AP Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is the Shakespeare of our time. And we can prove it.
AP Taylor Swift is a weekly literary analysis podcast for Swifties who crave smart, funny, and approachable conversations about Taylor's lyrics. Hosts Maansi Dommeti, Jenn Holcomb, and Jodi Innerfield are three longtime Swifties whose different lives mean they never hear a song the same way. Our Show & Tell episodes connect a theme or rhetorical device to songs across her catalog (think Ecocriticism to Hilary Duff); and our Deep Dive episodes go line-by-line through one song to discover what it's really about. Whether you've got the Eras Tour setlist memorized, or you just know 'Shake It Off,’ class is in session.
New episodes weekly. Subscribe for updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
Taylor Swift is the Shakespeare of our time. And we can prove it.
AP Taylor Swift is a weekly literary analysis podcast for Swifties who crave smart, funny, and approachable conversations about Taylor's lyrics. Hosts Maansi Dommeti, Jenn Holcomb, and Jodi Innerfield are three longtime Swifties whose different lives mean they never hear a song the same way. Our Show & Tell episodes connect a theme or rhetorical device to songs across her catalog (think Ecocriticism to Hilary Duff); and our Deep Dive episodes go line-by-line through one song to discover what it's really about. Whether you've got the Eras Tour setlist memorized, or you just know 'Shake It Off,’ class is in session.
New episodes weekly. Subscribe for updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
Episodes

Jul 3, 2026
Jul 3, 2026
46 min
"I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings." To celebrate Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding, we each picked a song from Taylor's discography that captures a different perspective on marriage: the fairy tale proposal of "Love Story" (Fearless, 2008), the anti-materialist love declaration in "Paper Rings" (Lover, 2019), and the suburban married-life contentment of "Wi$h Li$t" (The Life of a Showgirl, 2025).
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
First 50 people to grab a Substack After School annual plan get 40% off: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/wishlistmemberdiscount
Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes
Mentioned in this episode:
E32: Love Story Song Analysis
De Beers Diamond Marketing Campaign History
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
***
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Congratulations to the happy couple!
[06:52] "Love Story" — the fairy tale proposal
[17:09] "Paper Rings" — I don't need the shiny things
[32:35] "Wishlist" — boss up, settle down
[46:00] The songs we didn't pick (and why)
[48:44] What was their first dance?
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.
Jul 3, 2026
46 min

Jul 1, 2026
Jul 1, 2026
1 hr 5 min
“Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind” This week, we finally try to find the actual meaning behind Taylor Swift's "willow" (evermore, 2020), starting with the witchy mythology behind the title (hello, Hecate, Greek goddess of magic and the underworld) and tracing a real power dynamic underneath 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. Subscribe: http://aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
First 50 people to grab a Substack After School annual plan get 40% off: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/wishlistmemberdiscount
Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes
Mentioned in this episode:
"willow", evermore (2020)
“The Odyssey” Deep Dive (E136)
Aesthetic Theory (E29)
Witches (E60)
Hecate, Greek goddess of magic and the underworld
Harry Potter and the Whomping Willow
Pocahontas and Grandmother Willow
"WAP", Cardi B
How I Met Your Mother
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Intro — continuing last week's Odyssey deep dive into "willow"
[01:59] The title: willow mythology, Hecate, and witchy vibes
[05:26] “I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night”
[17:07] “Lost in your current like a priceless wine”
[28:55] “Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind”
[42:49] “I come back stronger than a 90s trend”
[59:04] 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.
Jul 1, 2026
1 hr 5 min

