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Reformed N' Reel

Reformed N' Reel

Di: Mario Hernandez & Wayne Birt
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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.

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Episodi
  • 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....
    Sep 10 2026

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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!

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    42 min
  • 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
    Aug 19 2026

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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."

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    38 min
  • 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
    Aug 12 2026

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    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."

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    30 min
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