“Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it.” What happens when you try to pin down something as slippery as time itself? This week’s episode gets philosophical as we explore how Taylor Swift uses time as a literary device—as narrative structure, as metaphor, as a way to measure how much we’ve changed. From flashbacks and tense shifts to nostalgia and the ache of looking back, we unpack how time shapes Taylor’s storytelling. Maansi traces the dramatic irony of “15” (Fearless, 2008), Jenn explores how “Timeless” (Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), 2023) removes time to reveal the purest form of love, and Jodi breaks down the stream-of-consciousness time travel of “All Too Well” (Red, 2012). Grab your clocks, calendars, and time-turners—class is in session.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Memento (2000 film)
• The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
• Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
• Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
• Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel
• Inside Out (2015 film)
• The Merge, [Author]
• StoryGraph
• Atonement, Ian McEwan
• The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley
• Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
• The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young
• The Good Place (Jeremy Bearimy)

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Episode Highlights:

[01:12] Time as a literary device: structure, theme, and symbolism

[08:52] “Fifteen,” Fearless

[20:23] “Timeless,” Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

[31:39] “All Too Well,” (Red)

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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.