How do you learn to play piano without a piano? In this first episode, inmate Demetrius Cunningham explains how he taught himself to play piano with a makeshift keyboard fashioned from something he found in prison.

Written Inside is a podcast about life inside a maximum-security prison cell. Adapted from essays written at Stateville Correctional Center near Chicago, these intimate stories speak to the everyday experience of being incarcerated. Demetrius Cunningham’s story was voiced by Chicago actor Sean Parris. Created by journalist Alex Kotlowitz and produced by WBEZ Chicago’s Colin McNulty.

This project is made possible in part by generous support from The Field Foundation of Illinois.