Rob Sheffield and Brittany Spanos join host Brian Hiatt for the new episode of our Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, which dives deep into Taylor Swift’s Lover following our recent cover story. They make their way through the full album, expanding on points Swift made in her interview, and explore how Lover breaks new emotional and musical ground for the singer. Along the way, Spanos explains why “Cruel Summer” is the best song of the year so far (while puzzling over a lyric that’s either “he looks up, grinning like a devil” or “he looks so pretty like a devil”) and Sheffield makes the case for why Swift’s catalog was actually full of protest songs — long before her explicitly political “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.”
To hear the entire discussion, press play below or download and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
Download and subscribe to our weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on iTunes or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts), and check out two years worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth, career-spanning interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Halsey, Ice Cube, Neil Young, the National, Questlove, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Phil Collins, Alicia Keys, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, Gary Clark Jr. and many more — plus dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters. Tune in every Friday at 1 p.m. ET to hear Rolling Stone Music Now broadcast live from SiriusXM’s studios on Volume, channel 106.