Shows / The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Swiftie and The Scholar
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.
Episodes
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Illusion of Liberation in Babylon
Buckle up, y’all. We’ve got a beefy one for you today! We’re tackling Babylon from Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore. I think we all knew this…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Art Becomes Memory in Tim McGraw
In this episode, we are taking it back to the very beginning with Tim McGraw from Taylor Swift’s debut album. Uncle Jerry finds plenty to discuss and is…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
BONUS: Interview with Sarah Anderson, Author of Fallow
Today I have something a bit different for you! I sat down with Sarah Anderson, author of Fallow, to discuss getting published, her love of short stories, how…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Folklore as a Unified Literary Work | Wrapping Up Folklore: Part 2
We did it! One album down, lots to go. Uncle Jerry takes us through alllllll the unifying themes, devices, questions, and more (13 to be exact) of the folklore…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Wrapping Up Folklore: Part 1
Well, guys, we’ve really stressed Uncle Jerry out with this one. He went so deep on the folklore album as a whole that this episode focuses mostly on the…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Despair and Persistence of This is Me Trying
We’ve made it to the end of the folklore road! Join Uncle Jerry and Angela as they discuss this is me trying, where the duo finds some Typical Taylor…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Secretive Destruction of Illicit Affairs
Today we’re covering our penultimate folklore poem with Illicit Affairs. Uncle Jerry finds this song fits perfectly within the category of folklore, and shows…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Paradox and Parallelism of Peace
Did we finally find Uncle Jerry’s least favorite folklore poem? And maybe Angela’s too? In this episode, we dissect Peace from Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, and…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Time’s Mystic Meandering in Invisible String
Buckle up, folks. This is a long one! Invisible String is up next in our folklore canon, and Uncle Jerry showed up PREPARED. He and Angela chat through…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Lives We Didn’t Live in The 1
We have the opening track of folklore for you today! Uncle Jerry and Angela discuss the relatable way Taylor Swift writes about the ruminations about the…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Devastating Paradox of Hoax
In this episode, we are covering Hoax, the closing track from 2020’s folklore. Uncle Jerry starts out a bit iffy on his feelings about the poem, but talking…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Tragedy of Miscommunication in Exile
Continuing along our folklore journey, this episode covers exile, the collaboration between Taylor Swift and Bon Iver. Uncle Jerry teaches us about different…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Finding Life’s Meaning in Epiphany
We are tackling one of the most underrated tracks from Taylor Swift’s folklore album, epiphany. The poem compares past war tragedies to 2020’s pandemic, and…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Imagined Futures in Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
We are back in our Tortured Poets Era with Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus. This song was much-requested and was voted on by our Patreon subscribers. Angela…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Finding Agency in Dear John
We’re back in our Speak Now era with Dear John. Angela explains the lore behind this quintessential track 5 from Taylor Swift, and Uncle Jerry talks himself…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Peak of Innocence in Seven
This week is the one year podcast anniversary, and Angela saved this song especially for this episode. But before we tackle seven from folklore, Angela and…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Superficial Celebrity Criticism in Shake It Off
We’re taking it back to 1989 with the only Taylor Swift song Uncle Jerry knew before we started this project. Angela expected this to be a quick, simple…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Mosaic of Love in State of Grace
Today we return to Angela’s beloved Red era with State of Grace! Uncle Jerry surprises her with his excitement about the poem, and they go through all the…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Coming of Age Narrative in You’re On Your Own, Kid
Angela finally introduces Uncle Jerry to a pivotal track 5 from Taylor Swift’s discography—You’re On Your Own, Kid. They discuss the real life events that…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Chronicles of Conflict in The Great War
In this episode, Uncle Jerry and Angela tackle The Great War from 2022’s Midnights. Uncle Jerry wrestles with the idea of using a horrific event as a metaphor…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Parachute of Childhood in I Knew It, I Knew You
Man, it’s been a while! Today we’re covering the newly released I Knew It, I Knew You from Toy Story 5 and current #1 on the Billboard 100 chart. Uncle Jerry…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Light of Stardom in Clara Bow
We are taking it back to the 1920s (and then the 1970s) today with Clara Bow from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry talks all about the early film…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Nature of Fame in Mirrorball
We’re back in our folklore era with mirrorball today! Uncle Jerry had some extra time with this one and doesn’t even know where to start the discussion. We get…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Inquisitive Human Nature in How Did It End?
