86. Honest First Impressions of 'The Tortured Poets Department'
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86. Honest First Impressions of 'The Tortured Poets Department'

All’s fair in love and poetry. But you know what’s NOT fair? Trying to quickly process a 31 song album, half of which was a surprise in the first place. In today’s episode, your hosts give their first impressions on each of the tracks and on the album as a whole. Together, they work through the good, bad, and ugly of TTPD to tell you what initially went through their minds during this crazy start to our newest era.

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85. Your Unofficial 'The Tortured Poets Department' Pregame
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85. Your Unofficial 'The Tortured Poets Department' Pregame

THIS IS IT. We have entered TTPD week! In less than two days, we all will hear ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ for the first time. And the second time, and the third time….because let’s be real, we will all be binge listening to it over and over again! To keep up with our traditions, your hosts spend this episode speculating on what each of the 20 tracks will sound like. Play along with us, and come back after the album drops to see how right (or, more likely, wrong) they were!

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84. Mental Cages: Mastermind
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84. Mental Cages: Mastermind

What if Taylor Swift told us she was a mastermind? Well, she did! “Mastermind”, track 13 from ‘Midnights’, is a confessional track about how Taylor plays her life like chess: every move and countermove is intricately planned to get the result she desires. However, living life this way has proven to be draining for the pop star…if it’s true. She oscillates wildly between claiming her life is designed by fate and claiming she is her own divine architect. Join us as we break down this synth-driven bop!

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83. Is Taylor Swift the 'Anti-Hero' of the Climate? A Deep Dive into Taylor's Carbon Emissions
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83. Is Taylor Swift the 'Anti-Hero' of the Climate? A Deep Dive into Taylor's Carbon Emissions

Taylor Swift has mostly managed to dodge major controversy since her rise to fame 18 years ago. However, there is one topic that seems to haunt her: carbon emissions. In today’s episode, Dani & Olivia do a deep dive into Taylor’s carbon output. They aim to answer some questions: Why is high carbon output dangerous? How did Taylor become the poster child for climate change? Does Taylor even care about her carbon footprint? These controversial questions, among other hotly debated inquiries, are answered in today’s highly requested and intense episode.

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82. Tipsy Swifties: Stand Back WASTED With Us- It's Misheard Lyrics Time!
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82. Tipsy Swifties: Stand Back WASTED With Us- It's Misheard Lyrics Time!

What better way to come back from a midseason break than with a drunk episode? How about a highly requested episode? How about BOTH?

In today’s chaotic third installment of the Tipsy Swifties, join Olivia, Dani, and Rebecca as they play a drinking game using misheard lyrics that YOU submitted! Taylor is not always the best at enunciating, and sometimes her words get lost in the production. This can lead to some hilarious misinterpretations of her songs, and we are here to talk it all out over cocktails.

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81. Remaining Relevant 105: Castles Crumbling
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81. Remaining Relevant 105: Castles Crumbling

It's time for a throwback, Taylisteners! Our first ever mini series from Season 1, Remaining Relevant, is all about Taylor's songs that dive into her anxiety about staying famous. When 'Castles Crumbling' was released on Speak Now TV, it became apparent we needing to reopen our own vault to break this song down. Why did Taylor feel like her castle was crumbling down? Why was Hayley Williams featured? Was this song simply too personal to be released in 2010? Join us as we talk it all through!

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80. Can You Make a Career out of Being a Swiftie? ft. Bryan West of USA Today
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80. Can You Make a Career out of Being a Swiftie? ft. Bryan West of USA Today

In honor of this very happy Valentine's Day, your hosts have opted to take a special fan request and draft Lover! Lover, which came out in 2019, has always had a divisive nature amongst Swifties, with many people loathing it and many people loving it. Today, Olivia & Dani work through their own feelings about the album as they pick and choose their teams! Will Olivia sweep easy since it is her favorite album? Will Dani steal Olivia's faves to keep her from winning yet again? Be sure to vote on Instagram or on our Spotify poll!

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79. How Taylor Swift Influenced the Chiefs Super Bowl Victory
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79. How Taylor Swift Influenced the Chiefs Super Bowl Victory

Crazy to think that in her rookie season, Taylor Swift went to the Super Bowl and snagged a victory!

Ha, we are kidding of course. While it is fun to think that Taylor had something to do with the Kansas City Chiefs being this year's Super Bowl victors, maybe it is just luck! Or teamwork from the Chiefs. Or maybe, it's ~TayVoodoo~. In this episode, your hosts go through each game Taylor attended, and they chat about Taylor's undeniable impact on Travis, the Chiefs, and the NFL as a whole.

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78. Fantasy Football (Taylor's Version) - Round 4: Lover
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78. Fantasy Football (Taylor's Version) - Round 4: Lover

In honor of this very happy Valentine's Day, your hosts have opted to take a special fan request and draft Lover! Lover, which came out in 2019, has always had a divisive nature amongst Swifties, with many people loathing it and many people loving it. Today, Olivia & Dani work through their own feelings about the album as they pick and choose their teams! Will Olivia sweep easy since it is her favorite album? Will Dani steal Olivia's faves to keep her from winning yet again? Be sure to vote on Instagram or on our Spotify poll!

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77. State of Swift: Chiefs Game PDA from the Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department
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77. State of Swift: Chiefs Game PDA from the Chairman of the Tortured Poets Department

This episode has a crazy title to match the crazy couple of weeks we have experienced in the Swiftie world! Taylor Swift's leading man, Travis Kelce, helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to their fourth Super Bowl game in five years...and our favorite couple engaged in some saccharine PDA to celebrate! The following weekend, Taylor not only made Grammy's history by being the only four-time Album of the Year winner, but she also announced her next project- 'The Tortured Poets Department.' Join us in today's State of Swift as we talk through the highs and lows of the last couple of wild weeks!

