Bourbon 'n BrownTown
Society & Culture
About
Powered by SoapBox Productions and Organizing, Bourbon ‘n BrownTown is a conversation-based podcast that fosters radically imaginative dialogues on media, culture, politics, and our various social movements through a liberatory lens. With a Chicago focus, filmmakers and movement workers Caullen Hudson and David A. Moran unpack complex social issues and topics while building relationships with artists, activists, community organizers, educators, social entrepreneurs, and others working towards a better world. Together, BrownTown holds space to listen, learn, and liberate, all while sippin’ on sumpin’ good. Salud!Visit SoapBoxPO.com/Podcast; follow @BourbonnBrownTown on Facebook/Instagram, @BourbonnBrwnTwn on Twitter; and @SoapBoxPO on all social media.
Episodes
- 128 - Palestinian Liberation: Artistic Expression through Film, Music, & Identity ft. Dina Amin
Dina Amin, a Palestinian filmmaker and singer-songwriter, shares her
- Ep. 127 - New Years 2026: A Retrospective ft. Kiera Battles, Kassandra Borah, & Jamie Price
In Ep. 127, Bourbon 'n BrownTown reviews its 2025 content, featuring discussions on film series, political analysis, and live events. Audio engineers Kiera Battles and Kassandra Borah, alongside assistant producer Jamie Price, reflect on t…
- Ep. 126 - *LIVE AT CH DISTILLERY* Reproductive Justice & Abortion Care In This Moment ft. Alicia Hurtado & Qudsiyyah Shariyf of Chicago Abortion Fund
Bourbon 'n BrownTown recorded live at CH Distillery with Alicia Hurtado and Qudsiyyah Shariyf of the Chicago Abortion Fund to discuss reproductive justice and abortion care. The episode covers the work of the Chicago Abortion Fund, the mov…
- Ep. 125 - Funding Public Transit ft. Sadie Soto
In episode 125, Bourbon 'n BrownTown hosts Sadie Soto to discuss the 2025 CTA and RTA budget crisis. The conversation covers the significance of public transit, municipal funding, and the potential for a fully funded, equitable transportat…
- Ep. 124 - The Wrap Up: "No Cop Academy: The Documentary" (2023) ft. Debbie Southorn & Destiny Harris
This episode of Bourbon
- Ep. 123 - America: The Good, The Bad, and The Fascist
BrownTown sits down for a follow-up conversation to earlier this year , analyzing the shock and awe strategy of the Trump-Musk aligned agenda and how we got there. Fast-forward to fall 2025, BrownTown speaks candidly on Trump's war on Chic…
- Ep. 122 - Organizing against Displacement with the Obama Community Benefits Agreement 2.0 ft. Kiara Hardin & Infiniti Gant
BrownTown chops it up with Kiara Hardin and Infiniti Gant, multifaceted organizers with the Obama Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) coalition. Ten years since the announcement of the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) on Chicago's South Side…
- TRAILER - Welcome to Bourbon 'n BrownTown!
Welcome to Bourbon 'n BrownTown! Since 2017, BrownTown has fostered radically imaginative dialogues on media, culture, politics, and our various social movements through a liberatory lens. With a Chicago focus, filmmakers and movement work…
- Ep. 121 - Chinga La Migra: Understanding Your Rights under a MAGA Regime ft. Khiabett Osuna
BrownTown talks all things immigration under Trump 2.0, June protests in Los Angeles, and how ICE ain't shit with immigration attorney and new homie Khiabett Osuna. As Trump tests the waters of his draconian federal policies, financially b…
- Ep. 120 - Black Researchers Collective ft. Dr. Glenance Green & Shari Runner
BrownTown decolonizes the ivory tower approach to research with Dr. Glenance Green & Shari Runner, Co-Founders of the Black Researchers Collective (BRC) . The Chicago-based capacity-building collective takes research to the streets, design…
- Ep. 119 - Palestinian Liberation: Chicago Palestine Film Festival ft. Nina Shoman-Dajani, Justin Mashouf, & Hamzah Furqani
BrownTown shares space with Chicago Palestinian Film Festival (CPFF) Executive Director Nina Shoman-Dajani, filmmaker Justin Mashouf, & protagonist of the short film $17.74 , Hamzah Furqani. The team discusses the inner-workings and impact…
- Ep. 118 - The Wrap Up: "One Million Experiments" (2023) ft. Damon Williams & Daniel Kisslinger of Respair Production & Media
BrownTown brings back Damon A. Williams and Daniel Kisslinger of Respair Production & Media, a movement journalism and media hub creating and supporting the media needed to reshape culture toward liberation. The double duos discuss the cre…
- Ep. 117 - Whiskey & Watching: "La Plataforma 2" (2024) ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes
BrownTown takes on "La Plataforma 2" (2024) with Alderhomies Rossana Rodriguez (33rd) and Jessie Fuentes (26th) about a vertical prison where those inside are fed off of a descending platform, leaving only the diminishing leftovers for tho…
- Ep. 116 - America: The Last Dance?
