AP Taylor Swift aptaylorswift

They are the hunters we are the foxes, and we run.  This week we’re covering “I Know Places” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Who’s running? Why are they running? What are the places they’re trying to get to? Does she actually know a place to hide? This is a dark and anxious song and we have questions! We explore how Taylor Swift uses metaphors to help make the relationship she’s singing about relatable. Then we examine how the music changes between the verses and the choruses, from anxious and scared to romantic and beautiful. And we’re left trying to answer the question: is this a reliable narrator? Tune in to find out!
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Fall episode
Metaphors episode
Pirates of the Caribbean
Friends
“Wonderland” episode
Zootopia
The Diary of Anne Frank
Star Wars: Rogue One
AIDA, Original Broadway Cast Recording 
The Audacity of Hope
Marxist episode

Affiliate Codes: 
Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! 
Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[01:15] How we do a deep dive
[04:30] “It’s a scene and we’re out here in plain sight”
[09:01] “Baby…I know places we won’t be found”
[16:30] “Just grab my hand and don’t ever drop it”
[21:52] Is there a bridge?
[28:48] What’s the purpose of the song?
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm →  tinyurl.com/aptslibro
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.
 

Now it’s too late for you and your white horse. What do white horses, foxes, vultures, and wolves all have in common? They all show up in our favorite Taylor Swift songs! This week, we’re looking to understand how Taylor Swift uses animals in her lyrics, through the lens of animal studies! Jenn takes us back to medieval times to help us understand the origins of the white horse and what that means for “White Horse” (Fearless, 2008). Then Jodi talks to us about the many connotations associated with foxes and vultures, which are referenced in “I know places,” (1989, 2014). And finally, Maansi talks us through the song “Daylight” (Lover, 2014) where there are implications of the animalistic concept of hibernation, and also references to wolves. 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 
The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein 
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkein
Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm 
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Hercules the Disney film
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the film) 
BBC’s In Our Time - Chivalry episode 
BBC’s You’re Dead to Me 
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Le Morte D’Artur by Sir Thomas Malory
Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart by Chretien de Troyes
The Templar Knights by Dan Jones 
Alison Weir Books  
Zootopia 
Mary Poppins 
Brer Rabbit
Disney’s Robin Hood
The Dark Knight 
Spiderman 
Beowulf 
The Wolf of Wall Street
Twilight 
Once Upon a Time 
Little Red Riding Hood by the Brothers Grimm
The Three Little Pigs

Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[01:12] Introduction to Animal Studies
[03:36] White horses in “White Horse,” Fearless, 2008
[23:05] Foxes & vultures in “I know places,” 1989, 2014 
[38:19] Wolves in “Daylight,” Lover, 2019
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm → https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI
 
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.

All’s fair in love and poetry. The long-awaited album The Tortured Poets Department is officially out, and of course, we have thoughts! This bonus episode strays from our usual format to bring you as comprehensive of an overview as we can provide in one (rather long) episode. Be warned: you won’t find speculation about Taylor’s love life here. True to our usual content, we focus on the lyrics, the themes, and the literary choices Taylor makes to better understand what this album is all about. Join us as we give our first reactions, talk about Taylor’s “In Summation poem,” and briefly dissect a handful of songs that stood out to each of us.
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Check out our “The Tortured Poets Department” Booklist on Bookshop.org/APTS
E29: Show and Tell - Aestheticism
E27: Show and Tell - Poetic Repetition
E23: Show and Tell - Mad Women
E7: Show and Tell - Ecocriticism
Bonus: "The Tortured Poets Department" Announcement
E32: Deep Dive - Love Story 
 
Episode Highlights:
[02:48] Our initial album reactions
[17:22] “In Summation” Poem overview
[29:53] Is this what we expected TTPD to be?
[38:16] loml 
[44:39] I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
[53:24] So High School
[56:34] Florida!!!
[59:20] Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
[01:05:04] Down Bad
[01:13:28] So Long, London
[01:18:27] But Daddy I Love Him
[01:27:00] How Did It End?
[01:37:49] The Manuscript
[01:46:08] What do we think the album is about?
 
Affiliate Codes: 
Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! 
Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro
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.

