Podcast Summary: Love and Radio – Blood Memory

Episode 04: The Iron Gates
Date: February 23, 2026
Host: Nick van der Kolk
Guest: Michael Lynn Thompson

Episode Overview

In this raw and immersive episode, host Nick van der Kolk continues his in-depth dialogue with Michael Lynn Thompson, a former high-ranking prison gang figure and ex-inmate with a violent, storied past within California’s prison system. "The Iron Gates" delves into Thompson's harrowing early years in state prison, his encounters with notorious prison gangs, formative relationships, acts of violence, and the psychological transformation brought by such an environment. Through scars, memories, and personal stories, Thompson illustrates the brutality of prison life and the psychological adaptations required for survival.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Thompson’s Physical Scars and Incarceration History

• Surviving Violent Encounters

  • Thompson details tallying up wounds: "I've been shot 22 times. M14, 9mm... First one I was ever shot was a .30-06."
  • Physical reminders: "I've got probably in excess of 100 pieces of lead in my body. When they take an X-ray of me, the X-ray won't go through the lead." [01:29–02:23]
  • Why all the violence? Nick asks, "So those 22 times, that was all from breaking up fights? That was all prison guards?" “Yeah. I was shot by guards... trouble finds me.” [02:29–02:34]

• Naivete Upon Entering Prison

  • Thompson recalls: "I was a fish with amazingly green gills... I had no idea what I was dealing with." [03:25–03:37]
  • He describes bewildering procedures: assigned a cell, issued basic supplies, subjected to psychological evaluation.

Psychiatric and Social Evaluation

• Official Assessment
  • Psychiatric evaluator describes him as “pleasant and cooperative in his attitude, but arrogant and condescending in overall demeanor...capable of and may be successful in manipulating others into doing his bidding.”
  • Diagnosed with “character disorder of an antisocial type.” [04:03–05:36]

“Chaplin, England” – Education & Cultural Practice

• A Chance at Education

  • Thompson earns a job as chaplain's clerk at "gladiator school" (DVI), thanks to his manual labor skills.
  • Reveals he was illiterate until the chaplain offered to teach him after discovering the truth:

    "Can you read?"
    "No, sir, I can't."
    "Would you like to learn?" [07:16–07:39]

• Indigenous Practice & Sacred Space

  • The chaplain makes a deal: Thompson keeps the chapels tidy and, in return, gets the adjacent garden to practice his spiritual traditions—building a prayer mound and medicine wheel, conducting ceremony and dance. [07:50–09:00]

“Nuestra Familia” – Assault and Shapeshifting

• Assault in the Chapel

  • Thompson ambushed by “seven Mexicans...with knives taped into their hand” in a coordinated attack, learning only afterward it was orchestrated by Nuestra Familia, a powerful prison gang.

    “They formed a wedge as they came through the door. Like a torpedo.” [09:04–09:51]

  • He describes tapping into animal spirit (“shape-shifting into bear”) as he disables the attackers, admitting to feeling bad for their injuries but upset by the desecration of his sacred space. [09:58–10:59]

• Gang Politics

  • Nick: "So I guess it turned out these guys were working on behalf of the Nuestra Familia."
  • Thompson: "They’re what are typically referred to as expendables... whatever happens to them, happens to them." [11:04–11:29]

• Violence Without Malice

  • Thompson claims he never fights in anger, relating lessons from his mentor:

    "I've never gone into battle angry. That was a primary lesson on the part of walks on top. You're defeating yourself..." [12:24–12:41]

  • On fighting: "I now use an open hand because I find it more effective and not as debilitating to my opponent... I don't like shattering an individual's facial structure." [12:52–13:41]

Projecting Toughness, Recruitment Attempts, and Racial Politics

• Projecting Strength

  • Nick: "In prison you really have to constantly be projecting, 'don't fuck with me' energy."
  • Thompson: "You pretty much do... Mostly in your body language... I don't do it consciously, but apparently I do it... I don't want people to be afraid of me." [13:49–14:13]

• Recruitment by Prison Gangs

  • Different racial groups attempt to recruit him, especially the Black Panthers. Notably, he is approached by Yogi Pinell, their field marshal. [14:32–15:55]

“Yogi” – The Deadly Encounter

• Recruitment by Yogi Pinell

  • Yogi offers ideological indoctrination; Thompson refuses, citing his American identity:

    "John Wayne told me, communism is bad, and so I'm going to decline." [16:42–17:03]

