The Swiftie and The Scholar

Angela McDow | Dr. Jerry Coats
  • 4.9 (238)
  • MUSIC COMMENTARY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. Join us each week for lyrical deep dive through Taylor Swift's eras.

  1. 6D AGO

    The Cultural Critique of The Last Great American Dynasty

    We’re off to Rhode Island by way of St. Louis in this episode! We’re breaking down Taylor Swift’s ‘the last great american dynasty’, a track from 2020’s folklore and the final song she submitted for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Uncle Jerry explains how his opinion on this poem changed from his first few readings, and Angela talks through her thoughts on the five submitted songs as a whole and why she thinks Taylor chose them. Works Cited: Blue Blood – Craig Unger A Rose for Emily – William Faulkner Rebekah Harkness’ Starfish Brooch The Outrageous Life of Rebekah Harkness, Taylor Swift’s High-Society Muse – Elise Taylor The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald – Aff Link The 100 Best Songs of 2020 – Pitchfork Jacob’s Pillow the last great american dynasty lyric video Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram

    1h 7m

  2. FEB 5

    The Satire of Blank Space

    In this episode, we are covering the fourth song that Taylor Swift submitted to be considered for induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame—Blank Space. This 1989 track was one of her first pop hits, and Uncle Jerry finds the humorous and feminist lenses the poem was written through to be interesting to dissect. We’ll wrap the conversation up and talk about the songs as a whole collection next week. Works Cited: Tabula Rasa Dactyl Iamb Yellow Rose of Texas The Ballad of Jed Clampett Gilligan’s Island Theme Song Ballad Meter The Gallic Wars The Twelve Caesars – Suetonius – Aff Link The Madwoman in the Attic – Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar – Aff Link Jane Eyre: Deluxe Painted Edition – Charlotte Bronte – Aff Link The Yellow Wallpaper Blank Space Music Video Black Space Voice Memo Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry’s Instagram

    51 min

  3. JAN 29

    The Self-Deprecation of Anti-Hero

    We’re back and we’re kicking 2026 off with the three remaining tracks from Taylor’s submission to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Spoiler alert: she was inducted! We’ll talk more about that in the final of these three episodes, but today we are focused on Anti-Hero. Uncle Jerry wonders about Taylor’s psychological status when writing this song and Angela has an A-ha! moment about how the music cues us to maybe feel differently than the lyrics alone would make us feel. Works Cited: First Person Deixis Charles Barkley Nike Commercial Beauty and the Beast (1991) Brigid Kaelin on Instagram Taylor talking about Anti-Hero Anti-Hero Music Video Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠ Uncle Jerry Instagram

    54 min

  4. JAN 1

    The Resolutions of Love in New Year’s Day

    Happy New Year! With New Year’s Day on our episode release day, it only felt right to cover this masterpiece from Reputation. Uncle Jerry unknowingly connects this song with many others, blowing Angela’s mind once again.  We’re taking a short break after this episode, but we’ll see you back here in a few weeks with more poetry! Works Cited: Nine Princes in Amber – Roger Zelazny – Aff Link When Harry Met Sally (1989) A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens – Aff Link The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway – Aff Link A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning – John Donne Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

    46 min

  5. 12/24/2025

    The Intertextuality of ‘Tis the Damn Season

    Merry Christmas! Sorry for the sad song choice, but it just felt right. We’re trudging down the road not taken with evermore’s ‘tis the damn season. Uncle Jerry isn’t so sure about this one at first, but he comes around by the end.  Works Cited: Trope Sweet Home Alabama (2002) The Family Man (2000) Frank Capra Autofiction Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger – Aff Link The Road Not Taken – Robert Frost Intertextuality Fire and Ice – Robert Frost Mending Wall – Robert Frost Look Homeward, Angel – Thomas Wolfe – Aff Link You Can’t Go Home Again – Thomas Wolfe – Aff Link Tis The Damn Season – Lyric Video Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

    51 min

  6. 12/18/2025

    The Double Entendre of LOML

    This is one of our most requested episodes, and here it is, just in time for the holidays! Uncle Jerry picked up on something that Angela had never noticed in the poem, and they get into a bit of the Tay-lore about what inspired The Tortured Poets Department.  Works Cited: e.e. cummings The Fates of Greek Mythology Just Kids – Patti Smith – Aff Link Breaking Up Is Hard to Do – Neil Sedaka Water Lilies – Claude Monet T.S. Eliot Misery (1990) Synecdoche Epistrophe Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

    57 min

  7. 12/11/2025

    The 80s Club Vibes of New Romantics

    After all the talk about Romanticism in the last episode, we’re taking it to the New Romantics this week. Uncle Jerry teaches us all about the sociocultural movement of the late 1970s and 1980s called New Romanticism, featuring The Blitz Kids, the London club scene, and all the fun and freedom of the era. Works Cited: Neoclassicism vs. Romanticism David Bowie Boy George Annie Lennox The Blitz Kids Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics – Dylan Jones – Aff Link Spandau Ballet Steve Strange Best of New Romantics – Spotify Playlist Road to Ruin – The Ramones Heartbreak Is the National Anthem – Rob Sheffield – Aff Link Adam Ant Taylor Swift’s Manuscripts – Natali Barbani Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

    55 min

  8. 12/04/2025

    The Romanticism of The Lakes

    We are letting Taylor Swift take us to the lakes today! These are the lyrics Angela used to convince Uncle Jerry to do this podcast, and his analysis does not disappoint. Come with us to learn all about Romanticism, The Lakes Poets, and how Taylor expertly weaves those two into this poem. Works Cited: A Brief Guide to Romanticism The Lake Poets Lyrical Ballads – William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge – Aff Link Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – Aff Link Romanticism vs. Neoclassicism The Last of the Mohicans – 1992 William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Dorothy Wordsworth Dove Cottage Robert Southey Thomas De Quincy John Keats Percy Bysshe Shelley Tales from Shakespeare – Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb John Ruskin Harriet Martineau The Lake Isle of Innisfree – William Butler Yeats Sonnets from the Portuguese 20: Beloved, my Beloved, when I think – Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnets from the Portuguese – Elizabeth Barrett Browning – Full Book Aff Link The Passionate Shepherd to His Love – Christopher Marlowe Hartley Coleridge  Poetic Inversion Aurora Leigh – Elizabeth Barrett Browning Frankenstein – Mary Shelley – Aff Link I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud – William Wordsworth Follow Us: ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠

    1 hr
See All (29)

4.9
out of 5
238 Ratings

About

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. Join us each week for lyrical deep dive through Taylor Swift's eras.

Information

  • Creator
    Angela McDow | Dr. Jerry Coats
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Angela McDow | Dr. Jerry Coats
  • Show Website
    The Swiftie and The Scholar

You Might Also Like