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We set out to discuss the Eras tour film but got drawn into the broader cultural phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. Along the way, we talk about the concepts of cathexis and the Big Other; our own embarrassing childhood attachments to music; how the Eras tour is like Nietzsche’s eternal return; Swift’s self-narration about her relationship to praise, food, and body image in Miss Americana; and Abby’s unexpectedly strong negative investment in the Travis-Taylor relationship.

Texts we discussed:

Taffy Brodesser-Akner, “My Delirious Trip to the Heart of Swiftiedom,"
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/magazine/taylor-swift-eras-tour.html

Sam Lansky, “2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift,”
https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/

Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory

Christopher Bollas, Being a Character: Psychoanalysis and Self Experience

Have you noticed that Freud is back? Got questions about psychoanalysis? Or maybe you’ve traversed the fantasy and lived to tell the tale? Leave us a voicemail! 484 775-0107

A podcast about psychoanalysis, politics, pop culture, and the ways we suffer now. New episodes on Saturdays. Follow us on social media:

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Theme song:
Formal Chicken - Gnossienne No. 1
https://open.spotify.com/album/2MIIYnbyLqriV3vrpUTxxO
Provided by Fruits Music

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