Why Are We So Obsessed with Taylor + Travis?

For the third episode of the Culture Study podcast

Esteemed law professor Leah Litman, co-host of Strict Scrutiny, joins me and Melody to talk about all things TAYLOR + TRAVIS.

Like: How did Taylor make the transition from big time pop star to BIGGEST POP STAR? How do we feel about the Matty Healy of it all? Is Travis Kelce interesting or is their relationship just interesting? Why do I feel so ambivalent about the prospect of Taylor getting married (and/or having kids)??

Show notes:

• The TikTok from the intro:

• All about Leah Litman!!!

• What It Takes To Be in the 1% — of Taylor Swift Fans

• Talk to Me About Taylor Swift Sweatshirt

• Follow Stevie the Mini Goldendoodle

• Melody’s Instagram where she posts honest book reviews in her stories

• “You’re Losing Me”

• The video for “White Horse”

The 2014 era of “Taylor stepping out of her apartment” photos I reference

• The imagery of Folklore/Evermore:

• Some of Melody’s favorite SwiftTok influencers include:

  • @tessdear is THE PLACE to go for Eras Tour livestreams

  • @bryanlicious2 for an unhinged kind of humor

  • @cowboy.han makes hilarious mash-ups of Taylor songs

  • @mikael.arellano, creator of the Bejeweled dance, all-around wholesome fan

  • I have a low tolerance for the “men react to Taylor Swift lyrics” genre, but the two exceptions are @hthaze and Darriel and Ashton

  • @pokemonmasterzo’s hilarious videos are a great example of why I love this dumb app

  • @invisibletheme for smart and well-researched queer analysis

• A primer on Gaylor

• Easter Eggs on the Eras Tour

• Video for “You Need To Calm Down”

• A 2020 primer on Tree Paine (Swift’s publicist); Tree Paine vs. Deux Moi

• Swift’s bisexual pride flag wig

• A recap of Swift + Emily Dickinson

• “Why didn’t Jason bring jeans for Jason?”

We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:

• Very Contemporary Architecture Trends (like ‘modern farmhouse’) and/or wtf is going on with Chip & Joanna Gaines these days, why is their new show so banal

• Huberman Husbands

• Booktok (think expansively here)

• ONLINE PURCHASE REVIEW CULTURE (as in: what motivates people to leave reviews? With photos? What makes a good review, what makes a worthless one?)

• Athleisure (also think expansively here)

• You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (and here’s the subscriber-only priority form)

Now come hang out with us in the discussion — a few ideas to get us started:

• What’s your investment in Gaylor?

• Is Travis Kelce ACTUALLY INTERESTING?

• Is Leah right about Harry Styles?

• What do we do with these end game vibes?

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• Got a question to submit, a prompt for Ask Anne Anything, or an idea for a future episode? Tell us here.
• Catch up on everything else happening in the Culture Study universe here.
• Transcripts will be available here within 24 hours of publishing.

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