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AP Taylor Swift

AP Taylor Swift

By: AP Taylor Swift Podcast
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Welcome to AP Taylor Swift Podcast, the show for Swifties who love to overanalyze lyrics! Join hosts Maansi Dommeti, Jenn Holcomb, and Jodi Innerfield as they delve into Taylor Swift’s music to uncover the literary devices, themes, and inspirations that make her songs resonate with millions of fans. From Shakespeare to feminist theory, we explore the academic side of Taylor’s songwriting, no English degree required, just curiosity. New episodes weekly. Subscribe for updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribeCopyright 2024 All rights reserved. Art Literary History & Criticism Music Social Sciences
Episodes
  • "I Don’t Wanna Live Forever": How Taylor Swift’s Songs Tell the Story of the Odyssey

    "I Don’t Wanna Live Forever": How Taylor Swift’s Songs Tell the Story of the Odyssey
    Jun 24 2026
    “In silent screams and wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this. This love is good. This love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead.” This week we’re setting sail on one of history’s greatest epics, Homer’s The Odyssey, and asking a very important question... did Taylor Swift write it? (We’re mostly joking. Mostly.) In this Show & Tell episode, we each make the case for a Taylor Swift song that illuminates a different facet of the Odyssey, from Penelope’s 20-year vigil to Odysseus weeping on a gorgeous island, to the sirens, the wine-dark sea, and a very significant scar. Along the way, the hosts dig into questions of translation and interpretation — particularly the significance of Emily Wilson’s landmark female translation of the text — discuss the role of Athena in the story of the epic, and geek out about the archery contest that shows up in both the Odyssey and two Indian epics. Plus: the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation, the musical Epic by Jorge Rivera, Madeline Miller’s Circe, and why All Too Well (10 Minute Version) might just be Taylor’s own Odyssey. Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe. After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics! Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com Songs Discussed in This Episode: This Love — Taylor Swift (1989, 2014) | Written by Taylor Swift and Nathan ChapmanI Don’t Want to Live Forever — Taylor Swift & Zayn (Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, 2017) | Written by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sam DewWillow — Taylor Swift (evermore, 2020) | Written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner Honorable Mentions: Long Story Short (evermore) — previously discussed in our Greek Mythology episode (E67)Breathe (Fearless)Treacherous (Red)The Great War (Midnights)The Story of Us (Speak Now)High Infidelity (Midnights)Castle’s Crumbling (feat. Hayley Williams, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version))Dear Reader (Midnights)State of Grace (Red)Gold Rush (evermore) Mentioned in This Episode: The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Emily Wilson)The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Robert Fagles)Circe, Madeline MillerThe Song of Achilles, Madeline MillerThe Penelopiad, Margaret AtwoodEpic: The Musical, Jorge Rivera-HerransChristopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (upcoming film)All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) — mentioned as a potential “Taylor’s Odyssey”Ulysses, James Joyce (briefly mentioned) Episode Highlights: [~00:01] Welcome and why the Odyssey, why now[~10:45] Maansi’s pick: This Love as Penelope’s story — the weaving scheme, the suitors, and letting go[~24:00] Jenn’s pick: I Don’t Want to Live Forever as Odysseus refusing immortality on Calypso’s island[~38:27] Jodi’s pick: Willow — ships, the wine-dark sea, Charybdis, the sirens, and the bait-and-switch of Odysseus’ return[~01:00:19] Honorable mentions: Breathe, Treacherous, The Great War, The Story of Us, High Infidelity, Castle’s Crumbling, Dear Reader, State of Grace, Gold Rush Follow AP Taylor Swift Podcast on Social! TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwiftInstagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwiftYouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwiftLink Tree → linktr.ee/aptaylorswiftBookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/aptsLibro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com 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 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.
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    57 mins
  • “Cold As You” Song Meaning: Taylor Swift's Debut Deep Cut | AP Taylor Swift

    “Cold As You” Song Meaning: Taylor Swift's Debut Deep Cut | AP Taylor Swift
    Jun 17 2026

    "A mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you." This week we're deep diving "Cold As You" from Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album (2006) — and it's a heavy one. What reads on the surface as a teen heartbreak song turns out to be a meditation on indifference, power imbalance, and the particular kind of scar that forms not from cruelty, but from being simply not cared about.

    Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe. After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!

    Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com

    Mentioned in this episode:

    • "Cold As You," Taylor Swift (2006)
    • "Exile" (feat. Bon Iver), folklore (2020)
    • "Teardrops on My Guitar," Taylor Swift (2006)
    • "Honey," The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
    • "Look What You Made Me Do," reputation (2017)
    • Kelly Clarkson, "Walk Away" (2004)
    • Banksy, Girl with Balloon
    • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

    Episode Highlights: [02:07] "When you take, you take the very best of me"

    [11:06] "What a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day"

    [16:42] "You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray"

    [29:00] Bridge: "You never did give a damn thing, honey, but I cried, cried for you"

    [35:43] "Every smile you fake is so condescending — counting all the scars you've made"

    [41:59] Purpose: what this song is really about

    Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast 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

    Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

    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.
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    50 mins
  • Why Mr. Perfectly Fine Spent 13 Years in the Vault (Preview) | AP Taylor Swift After School

    Why Mr. Perfectly Fine Spent 13 Years in the Vault (Preview) | AP Taylor Swift After School
    Jun 15 2026

    "How's your heart after breaking mine?" This is a preview of our paid After School episode, a continuation of our "Fearless" album deep dive.

    We go through every Platinum Edition bonus track and Fearless (Taylor's Version) vault track and ask the only question that matters: why didn't these make the original 13? We argue "Mr. Perfectly Fine" was too pointed for a 19-year-old still being marketed as "sweet, neat, and age-appropriate," that "Superstar" was the PR-safe version of the same heartbreak, and that the "Forever & Always" piano version is the stages of grief in song form.

    Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe.

    After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!

    Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com

    Mentioned in this episode:

    • Luna Halo’s original “Untouchable” (2007)

    • Valentine’s Day (2010)

    • Hacks (HBO Max)

    • American Fantasy by Emma Straub

    • Ep 98: Unreliable Narrators (Mr. Perfectly Fine)

    • Extra Credit essay on Forever Winter and the stages of grief

    Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast 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

    Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

    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

    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.
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    16 mins
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