Prison Radio Station Aired Across Colorado will be First of Its Kind

Music is known to break boundaries and help heal from hardships. That's why it's not hard to understand why teams of prisoners across the state of Colorado are working to launch a statewide radio station.

According to a press release from the University of Denver, a new Colorado radio station has been built to broadcast across the state to deliver music, news, and entertainment to prisoners and even those in the free world.

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Isolation and Loneliness Inside Colorado Prisons

Being isolated is extremely difficult and while many of us experienced brief periods of isolation during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, things were much more intense behind Colorado prison walls.

That's why the University of Denver Prison Arts Initiative (DU PAI), began a new project to connect the Colorado prison community despite the physical barriers in their path. The newly created Colorado prison radio station will be the first-of-its-kind in state history.

Inside Wire: Colorado Prison Radio

DU PAI's project is called, Inside Wire: Colorado Prison Radio. The producers of the radio show will actually be incarcerated individuals located inside production studios in three different Colorado prisons.

"There's such a wealth of stories and perspectives behind the walls," says Ryan Conarro, DU PAI staff member and Inside Wire's general manager and program director.

"Radio is the perfect medium for this environment. We really believe that listening and sharing are essential human acts, both in and out of prison."

Inside Wire: Colorado Prison Radio launches  Tuesday, March 1 at 11 a.m and will be broadcast across, "all facilities in the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC), reaching over 14,000 incarcerated listeners."

However, you can tune in where ever you are by listening online at  www.coloradoprisonradio.com or on the Inside Wire app on Apple and Android.

More Colorado Prison Initiatives

DU PAI has more prison arts programming initiatives that will help improve prisoners' lives while they are incarcerated and help them once they achieve freedom as well.

"The reality is that 90-95% of incarcerated people will be released from prison and return to communities as our neighbors," says Dean Williams, CDOC executive director.

"It's important that through programs like Inside Wire, incarcerated people have the opportunity to maintain a sense of connection with each other, with the community, and have a purpose and focus in their life while they are serving their time."

DU PAI has also helped to create a prison podcast, a statewide prison newspaper, a literary and visual art magazine, and even large-scale theatrical productions that have toured for the public and the CDOC.