"They say the road gets hard, and you get lost when you're led by blind faith." This week we're going line-by-line through "False God" (Lover, 2019). We trace the blind faith, the confession and forgiveness, and the New York City vs. West Village metaphor to figure out who's the deity and who's the devotee in this relationship.

Check out more at aptaylorswift.com 

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next. Subscribe: http://aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

[00:15] What is a “false god”?

[08:29] "Like I'm not your favorite town... I'm New York City" 

[15:38] "You get lost when you're led by blind faith" 

[25:46] "Even if it's a false god, we'd still worship this love"

[40:09] "Heaven's a thing... hell is when I fight with you" 

[46:18] "You're the West Village"

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

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.

And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven" This week we're looking at Taylor Swift's lyrics through the lens of God as a literary symbol — the ultimate judge, the absent silent one, and the lover. Maansi brings in "Soon You'll Get Better" (Lover, 2019), Jodi covers "False God" (Lover, 2019), and Jenn digs into "Would've, Could've, Should've" (Midnights, 2022).

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

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 there when you said, forever and always." In this deep dive, we crack open why "Forever and Always" is a bait and switch song, tracing how Taylor takes a romantic idiom and flips it into a play by play of a relationship falling apart in real time. We trace the whole arc: the extraordinary to ordinary swap in that first "I believe it was a Tuesday" line, the low-key violence hiding inside a single word ("caught"), and the moment a few lines in when she stops calling it a relationship and starts calling it "this thing." By the bridge, even the chorus gets rewritten. So what actually happened between them? All three of us landed somewhere different, and that's kind of the whole point of a deep dive.

Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next. Subscribe: http://aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Episode Highlights:

[02:16] What "forever and always" actually means, and why the title uses it ironically

[08:54] "Caught" versus "hold": the violence and the comfort hiding in her word choice

[25:30] The chorus hits: "I stare at the phone"

[41:14] The universal ache of not knowing what you did wrong

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

Follow us 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

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.

"Dear Reader, If it feels like a trap, you're already in one." This week we're kicking off Season 4 by looking at Taylor Swift's lyrics through reader-response theory. The framework, pioneered by Stanley Fish, argues meaning isn't fixed in a text but created in the act of reading—or in our case, listening! Jodi digs into "Forever and Always" (Fearless, 2008), Maansi takes on "Peace" (folklore, 2020), and Jenn closes it out with "Dear Reader" (Midnights, 2022) — a song that's basically begging for this exact analysis. Listen and learn why Swifties are the epitome of an interpretive community.

Learn more at aptaylorswift.com

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

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.

“Fatefully, I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me” This week, we're diving into the timeless influence of Greek mythology in Taylor Swift's music by exploring connections between Taylor's songs and classic Greek myths. Jodi finds links between Demeter and Persephone’s sorrow in The Hymn to Demeter and the Folklore song "My Tears Ricochet.” Maansi shows us how  "Long Story Short” sounds like Odysseus recounting his epic journey as he returns home. And Jenn gets into the ancient story of the Labyrinth and how it reflects themes of self-discovery and transformation in "Labyrinth." Is Taylor Swift a modern-day Homer? Listen and find out! 

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

Stay up to date: www.aptaylorswift.com 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Mythology, Edith Hamilton

The Iliad, Homer

The Odyssey, Homer

Metamorphoses, Ovid

Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

E44: Metaphors + “The Tortured Poets Department”

E22: Mastermind 

Homeric Hymns 

The Hymn to Demeter

Hadestown (musical)

Hercules (Disney animated film)

E54: One Year Anniversary of AP Taylor Swift

Circe, Madeline Miller

Fantasyland by Kurt Andersen

The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Stephen Fry’s Mythos, Heroes, and Troy 

Episode Highlights: 

Introduction to Greek Mythology

Follow us! 

Contact us at [email protected]

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.

“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. 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.

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next.

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Mentioned in this episode: 

The Letters of Emily Dickinson

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

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

Taylor Swift by the Book

***

Episode Highlights: 

[6:26] “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! 

Contact us at [email protected] 

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.

"Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things..." In this deep dive episode, we dissect one of Taylor Swift's most iconic satirical masterpieces: "Blank Space" from 1989. Join us as we unpack the magic, madness, heaven, and sin of a song that dared to ask: what if we owned the narrative instead of fighting it?