Jun 24, 2026
Jun 24, 2026
57 min
“In silent screams and wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this. This love is good. This love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead.”
This week we’re setting sail on one of history’s greatest epics, Homer’s The Odyssey, and asking a very important question... did Taylor Swift write it? (We’re mostly joking. Mostly.) In this Show & Tell episode, we each make the case for a Taylor Swift song that illuminates a different facet of the Odyssey, from Penelope’s 20-year vigil to Odysseus weeping on a gorgeous island, to the sirens, the wine-dark sea, and a very significant scar. Along the way, the hosts dig into questions of translation and interpretation — particularly the significance of Emily Wilson’s landmark female translation of the text — discuss the role of Athena in the story of the epic, and geek out about the archery contest that shows up in both the Odyssey and two Indian epics. Plus: the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation, the musical Epic by Jorge Rivera, Madeline Miller’s Circe, and why All Too Well (10 Minute Version) might just be Taylor’s own Odyssey.
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
First 50 people to grab a Substack After School annual plan get 40% off: https://aptaylorswift.substack.com/wishlistmemberdiscount
Apple Podcasts: paid subscribers get ad-free episodes, early episode access, and bonus episodes
Songs Discussed in This Episode:
This Love — Taylor Swift (1989, 2014) | Written by Taylor Swift and Nathan Chapman
I Don’t Want to Live Forever — Taylor Swift & Zayn (Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, 2017) | Written by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sam Dew
Willow — Taylor Swift (evermore, 2020) | Written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner
Honorable Mentions:
Long Story Short (evermore) — previously discussed in our Greek Mythology episode (E67)
Breathe (Fearless)
Treacherous (Red)
The Great War (Midnights)
The Story of Us (Speak Now)
High Infidelity (Midnights)
Castle’s Crumbling (feat. Hayley Williams, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version))
Dear Reader (Midnights)
State of Grace (Red)
Gold Rush (evermore)
Mentioned in This Episode:
The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Emily Wilson)
The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Robert Fagles)
Circe, Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood
Epic: The Musical, Jorge Rivera-Herrans
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (upcoming film)
All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) — mentioned as a potential “Taylor’s Odyssey”
Ulysses, James Joyce (briefly mentioned)
Episode Highlights:
[~00:01] Welcome and why the Odyssey, why now
[~10:45] Maansi’s pick: This Love as Penelope’s story — the weaving scheme, the suitors, and letting go
[~24:00] Jenn’s pick: I Don’t Want to Live Forever as Odysseus refusing immortality on Calypso’s island
[~38:27] Jodi’s pick: Willow — ships, the wine-dark sea, Charybdis, the sirens, and the bait-and-switch of Odysseus’ return
[~01:00:19] Honorable mentions: Breathe, Treacherous, The Great War, The Story of Us, High Infidelity, Castle’s Crumbling, Dear Reader, State of Grace, Gold Rush
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.
Jun 24, 2026
57 min

Jun 17, 2026
Jun 17, 2026
49 min
"A mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you." This week we're deep diving "Cold As You" from Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album (2006) — and it's a heavy one. What reads on the surface as a teen heartbreak song turns out to be a meditation on indifference, power imbalance, and the particular kind of scar that forms not from cruelty, but from being simply not cared about.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe. After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!
Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
Mentioned in this episode:
"Cold As You," Taylor Swift (2006)
"Exile" (feat. Bon Iver), folklore (2020)
"Teardrops on My Guitar," Taylor Swift (2006)
"Honey," The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
"Look What You Made Me Do," reputation (2017)
Kelly Clarkson, "Walk Away" (2004)
Banksy, Girl with Balloon
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
Episode Highlights:[02:07] "When you take, you take the very best of me"
[11:06] "What a shame, what a rainy ending given to a perfect day"
[16:42] "You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray"
[29:00] Bridge: "You never did give a damn thing, honey, but I cried, cried for you"
[35:43] "Every smile you fake is so condescending — counting all the scars you've made"
[41:59] Purpose: what this song is really about
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
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.
Jun 17, 2026
49 min

Jun 15, 2026
Jun 15, 2026
16 min
"How's your heart after breaking mine?" This is a preview of our paid After School episode, a continuation of our "Fearless" album deep dive.
We go through every Platinum Edition bonus track and Fearless (Taylor's Version) vault track and ask the only question that matters: why didn't these make the original 13? We argue "Mr. Perfectly Fine" was too pointed for a 19-year-old still being marketed as "sweet, neat, and age-appropriate," that "Superstar" was the PR-safe version of the same heartbreak, and that the "Forever & Always" piano version is the stages of grief in song form.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe.
After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!
Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Luna Halo’s original “Untouchable” (2007)
Valentine’s Day (2010)
Hacks (HBO Max)
American Fantasy by Emma Straub
Ep 98: Unreliable Narrators (Mr. Perfectly Fine)
Extra Credit essay on Forever Winter and the stages of grief
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.
Jun 15, 2026
16 min

