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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.

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All Episodes

00:51:29

The Satire of Blank Space

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2026/02/05

In this episode, we are covering the fourth song that Taylor Swift submitted to be considered for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame—Blank Space. This 1989 track was one of her first pop hits, and Uncle Jerry finds the humorous and feminist lenses the poem was written through to be interesting to dissect. We’ll wrap the conversation up and talk about the songs as a whole collection next week.Works Cited:Tabula RasaDactylIambYellow Rose of TexasThe Ballad of Jed ClampettGilligan’s Island

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00:54:06

The Self-Deprecation of Anti-Hero

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2026/01/29

We’re back and we’re kicking 2026 off with the three remaining tracks from Taylor’s submission to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Spoiler alert: she was inducted! We’ll talk more about that in the final of these three episodes, but today we are focused on Anti-Hero. Uncle Jerry wonders about Taylor’s psychological status when writing this song and Angela has an A-ha! moment about how the music cues us to maybe feel differently than the lyrics alone would make us feel.Works Cited:First Person

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00:45:35

The Resolutions of Love in New Year’s Day

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2026/01/01

Happy New Year! With New Year’s Day on our episode release day, it only felt right to cover this masterpiece from Reputation. Uncle Jerry unknowingly connects this song with many others, blowing Angela’s mind once again. We’re taking a short break after this episode, but we’ll see you back here in a few weeks with more poetry!Works Cited:Nine Princes in Amber – Roger Zelazny – Aff LinkWhen Harry Met Sally (1989)A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens – Aff LinkThe Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway –

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00:51:11

The Intertextuality of ‘Tis the Damn Season

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/12/24

Merry Christmas! Sorry for the sad song choice, but it just felt right. We’re trudging down the road not taken with evermore’s ‘tis the damn season. Uncle Jerry isn’t so sure about this one at first, but he comes around by the end. Works Cited:TropeSweet Home Alabama (2002)The Family Man (2000)Frank CapraAutofictionCatcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger – Aff LinkThe Road Not Taken – Robert FrostIntertextualityFire and Ice – Robert FrostMending Wall – Robert FrostLook Homeward, Angel – Thomas Wolfe –

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00:57:04

The Double Entendre of LOML

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/12/18

This is one of our most requested episodes, and here it is, just in time for the holidays! Uncle Jerry picked up on something that Angela had never noticed in the poem, and they get into a bit of the Tay-lore about what inspired The Tortured Poets Department. Works Cited:e.e. cummingsThe Fates of Greek MythologyJust Kids – Patti Smith – Aff LinkBreaking Up Is Hard to Do – Neil SedakaWater Lilies – Claude MonetT.S. EliotMisery (1990)SynecdocheEpistropheFollow

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00:55:16

The 80s Club Vibes of New Romantics

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/12/11

After all the talk about Romanticism in the last episode, we’re taking it to the New Romantics this week. Uncle Jerry teaches us all about the sociocultural movement of the late 1970s and 1980s called New Romanticism, featuring The Blitz Kids, the London club scene, and all the fun and freedom of the era.Works Cited:Neoclassicism vs. RomanticismDavid BowieBoy GeorgeAnnie LennoxThe Blitz KidsSweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics – Dylan Jones – Aff LinkSpandau BalletSteve StrangeBest of New

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00:59:59

The Romanticism of The Lakes

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/12/04

We are letting Taylor Swift take us to the lakes today! These are the lyrics Angela used to convince Uncle Jerry to do this podcast, and his analysis does not disappoint. Come with us to learn all about Romanticism, The Lakes Poets, and how Taylor expertly weaves those two into this poem.Works Cited:A Brief Guide to RomanticismThe Lake PoetsLyrical Ballads – William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Aff LinkSense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – Aff LinkRomanticism vs. NeoclassicismThe Last of

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00:52:58

The Fairytale Diction of Enchanted

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/11/27

We are finally covering a song from Speak Now! I’m so sorry to all the Speak Now stans that it took this long, but we got here. Uncle Jerry takes us through Taylor’s word choice throughout Enchanted, and how it reveals the specific fairy tale inspiration behind the song. Angela explains the lore of this being Taylor’s only completely self-written album and the moment that inspired the song. Works Cited:Trochee / Trochaic MeterSmiling Faces Sometimes – The Undisputed TruthWe Wear the Mask – Paul

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01:11:07

The Gothic Tradition of The Black Dog

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/11/20

In this episode, we dig into one of most requested songs of late, The Black Dog. Taylor Swift mentioned in an interview that no one really understood this song, so we got Uncle Jerry on the case. Tune in to hear his take!Works Cited:Roland Barthes – The Death of The AuthorShe Walks in Beauty – Lord ByronThe Hound of the Baskervilles – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – Aff LinkThe Malleus Maleficarum – Heinrich Kramer, James Sprenger – Aff LinkFor The Love of London Pubs – Doug Harper, Vic Norman, Andie

