Apocalyptic Education

Potential Activation Warning- The following episode description contains references to suicide. Please take care while reading. We include helpful resources after the description 

In this initial installment of a special 2 part episode, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up with Cassandra Edwards and Canada Taylor Parker to explore potent intersections between grief, mothering, activism, and the weight of trying to sustain life within ...

In this episode, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up with Dr. Amber McZeal—scholar, artist, and sacred activist—to explore the expansive terrain of decolonizing the psyche, ancestral memory, and the spiritual labor of refusing coloniality. From their first encounters with Amber’s transformative work to the unexpected synchronicities that led to this moment, the conversation unfolds as a meditation on relationality, refusal, and reverence...

In this episode, Kenjus and Tiffani reflect on their journey co-writing the Apocalyptic Education paper in 2020, tracing their paths through grief, academia, and spiritual grounding. They revisit the origins of their collaboration, peeling back the layers of their initial skepticism, the tensions of intellectual competition, and the deep ancestral calling that ultimately brought them together.

The conversation weaves through persona...

In this episode, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up with their mothers, Sheryll and Terry, who turn the tables to interview their children on the green couch. This special episode explores the impact of their wisdom on Tiffani and Kenjus' journeys as educators. 

Through critical questioning and listening, Sheryll and Terry elicit from their children a deep exploration of teaching as a calling, with Tiffani and Kenjus recounting earl...

In this episode, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up with Kiazi Malonga, student/teacher of Congolese drumming and culture bearer. Kiazi walks us through the spiritual and communal powers of the Ngoma drum, as vessels of cultural preservation and healing. He shares his journey from the Bay Area, particularly East Palo Alto, to stages around the world.

We explore the impact of his father’s legacy, the late Malonga Casquelourd, th...

In this episode, Kenjus and Tiffani chop it up with Moses Omolade, an educator, spiritual practitioner, and advocate for wellness, to explore the intersections of body, spirit, and community. They dive into Moses’ journey from discovering Pilates as a spiritual practice to using hunger strikes as a radical tool of refusal against systems invested in our undoing.

The conversation unpacks how the body holds memory, the power of spirit...

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...

In this episode, Tiffani and Kenjus chop it up among themselves for their Season 1 recap. They explore the balance of calm amid chaos in their attempts to achieve homeostasis during the apocalypse. They discuss rites of passage, initiation, and ceremony as essential components of this balance.

Tiffani and Kenjus also discuss the art of letting go of control. A vignette about a puppet show gone awry shows that the best mome...

In Part 2 of The Kids Are Alright episode, we chop it up with about five of Tiffani's former students, spanning her last 20 years of teaching. The group includes a "cool and collective" entrepreneur planning to finish college soon, a program director deeply involved in community work and motivational speaking, a young college student contemplating joining the Armed Forces, a revolutionary artist and event organizer, ...

In this episode, we chop it up with about five of Tiffani's former students, spanning her last 20 years of teaching. The group includes a "cool and collective" entrepreneur planning to finish college soon, a program director deeply involved in community work and motivational speaking, a young college student contemplating joining the Armed Forces, a revolutionary artist and event organizer, and a charismatic young pe...

In this episode, we chop it up with Tinisch Hollins, a Black San Franciscan activist and critical advocate for the rights of crime survivors, and Apryl Joe, a citizen of the Navajo Nation dedicated to the reclamation of her people's sovereignty. Together, they discuss reparations & Indigenous reclamation, while illuminating the interconnected historical and ongoing fight against settler colonial violence faced by Black and...

In this episode, we chop it up with the revolutionary preacha and community leader, Pastor Michael McBride. He shares his unique experiences of the deep impacts of systemic violence, including his personal encounters with police brutality. The discussion delves into the intricate relationship between grief and activism, particularly through Pastor Mike's involvement with 'Live Free', a movement addressing mass incarc...

In this episode, we chop it up with Drs. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and Christine Vega, both mothers and critical professors. We explore Coyolxauhqui and dismemberment, and its relationship to birthing trauma, particularly in the high-pressure pursuit of tenure in academia.

Allyson opens up about her personal journey through infertility, sharing the profound lessons learned and emphasizing the significance of rest in birthing endles...

In this episode, we chop it up with Kiki Jordan, a renowned midwife based in California. Kiki lends her expertise to our discussion on the radical aspects of home birthing, set against the formidable backdrop of the medical-industrial complex. We explore how Black Autonomous Birthing Communities (BABCs) provide valuable insights for rethinking our transition from schooling to holistic education. Kiki shares wisdom from her birthing...

Apocalyptic Education is a transformative journey, presented by Tiffani Marie and Kenjus Watson, two critical Black educators. This audiobook invites listeners to participate in a funeral for schooling, marking the end of a violent regime and the beginning of remembered futures.

Through their personal narratives and research, Marie and Watson explore the deep-rooted traumas inflicted by American schooling systems on Blac...