  • The refusal results in a life-or-death challenge: Yogi says, "so you go on in and you make yourself a knife, and I'll meet you out here in the morning." [17:16–17:38]

• The "Fish Line" and Makeshift Weapons

  • Prisoners improvise tools and loans; Thompson describes learning to create a "fish line" from underwear elastic to trade for materials to make a weapon. [17:45–18:38]
  • He learns about "keistering" (concealing the weapon internally), recounting the physical ordeal. [18:56–20:18]

• Knife Fight and Aftermath

  • Thompson details the bloody yard fight:

    "He comes and I mean, immediately, as we get close enough, he lunges at me. I just parried it... he smiled and I smiled, kind of acknowledging each other... I avoided the thrust and would nick his hand, nick his wrist... He realized that he was losing."

    • He wounds Yogi, deals with two bodyguards, is shot by guards, and left alone in a "strip cell," wounded and immobilized. [20:39–24:10]

“Herman” – Trauma and Isolation

• Reflections from the Hole
  • Details of solitary suffering: unable to move from pain and injury, left with food smeared on his face.
  • In extreme isolation, he is visited by cockroaches:

    "It was the antennae of a three-inch cockroach that had come up through the sewer... I named him Herman. Pretty soon Herman brought friends with him... I tried as best I could to give them all names so that we could have that intimacy you and I so often talk about." [24:13–25:11]

Introduction to the Aryan Brotherhood

• Meeting TD Bingham
  • After returning to the yard, Thompson is approached by TD Bingham, a major figure in the Aryan Brotherhood:

    "Probably one of the most influential members of the Aryan Brotherhood." [25:25–25:29]

  • The episode ends with hints toward deeper involvement in gang politics and the weight of brotherhood in prison.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The worst thing you can do to a human being is put him in a cage. And I know that from experience." – Michael Thompson [00:48–01:16]
• "I didn't seek out notoriety or to establish myself or anything else. I just kind of laid low... trouble finds me." – Michael Thompson [02:34–03:13]
• "I was a fish with amazingly green gills... I had no idea what I was dealing with." – Michael Thompson [03:25]
• "I shape shifted into bear, and that's how I moved amongst them. Like a grizzly bear, snapping bones." – Michael Thompson [09:58–10:22]
• "I've never gone into battle angry. That was a primary lesson. You're defeating yourself." – Michael Thompson [12:24–12:41]
• "I don't like shattering an individual's facial structure. I mean, I don't get off on that." – Michael Thompson [13:06–13:07]
• "John Wayne told me, communism is bad, and so I'm going to decline." – Michael Thompson [16:59–17:02]
• "I had cockroaches all over my face eating the food off my face. So I tried as best I could to give them all names so that we could have that intimacy you and I so often talk about." – Michael Thompson [24:13–25:11]

Timeline of Major Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |----------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | 00:30–01:16 | Thompson on prison violence, scars, and trauma | | 03:13–04:03 | First days in prison, overwhelming naivete | | 04:03–05:36 | Psychiatric evaluation | | 07:11–09:00 | Chaplain, learning to read, spiritual practices | | 09:00–11:04 | Attack by Nuestra Familia, shapeshifting in violence | | 12:24–13:41 | Philosophy of violence, fighting style, body language | | 14:32–15:55 | Gang recruitment, Yogi Pinell, Black Panther connections | | 16:22–18:38 | Yogi's communist recruitment, preparing for a knife fight| | 18:56–20:18 | Keistering weapon, knife fight preparations | | 20:39–24:10 | Yard knife fight, being shot, aftermath and isolation | | 24:13–25:11 | Cockroach “companions” in solitary confinement | | 25:25–25:29 | Approached by Aryan Brotherhood leader |

Tone and Style

The episode maintains the atmospheric, experiential audio signature of Love and Radio—personal, darkly humorous, at times surreal, and always unflinching. Thompson’s stories are told with a matter-of-fact, lived-in bluntness, sometimes accompanied by a sense of regret, humility, or wry amusement. Nick van der Kolk’s questions are probing yet empathetic, never sensationalizing his subject.

Closing Note

Episode 04: "The Iron Gates" opens a cinematic window into the early years of one of California’s most storied convicts, mapping the formation of prison alliances, code of survival, and bizarre moments of unwanted camaraderie—with humans and with cockroaches alike. It’s a portrait of violence, transformation, and adaptation in the place where the American prison system’s logic is most unforgiving.