BrownTown finally talks Trump 2.0, local collective resistance, the election blame game, and the half century of neoliberalism got us here. As the news cycles have been dominated by Trump, tariffs, Musk, and the MAGA mess, BrownTown speaks…
- Ep. 115 - New Years 2025: A Retrospective ft. Kiera Battles & Kassandra Borah
BrownTown on BrownTown. BnB audio engineers Kiera Battles and Kassandra Borah hop off the 1's and 2's and onto the guest couch to help BrownTown breakdown the podcast's episodes of 2024. Last year we continued our Palestinian Liberation se…
- Ep. 114 - Distilling Dialectics at CH Distillery ft. Tyrus Yamagiwa
BrownTown travels to CH Distillery in West Loop, Chicago to talk drinking, distilling, and dialectics with Head Blender Tyrus Yamagiwa. Tyrus walks BrownTown through his journey blending bourbon for Jeppson's Bourbon who acquired the Chica…
- Ep. 113 - Palestinian Liberation: Divestment, Encampments, & Institutions ft. Amoona
BrownTown shares space with Amoona, Chicago-based Palestinian student organizer, to further the conversation on Palestinian liberation, focusing on the student encampment movement in spring 2024 and how institutions have responded since. A…
- Ep. 112 - Democratic National Convention: From 1968 to 2024, Pt. 2 ft. Nesreen Hasan & Nadiah Alyafai
BrownTown talks all things DNC aftermath with US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) organizers Nesreen Hasan and Nadiah Alyafia. The new friends breakdown DNC week from the formal mass March on DNC protests, autonomous disruptions, anti…
- Ep. 111 - Palestinian Liberation: Anti-Zionism & Jewish Solidarity ft. Rabbi Brant Rosen & Lesley Williams
BrownTown invites Rabbi Brant Rosen and Lesley Williams of Tzedek Chicago , a proudly anti-Zionist intentional Jewish congregation based on core values of justice, equity, and solidarity. In this installment, they discuss this current mome…
- Ep. 110 - Democratic National Convention: From 1968 to 2024, Pt. 1 ft. Bill Ayers
BrownTown is honored to be joined by an OG in the game -- activist, organizer, and professor Bill Ayers . The gang discusses the similarities, differences, and peculiarities of Chicago hosting the Democratic National Convention in 1968 and…
- Ep. 109 - Existential Quandaries on Hope, Relationships, & Resistance to American Hegemony ft. CA Davis
BrownTown gets philosophical with return guest CA Davis , multimedia storyteller and creator of a LATTO Thought , an audio docuseries revolving around the history of race in America. Halfway through 2024, the team discusses intimate journe…
- Ep. 108 - Whiskey & Watching: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" (2022) ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes
BrownTown takes on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) with Alderhomies Rossana Rodriguez (33rd) and Jessie Fuentes (26th) in the first for Whiskey & Watching installment of 2024! BrownTown and the return guests breakdown the film and…
- Ep. 107 - Creative Jobs, Life Balance, & Working towards a Liberatory Future within Capitalism 3.0
BrownTown on BrownTown. Once again, our comrades build on previous discussions from 2019 (Ep. 39) and 2020 (Ep. 59) on the interrelationship between working within and outside of the movement media landscape while balancing a healthy perso…
- Ep. 106 - Independent Media Creation in the Age of Spin (& Memes) 2.0 ft. Camila Cuevas
BrownTown talks memes, mass mobilization, and more with Camila Cuevas (AKA @ComradeCami) , Chilena expat living in Florida, USA. She uplifts liberation struggles and provides social movement resources through memes and social media via wha…
- Ep. 105 - Bring Chicago Home ft. Dixon Romeo
BrownTown chops it up with Dixon Romeo, Executive Director of NotMeWe and organizer with the Bring Chicago Home campaign. On March 19th, 2024, Chicago voters have the opportunity in the state primary elections to restructure the already ex…
- Ep. 104 - Voter Guides, Electoralism, & the 2024 Cook County Primaries ft. Stephanie Skora & Raeghn Draper
