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The Swiftie and The Scholar

Angela McDow | Dr. Jerry Coats
The Swiftie and The Scholar
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62 episodes

  • The Swiftie and The Scholar

    Wrapping Up Folklore: Part 1

    10/08/2026 | 1h 9 mins.
    Well, guys, weโ€™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 prologue and how it sets up this new style of storytelling, different from all her previous albums. Hope you enjoy, and weโ€™ll see you back here next week for Part 2!

    *Links with an asterisk are affiliate links, which allow us to make a small commission on your purchase at no cost to you. Thanks so much for your support!

    Works Cited:
    *Starship Troopers โ€“ Robert A. Heinleinย 
    Folklore (Taylor Swift album)
    *Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems โ€“ William Shakespeare
    *Sonnets from the Portuguese โ€“ Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    *Astrophil and Stella โ€“ Sir Philip Sidneyย 
    Semiotics
    The Odyssey โ€“ Homer
    Beowulf
    Dryads
    Hulder
    Folklore prologue
    Daddy โ€“ Sylvia Plath
    Anecdote of the Jar โ€“ Wallace Stevens
    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix

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  • The Swiftie and The Scholar

    The Despair and Persistence of This is Me Trying

    10/01/2026 | 1h 9 mins.
    Weโ€™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, ambiguity, paradox, multiple meanings, and so much more.ย 
    Come back for the next two weeks as we wrap-up discussion of the album as a whole.

    Works Cited:
    Couplets
    Heroic couplets
    Anaphora
    Starship Troopers (1997)
    Enjambment
    Ellipsis
    In medias res
    The Odyssey โ€“ Homer
    Caesura
    Why I Write โ€“ Joan Didion
    Simile
    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix

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    Threads
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    Uncle Jerryโ€™s Instagram
    Angelaโ€™s YouTube Channel
  • The Swiftie and The Scholar

    The Secretive Destruction of Illicit Affairs

    09/24/2026 | 1h 14 mins.
    Today weโ€™re covering our penultimate folklore poem with Illicit Affairs. Uncle Jerry finds this song fits perfectly within the category of folklore, and shows us just how Taylor Swiftโ€™s use of language showcases the lack of love in this song.

    *Links with an asterisk are affiliate links, which allow us to make a small commission on your purchase at no cost to you. Thanks so much for your support!

    Works Cited:
    Interlocutor
    Imperative verb
    Dramatic irony
    The Book of Jonah
    Synecdoche
    The Road Not Taken โ€“ Robert Frost
    Aphorism
    Assonance
    Alliteration
    *The Pleasure of the Text โ€“ Roland Barthes
    Anaphora
    Synesthesia
    Sonnet 138 โ€“ William Shakespeare
    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix

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    Angelaโ€™s YouTube Channel
  • The Swiftie and The Scholar

    The Paradox and Parallelism of Peace

    09/17/2026 | 57 mins.
    Did we finally find Uncle Jerryโ€™s least favorite folklore poem? And maybe Angelaโ€™s too? In this episode, we dissect Peace from Taylor Swiftโ€™s 2020 album, and Uncle Jerry finds many paradoxes and double meanings, while struggling to find a window to crawl through into the narrative.ย 

    Works Cited:
    Paradox
    Apostrophe
    Synecdoche
    I Would Die 4 U โ€“ Prince
    Youโ€™ve Got a Friend in Me โ€“ Randy Newman
    Easy Silence โ€“ The Chicks
    Two Sleepy People โ€“ Fats Waller
    Stuck in the Middle With You โ€“ Stealers Wheel
    You Are My Sunshine โ€“ Jimmie Davisย 
    Standing In The Rain โ€“ John Paul Young
    Standing In The Rain โ€“ Al Green
    Standing In The Rain โ€“ Electric Light Orchestra
    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix

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    Threads
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    Uncle Jerryโ€™s Instagram
    Angelaโ€™s YouTube Channel
  • The Swiftie and The Scholar

    Timeโ€™s Mystic Meandering in Invisible String

    09/10/2026 | 1h 51 mins.
    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 folktales about the red thread, handfasting ceremonies, and more before diving into the poem. They then get into a long and philosophical conversation about fate and predestination and Forrest Gump.

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    *Links with an asterisk are affiliate links, which allow us to make a small commission on your purchase at no cost to you. Thanks so much for your support!

    Works Cited:
    All in green went my love riding โ€“ e.e. Cummings
    Leaves of Grass โ€“ Walt Whitman
    Red thread of fate
    Handfasting
    Pope Innocent III and Handfasting
    2 Kings 14:21 โ€“ 16 as the age of ascension
    Epizeuxis
    *The Sun Also Rises โ€“ Ernest Hemingway
    Enjambment
    Metanarrative
    Synecdoche
    Goddesses of Fate
    Heart of Darkness โ€“ Joseph Conrad
    Caesura
    Forrest Gump โ€“ Winston Groom
    Forrest Gump (1994)
    Design โ€“ Robert Frost
    Hap โ€“ Thomas Hardy
    Proverbs 16:33
    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix

    Follow Us:
    Patreon
    โ โ YouTubeโ โ 
    Reddit
    โ โ TikTokโ โ 
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    Threads
    โ Angelaโ€™s Instagramโ 
    Uncle Jerryโ€™s Instagram
    Angelaโ€™s YouTube Channel
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About 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.
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