It’s illegal for inmates to produce or consume alcohol in prison, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. In this episode, Randy describes some popular recipes for the hard stuff. He tells the story of what happened when one prisoner drank way too much mash, and ends with a cautionary tale of the risks involved for the innocent when the mash is discovered in a cell.
In the 21 years since Randy has been incarcerated at Red Onion, he’s never received a single visitor. It’s not because family and friends aren’t prepared to make the journey to the remote mountain location, it’s because he chooses not to have visitors. Why? In this episode, Randy explains the impossible dilemma he faces, and gives a vivid account of the range of different visitation experiences at Red Onion.
Back when Randy was still in “seg”, he worked alongside other prisoners, folding paper napkins around sporks. It offered a rare opportunity to socialize and have some fun. One day, his buddy Frank proposed a dare. If Randy could consume an entire bag of coffee at one go — and keep it down for an hour — Frank would give him $20. Would Randy accept the dare? Of course, he would!
Friendships presuppose trust, but in prison you can’t trust anyone. In this episode, Randy explores the contradictory nature of prisoners’ interactions with one another. Should you trust or not trust? Should you guard against opening up or should you allow others to come close enough to form friendships? “We need to be human,” says Randy, explaining how it’s possible to “have friendships without being friends.”
We might ask ourselves a question:. “Are they really my friend? Do I trust them? Would we have each other’s back?”
Slinky, Ghost, LA, Murder, Head Buster… Names matter in prison, and almost everyone has some kind of nickname. In this episode “Red Onion” Randy explains why it’s sometimes safer to hide your real name in prison and better to have a handle.
Regular listener Kevin emailed Randy to ask Randy if he had have any special recipes he could share? He certainly did. Here are Randy’s all-time favorites, including one recipe for a lot more than just a good meal.
If you or a loved one face the prospect of incarceration, this is a must-listen episode!. Randy answers a question from a listener who wants to know what advice he would give her boyfriend who is about to start serving a long sentence in a Federal prison. Randy’s useful tips include ingenious strategy on how to avoid the gangs and how to get a sentence reduction for good behavior.
Randy finds himself in a situation where there seems no way to avoid a fight.
“I’m actually proud of myself”, says Randy, “because I remained calm, collected and controlling my emotions.” He leaves us with an impressive appeal: “If you ever find yourself in this situation, do your best to de-escalate it.”
Winning a fight, whether it’s physical, verbal, intellectual or emotional may give you a sense of victory, but Randy shows that the true triumph comes from overcoming your own impulses, emotions and wounded pride.
As a child, Randy’s ambition was to learn martial arts so no one would be able to hurt him again. In this episode, Randy describes the intoxicating feeling he used to feel in using skill and speed to dominate an opponent. But from a street fighter with low self-esteem and an urge to fight for its own sake, Randy became a man of peace who came to appreciate martial arts as source of discipline and self-control. As Randy says, “There are times you should fight to defend yourself and your family, but if you can walk away, I highly recommend it”.
At a very early age Randy knew that if he was going to survive, he’d have to fight, and fight hard. Exposed to a world of childhood violence, he drew on natural skill and fearlessness to give as good as he got– and sometimes a lot more. By the time he was a teen in juvenile detention, Randy was ready to hone his fighting skills in “Gladiator School”, where the only rule was that there were no rules.