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00:57:10

The Loss of Youth and Innocence in Peter

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/11/13

Well friends, I think we did it. Stay all the way to the end for a big surprise out of Uncle Jerry.In this episode, we're covering one of Angela's favorite TTPD tracks, Peter. Uncle Jerry finds layer after layer in the poem, and decides that this is a beautiful, melancholic reflection on the loss of innocence and youth, told through the lens of Peter Pan.Works Cited:Peter Pan - the Original 1911 Classic – J.M. Barrie – Aff LinkIllustrated Peter Pan: Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens – J.M

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00:54:57

The Traditional Tropes of Love Story

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/11/06

We’re taking it back to high school this week and exploring the country phenomenon that is Love Story. This is our first track from Fearless (2008), and Uncle Jerry explores all of the themes and tropes that are missing from the poem when compared to her current work, like complex metaphors and twisted idioms.Works Cited:Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare – Affiliate LinkCatullus – Roman PoetLet Us Live and Love (5) – CatullusThe Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne – Aff LinkEasy A (2010)Doctor

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01:05:34

The Cinematic Imagery of Father Figure

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/30

Step into our office and leave it with us. We protect the family! Join us as we walk through Father Figure from The Life of a Showgirl. Uncle Jerry gives his theories on the inspiration for the song, including many different movies, and Angela works out where she thinks the narrator changes mid-track.Pour yourself some brown liquor and you won’t be sleeping with the fishes.Works Cited:A Star is Born – All Versions RankedAll About Eve (1950)Goodfellas (1990)The Godfather (1972)The Freshman

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01:19:25

The Reinterpretation of The Fate of Ophelia

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/23

We have officially entered our Showgirl era, and we’re kicking it off with The Fate of Ophelia. Uncle Jerry teaches us all about Ophelia’s role in Hamlet, one of the Ophelia paintings Taylor may have drawn inspiration from, and a couple of feminist critics’ takes on Ophelia. We then get into the song, Angela weaves in a few nuggets of Tay-lore, and they round it out by discussing the feminist issues with the track, watching the music video and listening to the voice memo of the writing of the

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00:53:12

The Sensory Imagery of Maroon

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/16

We are wiping the incense dust off the shelf and picking ourselves up off the floor with Maroon this week. This Midnights track from 2022 is full of imagery, senses, colors, and so much more. Uncle Jerry also surprises us all with an interpretation from left field, which allows Angela the space to explain a specific sect of swifties.Enjoy!Works Cited:Richard Wright – Black American novelistParallelism in LiteratureRobert Frost – The Road Not TakenRobert Frost – Stopping By Woods on a Snowy

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00:47:41

The Growth and Healing of Clean

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/09

We’re coming down from our Showgirl high, and taking it back to 1989 this week. Uncle Jerry takes us through Clean, and breaks down the metaphors and themes found in the poem, including addiction, healing, personal growth, and personal agency.He also asks Angela who this song was inspired by, and admits that he’s now wondering about that in all of these songs. :) There are links below to (most of!) the recommended literature from the episode. Some links are affiliate links, which means if you click

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00:27:52

BONUS: The Release Party of A Showgirl Recap

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/07

The Swiftie and The Scholar took a field trip to the movie theater this weekend to hang out with Taylor and the Swifties! This was Uncle Jerry's first in-person swiftie experience, and he gives us his thoughts, along with his first impressions of a few of the new tracks. Angela gives her first impressions on the album and discusses which songs the podcast will cover first.Follow Us:⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

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00:57:53

Answering Your Questions - Volume 1

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/10/02

In this episode, Uncle Jerry and Angela get caught up on the latest Swiftie news, including the engagement and The Release Party of a Showgirl, and then they get into answering your questions from Instagram and TikTok. We cover poetry curriculum, how to get into scholarly pursuits, how Angela convinced Uncle Jerry to do the podcast, and how we select which songs we cover.There are links below to (most of!) the recommended literature from the episode. Some links are affiliate links, which means if

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01:50:57

The Many Literary Themes of All Too Well

The Swiftie and The Scholar ·

2025/09/25

Come walk through the door with us, cause the air is getting cooooold. Our 10th episode is here, and we were hoping you had 10 minutes to spare for this one. We are digging deep into the All Too Well universe, and Uncle Jerry compares both the original version and the 10 minute version, what he thinks about the lyrics that were redacted for the edited version, and Taylor Swift’s masterful use of metaphor and other literary devices in every line of this song. Works Cited:The Prelude – William

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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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