Jun 10, 2026
Jun 10, 2026
37 min
"You drew stars around my scars, but now I'm bleeding." This week, we're doing a Show & Tell episode on one of Taylor's most recurring literary devices: scars. From the ice-cold wounds of “Cold As You” from her debut album to the wistful “cardigan” of folklore and the Kingpin-Taylor energy of “CANCELLED!” from The Life of a Showgirl, we trace how Taylor's use of scars has evolved from pure pain to reclaimed power. We talk Odysseus, Harry Potter, Death Eaters (yes, really), shattering glass ceilings, and what it means to turn a mark of suffering into a VIP passport. Join us as we explore what scars say about heroes, villains, and the very specific experience of being a woman in your 30s who has finally decided the wounds were worth it.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe. After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!
Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
Songs Discussed in This Episode:
Cold As You — Taylor Swift (Taylor Swift, 2006) — written by Taylor Swift & Liz Rose
Cardigan — Taylor Swift (folklore, 2020) — written by Taylor Swift & Aaron Dessner
CANCELLED! — Taylor Swift (The Life of a Showgirl, 2025) — written by Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift
Referenced in This Episode:
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling
The Odyssey, Homer
The Mufasa (2024 film)
Episode Highlights:
[00:03] Intro: Welcome to the Show & Tell on Scars — not the Lion King villain (but kind of)
[07:17] Cold As You (debut, 2006): Ice burns, emotional wounds, and counting scars vs. counting stars
[14:20] Cardigan (folklore, 2020): "You drew stars around my scars, but now I'm bleeding"
[25:00] CANCELLED! (The Life of a Showgirl, 2025): Matching scars as passport to the underworld
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.
Jun 10, 2026
37 min

Jun 3, 2026
Jun 3, 2026
1 hr 14 min
"It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.” This week, we (finally) go line-by-line through what might be Taylor Swift's most psychologically dense song: “Anti-Hero” from Midnights (2022). From the Hamlet-coded antihero definition, to the “Beauty and the Beast” reference lurking in "tale as old as time," to ghosts and Freud, this song keeps delivering new angles. We each came to the song with our own anxieties, and we leave with three potentially different purposes of this high-anxiety, deeply revealing song.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe.
After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics! Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Beauty and the Beast (Disney)
Dexter (Showtime)
Younger (Paramount+)
30 Rock, "Seinfeldvision" — the "sexy baby" episode
"Blank Space," 1989 (2014)
The Miss Americana Documentary (Netflix)
Lena Dunham's Substack
🔎 In this episode:
Episode Highlights:
[01:34] “Antihero” defined
[05:45] “I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser”
[11:06] "All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room"
[19:06] "Tale as old as time"
[28:00] “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me”
[38:00] "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby and I'm a monster on the hill"
[45:00] “Pierced through the heart but never killed”
[55:06] The bridge!
[1:03:00] Purpose of the song “Anti-Hero”
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.
Jun 3, 2026
1 hr 14 min

May 27, 2026
May 27, 2026
39 min
“Seems the only one who doesn’t see your beauty is the face in the mirror looking back at you.”This week, we’re doing a Show and Tell on one of literature’s most enduring symbols: the mirror. From Narcissus to Dorian Gray, Snow White’s magic mirror to Alice Through the Looking Glass, mirrors have long served as devices of identity, vanity, the supernatural, and the soul, and Taylor Swift is no stranger to the motif. We trace mirrors across three songs: Tied Together with a Smile (Taylor Swift, 2006), Begin Again (Red, 2012), and Anti-Hero (Midnights, 2022). Along the way, we explore distorted self-perception and the inner child, the mirror as a post-breakup identity reset, why Taylor would rather stare directly at the sun than face her own reflection, and what social media has to do with all of it. Plus: Dorian Gray, Narcissus, vampires without souls, the Bloody Mary game, and an accidental Justin Timberlake shout-out.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content:
aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe
After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!
Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
Mentioned in this episode:
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Alice Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
Reflection — Mahesh Dattani (Indian play)
Reflection — Mulan (1998 film)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)
Greek Mythology: Narcissus
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Mirror of Erised), J.K. Rowling
Tied Together with a Smile — Taylor Swift (2006)
Begin Again — Taylor Swift, Red (2012)
Anti-Hero — Taylor Swift, Midnights (2022)
Episode Highlights:
[01:13] Mirrors in literature and the arts: identity, vanity, and the soul
[09:00] Song 1: Tied Together with a Smile — the fractured self and distorted physical perception
[23:52] Song 2: Begin Again — “Took a deep breath in the mirror”
[34:11] Song 3: Anti-Hero — “I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror”
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
May 27, 2026
39 min