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next.

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode Highlights:

[04:29] Diving into “Blank Space” 

[10:15] “New money, suit and tie” - character analysis 

[17:27] Analyzing the chorus

[24:31] Shakespearean references 

[30:50] “Cherry lips, crystal skies” vs. “stolen kisses, pretty lies” 

[37:25] "I get drunk on jealousy"

[40:44] Bridge analysis: "Boys only want love if it's torture" 

[46:59] Getting into the purpose of “Blank Space” 

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

"I'm only me when I'm with you" This week on AP Taylor Swift, we're diving into an AP Lit favorite: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (1813). We trace Elizabeth and Jane Bennet's unshakeable sisterhood through "I'm Only Me When I'm With You," relive Darcy's catastrophically bad proposal through "Haunted," and land on "Lavender Haze" for a look at gossip, reputation, and what it means to fall in love in a world where marriage is a woman's only real option. Along the way: the literary canon, Regency courtship logistics, Bridgerton comparisons, and a debate about whether Elizabeth would be a Hinge girl.

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next.

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Songs Discussed

"I'm Only Me When I'm With You"

Taylor Swift, Track 12 (2006)

Written by: Taylor Swift, Robert Ellis Orrall, Angelo Petraglia

"Haunted"

Speak Now (2010) / Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (2023)

Written by: Taylor Swift

"Lavender Haze"

Midnights, Track 1 (2022)

Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Jahaan Sweet, Mark "Sounwave" Spears, Sam Dew, Zoë Kravitz

Episode Highlights

[01:01] Setting the scene: Pride and Prejudice, published 1813, and "a truth universally acknowledged"

[06:48] "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" — Jenn's pick and the case for Jane and Elizabeth as the book's real love story

[30:36] "Haunted" — Maansi's pick, staged around the infamous first proposal

[48:24] "Lavender Haze" — Jodi's pick, tied to the novel's opening line about marriage

Mentioned in this episode:

Books

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — Bookshop.org

Emma, Jane Austen — Bookshop.org

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë — Bookshop.org

Pride & Prejudice (2005) — JustWatch

Bridgerton — JustWatch

& Juliet (musical) — Official site

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at  [email protected]

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 nice to believe, when you think Tim McGraw." This week on AP Taylor Swift, we're going line-by-line through Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw" (debut, 2006) — her very first single. We trace a Chevy truck down some back roads, argue about whether "that's a lie" means something different by the end of the song than it did at the beginning, float (and mostly reject) a death theory, and land on why a 16-year-old writing about one summer might be one of the most quietly ambitious songwriting choices of her career.

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates.

Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next.

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes

Mentioned in this episode:

[03:38] "He said the way my blue eyes shined put those Georgia stars to shame that night. I said, that's a lie."

[05:43] "Just a boy in a Chevy truck"

[08:01] "I was right there beside him all summer long"

[10:46] "When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think my favorite song"

[11:35] "When you think happiness, I hope you think that little black dress"

[15:58] "September saw a month of tears"

[19:25] "In a box beneath my bed is a letter that you've never read from three summers back"

[33:55] Purpose of the song

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

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.

“Why you gotta be so mean?” In this week’s episode of AP Taylor Swift, we put “Mean” (Speak Now), “nothing new” (Red, Taylor’s Version), and “mirrorball” (folklore) under the lens of feminist literary theory. We talk about the male gaze, the ingenue, gendered violence imagery, the punishment of “unlikeable” women, and why a song written over a decade ago can still feel like it was written yesterday.

Two ways to get more of AP Taylor Swift:

Substack: free subscribers get episode updates. Paid subscribers get After School: bonus episodes, our full written archive, and a vote in what we cover next.

Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes.

Mentioned in this episode

Episode Highlights

[00:23] Welcome to the Show & Tell — Women’s History Month and a primer on feminist literary theory

[04:59] “Mean” (Speak Now) — gendered weapon imagery and “you, with your words like knives and swords”

[20:37] “nothing new” (Red, Taylor’s Version) — false empowerment and “girls go out and have your fun”

[37:32] “mirrorball” (folklore) — adapting yourself for others’ approval

Follow AP Taylor Swift podcast on social!

Contact us at [email protected]

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.