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You can leave prison, but does the lingering trauma of prison ever leave you?

The Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast from Futuro Studios returns for its second season! “Suave” Gonzalez was one of thousands of juvenile lifers granted a second chance at life. Season 2 is his story about life after incarceration—and the search for the true meaning of freedom.

Suave: Season 2 is out everywhere on 4/15. New episodes every Tuesday.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

“There's no winners in this. You’re a victim so you victimize other people because you’re hurt. It's a circle and it goes on and on.”

Suave reckons with the last three decades of his life and begins to deal with the traumas of his childhood and incarceration that he’s long buried. Maria and Maggie discuss how the Supreme Court decision has played out differently across the country, leaving some other juvenile lifers still behind bars. Maria worries about the lasting effects of lifetime parole on Suave and comforts him through some tough disappointments. And Suave ponders what it truly means to be free.

Please note that this episode contains a brief description of violence and sexual abuse. You can avoid it by skipping between 4:45-6:45.

“That little place right here changed my whole life. December 6, 1986. 15 seconds. 15 seconds changed my whole life.”

Suave has been cleared from all accusations and is free once again. He returns with Maria to the corner of 8th and Somerset in the Badlands—the place where his victim’s young life ended and the place that changed the course of Suave’s life. And Suave reveals to Maria a shocking story she’s never heard before about the night of the murder in 1986.

“Doesn’t matter if you doing good, if you got a job, it doesn't matter—it could be snatched up in a heartbeat and there's nothing you could do about it.”

Suave returns to prison and goes silent for weeks. Maria tries to figure out why and finds herself torn between her faith in Suave’s innocence and her responsibility to believe his accuser. Suave finds it impossible to adjust to being back in prison. Maria questions the entire parole system of and whether Suave will ever be truly free. Suave finally goes before a judge and again finds himself fighting for his freedom.

“I never dreamed that it would be this good. Even the worst day that I have is good. I'm going up… and I know everything that goes up must come down.”

Suave kicks off his first day of freedom by checking things off his bucket list, including a long overdue conversation with his brother and an apology to students at a school in his old neighborhood in the Badlands. We follow Suave in his first year of freedom as he experiences the excitement of many firsts and as he tries to adjust to his new life on the outside…. until an unexpected revelation puts Suave’s future into doubt.

“We had a secret, unspoken bond. We’re all dying in here. And I felt like I was breaking that bond. I feel like I'm leaving my brothers behind.”

Suave moves to a transitional housing unit at Graterford and begins to prepare for his release. But as he readies for life on the outside, his excitement gives way to a “never-ending list of fears” about life outside of prison. Suave also reckons with some complicated emotions—both the unparalleled joys of his upcoming release and the guilt of leaving behind the men he’s considered his brothers for nearly three decades. Maria ponders how her relationship with Suave will change now that they have a chance to explore their connection beyond a journalist-source relationship, as she travels to Graterford on his release day to bring him home.

“I was fascinated with the lifestyle. I was fascinated with prison flicks. That's how you get the street credibility. You know, I'm gonna be the baddest dude on the block.”

Maria learns more about Suave’s early life in the South Bronx and the crime Suave was convicted of as a teenager in the Badlands of Philadelphia. We explore the tactics of ruthless prosecutors that led to Pennsylvania becoming the state that sentenced the most minors in the country to life in prison without parole. Meanwhile, Suave anxiously awaits the decision from a judge that could grant him the opportunity to experience adult life on the outside.

“The very last word she said was ‘You can become a voice for the voiceless.’ And I was just like, ‘Damn, why am I letting this lady mess up my high?’”

We meet Suave, a man who has been serving a life sentence at a Pennsylvania maximum-security prison since he was a teenager. And we learn about his decades-long relationship as a source with journalist Maria Hinojosa. Suave has come to terms with the fact that he will never leave the confines of Graterford prison. That is until a Supreme Court ruling suddenly grants him a second chance to fight for his freedom.

In 1988, David Luis “Suave” Gonzalez was found guilty of first-degree homicide. A Philadelphia judge sentenced him to life without parole for a crime committed when he was 17 years old. At a Pennsylvania prison, Suave joined the largest population of juvenile lifers in the country—young men considered by the justice system to be “irredeemable,” destined to die in prison for acts committed when they were just teenagers. Acclaimed journalist Maria Hinojosa met Suave 27 years ago in prison while working on a story. They kept in touch over the decades by phone, letters, and occasional visits. Originally, she maintained contact in order to have a source inside the prison system. But over the years, their relationship evolved. And then a Supreme Court ruling changed everything, forever altering the course of Suave’s life.

Suave was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting in 2022.

Years have passed since Season One, and Suave is thriving. He’s got a great job. He’s on the news for his work on prison reform. He’s even got a new nickname on the block: Mr. Pulitzer. Suave is doing what he always dreamed of – and he’s making a real difference. It almost seems like “happily ever after.” Or is it? 

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

On a trip to Philadelphia, Maria meets Suave’s new romantic partner and visits the home they share. He’s in a stable, happy relationship…but after three decades behind bars, sometimes a girlfriend can feel like a prison guard, and Suave struggles with the idea of commitment. In fact, relationships in general—romantic and otherwise—have been the hardest part of life on the outside for him. Suave and Maria struggle to find a balance in their own relationship as a growing distance creates new tension. What does a friendship for them look like now that he’s no longer locked up and the rules have changed? 

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Suave can’t drink. He can’t smoke weed. He can’t travel. He can’t visit old prison friends, or basically have any interaction with the police. And that’s because even though he’s free, he’s on parole for a lifetime. In other words he’s just serving his prison sentence on the outside. Sometimes all these rules make Suave ask himself, “Will I ever really be free?”

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

In the final episode of Season 2, Suave and the team visit a location in the Bronx with deep significance to Suave— a place where you can say his journey towards freedom began. As Suave takes inventory of the past, and the challenges of the last couple of years in particular, he comes to terms with the weight of institutionalization. And he reveals one surprising and life-changing decision. 

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

After the crisis he’s been going through, Suave could use a change of scenery, so the whole team decides to go on a trip to Puerto Rico. It’s Suave’s first time back since he was a child to the island where his mother was born and raised— a moment he used to fantasize about in prison. There he reconnects with family who come from a long lineage of survivors… and of Santería practitioners. A spiritual belief his mother always believed would be linked to his salvation.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

An unexpected event turns Suave’s world on its head, and Suave seems ready to throw it all away. He feels violated, and it triggers a response from Suave we’ve never seen before. As he grows increasingly agitated and isolated from everyone around him, Suave’s actions put everything that he has built at risk.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

There’s one brother behind bars in particular that Suave can’t stop thinking about — Frank Ross, his longtime mentor. The man who taught him how to read and write on the inside. Serving a life sentence for more than half a century, the 93-year-old may have a speck of a chance to get out. That is, if he can convince the state to release him to die on the outside.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.