Episodes

  • Ep. 122 - Organizing against Displacement with the Obama Community Benefits Agreement 2.0 ft. Kiara Hardin & Infiniti Gant

    Ep. 122 - Organizing against Displacement with the Obama Community Benefits Agreement 2.0 ft. Kiara Hardin & Infiniti Gant
    Sep 24 2025
    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 and five years since the passing of the Woodlawn Ordinance that ensured housing protections for some residents, the coalition has continued to organize to ensure affordable housing for more area residents, including and specifically South Shore. The gang compares and contrasts the political moment and opportunities from summer 2020, in the midst of the uprisings, to fall 2025 under a Brandon Johnson Mayoral Administration with a backdrop of a fascist takeover on the federal level. They end with a discussion on the interpersonal nature of community organizing at its root in relation to de-pedestalizing politicians in order to circumvent power to the people because when we fight, we win! Originally recorded September 10, 2025. GUESTSKiara Hardin is a dynamic project manager and organizational strategist with a passion for creative, collaborative solutions that center the needs and priorities of the Black community. With a strong focus on capacity-building, Kiara partners with Black-led and Black-focused organizations to create anti-authoritarian systems that fortify organizational infrastructure and promote sustainable growth. Her work, driven by a commitment to social equity, particularly addresses the social determinants of health. A dedicated community organizer, Kiara played a key role in the organizing efforts behind the South Shore Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ordinance, working alongside local residents to fight for equitable development and protect long-standing Black communities from displacement. Through this campaign, she is helping build grassroots power, elevate community voice, and ensure that public policy reflects the lived experiences and demands of South Shore residents. Follow Kiara on Instagram and Linkedin.Infiniti is an incredibly motivated, astute, and empathetic community organizer with the willingness to push beyond previous experiences to contribute innovative ideas and creations. A skilled public speaker, researcher, organizer, independent worker, and team player, she's all about freedom and committed to using those skills for building people power for her community.Follow the Obama CBA on Instagram and Twitter. Follow Southside Together on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!--
Other topics mentioned:Correction: The shirt Caullen describes, the Panthers were at the County Courthouse, not City HallOriginal Obama Center announcement2020 Uprisings Coverage & SoapBox MediaLightfoot's Tent City Occupation & all-day protestEp. 55 - Obama CBA from July 2020Micro-Doc on Obama CBASouth Korean Hyundai factory workers detained (PBS)Chicago Ward/Neighborhood/Community Area Info (1, 2, 3)Average Median Income (AMI) per City of ChicagoNo New Prisons Campaign and Gov. Pritzker--CREDITS: Intro and outro soundbites from SoapBox's Obama CBA micro-doc. Audio engineering by Kassandra Borah. Episode photo provided by Infiniti Gant.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • TRAILER - Welcome to Bourbon 'n BrownTown!

    TRAILER - Welcome to Bourbon 'n BrownTown!
    Sep 1 2025

    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 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. Y'betta LISTEN!

    CREDITS: Trailer produced, engineered, and edited by Kassandra Borah. Podcast audio engineers include Kiera Battles, Kassandra Borah, and Genta Tamashiro (up to episode 76); production assistance by Jamie Price; co-hosted and produced by Caullen Hudson and David A. Moran. Past guests featured include Charles Preston, Tia Haywood, Jamie Nesbitt Golden, and Heavy Crownz.

    --

    Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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    SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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    3 mins
  • Ep. 121 - Chinga La Migra: Understanding Your Rights under a MAGA Regime ft. Khiabett Osuna

