Author Bill Smoot on San Quentin Exodus and Teaching Behind Prison Walls

Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino · Jun 12, 2026 · 25m

Welcome to a new edition of the Famous Interviews with Joe Dimino series. On this episode, we talk with acclaimed educator, novelist, essayist, and author Bill Smoot. His remarkable story begins in Maysville, Kentucky, where he grew up in the 1950s surrounded by family, community, baseball, Boy Scouts, and time spent on his grandparents' dairy farm.

Bill attended Purdue University intending to become an engineer, but his intellectual curiosity led him toward philosophy and journalism. During his college years, he became politically engaged while serving as editor of The Purdue Exponent…