May 20, 2026
May 20, 2026
51 min
“I was ridin’ shotgun with my hair undone,” and the rest is history. This week, we do a full line-by-line deep dive into a classic, “Our Song” (Taylor Swift, 2006). Join us as we discuss the self-referential recursion (she wrote a song about their song, and that song is their song) and the sounds and silences Taylor chose to define a teenage romance. This is Taylor before anyone believed in her, holding the pen, writing herself into her debut album.
For more on "Our Song" in the context of Taylor's full debut album, become a paid subscriber at aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe — we go deep on the album in our After School series.
📩 Want more? Subscribe to our Substack for free to read our Extra Credit essays: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe. For more on "Our Song" in the context of Taylor's full debut album, become a paid subscriber— we go deep on the album in our After School series and give you exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics!
🎧 Listen to APTS on all platforms:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Podbean
Mentioned in this episode:
“Replay,” Zendaya
“Replay,” Iyaz
“Your Song,” Elton John
Inception, 2010
Mean Girls, 2004
“God is a DJ,” Pink
American Beauty, 1999
Inferno, Dante Alighieri
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Harry Potter, JK Rowling
***
Episode Highlights
[03:40] A song about a song
[11:02] "Baby" - a term of endearment
[22:55] The "Replay" Era
[30:29] A very short, very dramatic bridge
[37:01] She is the writer
📲 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
Featured in Axios Indianapolis.
#TaylorSwift #OurSong #TaylorSwiftLyrics #LiteraryAnalysis #SwiftieTok #TaylorSwiftDeepDive
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.
May 20, 2026
51 min

May 18, 2026
May 18, 2026
15 min
“It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless.” Over on our paid feed on Substack, we’'re in our Fearless era (literally), diving deep into Taylor's second album track by track for our After School paid subscribers. We go through all 13 original tracks, from the sparkly country-pop opening of "Fearless" to the quietly defiant closer "Change,” examining what each song adds to the album, what literary and emotional threads connect them, and how this era set the template Taylor would spend the next eras of her career perfecting. Along the way, we track the evolution of Taylor's fearlessness from a teenager writing on tour buses to the artist who re-recorded her masters and looked the whole industry dead in the eye.
Subscribe for free to get episode updates or upgrade to paid to get our After School premium content: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe.
After School subscribers get monthly bonus episodes, exclusive content, and early access to help shape future topics! Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com
This episode is exclusively for our paid subscribers. Thank you for supporting AP Taylor Swift!
Mentioned in this episode:
Album context, album art, and the “Fearless” era’s place in Taylor’s discography
Track 1: “Fearless”, previously covered in Episode 88: Weather Songs
Track 2: “Fifteen”, previously covered in Episode 124: Time & Episode 125: Deep Dive
Track 3: “Love Story”, previously covered in Episode 31: Shakespeare & Episode 32 Deep Dive
Track 4: “Hey Stephen”, previously covered in Episode 1 “Songs that Made us Swifties”
Track 5: “White Horse”, previously covered in Episode 33: Animal Studies and Episode 110: High School Musical
Track 6: “You Belong With Me”, previously covered in Episode 98: Unreliable Narrators
Track 7: “Breathe” ft. Colbie Caillat
Track 8: “Tell Me Why”
Track 9: “You’re Not Sorry”
Track 10: “The Way I Loved You”, previously covered in Episode 52 Psychoanalytic Theory & Episode 53 Deep Dive
Track 11: “Forever & Always”
Track 12: “The Best Day”, previously covered in Episode 81: Female Artists
Track 13: “Change”, previously covered in Episode 110: High School Musical
The purpose of the album as a whole: what Fearless was trying to do when it came out in 2008, and what it means now looking back across the full discography
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Welcome to After School — Fearless era begins
[01:11] Fearless as a sophomore album: branding, stakes, and proving it wasn't a fluke
[06:46] Why "Fearless" and not "Love Story": the title as identity
[09:00] The album's critical reception and Billboard dominance
[12:14] The Kanye VMAs moment and what it meant for the era
[29:43] Track 1 — "Fearless": dancing in the rain, connective tissue to debut
[01:35:44] Track 13 — "Change": ending on a note of inevitability
[01:43:31] What the album is actually about: manifesting fearlessness
[01:46:01] The lesson from Fearless: just do the thing, even badly
[01:49:27] Taylor's Version and why she started with Fearless
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!
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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.
May 18, 2026
15 min

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