The Swiftie and The Scholar

By 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. ... more

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The podcast currently has 58 episodes available.

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Number 1: 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 types of exile and how they appear across literature and folk tales. We then dig into the poem and Uncle Jerry admits to Angela that he almost cheated and listened to the song because he was so ready to hear how they spoke over each other. Also, ICYMI, we will be finishing the entire folklore album. Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we tackle the remaining tracks and then do a comprehensive overview. Song discussion starts at 19:12 *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: Just Give Me a Reason – Pink ft. Nate Ruess The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri Gilgamesh, Nature, and Civilization Paradise Lost – John Milton The Odyssey – Homer Exile of Ovid Poems From Exile: Ex Ponto, Book I – Ovid *Frankenstein – Mary Shelley *Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky *Ulysses – James Joyce *Dubliners – James Joyce *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce Polyphony in Contemporary Literature Dramatic irony Assonance Alliteration Iambic tetrameter Iambic trimeter Ballad meter or common measure Synecdoche Phaedrus Epistrophe The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix Follow Us: Patreon ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Threads ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram
August 20, 20261h 19min
Number 2: 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 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. JOIN US ON REDDIT! *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 – e.e. Cummings Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman Red thread of fate Handfasting Pope Innocent III and Handfasting 2 Kings 14:21 – 16 as the age of ascension Epizeuxis *The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway Enjambment Metanarrative Synecdoche Goddesses of Fate Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad Caesura Forrest Gump – Winston Groom Forrest Gump (1994) Design – Robert Frost Hap – Thomas Hardy Proverbs 16:33 The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix Follow Us: Patreon ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Reddit ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Threads ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram Angela’s YouTube Channel
September 10, 20261h 52min
Number 3: 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 and Uncle Jerry talk through the poem and Uncle Jerry concedes that sometimes we try to find too much meaning in certain images. Works Cited: Sadie and Maud – Gwendolyn Brooks maggie and milly and molly and may – e.e. cummings [in Just-] – e.e. cummings Brylcreem commercial Synecdoche Sonnet 12 – William Shakespeare Sonnet 60 – William Shakespeare Sonnet 73 – William Shakespeare My Boyfriend’s Back – The Angels Cold Cold Heart – Hank Williams Ellipse in Linguistics To His Coy Mistress – Andrew Marvell Tricolon The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix Follow Us: Patreon ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Threads ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram
August 06, 20261h 24min
Number 4: 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 could have inspired the song and Uncle Jerry talks about other pieces of pop culture that tell a similar story. Works Cited: Anaphora Colloquial diction Dramatic irony Free indirect discourse Verbal irony Auditory imagery Metonymy Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain – Aff link The Divine Comedy – Dante Alighieri – Aff link Sonnet 73 – William Shakespeare The Great Escape (1963) Li'l Abner Parataxis Father and Son – Cat Stevens Keep a-Goin’ – Frank L. Stanton The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix Follow Us: Patreon ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ Threads ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram
July 02, 20261h 9min
Number 5: The Folklore Elements of My Tears Ricochet
In the debut episode of The Swiftie and The Scholar, Angela McDow, the Swiftie, and her uncle Dr. Jerry Coats, the Scholar, dig into My Tears Ricochet, the fifth track from Taylor Swift's Folklore album. They discuss the different folklore elements that Taylor uses in the song, the prevailing fan theory on the song's inspiration, and Uncle Jerry watches his first Eras Tour performance. Works Cited: The White Lady in Folklore Morphology of the Folktale – V. Propp – Affiliate Link Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; Volume 6.1 Index (A-K) – Stith Thompson – Aff Link Motif-Index of Folk-Literature; Volume 6.1 Index (L-Z) - Stith Thompson – Aff Link From the Beast to The Blonde – Marina Wariner The Uses of Enchantment – Bruno Bettelheim – Aff Link Yvonne Jocks - Goodreads Follow Us: Podcast Instagram Angela's Instagram Podcast TikTok
July 24, 202553min