FIXED AUDIO! Call all your friends and cousins, we’re finally covering How Did It End? from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry finds tons of beautiful…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Christian Tendrils of But Daddy I Love Him
Buckle up for a long one! We are flooring it through the fences today with But Daddy I Love Him from Taylor Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Sentimentalism of Marjorie
In this episode, we are tackling marjorie, a track from Taylor Swift’s evermore album from 2020. Uncle Jerry teaches us about sentimentalism in literature, and…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Dr. Uncle Jerry University: Poetry 101
We’re doing something a bit different today! Some conversations have popped up in various comment sections about why Uncle Jerry prefers specific types of…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Fate vs. Free Will in The Prophecy
We are getting witchy today as we dive deep into The Prophecy from Taylor Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry teaches us about some…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Cardigan – The Folklore Love Triangle Part 3
We’ve made it to the third and final episode of our beloved Folklore Love Triangle! We hope you’ve enjoyed this little series as much as we have. This episode…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Betty – The Folklore Love Triangle Part 2
We’re back for the second installment of the folklore love triangle! Uncle Jerry really changed his tune on these lyrics, both as a poem and as a song, while…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
August – The Folklore Love Triangle Part 1
Friends, it's finally here! Over the next three episodes, we are diving into our beloved Folklore Love Triangle. First up is August. Uncle Jerry begins by…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Feminist Critique of Mad Woman
We are getting angry and witchy today with mad woman from Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, folklore. Uncle Jerry teaches us where the word hysteria comes from, how…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Psychological Burden of The Albatross
We have a much-requested poem for you in this episode! Uncle Jerry and Angela tackle The Albatross from The Tortured Poets Department, but first, Uncle Jerry…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Depth Without Darkness in Opalite
Join us today for some lighthearted fun as we discuss Opalite from 2025’s The Life of a Showgirl. When Taylor Swift made this song a single and gave us the…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Exploration of Depression in Evermore
In this episode, we are taking a trip through the wildest winter with evermore from 2020. Uncle Jerry once again blows Angela’s mind with some folklore tropes…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Exploration of Truth in Cassandra
JOIN US ON PATREON! In this episode, we are learning all about Cassandra from Greek Mythology, and Cassandra, the Taylor Swift song. Uncle Jerry teaches us…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Tangled Ambiguity of Ivy
Affairs and graves and Emily Dickinson, oh my! Today, we are slowly meandering through Taylor Swift’s 202 poem, ivy. This track from evermore is full of…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Cultural Critique of The Last Great American Dynasty
We’re off to Rhode Island by way of St. Louis in this episode! We’re breaking down Taylor Swift’s ‘the last great american dynasty’, a track from 2020’s…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Satire of Blank Space
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Self-Deprecation of Anti-Hero
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Resolutions of Love in New Year’s Day
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Intertextuality of ‘Tis the Damn Season
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Double Entendre of LOML
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 Swiftie and The Scholar
The 80s Club Vibes of New Romantics
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Romanticism of The Lakes
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Fairytale Diction of Enchanted
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Gothic Tradition of The Black Dog
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Loss of Youth and Innocence in Peter
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Traditional Tropes of Love Story
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Cinematic Imagery of Father Figure
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Reinterpretation of The Fate of Ophelia
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Sensory Imagery of Maroon
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Growth and Healing of Clean
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
BONUS: The Release Party of A Showgirl Recap
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
Answering Your Questions - Volume 1
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Many Literary Themes of All Too Well
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Rhythmic Power of Champagne Problems
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Self-Reflection of Getaway Car
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Complex Poetics of So Long, London
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…
- The Swiftie and The Scholar
The Diction Study of Cold As You
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…