    Ep. 121 - Chinga La Migra: Understanding Your Rights under a MAGA Regime ft. Khiabett Osuna
    Aug 26 2025
    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 backed by the Big [Fucking Ugly] Bill, and using ICE as his Gestapo-like muscle, we turn our focus to community resistance in all its forms. Khiabett leans into her work in and outside of the legal field as one piece of this larger puzzle to ensure that no human is illegal on stolen land. From protestors, organizers, and healers on the front lines in Los Angeles to mutual aid and rapid-response networks in Chicago, BrownTown and Khiabett unpack our neoliberal past, technofascist present, and what will be a desperate future unless we fight back. Originally recorded July 18, 2025. GUESTKhiabett Osuna is an attorney with Kriezelman Burton & Associates, LLC. While at DePaul College of Law, Khiabett worked at a local immigration firm and was involved in the Asylum Immigration Clinic. She volunteered with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project in Dilley, Texas, helping screen women and children at the South Texas Family Detention Center who had recently arrived in the United States. After law school, Khiabett was hired through the Department of Justice Honors Program as a Judicial Law Clerk, where she clerked for Immigration Judges in El Paso and Fort Worth, Texas. She then worked at immigration firms in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, assisting clients primarily in removal proceedings. In Chicago, Khiabett works at a full service immigration law firm, continuing to represent clients in removal proceedings, as well as individuals seeking family based and humanitarian relief. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the AILA Chicago Chapter Advocacy Committee, and the Federal Bar Association. Khiabett also volunteers at her local church providing consults to community members. Mentioned in the episode:Correction: WWII ended under U.S. President Harry S. Truman, not FDRSocialism Conference 2025 session on community defenseLA Tenants UnionBirthright U.S. CitizenshipICE and Homeland Security budgets over timeThird Act documentary film by Tadashi NakamuraBnB Episode 116 - America: The Last Dance?Kelly Osbourne...incorrectly calling out TrumpMigrant dies in ICE raid (1, 2)ICE Mass Arrests Spark Chaos In South Loop (Block Club Chi)ResourcesICIRR Support #: 855.435.7693Midwest Immigration Bond FundOrganized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD)Pilsen Neighborhood Watch CoalitionNew fees for asylum seekers (1, 2)SoapBox's 2020 Census projectPalestinian boy dancing with drone above (Aljazeera)Defectors by Paola RamosImmigrants in tree outlast ICE (Reddit)LA Anti-ICE protest Instagram highlights--CREDITS: Intro soundbite from Alderperson Byron Sigcho-Lopez at a STOP ICE rally on June 8, 2025 in Chicago. Outro music FUCK ICE 2 by MANNY SÁNCHEZ. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Production assistance by Jamie Price. Episode photo by unknown.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | Support
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    1 hr and 45 mins
  • Ep. 120 - Black Researchers Collective ft. Dr. Glenance Green & Shari Runner

    Ep. 120 - Black Researchers Collective ft. Dr. Glenance Green & Shari Runner
    Jul 10 2025
    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, designing, activating, and mobilizing communities to use research and data to create and sustain change across Chicago communities and beyond. Dr. G and Shari discuss their journeys as researchers, organizers, and leaders from before the 2020 uprisings to now, comparing the two political moments while doubling down on their work in the face of both anti-Black and anti-science rhetoric and policies from the Trump Administration. As the team unpacks the relationship between research and the grassroots, it becomes clear that participatory and solution-based approaches to self-determination hold constant in all avenues of liberation work. After all, "we do this 'til we free us" (Mariame Kaba). Originally recorded June 11, 2025, days after the large scale anti-ICE demonstrations began in Los Angeles.GUESTSDr. Glenance Green (affectionately known as Dr. G) is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Black Researchers Collective. Recognized by WVON and Ariel Investments in 2024 as one of Chicago’s 40 Gamechangers Under 40, Dr. G is a dynamic scholar, author, and community organizer dedicated to racial equity, Black liberation, and policy reform. A multi-talented leader, she holds a Ph.D. in Policy Studies in Urban Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, with research focusing on Black women-led organizations leading resistance efforts against oppression through community-driven educational models, which not only advance their organizations' missions but also have potential implications for shaping state and local education policy. Follow her on Instagram and her creative work on her Linktree!Shari Runner is Co-Founder and Director of the Black Researchers Collective. A native Chicagoan whose national reputation has been cemented due to her outspoken voice on inclusion, race, and equity. With more than 40 years of experience in public and private operations and financial management and after a career as an international banker in foreign exchange, Runner used her knowledge of finance and business operations as an entrepreneur.The Black Researchers Collective (BRC) aims to advance racial equity by training and equipping communities with research tools to be more civically engaged and policy-informed through four key pillars: Community Education & Action; Research Evaluation, & Technical Assistance; Grassroots Strategies for Policy Engagement & Advocacy; and Black Researchers Pipeline. Follow BRC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.Mentioned in the episode:Data 4 Black LivesResearch in the Streets PodcastBlack Researcher AppLA Anti-ICE protest highlights#NoCopAcademy Report--CREDITS: Intro and outro song Hella Black by Tobe Nwigwe. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles. Production assistance by Jamie Price.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | Support
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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • Ep. 119 - Palestinian Liberation: Chicago Palestine Film Festival ft. Nina Shoman-Dajani, Justin Mashouf, & Hamzah Furqani