BrownTown sits down with co-authors of the "Girl, I Guess" Progressive Voter Guide , three-peat guest Stephanie Skora and newcomer Raeghn Draper to talk all things 2024 Cook County Democratic Primary Elections. From ethics and attitudes in…
- Ep. 103 - New Years 2024: A Retrospective ft. Kiera Battles
BrownTown on BrownTown. BnB audio engineer Kiera Battles is back with her behind-the-scenes insights on the podcast as the team discusses the episodes of 2023. Last year brought the continuation of the Whiskey and Watching series, a host o…
- Ep. 102 - Palestinian Liberation: In This Moment ft. Muhammad Sankari
BrownTown invites Muhammad Sankari from the US Palestinian Community Network ( USPCN ) to discuss this current moment in the struggle to Free Palestine. The gang frames Israel's genocide in Gaza and assault on the other territories in hist…
- Ep. 101 - Hood Empathy & The Chicago Creative Wave ft. Isiah "ThoughtPoet" Veney
BrownTown shares space with frequent collaborator, Isiah “ThoughtPoet” Veney , photographer, A&R, organizer, and overall creative from Chicago's South Side. ThoughtPoet and BrownTown unpack the Afro-futuristic and "hood empathetic" themes…
- Ep. 100 - It's a BnB Celebration! ft. Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera & Camille Williams
BrownTown on BrownTown. Join Caullen and David as they celebrate BnB's 100th episode with guest hosts and homies Samantha Grund-Wickramasekera and Camille Williams. Sam is a long-time listener and SoapBox board member while Camille was one…
- Ep. 99 - Whiskey & Watching: "I Like It Like That" (1994) ft. Ricardo Gamboa & Mia Carbajal
BrownTown again chops it up with the Hoodoisie fam, co-host Ricardo Gamboa and Executive Director Mia Carbajal for "Whiskey & Watching." The team deconstructs the darling 90's comedy-drama "I Like It Like That" (1994), the first large stud…
- BONUS - #NoCopTOBER ft. Freedom X
BrownTown shares space with Chicago Southsider and former #NoCopAcademy organizer Freedom X as they reminisce about the height of the campaign and discuss what the new feature documentary means to them in this moment. Come see the film thi…
- Ep. 98 - Coalition-building & Water Solidarity ft. Avalon Betts-Gatson & Tommy Hagan
BrownTown talks water access, water solidarity, and abolition as presence with Avalon Betts-Gatson and Tommy Hagan, organizers with the Coalition to Decarcerate Illinois (CDI) . From indigenous land back struggles to fighting for clean dri…
- BONUS - Help This Garden Grow, Episode 1
BrownTown is delighted to -- for the first time -- share a new series from our movement media fam over at AirGo . Help This Garden Grow is a new six-part podcast documentary series telling the story of Hazel Johnson, a visionary of the Env…
- Ep. 97 - Progressive Latinas in the New Chicago City Council ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes
BrownTown chops it up with Alderhomies Rossana Rodriguez (33rd) and Jessie Fuentes (26th) in the inaugural recording within the Harambe Studios at the SoapBox office. Chicago City Council is now the most Black and Latine, the most queer, t…
- Ep. 96 - Advertising in the Activist Resurgence (& So-called "Wokeism") 3.0 ft. Justin Stillmaker
BrownTown sits down with the original "Ad Man" Justin Stillmaker to reflect on the role of advertising as propaganda, its attempts to co-opt social movement language and optics throughout the past half decade, and the odd trajectory of the…
- Ep. 95 - Home
BrownTown on BrownTown. As SoapBox (the film and movement media hub that powers Bourbon 'n BrownTown) moves into its first-ever office, Caullen and David discuss their journeys finding and curating spaces to call home, personally and profe…
- Ep. 94 - Police Abolition 2.0 ft. District Councilors David Orlikoff & Ashley Vargas
BrownTown breaks down the relationship between police abolition and state-sanctioned police accountability measures with newly elected Police District Councilors David Orlikoff and Ashley Vargas. The guests square their PIC abolitionist or…