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76. A Look Into "Fan Favorites": Yours, Mine, & Our Top 3 Songs on Each Album
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76. A Look Into "Fan Favorites": Yours, Mine, & Our Top 3 Songs on Each Album

For every single Taylor Swift song, there is someone out there that would defend it to their grave. But, as we know, some songs receive more flowers than others when it comes to love from fans. In today's opinion-based episode, Dani & Olivia chat through their "Big 3" from each album, as well as tackling the favorites from around ~8,000 polled Swifties. Get ready to join in the conversation about what makes a fan favorite track!

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75. Taylearning (University Version) - A Degree in Swiftology?
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75. Taylearning (University Version) - A Degree in Swiftology?

Okay Taylisteners, are you ready to go back to college with us? In today's fun episode, your hosts tackle the newest collegiate trend: Taylor Swift-themed classes! Of course, you can't really get an education solely in Taylor Swift (unless you listen to us every week), but you can use Taylor as a vessel to learn about a variety of topics, from psychology to economics to engineering. Tune in to hear how universities around the world are using the hype of Taylor to further education, and stick around to the very end for a special surprise reserved for our top Taylistener students.

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74. Mental Cages: Peace
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74. Mental Cages: Peace

"Would it be enough if she could never give him peace?" That's what Taylor laments throughout 'Peace,' a gutting track from 2020's Folklore. There is much to be anxious about in a relationship, especially for Taylor Swift. Is what she can give to someone worth the things she cannot? Is a lack of peace a deal breaker? What can we learn from this song about Taylor's thoughts on the media in her relationship, and what can we learn about ourselves? Tune in to find out!

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73. Taylor Swift's 2023 Year in Review (+ 2024 Taylor Predictions!)
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73. Taylor Swift's 2023 Year in Review (+ 2024 Taylor Predictions!)

There's no doubt about it: 2023 was the biggest year in Taylor's career so far! With more awards than ever before, more public appearances than we've had in the previous six years combined, even more records broken...Taylor was at the top of her game last year. To honor that, today's episode is a 'Taylor Wrapped' of sorts; a highlight reel from the Year of Swift! As a bonus, stick around to the end to hear Olivia & Dani make their 2024 Taylor Swift-related predictions.

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72. I Think You Should 'Speak Now': A World Tour Review
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72. I Think You Should 'Speak Now': A World Tour Review

Happy New Year! As we enter the new year, we noticed it's been a couple of months without The Eras Tour, and your hosts are in withdrawal. To hold us over until Taylor hits the stage again, we revisited the Speak Now World Tour, which took place from 2011-2012. Go back in time with us as we talk through the set list, reception, and impact of this nostalgia-packed show!

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71. All About the Track 5s
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71. All About the Track 5s

Taylor Swift once called her Track 5s "legendary" amongst Swifties, and she was correct- they are legendary! Traditionally, Track 5 on any Taylor album is the moment where the shell of the album cracks, and out pours Taylor's most vulnerable song. These ten songs are all quite different, but they all share one thing: Taylor thinks of them as the emotional breaking point, so fans pay extra attention to these tracks. Hear your hosts rate them, rank them, and replace them in the final Taylearning episode of 2023!

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70. Mental Cages: Delicate
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70. Mental Cages: Delicate

1 2 3, LGB! In today's episode, we revisit the Mental Cages series to deep dive into one of Taylor's biggest singles from the Reputation Era: Delicate. This catchy synth ballad is vulnerable and repetitive, the latter of which indicates how anxious she was at the beginning of her most major relationship to date. How can you be so confident and so anxious at the same time? We break that contradictory feeling down in this quick episode!

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69. Dear Taylistener: "Words of a Sister" - I Caught My Best Friend Having An Affair With My Husband
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69. Dear Taylistener: "Words of a Sister" - I Caught My Best Friend Having An Affair With My Husband

This is an exciting day! Not only is it Taylor's birthday, but it is also the start of our newest mini series: Dear Taylistener. This series, inspired directly by one of our listeners, is a unique take on an advice column where we give advice in applicable Taylor Swift songs. Today's question is about handling the fallout of a friendship after catching your "friend" in an affair with your husband. This series leaves us wondering, WWTD (what would Taylor do)? All that's left to do is have your hosts try to answer that, using her music to guide us!

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68. The Muses: Harry Styles (From the Vault) Pt. 3 - The Songs Harry Wrote About Taylor
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68. The Muses: Harry Styles (From the Vault) Pt. 3 - The Songs Harry Wrote About Taylor

Welcome, Swifties & Harries alike, to the finale of this massive 3-part series! In today's thick episode, Olivia & Dani talk through every single Harry/One Direction song that has any decent speculation on being inspired by Taylor Swift. People like to give Taylor a hard time for being so confessional in her songs, but what if Harry is even more so? Join us as we conclude this journey and decide which songs have no chance, some chance, or a near 100% chance of being inspired by Taylor...and brought into the world by Harry's voice (or pen).

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67. The Muses: Harry Styles (From the Vault) Pt. 2 - The Songs Taylor Wrote About Harry
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67. The Muses: Harry Styles (From the Vault) Pt. 2 - The Songs Taylor Wrote About Harry

Talk about a hefty title! And a hefty episode to match. Last week, your hosts talked you through the intricate details of the 'Haylor' timeline to give you factual context of what went down between the two pop stars. Today, your hosts build on the more speculative nature of their relationship as they go through every song that so much as *might* have been written about Harry from Taylor's perspective. Some songs have damning evidence, some have almost no chance of being Harry-inspired, and many are somewhere in the middle. Get your mugs ready- we have some tea to spill.

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