In this special (and belated!) Halloween installment, I get to sit with one of my brand-new, sharp-witted sophs in a deep-dive through the haunted heart of 1980s song lyrics. With the classroom bathed in eerie orange lights and spectral figures of legendary singers drifting behind us, Jackson leads me through his TPCASTT analysis of the lyrics to uncover how these singers reveal what haunts them: fear, longing, and obsession. Jackson’s lively banter, sharp insights, glowing enthusiasm, and sudden bursts of singing turn this spooky literary analysis into a thrilling ride through nostalgia, music, and meaning. It was perfect for Halloween and lovers of close reading alike.

With Honors is a Free Zone Radio production. You can find this show alongside our other podcast, Second Stage, on major platforms like

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Also, throw some love at our brotherly podcast with Coach Haston, A Deadman’s Books. He’s on Spotify at

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as well as Haston Curation, on Spotify at

This episode also features scary horror creepy music by HitsLab, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.

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