- Ep. 93 - Coalition-building, Growing Solidarity, & #StopCopCity ft. Chelle Sanders & Jasmine Burnett
BrownTown virtually visits Atlanta and chops it up with Chelle Sanders and Jasmine Burnett, organizers with #StopCopCity. Chicago’s #NoCopAcademy and Atlanta’s #StopCopCity movements are part of the same struggle: to end violent policing,…
- Ep. 92 - Whiskey & Watching: "Everything Everywhere All At Once" (2022) ft. Ricardo Gamboa, Charles Preston, & Mia Carbajal
BrownTown shares space with the Hoodoisie hosts Ricardo Gamboa and Charles Preston and Executive Director Mia Carbajal in the return of "Whiskey & Watching." BrownTown and the Hoodoise deconstruct the Oscar Best Picture "Everything Everywh…
- Ep. 91 - Narratives in Media & Documenting Movements 2.0 ft. Morgan Elise Johnson
BrownTown reflects on the 2023 Chicago municipal elections and the importance of disrupting dominant media narratives with Morgan Elise Johnson, filmmaker, publisher, and co-creator of the TRiiBE, an award-winning digital publication and p…
- Ep. 90 - Electoral & Radical Politics 4.0 ft. Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez & Alderperson-elect Jessie Fuentes
BrownTown continues to dialogue about the relationship between electoral and radical politics with Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Alderperson-elect Jessie Fuentes . With the historic 2023 Chicago municipal elections in the rearview, the t…
- Ep. 89 - The Politics of Dress, Pt. 2 ft. Hannah Linsky
BrownTown again invites Hannah Linsky (she/her), vintage stylist, seller, educator, and liver and breather of all things fashion to unpack the politics of dress. In part 2, the friends go macro and discuss fashion within current and histor…
- Ep. 88 - New Years 2023: A Retrospective ft. Kiera Battles
BrownTown on BrownTown. Now-BnB audio engineer Kiera Battles makes her debut bringing in behind-the-scenes insights to the podcast as the gang unpacks the episodes, new series, and various recording environments that made up 2022. For bett…
- Ep. 87 - Democratizing Philosophy through Identity, Environment, & Ethical Food Pathways ft. Shanti Chu
BrownTown listens, learns, and discusses how to make philosophy more accessible, environmental justice through animal rights, and ethical food pathways with Shanti Chu , philosopher, writer, speaker, and creator of ChiVeg , a dynamic food…
- Ep. 86 - W.O.R.K. in the Age of Spin
BrownTown chops it up about WORK. Building on previous episodes about labor, unions, and trying to do liberatory work within capitalism, BrownTown contextualizes recent inflation hikes, the state of "hustle culture," and the seven-decade g…
- Ep. 85 - The Politics of Dress, Pt. 1 ft. Hannah Linsky
BrownTown invites Hannah Linsky (she/her), vintage stylist, seller, educator, and liver and breather of all things fashion to unpack the politics of dress. The friends use their experiences with clothing and fashion growing up to dissect t…
- Ep. 84 - Whiskey & Watching: "Passing" (2021) ft. Sophie Elizabeth James & Pearl Quick
BrownTown again shares space with Sophie Elizabeth James , sociologist and Unpaid Emotional Labor podcast host, and Pearl Quick , farmer, pastor, and poet extraordinaire, in the sophomore episode of our recurring "Whiskey & Watching" serie…
- Ep. 83 - “We Are More” Pt. 3: Re-entry, Combating the "Law & Order" Narrative, & the SAFE-T Act ft. Melvin Farley
BrownTown links up with Melvin Farley, formerly incarcerated friend of Illinois Prison Project. In Part Three of the "We Are More" series, BrownTown and Melvin discuss re-entering society after incarceration, combating the "law and order"…
- Ep. 82 - “We Are More” Pt. 2: Transforming Systems & Community Organizing after Incarceration ft. Dyanna Winchester
BrownTown sits down with Dyanna Winchester, Decarceration Organizer with Live Free Illinois . In Part Two of the "We Are More" series, BrownTown and Dyanna discuss organizing against and within institutions to disrupt dangerous policy, add…