You were Romeo, I was a Scarlet Letter. This week we’re covering an oldie but goodie–Taylor Swift’s “Love Story”, from Fearless (Taylor’s Version). In this very narrative-driven song, we get a chance to explore who the protagonists are and what they’re trying to say about their love “story.  We explore why Taylor Swift references high school favorites “Romeo and Juliet” and “Scarlet Letter,” and what those metaphors may mean. The “Scarlet Letter” reference makes us look at this song from a whole new lens, forcing us to look at pronouns, verb tenses, and points of view–we promise you’ll never hear this song the same way again. 
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Love Story, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 
Romeo and Juliet
Titanic
The Notebook 
Tarzan of the Apes
Tim McGraw
Enchanted
Pride and Prejudice 
Cinderella
How I Met Your Mother
Scarlet Letter
Easy A
I Did Something Bad
Jane Eyre
Emma
& Juliet 
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Don’t Matter, Akon
 
Affiliate Codes: 
Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! 
Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[1:30] How we do a deep dive
[08:19] “You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess” The fairytale references
[14:50] “I was a Scarlet Letter” What this reference may mean
[20:32] “All that’s left to do is run” Where it all takes a turn
[28:42] “When I met you on the outside of town” We approach the bridge
[41:11] What we think the purpose of “Love Story” really is

Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
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.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night. What’s an AP class without a not-so-brief discussion about Shakespeare? Join us as we compare Taylor Swift to William Shakespeare, and find out why we think Shakespeare may have been the original pop star of his day. Shakespeare’s plays remain so relevant even today, so it’s only natural that Taylor Swift would find ways to allude to his works in her music. In this Show & Tell, we each pick one Shakespeare play and a Taylor Swift song that we feel best references and represents that play. Maansi ties Romeo & Juliet to “Love Story” (Fearless 2008), Jenn talks us through Julius Caesar references in “Bad Blood” (Reputation 2017), and Jodi draws parallels between Midsummer Night’s Dream and “Cruel Summer” (Lover 2019). We really put the AP in APTS with this discussion so push up your reading glasses, dust off your old Shakespeare text books, and get ready to get nerdy with us!
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
William Shakespeare
The Tempest, William Shakespeare
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Come Clean, Hilary Duff
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
Love Story, Fearless 2008
William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, 1996 film version
Romeo and Juliet, 1968 film version
Jenn’s Zac Efron version of 1960 Romeo and Juliet
West Side Story
Bad Blood, Reputation 2017
Shakespeare Birth Trust TL;DR
Folger Shakespeare Library
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar, Performed at the Globe Theater, 2015
Bridgerton
Shakespeare in a Divided America, by James Shapiro
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1999 film version 
Cruel Summer, Lover 2019

Affiliate Codes: 
Bookshop.org - Use code APTS at checkout for 10% off. Limited time offer. Expires April 10, 2024! 
Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! 
Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[01:00] Shakespeare: The original pop artist
[09:38] Romeo & Juliet’s Love Story
[30:34] Julius Caesar’s Bad Blood
[51:06] Cruel Midsummer Night’s Dream
 
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm →  tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
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.

What must it be like to grow up that beautiful? In this episode, we deep dive into the beautiful “gold rush.” We dive into the historical context of the real-life gold rush and how the gold rush was presented to us as kids versus today as adults. Then, we dive into how the reality of history affects how we interpret this song. We also explore how fame or popularity connects to this song. Finally, we examine the siren call motif and the speaker's ultimate decision to resist the temptation of the gold rush. Ultimately, our takeaway is the importance of agency, boundaries, and the speaker’s decision to not engage with a gold rush. 
 
Mentioned in this episode: 
Oregon Trail (website)
Empty Mansions by Bell Deadman and Paul Clark Newell
Mean Girls
Harry Potter series
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Glee
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
“You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt

Affiliate Codes: 
Bookshop.org - Use code APTS at checkout for 10% off. Limited time offer. Expires April 10, 2024! 
Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off! 
Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro
 
***
 
Episode Highlights: 
[05:15] - Introduction to historical context of the gold rush 
[09:12] - The speaker’s perspective
[14:38] - The temptation to “jump in” 
[24:08] - The siren call
[31:10] - The structure of the song
[38:52] - The convenience of a dream
[48:50] - Is this person worth it?
Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
 
Follow us on social! 
TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
Libro.fm →  tinyurl.com/aptslibro
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.