On the evening of July 17, 2024, Bianca, from the UK, was browsing inmate profiles on PenPals.Buzz and was attracted to Armon Irons, an American prisoner with tattooed hands. Minutes later, she sent him this email:

Good evening Armon, Sending you lots of love from across the pond. Loved your profile. Never done this before. I am a virgin! If you would like me to write to you I can. Anyhow, I will keep this short and sweet like me! Tally Ho Captain.

At the time, nobody would have guessed that those 47 words sent via a prison pen pal website would, less than eight months later, lead to one of the greatest love stories of all time. In this heartfelt episode, Big Steve speaks candidly with Bianca as she tells her story of strength, passion, love, and determination, all with a positive attitude and a great sense of humor...or shall we say, humour?

Hear about the letters, the emails, the phone calls, the proposal, the wedding, and even what her 14-year-old daughter thought of mommy falling in love with a prisoner. Picture Love During Lockup meets Love After Lockup meets 90 Day Fiancé, all in one exciting 45-minute episode. This is reality programming at its best!

The Prison Pen Pal Podcast explores all aspects of prison inmates and their pen pals. Thinking of writing a prisoner? Already have a loved one who is incarcerated? Curious about why someone would write a letter to an inmate? Or, maybe you just want to learn about an entirely new way of making friends. You'll hear from the host, Big Steve, as he helps to humanize inmates and demonstrates the value in writing a pen pal. This is true crime at its best. Enjoy our two-minute trailer describing this groundbreaking podcast.

St. Peter, Minnesota boasts a plethora of sights: a beautiful arboretum, a Veteran's Memorial, the Paddlefish Brewing Company (with 12 homemade beers on tap) and last but not least, the prison artist known as Alfson. This artist, whose real name is Benjamin Alverson, can't really be considered a prison artist, as he is technically not in prison. He's been held captive in a Civil Commitment Facility (a prison disguised as a mental health hospital to get around due process laws) in St. Peter, for well over a decade. This place is a real dark stain on the community, yet Alfson copes with his captivity with incredible grace and a positive spirit. In this episode, we interview Benjamin Alverson by telephone and dig deep into his life -- his childhood, his upbringing, his family, his spirituality, his love of pets, his hobbies, and of course his artwork. What does he create? How does he create it? What is he allowed (or not allowed to buy)? Is he allowed to sell his pieces? Alfson is a PenPals.Buzz member, and in addition to sharing his artwork with the world, would love to make some new pen pals and friends. So download, stream, press play, whatever you do -- just listen to this episode and learn more about this fascinating man.