"Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings" This is a re-air of one of our favorite episodes. We’re  looking at the literary symbolism of summer — freedom, danger, nostalgia, and everything in between. Jenn breaks down "Cruel Summer" (Lover, 2019), Jodi covers "August" (folklore, 2020), and Maansi digs into "hits different" (Midnights, 2023). Along the way we bring in The Great Gatsby, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and more to unpack why summer shows up in literature as both a season of freedom and a season that can cut you to the bone.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

[02:30] Topic introduction — Summer in literature

[09:32] "Cruel Summer" (Lover, 2019)

[20:05] "August" (folklore, 2020)

[34:05] "hits different" (Midnights, 2023)

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.