Skip to content
How to Escape Alcatraz episode artwork

Apr 16, 2026 46 min

How to Escape Alcatraz

from American History Hit

What was it like to live on Alcatraz? And was it possible to escape? In this episode, Don speaks to a historian with the unique experience of growing up there. Jolene Babyak's father worked on Alcatraz during its 29 years as a federal maximum-security prison. She and Don discuss the origins of the prison, the people who were imprisoned there and the escape of 1962. Jolene is the author of a number of books about the history of Alcatraz, including 'Breaking the Rock: The Great Escape from Alcatraz'. Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Sophie Gee. Senior Producer was Freddy Chick. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

How to Escape Alcatraz

0:00 46:51

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of American History Hit?

This episode is 46 minutes long.

When was this American History Hit episode published?

This episode was published on April 16, 2026.

Can I download this American History Hit episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.