    Ep. 119 - Palestinian Liberation: Chicago Palestine Film Festival ft. Nina Shoman-Dajani, Justin Mashouf, & Hamzah Furqani
    Jun 24 2025
    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 of the longest running Palestinian film festival in the world, centering the responsibility creators and storytellers have in sharing their to amplify resistance, solidarity, and joy. Originally recorded April 26, 2025.Founded in 2001, the CPFF is an annual cultural event that serves as a vibrant platform for showcasing the rich and diverse narratives of Palestinian cinema. The festival provides a unique space for filmmakers, artists, and audience members to engage with compelling stories that explore the multifaceted aspects of Palestinian life. Through a carefully curated selection of feature films, documentaries, and shorts, the festival seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the Palestinian experience. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!GUESTSNina Shoman-Dajani currently serves as the Executive Director for the Chicago Palestine Film Festival. She is also a community college administrator and teaches Middle Eastern Studies at Saint Xavier University and has served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). She is a contributor to the recently published book Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices and one of the authors of Beyond Erasure and Profiling: Cultivating Strong and Vibrant Arab American Communities in Chicagoland. Nina is a co-chair for the MENA/SWANA Caucus and the Transnational/International Committee of the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE), a former board member for the Arab American Studies Association and a board member for the Syrian Community Network, a refugee resettlement agency in Chicago. Follow Nina on Instagram!Justin Mashouf is an award-winning filmmaker and artist based in Los Angeles. He is the co-founder and Executive Producer of Stay Focused Pictures, a production company specializing in documentary development and production. A finalist for the Pillars Fund x Riz Ahmed inaugural Artist Fellowship, Justin’s career spans over 10 countries and includes feature films, commercials, TV specials and documentaries including his CPFF-accepted short film $17.74. Follow Justin on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and IMDB!Hamzah Furqani is the protagonist of $17.74. Raised in Los Angeles, Hamzah is a former gang member who spent 39 years incarcerated. In 1989, while serving his sentence, he began his journey of personal transformation by converting to Islam. Later, while incarcerated and before his release, he donated a month-long paycheck to support relief efforts in Gaza. --Mentioned Topics & More Info: Original GoFundMe from $17.74Related episodes:Ep. 113 - Palestinian Liberation: Divestment, Encampments, & Institutions ft. AmoonaEp. 112 - DNC: Pt. 2 ft. Nesreen Hasan & Nadiah AlyafaiEp. 111 - Palestinian Liberation: Anti-Zionism & Jewish Solidarity ft. Rabbi Brant Rosen & Lesley WilliamsEp. 102 - Palestinian Liberation: In This Moment ft. Muhammad SankariProfessor Refaat Alareer (video, 1, 2)Jackson Market, Palestinian-owned cultural marketInner-City Muslim Action NetworkTom Callahan's Remembering WaterKneecap pro-Palestine projections at CochellaEpistemicide according to BnB Alum Ricardo Gamboa2025 CPFF on Block Club Chi, Chicago Reader, Chicago Tribune, Chicago ReporterNina on WBEZ Chicago Podcast about 2024 CPFF--CREDITS: Intro song from Leve Palestina (Hijazi Remix ) 2023 | تحيا فلسطين ; outro soundbite from Refaat Alareer. Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | Support
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Ep. 118 - The Wrap Up: "One Million Experiments" (2023) ft. Damon Williams & Daniel Kisslinger of Respair Production & Media

