Episodes

  • The Chronicles of Conflict in The Great War

    The Chronicles of Conflict in The Great War
    Jun 25 2026

    In this episode, Uncle Jerry and Angela tackle The Great War from 2022’s Midnights. Uncle Jerry wrestles with the idea of using a horrific event as a metaphor, and he teaches all about the many floral symbols used throughout the poem.


    Works Cited:

    The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady – Edith Holden – Aff Link

    The Great War and Modern Memory – Paul Fussell – Aff Link

    The Strange Destiny of Rupert Brooke Hardcover – John Lehmann

    Siegfried Sassoon

    Memoirs of an Infantry Officer: The Memoirs of George Sherston – Siegfried Sassoon – Aff Link

    Goodbye to All That – Robert Graves – Aff Link

    All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

    War Poems – Wilfred Owen – Aff Link

    Dulce et Decorum Est – Wilfred Owen

    Poetry of the First World War: An Anthology – Tim Kendall – Aff Link

    The Soldier – Rupert Brooke

    In Flanders Fields – John McCrae

    The History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion – Buck Private McCollum – Aff Link

    Crimson & Clover – Tommy James and the Shondells

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 9 mins
  • The Parachute of Childhood in I Knew It, I Knew You

    The Parachute of Childhood in I Knew It, I Knew You
    Jun 18 2026

    Man, it’s been a while! Today we’re covering the newly released I Knew It, I Knew You from Toy Story 5 and current #1 on the Billboard 100 chart.

    Uncle Jerry takes us through the poem, talking all about childhood and friendship and how both this song and the movie franchise showcase the magic of being a kid.

    We bring in a special guest–an expert–at the end to grade the song.


    Works Cited:

    Homonym

    Runnin’ Wild – Some Like It Hot

    Volta

    Emjambment

    Epiphora or Epistrophe

    Leaves of Grass – Walt Whitman

    Anagnorisis

    Epizeuxis

    Dramatic Irony

    Mnemonic

    I Knew It, I Knew You Visualizer

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • The Light of Stardom in Clara Bow

    The Light of Stardom in Clara Bow
    Jun 4 2026

    We are taking it back to the 1920s (and then the 1970s) today with Clara Bow from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry talks all about the early film industry, Stevie Nicks, the violence of beauty and fame for women, and so much more.


    Works Cited:

    Clara Bow

    The Jazz Singer (1927)

    Greta Garbo

    Douglas Fairbanks

    John Gilbert

    Michael Curtiz

    Casablanca (1942)

    The Lodger (1947)

    World’s Columbian Exposition (1893)

    The Birth of a Nation (1915)

    It (1927)

    It – Elinor Glyn – Aff Link

    Caesura

    Horatio Alger

    Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller

    A Cool Million – Nathanael West – Aff Link

    The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus – Christopher Marlowe

    To an Athlete Dying Young – A. E. Housman

    Idle Fame – John Clare

    The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson – Aff Link

    Fame is a fickle food (1659) – Emily Dickinson

    Fame is a bee. (1788) – Emily Dickinson

    Mirrorball/Clara Bow Mash-up

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • The Nature of Fame in Mirrorball

    The Nature of Fame in Mirrorball
    May 28 2026

    We’re back in our folklore era with mirrorball today! Uncle Jerry had some extra time with this one and doesn’t even know where to start the discussion. We get into the uses of mirrors in folklore, how this was made during the pandemic, and discuss the many facets of celebrity. Make sure you come back next week for another song discussing the nature of fame.


    Works Cited:

    The Philosophy of Reflection: Mirrors as Symbols Across Cultures

    Catoptromancy

    Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll – Aff Link

    Perseus and Medusa

    A Discovery of Witches (2018)

    'Spirit mirror' used by 16th-century occultist John Dee came from the Aztec Empire

    Conceit

    Anaphora

    Inclusio

    Ouroboros

    Albertus Magnus and the Magic Mirror

    Loafing Him was Bread T-Shirt

    The House of Fame – Geoffrey Chaucer

    The Temple of Fame – Alexander Pope

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • The Inquisitive Human Nature in How Did It End?

