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September 17, 2025 36 mins

From medieval England to modern pop music, some things never change - women fighting for agency, authority, and the right to write their own stories. In this milestone 100th episode, we go full literary nerd and explore the surprising connections between Geoffrey Chaucer's iconic Wife of Bath from The Canterbury Tales and Taylor Swift's empowering anthems. By looking at Blank Space, New Romantics, and The Man, we examine how both the 14th-century literary character and the 21st-century pop star challenge societal expectations, manipulate narratives to their advantage, and advocate for women's autonomy in love and life. 

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Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

[1:10] Introduction to paid subscriber content announcement 

[2:55] Connecting Taylor Swift to The Canterbury Tales

[6:42] "Blank Space" 

[15:50] "New Romantics"

[25:00] "The Man"

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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.

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