic accident that would send her to prison for six years. Paris, a self-proclaimed "suburban cat mom," had worked a professional job in sales and had no clue what to do when she first walked int…

When most people hear that someone has proactively decided to write, befriend, or even date a prison inmate, they think it's weird, bizarre, or unhealthy. So many people, not accustomed to the prison pen pal world, will ask, "Why would you write an inmate? Why not find a friend (or partner) who ISN…

62-year-old Mark Huber is serving a lengthy sentence in Idaho for sex crimes he claims he didn't commit. "I am not freaking guilty," he loudly proclaims early on in this episode. According to Huber, the DNA used to convict him belonged to a Hispanic female. Then, we head slightly northwest to Aberd…

This holiday season, we celebrate myriad lifelong friendships and relationships which we have helped facilitate between incarcerated individuals and their free-world pen pals. In 2024 alone, PenPals.Buzz helped generate hundreds of long-term friendships and relationships, several engagements, and …

At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy, a cannabis marketing executive in Arizona, felt especially bad for incarcerated men and women. Prison was bad enough; the thought of the pandemic causing so many prisoners to be locked down constantly, not even allowed into the dayroom, was dishearten…

In 2011, Will Leverett stabbed 54-year-old Melissa Millan as she jogged alone at night on a trail in Simsbury, Connecticut. The case went unsolved for over four years. Overcome with guilt and shame, Will confessed his crime, first to a good female friend of his, and then to some members of his chu…

Books such as The Best Resource Directory for Prisoners and Inmate Shopper list thousands of resources for prison and jail inmates. Companies around the USA offer services including online research, book and magazine sales, email forwarding, gift purchasing, printing photos of beautiful women, pen…

In this week's episode, we interview Kim Romero, the mother of Nick Romero (a prison inmate and PenPals.Buzz member in Shelton, WA). Nick has been locked up in a solitary confinement cell for over eight months...and won't be getting released anytime soon. His story is all too common. Administrat…

Angie Dodge was raped and murdered by Brian Dripps in 1996. The location of the murder? Her bedroom in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The cause of death? Stabbing (and near decapitation). But Brian Dripps wasn't arrested until 2019 -- 23 years after the crime occurred. Another man, Chris Tapp (completely unre…

Camy Matthay co-founded Wisconsin Books to Prisoners in 2006. For 18 years, she and her team of dedicated volunteers have sent over 70,000 books to prison inmates in Wisconsin. It has been proven that inmates who read while incarcerated are significantly less likely to reoffend. Why, then, would Sa…

Is your prison pen pal genuine, or could he or she be manipulating you for money and commissary? This week, we're joined by Chris from Colorado. Now retired, Chris worked inside of a correctional facility for over 17 years and has some stories to share. You may or may not agree with his opinions…

Everywhere you go, everywhere you look, you'll see and hear people asserting that all inmates are scum, that inmates deserve to rot and die in prison. Big Steve disagrees, reasoning that with 2.3 million incarcerated men and women in America, it's impossible to put them all into a tiny little box …

Clifford Williams Jr. and his nephew, Nathan Myers, were released from prison in 2019 after 43 years of being wrongfully convicted of murder. Already suffering from early onset dementia, Williams wasn't really able to celebrate his release, nor to enjoy his freedom before his death earlier this ye…

Over the course of three months in 2015, PenPals.Buzz member Trent Bouhdida sold undercover officer Ronald Elcock (call me Kev) a total of one ounce of marijuana. Eight months later, he was arrested by two U.S. Marshalls, while attempting to drive his wife (who had recently given birth) to a job i…

Here's a fairly common scenario: you meet an amazing pen pal, you exchange letters and emails, talk on the phone, and make a genuine connection. But you want something more. You want to see them in person, hug them, hear their laugh, or even eat a meal together. It's time to think about filling …

In 1998, Benjamin Alverson was sentenced to 22 months in prison. He completed his sentence, paid his debt to society, and at the turn of the millennium he was excited to be released. Why, then, is he still locked up (without having committed any new crimes) 26 years later? It's due to a disturbi…

In this week's episode, Big Steve explores the complete history of pen palling. You'll learn when the phrase "pen pal" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary, and what, exactly, was its original definition. Then, find out about a high-tech penpal matching service that was all the rage at the …

In this episode, Big Steve discusses the differing views in society regarding high-profile inmates and their humanity (or lack thereof). If someone committed a horrific crime, are they still deserving of being treated with kindness and dignity? Or, as many think, are they simply "monsters" that s…

Big Steve and his wife, Anya, found love on a prison pen pal website. Today they share stories, red flags, and strategies to help other couples succeed during and after incarceration. Learn what to look for in the initial pen pal ad, what red flags to watch for, and when to know to walk away. He…

Prisons in over 15 states no longer deliver physical mail. Birthday cards, letters, and family photos now all must get scanned and uploaded to an inmate's tablet. Those without a tablet can pay for a printed color copy of the mail. The process is slow and flawed; mail often can take months to arriv…

Our very first episode of the podcast. Get to know the host, Big Steve, and hear why he decided to launch a podcast dedicated to Prison Pen Pals. He'll help you determine whether a prison pen pal is right for you, and if so, how to choose the best pen pal. Keep in mind, this was our very first epis…