AP Taylor Swift

E15: Show and Tell - Holidays - New Years Day, tis the damn season, champagne problems

Soon they’ll have the nerve to deck the halls. On this week’s episode we attempted to lean right into the festivities of the season with a Holidays themed episode. But…did we actually pick holiday songs? We start by defining what the “holiday season” even means in an attempt to answer the question. Jodi discusses “New Year’s Day,” with the thesis that it’s a song about the everyday, not necessarily the holidays. Jenn brings on the holiday melancholy with “champagne problems,” sparking a hot conversation about holiday engagements and the challenges of family gatherings during the holidays. And Maansi, naturally, shares “tis the damn season,” prompting a conversation about how we really feel about the holiday season and whether they “linger like bad perfume” for us. Are Taylor Swift holidays actually happy holidays? Listen and find out! 
 
Mentioned in the episode: 
“Under the Tuscan Sun” 
“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” 
“Book Lovers,” Emily Henry 
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” JK Rowling
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” film
“Inside Out”
***
Episode Highlights: 
[02:28] How do we define the holiday season?
[06:56] New Years Day:I’ll be picking up bottles with you 
[23:24] champagne problems: Your mom's ring in your pocket
[37:49] tis the damn season: We could call it even
 
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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.

E14: Deep Dive - Getaway Car

“It was the best of times, the worst of crimes.” In this episode, we do a deep dive into “Getaway Car” to explore why this particular metaphor is so powerful. We first explore the historical context by discussing the true story of Bonnie and Clyde, and then we dive into the lyrics to discuss the themes of agency, deception, and the shifting dynamics of relationships. Come along for the ride as we figure out what Don Draper has to do with this song, the layered meaning of “poisoning the well,” and why this song is cemented as one of the greats. 
 
Mentioned in this episode:
FBI webpage on Bonnie and Clyde
"Bonnie and Clyde"
"Mad Men"
"A Tale of Two Cities," Charles Dickens
"Ocean's 11"
"Thelma and Louise"
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[01:15] How to analyze metaphors 
[03:00] The original getaway car
[5:55] We were jetset. The real-life Bonnie & Clyde
[12:43] We're driving in a...Getting into “Getaway Car” 
[17:05] He poisoned the well 
[22:05] The continuity of reputation 
[29:04] Left you at the motel bar. Interpreting the bridge  
[38:17] The purpose of “Getaway Car” 
 
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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.

E13: Show and Tell - Metaphors

"Some things you just can’t speak about." Taylor Swift’s superpower is being able to convey very specific emotions to millions who may or may not have ever experienced those emotions before. The way she uses metaphors is one of the ways she makes these songs universally relatable. But not only does she use metaphors in her lyrics, sometimes the songs are metaphors. In this show & tell episode, we each bring a song in which the whole song seems to be a metaphor for something else. Tune in to hear us discuss “Clean,” “Getaway Car,” and “epiphany,” and join us as we try to “make some sense” of the language Taylor uses to so effectively communicate some very powerful emotions. 
 
Mentioned in the episode: 
Oxford languages definition of “metaphor”
Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Bonnie and Clyde, 1967
Thelma & Louise, 1991
The Highwaymen, 2019
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:25] Songs that are metaphors
[01:18] “Clean,” - Gone was any trace of you
[14:13] “Getaway Car,”  - Nothing good starts in a getaway car
[23:55] “epiphany,” - Somethings you just can’t speak about
[40:18] What do these metaphors have in common?
 
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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.

E12: Deep Dive - the last great american dynasty

"I had a marvelous time..." Take a step back in time with us as we deep dive into “The Last Great American Dynasty,” from folklore. Our hosts expand on what we learned in our Marxist Criticism episode to take an even closer look at Rebekah Harkness, who she was, and why Taylor Swift wrote a song about her. What do Taylor and Rebekah Harkness have in common, besides owning the same home?Is Rebekah Harkness really “middle class”? How does Taylor build empathy for someone called “mad” and “shameless”? We had a marvelous time diving into this one! 
Mentioned in the episode: 
“Blue Blood,” Craig Unger 
“Atlas Shrugged,” Ayn Rand
Rebekah Harkness NYT Obituary, June 1982
"Is There a Chic Way To Go?" Blue Bloods NYT Book Review, May 1988
The Humble Beginnings Of an Elegant Mansion, NYT July 1971
“Hamilton”
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[01:49] Who is Rebekah Harkness?
[06:03] How Taylor’s country storytelling roots enrich the story 
[10:53] What is an “American Dynasty”?
[15:52] Who’s mad, Rebekah or the townspeople?
[25:24] Why did Taylor write this song?
***
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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.

E11: Show and Tell - Marxist Theory

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
***
 
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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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.

E10: Deep Dive - Red

Loving him was like…what? You may know all the words to this old favorite song, but do you know what they mean? In today’s deep dive, we’re unpacking “Red” from Red (Taylor’s Version). After our previous episode on Fall where we talked about why this is an autumn-coded song, our hosts spend more time trying to understand the many (many) metaphors (or is it similes? Analogies?) Taylor Swift uses to describe this relationship. We’ll get a High School English lesson, references to some Millennial-favorite TV shows, and a chance to explore Red as an analogy for Taylor’s transition from country to pop. And then we realize…there’s no right answer!
 
