Swan Lake Unfolded

About Swan Lake Unfolded

Swan Lake Unfolded uses popular culture as a playground for learning about ourselves and the world around us. This first season is part of a larger project, “Popular Culture Movements,” which maps how cultural touchstones move through media (and what that means). So Swan Lake Unfolded really isn’t solely about Swan Lake—it’s about myths, parody, music, history, games, dancing, food, memory, and more! It’s a celebration of reinvention and what the past reveals about our present and the kinds of futures we want to create… How do we do this? This season we dive into three streaming tv shows—Hulu's The Handmaid’s Tale, Ted Lasso, and Bridgerton—to explore how references to Swan Lake open up larger conversations around identity, love, community, and art. Through podcast episodes that involve solo sessions, group chats, and interviews, we question how popular culture is a portal to thinking through ways of moving through the world, not only reflecting our values and dreams, but also our ideal solutions, too. We pair podcasts with website content on www.swanlakeunfolded.com (http://www.swanlakeunfolded.com) to engage listeners even more, creating webs of ideas that we hope will continue to ripple outward.

Publisher

JEN ATKINS

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Sept 2026

Latest episode

6 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

13 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Nov 2026

   Ted Lasso 4: Deep Dive with Andrew Miragliotta

   What do Mardi Gras, professional wrestling, dance, and Ted Lasso have in common? More than you’d expect. Andrew Miragliotta introduces us to New Orleans’ Lucha Krewe, where wrestling, Mexican Lucha Libre traditions, music, dance, and celebration come together to build community. Like the AFC Richmond locker room, the krewe reminds us that movement—whether in sport, dance, or parade—can create connection and belonging. Join us for a conversation about joy, performance, and why moving together continues to be one of our most powerful ways of connecting with one another. 📸: Lucha Krewe

2. 

   2 Nov 2026

   Ted Lasso 3: Deep Dive with A.M. Darke

   A haircut can be so much more than a haircut. And hair is more meaningful than just a style. Inspired by Sam's barbershop scene in Ted Lasso, this conversation with performance, play, and digital arts scholar A.M. Darke explores the cultural significance of Black hair and the importance of representing Black culture with care, complexity, and joy. We also discuss the Open Source Afro Hair Library, an innovative project expanding how Black hair is represented in digital spaces. Join us for a conversation about culture, representation, and the ways thoughtful design can help people feel seen, valued, and celebrated. Soon to be released, wherever you get your podcasts! 📸: “Inga” by Seren Sensei from Open Source Afro Hair Library

3. 

   30 Oct 2026

   Ted Lasso 2: Group Chat!

   What happens when “boys will be boys” gets turned on its head—and we start seeing men differently? In this Group Chat about Sam’s haircut scene, our team reflects on how Ted Lasso, and even Heated Rivalry, challenged some of the stereotypes we’ve come to associate with masculinity. Instead of the expected locker-room bravado, these stories give us spaces shaped by vulnerability, friendship, care, community, and even queer intimacy. We talk about how seeing these possibilities in popular culture have impacted us, encouraging us to think differently about the men and masculinities we encounter in our own lives. And, of course, there’s a little Swan Lake in there, too. 🦢 Join us for a conversation about the popular culture that doesn’t just reflect the world around us, but can change the way we see it—and each other.

4. 

   29 Oct 2026

   Ted Lasso 1: Transformation, Barbershops & Positive Masculinity

   What happens when sports and dancing collide in popular culture? Can a haircut be a performance? This episode explores one of the most memorable scenes in Ted Lasso: Sam's haircut before a first date. A teammate's offhand joke about Swan Lake opens an unexpected pathway into thinking about transformation, ritual, and community. Along the way, we consider what sports and dance have in common, how rituals help us become who we want to be, and why Black hair carries deep cultural significance. What begins as a seemingly simple moment of self care becomes a story about friendship, positive masculinity, and the communities that help us grow into ourselves.

5. 

   2 Oct 2026

   The Handmaid's Tale 4: Deep Dive with Kirill Smolkin

   Why does a few seconds of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake instantly feel mysterious…or even unsettling? Music scholar Kirill Smolkin joins us to unpack the famous “Swan Theme,” exploring its emotional power, its surprising afterlife in horror films, and why music boxes have such a lasting psychological pull. Together we trace how these sounds shape our emotional responses and discover how all of these threads come together in The Handmaid's Tale. Once you hear the “Swan Theme” this way, you may never hear it quite the same again.

6. 

