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PODCAST

The Swiftie and The Scholar

Angela McDow | Dr. Jerry Coats

A weekly podcast exploring the lyrics, lore, and literary legacy of Taylor Swift. Hosted by Angela McDow, the Swiftie, and Dr. Jerry Coats, the Scholar, we read between the lines AND the liner notes. Join us each week for lyrical deep dive through Taylor Swift"s eras.

music music commentary

All Episodes

00:46:19

The Rhythmic Power of Champagne Problems

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/09/18

Dom Perignon, did you bring it? Today we’re toasting to Champagne Problems from Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, evermore. Uncle Jerry discusses the different meter used throughout the lyrics, and also wonders if there’s a deeper meaning with society’s expectations and the narrator’s autonomy throughout the story.Angela brings up the Swiftie discussion about which word they’ll never say again, and they also tell the story of Uncle Jerry officiating Angela’s wedding.Works Cited:Night Train – Jimmy

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00:47:46

The Self-Reflection of Getaway Car

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/09/11

Today we’re putting the money in the bag and stealing the keys, and discussing Taylor Swift’s Getaway Car from 2017. This cult Swiftie fave is our first track from Reputation, and Angela chose it because she knew Uncle Jerry would love the Dickens reference in the first line.Watch as the duo dissects each line, and Uncle Jerry picks up on the self-reflection Taylor wrote into the song.Works Cited:A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens – Affiliate LinkShades of Gray – Carolyn Reeder – Aff

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01:04:06

The Complex Poetics of So Long, London

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/09/04

Let's talk through So Long, London!In this episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Uncle Jerry and Angela dissect the poetic lyrics of the fifth track from Taylor Swift's 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department.They find tons of literary devices and references, and Uncle Jerry even makes another correct prediction on the song's intro.Stay until the end to hear Uncle Jerry's grade for the song as a whole. Works Cited:Life of Johnson – James Boswell – Affiliate LinkPerrine’s Sound

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00:47:35

The Diction Study of Cold As You

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/08/28

In this episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Angela and Uncle Jerry are taking it waaayyy back to 2006 with Taylor Swift’s first ever track 5, Cold As You. It might seem like a weird choice, but Angela wanted to present Uncle Jerry with some of Taylor’s earliest work so he could gain context around her growth as an artist over her entire career. Uncle Jerry finds a few redeeming qualities in the song, and together they explore other break-up poetry from the greats. Works Cited:Percy Bysshe

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00:44:28

The Indirect Characterization of Death By A Thousand...

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/08/21

In this episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Uncle Jerry and Angela analyze Death By A Thousand Cuts from Taylor Swift's 2019 album, Lover. Uncle Jerry finds literary devices aplenty in the lyrics, and discusses how she uses those devices to deftly handle the storytelling in the poem via indirect characterization.They also discuss the roundabout inspiration of this song and the Swiftie tradition of friendship bracelets.Works Cited:A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Shakespeare – Affiliate

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00:28:35

BONUS: Ramblings on The Life of A Showgirl

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/08/17

In this bonus episode, Uncle Jerry and Angela discuss the excitement of the last week, including the cryptic Taylor Nation and New Heights posts, the countdowns, the new album announcement, and the two hour podcast episode heard 'round the world.Uncle Jerry teaches us a little bit about Ophelia and Hamlet to give some context around the album's opening track title, The Fate of Ophelia, and they discuss how Uncle Jerry got just a lilllll excited about the news.

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01:04:15

The Dramatic Monologue of Cowboy Like Me

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/08/14

In this episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Angela asks Uncle Jerry about his favorite music before they dive into cowboy like me from Taylor Swift’s 2020 album evermore. Uncle Jerry teaches us about the dramatic monologue and how Taylor uses this device in the song. They also talk about the use of cliches, indeterminate endings, and they discuss whether they think the couple in the song ends up together or not. Works Cited:Blondie Stardust — Hoagy Carmichael Georgia on my Mind — Hoagy

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01:11:23

The Faith Crisis of Would've Could've Should've

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/08/07

In this episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Uncle Jerry and Angela dissect Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve from Taylor Swift’s 2022 album Midnights. They briefly discuss their own church connections, explore the various religious imagery and references used throughout the song, and come to understand that they relate to the song in similar but different ways. Uncle Jerry grades the song and brings in some poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning to round out his thoughts on the sadness of the

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01:09:09

The Monstrous Femininity of Who's Afraid of Little...

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/07/31

Uncle Jerry and Angela tackle Taylor Swift’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?’ in the second episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar. Uncle Jerry talks about his journey from hate to appreciation of this track, he introduces the concept of Monstrous Femininity, and they talk about the cultural image of the witch throughout history. Angela gives a (not so) brief look into her role as a Swiftie, and they watch and discuss both the lyric video and the Eras Tour performance of this TTPD track.Works

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00:52:05

The Folklore Elements of My Tears Ricochet

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/07/24

In the debut episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Angela McDow, the Swiftie, and her uncle Dr. Jerry Coats, the Scholar, dig into My Tears Ricochet, the fifth track from Taylor Swift's Folklore album. They discuss the different folklore elements that Taylor uses in the song, the prevailing fan theory on the song's inspiration, and Uncle Jerry watches his first Eras Tour performance.Works Cited:The White Lady in FolkloreMorphology of the Folktale – V. Propp – Affiliate LinkMotif-Index of

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30 results

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