    The Inquisitive Human Nature in How Did It End?
    May 21 2026
    FIXED AUDIO!Call all your friends and cousins, we’re finally covering How Did It End? from The Tortured Poets Department. Uncle Jerry finds tons of beautiful poetics and dark humor in this one, and Angela discusses its connections to both The Prophecy and But Daddy I Love Him. If you want to vote for a specific song for June, join us on Patreon to play along!Works Cited:General Reference PronounAutofiction as a Doorway Into TruthConceit – Literary termCome One, Come All – All Time LowSlant Rhyme"Now give three cheers" – HMS PinaforeThe Telephone Hour – Bye Bye BirdieThe Raven – Edgar Allan PoeAnnabel Lee – Edgar Allan PoeTo -- -- --. Ulalume: A Ballad – Edgar Allan PoeHyperion – John KeatsOde to a Nightingale – John KeatsA Rose for Emily – William FaulknerThe Swiftie and The Scholar Grading MatrixFollow Us:Patreon⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Threads⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠Uncle Jerry’s Instagram
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    53 mins
  • The Christian Tendrils of But Daddy I Love Him

    The Christian Tendrils of But Daddy I Love Him
    May 14 2026

    Buckle up for a long one! We are flooring it through the fences today with But Daddy I Love Him from Taylor Swift’s 2024 album, The Tortured Poets Department. We discuss common movie tropes, conservative small towns, and the lyrics Angela wants to have tattooed from this song.


    Works Cited:

    Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke – Aff Link

    East of Eden – John Steinbeck – Aff Link

    Rebel With a Cause (1955)

    The Notebook (2004)

    Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

    How The West Was Won (1962)

    Anaphora

    Epiphora (or epistrophe)

    the Cambridge ladies who live in furnished souls – e.e. cummings

    Footloose (1984)

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • The Sentimentalism of Marjorie

    The Sentimentalism of Marjorie
    May 7 2026

    In this episode, we are tackling marjorie, a track from Taylor Swift’s evermore album from 2020. Uncle Jerry teaches us about sentimentalism in literature, and Angela blows his mind by telling him the real life Marjorie’s backstory.


    Works Cited:

    Aphorism

    David Hume

    Immanuel Kant

    Sentimentalism

    Sentimental Novels in Early American Fiction

    The Man of Feeling – Henry Mackenzie – Aff Link

    Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded – Samuel Richardson – Aff Link

    Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen – Aff Link

    A Treatise of Human Nature Paperback – David Hume – Aff Link

    The Swiftie and The Scholar Grading Matrix


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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Dr. Uncle Jerry University: Poetry 101

    Dr. Uncle Jerry University: Poetry 101
    Apr 30 2026
    We’re doing something a bit different today! Some conversations have popped up in various comment sections about why Uncle Jerry prefers specific types of poetry, and which lenses we use to dissect those poems, whether we’re talking about Charles Dickens, Emily Dickenson, or Taylor Swift. So Uncle Jerry put together a lecture explaining how and why he views certain poetic styles the way he does, and explains the different criticism styles and theories we use to understand a poem’s meaning and impact.Hope you enjoy! Please leave any questions in the comments that he can answer either here or in a later episode. Works Cited:Marxist Literary CriticismPost-Colonial CriticismReader-response theoryKey Theories of Wolfgang IserIs There a Text in This Class? – Stanley Fish – Aff LinkPsychological CriticismFeminist TheoryNew CriticismFelicia Dorothea HemansOn the Intentional FallacyHyperion – John KeatsAffective FallacyQueer TheoryDeconstructionSemioticsCritical Race TheoryNew HistoricismStephen Greenblatt and New HistoricismSketches by Boz – Charles Dickens – Aff LinkSonnetsShakespeare's Sonnets & Poems – William Shakespeare – Aff LinkLimerickHaikuBallad Meter (or Common Measure)VillanelleConcrete PoetryLife Studies – Robert Lowell – Aff Link The Collected Poems – Sylvia Plath – Aff LinkMy Papa’s Waltz – Theodore RoethkeThe Real Slim Shady – EminemCan Poetry Matter?: Essays on Poetry and American Culture Paperback – Dana Gioia – Aff LinkA Bit Much – Lyndsay Rush – Aff LinkLyndsay Rush – InstagramAmanda GormanThe Swiftie and The Scholar Grading MatrixFollow Us:Patreon⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Threads⁠Angela’s Instagram⁠Uncle Jerry’s Instagram
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    1 hr and 16 mins