Reformed N' Reel
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.
Episodes
Steven Rendon and Katie Howard grew up in very different homes and ended up in the same place: prison. Today they're a couple, they both have good jobs, and they say they're happier than they've ever been.
Steven talks about an abusive childhood, losing his mother at eight, and being tried as an adult at 16. He went on to spend more than 25 years in prison. Katie talks about growing up in a loving, stable fam...
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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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 ...
This week on Reformed N' Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Rashmi Mukherjee, Associate Professor of Literature, Humanities, and Culture at Boise State University — and the woman who has been quietly doing some of the most human work inside Idaho State Correctional Institution. For the last several years, Rashmi has been bringing BSU students inside ISCI to take classes alongside the men who live there. She c...
This week on Reformed N Reel, Mario and Wayne sit down with Laura Watson, licensed clinical social worker who runs the Behavioral Health Unit at the Idaho State Correctional Institution. That's a 240-bed mental health unit inside ISCI, and Laura has been doing this work for 17 years — long enough that many of the residents call her "Mama Watson." She's seen the department change. She's helped change it. And sh...
This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez and co-host Wayne Burt sit down with Tony and Stetson — two of Mario's own Learning How 2 Live Media employees, both currently residents at the Treasure Valley Community Reentry Center.
What follows is the part of the conversation that most "lock 'em up" coverage never gets to — the part about what actually moves the needle.
Tony's blunt assessment of the ...
Tristan Maes is 43, lives in the Treasure Valley, runs his own painting business — and as of April 6, 2026, has been sober from the addiction that has tracked him since he was 12 years old.
This week on Reformed N Reel, host Mario Hernandez sits down with co-host Wayne Burt and his old friend Tristan to talk about the long road from juvenile detention to a fresh sobriety date. They met inside Idaho's prison sys...
Most episodes of Reformed N Reel follow the climb back — addiction, prison, recovery, return. This one goes the other way: deep into what actually happens inside. Host Mario Hernandez tells co-host Wayne Burt the worst story of his last prison term — eight days in solitary at Orofino for something he didn't do. Mario was keeping his head down, working a video editing job in the prison school, aiming for ...
Mario and Wayne sit down with Kelsey Korvela, who 21 years ago walked into the Boise Rescue Mission as a homeless woman — not staff. Shaped by both parents' addiction and her own felony past, her turning point came when her father became the first in the family to get sober, sparking a ripple of recovery and faith. Today, Kelsey is an intake coordinator at that same mission, meeting people at their lowest with...
Mario and Wayne sit down with Melanie Chroninger where melanie tells her story from being homeless to serving Idaho's citizens through their addiction.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rodney Araiza. Together, they discuss Rodneys journey as a young impressionable boy in prison to a man finding redemption and building a life for himself against all odds.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Cosmo Zimik and Courtney Hastings, to talk about Empty Hand Combat DOJO and serving Idaho troubled youth. Cosmo shares how he left working as acorrectional officer and a chaplain to opening a nonprofit DOJO to help get troubled youth get off of the streets and empowering them by mentoring and training them. Courtney Hastings who is VP at TRACE, volunteers at ...
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest Miya Ashby, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Miya shares how incarceration impacted her life and her bout with breast cancer. Join us for a powerful conversation about her new path, loving herself and finding love.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Jamie Sherman, to talk about rebuilding life after prison. Jamie shares how incarceration impacted his relationship with his daughter, his opportunity to regain stability through work at IHOP, and he reflects on the role drug court played in his recovery journey. Join us for a powerful conversation about accountability, family, and second chances.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guest, Rebecca White. Together, they discuss Rebecca's journey in recovery as a single mother, as well as topics such as loving yourself and helping others find their way in life.
Mario and Wayne sit down with Sarah Hill, Executive Assistant and Substance Abuse Programs Manager at St. Vincent de Paul, to talk about her powerful journey from incarceration and addiction to recovery and leadership. Together, they discuss hope, healing, and change.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests, Leeana Snell and Danielle Maddux. Together, they discuss their roles supporting individuals reentering the community, and how they play a part of Learning How 2 Live's organization.
This week, Mario and Wayne discuss their experiences touring Idaho State Correctional Institution - a medium-security men's prison, where Mario used to live. Mario shares his experience revisiting the past, while Wayne shares his experience seeing the environment for the first time as an outsider.
Mario and Wayne sit down with this week's special guests from Central District Health, one of Idaho's seven public health districts. Together, they discuss the overlap in resources between themselves and Idaho Department of Corrections.
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