Bourbon 'n BrownTown

In a complex and turbulent world, everyday folks, BrownTown included, find it increasingly difficult to take a step back and find time for themselves. BrownTown discusses techniques, introspective questions, and personal experiences dealing with self care and self love. In order to put quality work and positive energy out into the world, we must find ways to put these into practice in our daily li...

This is the second Chicago Drill and Activism (AKA "Chi DNA") installment of Bourbon ’n BrownTown. Chi DNA is an ongoing documentary and multimedia project, which also features interviews, micro-documentaries, and editorial pieces on drill rap and the activist resurgence in Chicago. GUEST Ruby Pinto , is an artist and activist based in Chicago. She’s a member of For the People Artist Collective (F...

BrownTown takes a look at the current opioid crisis and the “War on Drugs”, particularly its exacerbation with crack cocaine in the 1980s. Black and Brown communities and bodies have been criminalized for decades under drug laws and mass racialized incarceration for their trauma, addiction, and underground economy. However, when a similar problem affects a largely white population, the narratives...

This is the first Chicago Drill and Activism (AKA "Chi DNA") installment of Bourbon ’n BrownTown. Chi DNA is an ongoing documentary and multimedia project, which also features interviews, micro-documentaries, and editorial pieces on drill rap and the activist resurgence in Chicago. GUEST Charles Preston is a Southside Chicago activist, journalist, and creator of Church on the 9 , a glorified corne...

For part 3, BrownTown grows in size as we dissect the issues of previous episodes firsthand with all Episode 8 guests--Jamie Nesbitt, Madison Zielinski, Joanna Preston, and Larone Ellison. Due to the chaotic nature of the original recording, we chose not to release the raw episode in its entirety. Instead, Caullen and David look back at their unexpected interruption and highlight key points of tha...

BrownTown invites Jamie Nesbitt , Madison Zielinski , and Joanna Preston to continue the conversation had on 8.1 and break down the role toxic masculinity has played in their lives. By sharing personal experiences and insights, each gives their findings on navigating womanhood, feminism, and surviving in a world dominated by men... as well as a few other things. Originally recorded August 2017. --...

Larone Ellison joins BrownTown to discuss the ramifications of toxic masculinity and how men are implicated in systemic patriarchy. Mr. Ellison has a background in women’s and gender studies and is a recent masters graduate of DePaul University researching cyber-harassment of Black women. But really, he’s just a guy who is sick of watching assholes pretend to represent masculinity (see Lil' Duval...

GUEST Jessica Puri is a Nigerian-born Public Health professional with years of experience in scientific writing, health research and public health communication on the Bachelor’s and Master’s level. She currently works with Executives at MATTER , an incubator that bridges the communication gap between innovators in every aspect of healthcare. OVERVIEW BrownTown talks #ChiHealth, the social determi...

BrownTown takes a moment to talk about Colin Kaepernick, the meaning behind his movement and the underlining dangers that have always existed for athletes who decide to use their platform to speak out about injustice. Using history as a guide, we examine how patriotism often time goes hand-in-hand with racism and capitalism. For example, NFL players didn’t have to stand for the national anthem unt...

GUEST Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Genta is a creative devotee of the artistic community. He attended the specialized magnet school Denver School of the Arts for middle and high school, which gave him a solid foundation in musical performance and theory as well as an introduction into audio engineering. After spending some time at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Genta moved to Chicago...

The 2016 political campaign and popularity of Donald Trump as the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States has aligned the idea of “Trumpism” with the construction of “whiteness”. Similar to the current socio-political climate, the notion of whiteness was propagated by the 1980's Republican Party as a mechanism to re-establish white racial solidarity across economic lines. Thi...

Malcolm X is commonly propped up as the more aggressive leader in the civil rights movement as compared to Martin Luther King, Jr. His well-known quote, “by any means necessary” is misconstrued and co-opted to advocate violence, which bastardizes the perception of him. After reading his autobiography and understanding his perspective through his eyes rather than a public school textbook, it is cle...

On January 20th, Donald Trump was sworn into office with the message of carnage, destruction, and fear-mongering for the American people who found themselves officially in a new era of politics and discourse. From day one, he proclaimed to be the hero but on day two protests erupted all over the nation and different parts of the world in opposition to the sexist, white supremacist, xenophobic rhet...

PODCAST OVERVIEW SoapBox Productions and Organizing 's affiliate podcast pairs critical analyses of media, culture, politics, and everyday happenings with the tastiest of spirits. With a Chicago focus, BrownTown (friends and colleagues Caullen Hudson and David A. Moran ) unpacks current events, social issues, and gives personal insight into various topics with the occasional help of the most talen...