“You can beat the heat, if you beat the charges too.” Is Florida!!! the wildest track on The Tortured Poets Department? In this chaotic, heartfelt, and unfiltered episode, we break down Taylor Swift’s "Florida!!!" line by line—from the millennial whiplash of “my friends all smell like weed or little babies” to hurricane metaphors, fugitive fantasies, and haunted mansions.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Florida by Lauren Groff

The Haunted Mansion (Disney)

The Good Place (NBC) Sweet Home Alabama Mean Girls

Pocahontas

Rippling corporate espionage case

***

Episode Highlights:

[03:00] Let’s start with the title

[06:45] “My friends all smell like weed or little babies”

[10:03] “Your home’s only a town you’re just a guest in”

[16:33] “Hurricane with my name when it came”

[21:15] “Yes I’m haunted but I’m feeling just fine”

[29:58] The bridge - remember, there are two speakers!

[39:26] The purpose

**

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“He was sunshine, I was midnight rain.” Dive into how Taylor Swift masterfully uses weather imagery - from romantic rain in 'Fearless' to metaphorical storms in 'Midnight Rain' and destructive hurricanes in 'Florida!!!' (feat. Florence + The Machine). Join us for an exploration of meteorological metaphors in Swift's songwriting across different eras.

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Mentioned in this episode:

King Lear

The Great Gatsby

Wuthering Heights

E13: Metaphors (“Clean”)

E10: Deep Dive - Red

Florida

***

Episode Highlights:

[01:09] Intro to rain songs and weather

[06:48] “Fearless,” Fearless

[17:33] “Midnight Rain,” Midnights

[29:49] “Florida!!!” The Tortured Poets Department

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“I said I love you, you say nothing back.” This week, we're deep diving into "Say Don't Go," from 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault). Picking up from last week's circus-themed episode, we unravel how Taylor crafts a lyrical nightmare of helplessness, packed tight with metaphors and rhetorical questions that leave listeners suspended in emotional free fall.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Six The Musical The Break-Up (2006 film)

Mad Men

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

***

Episode Highlights:

[03:09] “Oh no, oh no, I’m unarmed”

[07:36] “I’m standing on a tightrope, alone”

[14:56] “Why’d you have to lead me on?”

[21:44] “And I’m yours but you’re not mine”

[32:10] “Why’d you have to make me want you”

[42:42] “But you won’t…”

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“I was tame, I was gentle til the circus life made me mean.” This week on AP Taylor Swift, we delve into the recurring motif of the circus in Taylor Swift’s discography. From the tightropes of emotional vulnerability to the grand illusions of public persona, we analyze how Taylor employs circus imagery to convey themes of performance, control, and otherness.

This episode includes discussions on the historical exploitation within circus culture, including forced labor, racism, and animal cruelty. For more information, we recommend the article from the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the podcast Circus Stories for firsthand accounts.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Circus Stories Podcast

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Night Circus

The Phantom of the Opera The Prestige (2006 film) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Disney’s Dumbo and Bambi

60 - Witches

61- Deep Dive “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”

The Second Sex

Great Expectations

Episode Highlights:

[00:45] Introduction to the circus metaphor in literature and music [10:50] “Say Don’t Go” 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault) [24:53] “…So It Goes” reputation [33:26] “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” The Tortured Poets Department

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“Me and Karma vibe like that.” This week on AP Taylor Swift Podcast we dive deep into “Karma” from Midnights and its surprising literary connections. Continuing from last week's exploration of Emily Dickinson, we unravel how Taylor Swift plays with themes of fate, justice, and reincarnation in this song. We analyze the song's vivid metaphors, from keeping your side of the street clean to flexing like a goddamn acrobat—wait, but who’s flexing? Plus, we debate whether Taylor herself becomes karma by the song’s end and what that means for her storytelling.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Emily Dickinson
• “Kingdom of Heaven”
• Spiderman
• Aladdin
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• My Lady Jane
• Bridgerton
• Mean Girls
• John Tucker Must Die

***

Episode Highlights:

[01:46] What is Karma?