Mentioned in the episode: 
“Red,” Red (Taylor’s Version) 
“Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas”, John Pollack
Aesop’s Fables
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
“august,” folklore
“Bridgerton”
E2: Deep Dive - Enchanted
E6 - Deep Dive - It’s Time to Go 
“Picture to Burn,” Taylor Swift
“The Hills: New Beginnings”
“Complicated,” Avril Levigne 
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:20] Introducing today’s deep dive song, “Red” 
[01:42] 1st person, 2nd person…whose experience is this?
[04:38] How Taylor uses metaphors to make things universal
[08:07] Similes, Metaphors, Analogies, oh my!
[11:50] Are these tangible, universal metaphors?
[16:59] Red as a metaphor for Taylor’s career
[20:06] Our favorite part of any Swift song: the bridge!
[26:40] Do we actually understand this song?
 
***
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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.

E9: Show and Tell - Fall Songs

It’s fall, y’all! From chai cookies to a whole new color palette, we have officially entered into the season of fall, and we want to celebrate it with some of our favorite Taylor songs! Join us as Jenn talks about why “You Belong With Me” is forever a fall song in her midwestern mind; Jodi gives us an overview of the fall-themed marketing that came with the release of Red; and Maansi shocks us all by proving that “Cornelia Street” is 100% a Fall song even though it’s on a summer album. Make sure to listen all the way to the end to get a glimpse into a heated topic of debate among your professors as well ;) 
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Taylor Swift Style, @taylorswiftstyled, Sarah Kucharski 
@taylorswiftinstapostss for cataloging Taylor’s old Instagrams
“Basic Autumn Lovers Rise” TikTok, Tumblr re-enactment, Oct 2021, Taylor Swift
The Curious Symbolism of Autumn in Literature and Myth, Interesting LIterature.com 
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:32] Intro to Fall topic
[01:00] “You Belong With Me,” Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 2021
[09:43] “Red,” Red (Taylor’s Version) 2021
[22:51] “Cornelia Street,” Lover 2019
 
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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.

E8: Deep Dive - the lakes

"Take me on vacation, take me to anywhere, take me to the lakes!" After our Show & Tell on Ecocriticism, we’re ready to Deep Dive head-first into “the lakes,” bonus track 17 on “folklore (deluxe version).” Join us as we walk through Taylor Swift’s nature imagery and consider the lyrics in some historical context. We'll also unpack the speaker’s relationship with nature as we consider what the speaker is escaping from, where she is going, and why she is running away. And, we introduce a word of the day (“P-A-L-I-M-P-S-E-S-T”) and pull in references from the dictionary, textbooks, classic novels, and poetry for this one, with hopes of understanding the “waves of hurt” that are packed into this song.
Mentioned in the episode: 
Palimpsest: something having usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface
Town & Country - Emily Doherty 2023
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Victorian Flower Symbolism
Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence
Douglass Livingstone “symbiosis or death”
The Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abram
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[01:16] A quick recap of ecocriticism
[03:29] Palimpsest: Heart-stopping waves of hurt
[06:56] The cause of grief: Some name-dropping sleaze
[10:32] Why does she want to escape: Hunters with cell phones
[12:14] Seeking refuge: Not without my muse
[16:59] The speaker and nature: I don’t belong
[21:49] Nod to Romantics: Is it romantic?
[26:17] Final thoughts: What do we think this song is about?
 
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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.

E7: Show and Tell - Ecocriticism

“But the monsters turned out to be just trees.” Are trees good? Are trees bad? Why the tree imagery? In this episode of AP Taylor Swift, your hosts dive into the world of ecocriticism to explore and analyze how Taylor uses nature in her lyrics to create powerful metaphors that resonate with her listeners. Join us as Jodi discusses the dichotomy of the domestic vs the wild in “Out of the Woods,” Jenn shares some surprising history about William Wordsworth that may change the way you listen to “the lakes” forever, and Maansi teaches us about the sublime with “Snow on the Beach.” 
***
Mentioned in the episode: 
Recollections of the Lakes and the Lake Poets
Dorothy Wordsworth poetry 
William Wordsworth poetry
Wordsworth & Coleridge Lyrical Ballads
Walden: A Fully Annotated Edition 
Walt Whitman: The Complete Poems
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
“Out of the Woods”
“the lakes” 
“Snow on the Beach” 
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[0:27] Introduction to ecocriticism
[3:06] “Out of the Woods” 
[21:06] “the lakes”
[38:22] “Snow on the Beach”
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
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Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
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.
 
 

Special Episode: Our Eras Tour Reactions

It’s been a long time coming! To celebrate the release of the Eras Tour Movie, we’re releasing our first special episode: our Eras Tour Reactions! Back in July, our hosts sat down to relive the magic of our own Eras Tour concert experiences. Learn who went in blind, and who had a playlist of the entire set before they went to the show. Hear from Maansi as she reflects on hearing “Long Live” and “All of the Girls You Loved Before” at the Santa Clara show less than 24 hours after seeing Taylor Swift live; Try to hold back jealousy as Jodi recounts her not one, but two floor-seat experiences (including the “Speak Now” (Taylor’s Version) announcement); and remember the magic of those light-up wristbands with Jenn and hear all about her life-changing experience of hearing “Hits Different” live. 
 
***
Episode Highlights: 
[00:59] Maansi’s next-day concert reflections 
[06:48] Who went in blind, and who knew the whole set list?
[10:27] How each era’s brand stands out on stage 
[14:29] Songs that changed when we saw them on stage
[21:34] How Taylor Swift engages her audience
[26:19] Surprise Songs!
[33:03] Transcending generational divides 
[35:18] Eras tour amnesia 
[39:11] What does Taylor do next?
 
***
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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.