    Ep. 118 - The Wrap Up: "One Million Experiments" (2023) ft. Damon Williams & Daniel Kisslinger of Respair Production & Media
    Jun 11 2025
    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 creation, process, and impact of their half hour experimental documentary One Million Experiments (2023). Stewarded by Interrupting Criminalization and built out of AirGo's podcast series of the same name, the film showcases a collection of community-based safety projects that explore how we define and create wellness and reduce harm in a world without police and prisons. This is the inaugural episode of a new BnB series entitled “The Wrap Up” which invites collaborators and community partners to take a behind the scenes look at SoapBox films, unpacking the nuts and bolts while thinking more deeply about power, struggle, and storytelling. Once again, let’s get meta! Originally recorded April 2025.Watch One Million Experiments on Apple TV, YouTube Movies & TV, and Google Play!GUESTSDamon and Daniel are the Founders of Respair Production & Media, and the Creators of AirGo. Respair Production and Media is a movement journalism and media hub creating and supporting the media needed to reshape culture toward liberation. AirGo is the flagship show of Respair, the podcast features over 300 episodes of conversations reshaping the culture of Chicago and beyond for the more liberatory and creative.Damon A. Williams is a movement builder, organizer, hip-hop performing artist, educator and media maker from the South Side of Chicago. He is the Co-Founder of the #LetUsBreathe Collective, an artistic activist organization birthed out of supply trips to support the Ferguson uprising in resistance to the murder of Mike Brown. The Collective operates The #BreathingRoom Space, a Black-led liberation space for arts, organizing, and healing on Chicago's South Side. In honor of his leadership, Damon been named a TIME Magazine’s 2020 Guardian of the Year, a Field Foundation 2021 Leader for a New Chicago, a Margaret Burroughs Fellow by the UIC Social Justice Initiative’s Portal Project, and a Power of Cash Narrative Change Fellow by Economic Security of Illinois. Follow Damon on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.Daniel Kisslinger is a Chicago-based host and producer who creates dialogue-based media showcasing the stories, voices, and artworks of communities challenging power, reconfiguring public life, and reimagining our world. An Anthem Award-winning filmmaker, Lisagor Award-winning journalist, and twice Webby-nominated podcast producer, Daniel has also been named an Artist Fellow as part of the UIC Social Justice Initiative’s Portal Project, as well as a Power of Cash Narrative Change Fellow by Economic Security of Illinois. His words have been featured in NY Times bestseller We Do This ‘Til We Free Us and The New Normal, a salon journal published by The Hoodoisie. Daniel has been the Executive Producer of the Poetry Foundation’s acclaimed VS podcast, and editor of CTU Speaks!, a podcast produced by the Chicago Teachers Union. He also works as a consultant helping organizations, individuals, and companies build humanizing, subject-to-subject podcasts from scratch. Follow Daniel on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.Mentioned in episode:Ep. 34 - Movement Media ft. Damon Williams & Daniel Kisslinger of AirGoSubmit your experiment!Tom Callahan's film Remembering WaterMalik Alim & The Breathing Room (1, 2, 3)Freedom Square#NoCopAcademy campaign and filmRemembering RonnieManPeople’s Grab ‘n’ Go (1, 2, 3) which is now Market BoxFollow Respair on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. Follow AirGo on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and listen to them on Spotify, Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts!--CREDITS: Intro music Family Still by Matt Muse and outro music Messy Moments by Damon A. Williams. Episode photo by Qurissy Lopez. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles and Kassandra Borah. Production assistance by Jamie Price.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support
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    2 hrs and 44 mins
  • Ep. 117 - Whiskey & Watching: "La Plataforma 2" (2024) ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes

    Ep. 117 - Whiskey & Watching: "La Plataforma 2" (2024) ft. Alderpersons Rossana Rodriguez & Jessie Fuentes
    Apr 6 2025
    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 those below. BrownTown and the alderhomies breakdown the second installment noting the commentary on governance systems, resistance factions and social movements, relational ethics, and abolition.Full Transcriptions Here!--GUESTSAlderwoman Rossana Rodriguez (33rd), now in her second term, is the Chair of the Committee on Health and Human Relations for the Chicago City Council. Rossana was born and raised in Puerto Rico and started organizing at six years old when her community had to fight for access to running water. Organizing soon became a fundamental part of her life and remains her main tool within her work in government. Rossana came to Chicago after austerity and budget cuts forced her to leave her job as a drama teacher in Puerto Rico. She originally moved to Albany Park to work as a theatre director with a youth theatre company 14 years ago and chose to stay and organize around housing, education, immigrant rights, and mental health. She is the chief sponsor for the Treatment Not Trauma legislation and continues to organize with grassroots organizations to transform Chicago. Follow Rossana on Facebook, Instagram, (personal, political) and Twitter (personal, political). Stay up to date with her City Council work and 33rd ward services at Rossanafor33.org.Alderperson Jessie Fuentes (26th) is a queer Latina grassroots organizer, educator, and public policy advocate with over a decade of experience in education, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, community development and sustainability. A lifelong Chicagoan and resident of the Northwest side, Jessie spent most of her formative years growing up and working in Humboldt Park. Through personal resilience, community support and restorative justice, Jessie turned her most traumatic life experiences into tools to uplift others facing similar circumstances. In her previous roles as an educator and Dean of Students at Roberto Clemente Community Academy and as an organizer around issues of violence prevention, housing affordability, and re-entry for returning citizens, she convened and connected community stakeholders to create community-driven solutions to the biggest problems facing Humboldt Park. Jessie recently served as the Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center. She Co-chaired the Violence Prevention program of the Illinois Latino Agenda and is also a Founding Member of the Illinois Latino Agenda 2.0, focusing on community development and Latine equity. Follow Jessie on Facebook (personal, political), Instagram (personal, political), and Twitter (personal, political). Stay up to date with her City Council work and 26th ward at Jessiefor26thward.com. Opinions on this episode only reflect David, Caullen, Rossana, and Jessie as individuals, not their organizations or places of work. CREDITS: Intro music Revolución and outro music End Credits by Aitor Etxebarria from the film's soundtrack. Episode photo from La Plataforma 2. Audio engineered by Kiera Battles and Kassandra Borah. Production assistance by Jamie Price.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | Support
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    58 mins
  • Ep. 116 - America: The Last Dance?

    Ep. 116 - America: The Last Dance?
    Mar 25 2025

    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 candidly on the the first few months of the new (yet old) administration, and how to not only resist the re-branded fascist takeover but unapologetically and collectively fight it and win (without relying on the same institutions that made it possible in the first place). BrownTown also reflects on where the podcast and SoapBox at-large was during Trump 1.0, comparing and contrasting both moments. Caullen and David unpack the Right’s “shock and awe” strategy, Chicago ICE raids and the community response, Trumpism and weaponization of whiteness, and when the manniverse met the broligarchy. As we try to sift through poor analysis of this moment with even worse political actors, we’re left with the words from comrade Asha Ransby-Sporn who proclaims that "we owe it to each other to resist attempts to disorient, divide, and distract us from the reality of government takeover by the billionaire Right […] The conditions of the moment demand that we are clear-eyed enough to meet the conjuncture and find openings for those new paths forward” (In These Times). Originally recorded February 21, 2025.

    FULL TRANSCRIPTIONS HERE!

    Mentioned in or related to episode:

    • Previous BnB episodes on Trump 1.0's first 100 days & Decoding Trumpism
    • Governor Pritzker's State of the State address
    • Caullen's Trumpism: A Brief History 2016 article
    • Voting Stats (1, 2, 3)

    CREDITS: Intro soundbite from Jasmine Crockett talking to a reporter; outro music tv off by Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay. Audio recorded by Kiera Battles and engineered by Kassandra Borah.

    --

    Bourbon ’n BrownTown
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    SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3
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    1 hr and 24 mins