   1 Oct 2026

   The Handmaid's Tale 3: Deep Dive with Trent Montgomery

   What is it like to spend your career dancing swan roles? Professional ballet dancer Trent Montgomery takes us behind the curtain of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the internationally acclaimed all-male ballet company celebrated for its extraordinary technique, pointe work, drag performance, and infectious sense of humor. Together we talk about what it means to embody swan roles, why audiences connect so deeply with them, and how comedy can open doors to appreciating one of ballet's most enduring works. It's a conversation about artistry, athleticism, tradition, and the joy of performance.

7. 

   30 Sept 2026

   The Handmaid's Tale 2: Group Chat!

   Come behind the scenes with us as our team chats about our own first experiences with The Handmaid’s Tale, how Gilead reflects contemporary social commentary, and the ways the show connects to conversations happening on social media. And, of course, we couldn’t leave out the music box and Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Theme”…and how that sound brings so many of these ideas together. It’s a conversation about memory, culture, and the unexpected ways Swan Lake continues to show up in the stories we tell about our world. 📸: IMDb

8. 

   28 Sept 2026

   The Handmaid's Tale 1: Sylphs, Swans, and Duality

   Our first streaming TV series to highlight is Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale! But what does Swan Lake have to do with Gilead? This episode uncovers the ballet references woven throughout the show’s first season, from a music box playing Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Theme” to how Handmaids are staged like a corps de ballet of sylphs and swans. These choices aren’t accidental. Together, they reveal how ballet becomes a powerful language for exploring identity, power, and the roles women are expected to perform. Once you notice the swans, you’ll never watch The Handmaid’s Tale the same way again. 📸: Hulu

9. 

   20 Sept 2026

   Introduction 5: Deep Dive with Hannah Schwadron

   In our Deep Dive episodes, we speak with experts about the many ways Swan Lake shows up in popular culture…and why those appearances are important. In this episode, dance scholar Hannah Schwadron takes us from Jewish joke-work in American media to vaudeville, horror films, and much more, exploring the unexpected cultural connections that surround Swan Lake.

10. 

    18 Sept 2026

    Introduction 4: A Conversation with Jen & Madeline

    What can dance reveal about ourselves? In this episode, Managing Producer Madeline Aldana-Gray joins Jen Atkins to talk about how dance is a framework for introspection. They gather at Jen's home to chat about dance as an embodied experience and a mode of personal interpretation. How can moving, watching, and thinking through dance give us new ways to understand our own experiences—and perhaps see ourselves differently?

11. 

    17 Sept 2026

    Introduction 3: Deep Dive with Elizabeth Bergman

    In this episode, Jen Atkins talks with dance scholar Elizabeth June Bergman. They explore popular dance as a framework for understanding the world around us and ask: What is it about dance that makes it such a powerful way to think through human experiences and the societies we build?

12. 

    16 Sept 2026

    Introduction 2: Deep Dive with Carlee Sachs-Krook

    What makes something popular? And what happens when we start moving, dancing, and thinking about popular culture?Join Jen Atkins and Carlee Sacks-Krook as they explore what popular culture is, what makes dance “popular,” and why it matters, from dances we see on our screens to the ways those movements shape how we understand ourselves and the everyday world around us. Episode Cover Art: 📸: Phil Hifiker via Flickr

13. 

    16 Sept 2026

    Introduction to Popular Culture Movements: Swan Lake Unfolded

    Tune in for this introduction to a new digital humanities project, Swan Lake Unfolded, which uses popular culture as a playground for learning about ourselves and the world around us. For anyone unfamiliar with Swan Lake, or who simply wants to learn more about our season, project lead Dr. Jen Atkins talks through an overview of the episodes ahead in this inaugural podcast episode. This first season, Swan Lake Unfolded, is part of a larger project, “Popular Culture Movements,” which maps how cultural touchstones move through media (and what that means). So Swan Lake Unfolded really isn’t solely about the ballet Swan Lake—it’s about myths, parody, music, history, games, dancing, food, memory, and more! It’s a celebration of reinvention and what the past reveals about our present and the kinds of futures we want to create… How do we do this? This season we dive into three streaming tv shows—Hulu'sThe Handmaid’s Tale, Ted Lasso, and Bridgerton—to explore how Swan Lake references open up larger conversations around identity, love, community, and art. We question how popular culture is a portal to thinking through ways of moving through the world, not only reflecting our values and dreams, but also our ideal solutions, too. We pair podcasts with website content (swanlakeunfolded.com (http://swanlakeunfolded.com)) to engage listeners even more, creating webs of ideas that we hope will continue to ripple outward. Episode Cover Art 📸: Alexey Yakovlev via Flickr

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.