[07:08] “You’re talking shit for the hell of it”

[10:21] “I keep my side of the street clean”

[18:01] “Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is a god”

[22:51] “Spider boy, king of thieves”

[30:20] “Ask me why so many fade but I’m still here”

[35:50] “Karma’s gonna track you down”

[44:44] The purpose of “Karma”

“And I was catching my breath, barefoot in the wildest winter…” What happens when a 21st-century American poet meets a 19th-century one? In this Show & Tell episode, we explore the literary lineage between Taylor Swift and Emily Dickinson—two iconic writers whose work spans centuries but shares unmistakable DNA (literally—did you know they might be distant cousins?!). From slant rhymes and stylized punctuation to themes of isolation, longing, and hope, we unpack the poetic parallels between Dickinson’s timeless verses and Taylor’s lyrics. In true Show & Tell fashion, each of us brings a favorite Dickinson poem paired with a Swift song that touch on shared motifs such as separation, isolation, and hope. Tune in to find out which modern-day Taylor tracks sound like 19th-century poetry—and why we think Emily might vibe with Evermore.

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Mentioned in this episode:

The Letters of Emily Dickinson

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson’s Hope is the Thing with Feathers

They Put Us Far Apart (Poem 474)

It Was Not Death, for I Stood Up (Poem 355)

Message in a Bottle – Taylor Swift

Evermore – Taylor Swift Karma – Taylor Swift Beauty and the Beast (live-action & Broadway versions) Hamilton

Taylor Swift by the Book Ancestry.com – Taylor & Emily’s distant cousin connection Emily Dickinson Museum Tikvah (Hebrew word for hope)

***

Episode Highlights:

[06:26] “Message in a Bottle” + they put us far apart

[16:03] “Evermore” + It was not death, for I stood up

[29:31] “Karma” + Hope is a thing with feathers

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“It’s a thug story tell me can you handle that” In honor of April Fool’s Day, we’re diving into Taylor Swift’s funniest, most unexpected performances — from self-parody and satire to flat-out absurdity. This week, we explore Thug Story (2008), her 2009 SNL monologue, “Monologue Song (La La La)”, and the 2021 SNL Three Sad Virgins sketch to understand how Swift uses humor to subvert expectations, reclaim her narrative, and show off her impeccable comedic timing.

Plus: why baking cookies is the running gag that won’t quit, what a “benign violation” is, and whether “Cats” was actually meant to be a comedy.

Take our listener survey: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/survey/2658723

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Mentioned in this episode:

“Thug Story” feat. T-Pain (CMT Awards, 2009)

Taylor Swift’s 2009 SNL Monologue Song (la la la) Please Don’t Destroy - Three Sad Virgins (ft. Taylor Swift) - SNL 2021 Only Murders in the Building (Hulu) What’s So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh by Giovanni Sabato Anatomy of the Gag by Václav Havel

Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture by Jesse David Fox Nanette by Hannah Gadsby (Netflix) APTS E19: Satire

***

Episode Highlights:

[04:03] “Thug Story”

[11:04] “Monologue Song (La La La)”

[23:29] “Three Sad Virgins”

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.

“What if he’s written “mine” on my upper thigh” This week we dive into “Guilty as Sin?” from The Tortured Poets Department. We explore how Taylor Swift uses religious metaphors, what the imagery of cages and wolves might mean, the complexities of fantasies, desires, and moral dilemmas, particularly in the context of relationships and societal expectations. Just another light episode from your unofficial Professors of Taylor Swift!

Take our listener survey: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/survey/2658723

Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe

Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com

Mentioned in this episode:

The Downtown Lights by The Blue Nile (1989)

Beauty and the Beast (Disney) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Song of Solomon (Hebrew Bible) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

***

Episode Highlights:

[00:18] "Guilty as sin?"

[05:50] "Am I allowed to cry?"

[10:34] "Crashing into him tonight, he's a paradox."

[18:33] "What if he's written 'mine' on my upper thigh — only in my mind?"

[28:30] "I keep these longings locked"

[40:00] "What if I rolled the stone away? They’re gonna crucify me anyway."

[45:00] “I choose you and me — religiously.”

[50:41] The purpose of the song

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree →linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts
• Libro.fm → tinyurl.com/aptslibro

Contact us at aptaylorswift@gmail.com

Affiliate Codes:

Krowned Krystals - krownedkrystals.com use code APTS at checkout for 10% off!

Libro.fm - Looking for an audiobook? Check out our Libro.fm playlist and use code APTS30 for 30% off books found here tinyurl.com/aptslibro

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.