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 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!


GUESTS


Damon 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 AirGo

Submit your experiment!

Tom Callahan's film Remembering Water

Malik Alim & The Breathing Room (1, 2, 3)

Freedom Square

#NoCopAcademy campaign and film

Remembering RonnieMan

People’s Grab ‘n’ Go (1, 2, 3) which is now Market Box



Follow 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!


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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.


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