What does a 19th century philosopher and economist have to do with Taylor Swift? In this week’s episode we put on our Marxist Theory glasses to consider how the ideas of ownership, value, and class differences help us understand Taylor’s music in a whole new way. Maansi teaches us what it means to belong to someone in “Mine.” Jenn digs into the political metaphors in “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.” And Jodi teaches us about social class differences with the incredible true story behind “the last great american dynasty.” Tune in to learn all of this and see how much fun it can be to play with new literary lenses (even if you don’t necessarily agree with the underlying philosophy). 

Mentioned in the episode: 

“Mine," Speak Now 

“Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince," Lover 

“the last great american dynasty," folklore 

Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner by Katrine Marçal

“Politics of Love and Love of Politics: Towards a Marxist Theory of Love” by Raju Das

1984 by George Orwell

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Bluebood by Carl Unger (Rebekah Harkness biography) 

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

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Episode Highlights: 

[00:25] Introduction to Marxist Theory

[04:07] “Mine” from Speak Now

[23:05] “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” from Lover

[38:57] “the last great american dynasty” from folklore

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