a buoy to hold on to

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 personal and communal grief, from Tiffani’s reflections on her Uncle Louis and the lessons he left behind, to Kenjus’ struggles with the academy as a space of extraction and violence. They explore the ways academia conditions Black scholars into cycles of harm and competition, while also recounting their defiant decision to pull their groundbreaking article from a traditional journal—choosing instead to honor its integrity and their commitments to Black life.

Together, they confront the fear of death—both symbolic and literal—that undergirds our schooling systems, state violence, and resistance movements. Through storytelling, they highlight the tension between holding on and letting go, the necessity of slowness and grace in death work, and the ways that reverence for the afterlife informs how we imagine education beyond capture.

Listen as they unpack what it means to write, to grieve, to teach, and to love in the face of ongoing collapse. This episode is an offering to those who are navigating grief, transition, and the spiritual labor of reimagining what it means to build and sustain beyond the ruins.

In this episode, we also honor and acknowledge our ancestor, Uncle Louis. Thank you for your life and your love. 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 (800) 604-5841 
*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.