maroon science and other runaway parrots

In the Season 2 premiere, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up about freedom, captivity, and Blackness through the lens of two stories about parrots that shift their understanding of autonomy, consent, and belonging. They unpack the layers of maroon science and how it illuminates African Indigenous paths of intergenerational love, navigation, and self-determination.

The hosts reflect on rites of passage and other ceremonies, discussing how these sacred practices guide transitions and hold the potential to reshape our relationships with life, death, and community. They consider the tension between existing as a “free being” when others may perceive you as “having escaped," questioning how these narratives—and even these binaries—can sometimes shape Black existence. Through personal stories and reflections, Tiffani Marie and Kenjus explore the art of release: letting go of preconceived notions and embracing the rituals that sustain us.

As the opening for the second season of Apocalyptic Education podcast, this episode features themes such as reflection, marronage, and invoking spirit for both daily maintenance and more radical rituals. Tiffani Marie and Kenjus will circle around to these throughout the rest of the season in order to encourage us to honor our ceremonies, find our own flight paths, and create life-giving spaces beyond the reach of systems that seek to capture us.

In this episode, we also hear from and acknowledge our ancestor, Jaquez Donaldson. Thank you for your life and your love. We miss you deeply. Thank you for continuing to guide us.

Stay connected: www.apocalypticeducation.org
Hosts: Tiffani Marie & Kenjus Watson
Music By: Redtone Records 
Production by: Jesse Strauss, Paxtone Records 
Sponsored By: The Institute for Regenerative Futures

Note: All episodes this season explore themes of death, transition, and capture, with an emphasis on spiritual and ancestral grounding.

Black and BIPOC Care Resources and Contacts 

Call BlackLine

• Call 1 [phone] 
• *This resource is divested from the police
• BlackLine provides a space for peer support, counseling, witnessing and affirming then lived experiences to folxs who are most impacted by systematic oppression with an LGBTQ+ Black femme lens.

Lines for Life Racial Equity Support Line

• Call (503)-575-3764
• Available Monday through Friday from 10AM-7PM PST.
• This line is led by people with lived experience of racism and offers support for those who are experiencing the emotional impacts of racist violence and microaggressions.

BEAM-Black Emotional and Mental Wellness Collective

• https://beam.community/wellness-tools/
• The BEAM toolkit has outstanding resources to support your emotional wellness journey. Explore the BEAM website for grief resources and a local directory of Black wellness practitioners.