Episodes
Published 05/09/24
Nora and Nathan are here to review and discuss Dua Lipa’s third album, 'Radical Optimism.' They start by talking about their journey with Dua Lipa (2:13). Then they get into the album, starting with what they think the biggest hit is (18:52). During their breakdown of the album, they talk about the best song, what they are cutting, and much more. They wrap up by discussing the collaborators on this album and what the next album appetizer is (1:00:41). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan...
Published 05/09/24
Nora and Nathan give a few final thoughts about 'The Tortured Poets Department,' including what the charts can tell us about how people are listening to this album (1:00), and whether Taylor Swift albums can be properly reviewed anymore (34:25). Then, they talk about Sabrina Carpenter's song 'Espresso,' and how she's poised to be one of our next biggest pop stars (48:08). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Published 05/02/24
The Tortured Podcasters Department meets again, this time to open up the mailbag! Nora and Nathan answer a bunch of listener questions about whether their opinion has changed on any songs, what they want to hear next from Taylor, and much more (4:13). Then they answer rapid-fire questions, including one about how they think Taylor will incorporate this album into her tour (59:00). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producers: Isaiah Blakely and Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad...
Published 04/26/24
It's the inaugural meeting of the Tortured Podcasters Department. Nora and Nathan discuss the rollout for this album and how Taylor Swift releasing an entire second album worth of bonus tracks affected it's reception (1:00), whether or not "Fortnight" is going to be the biggest hit off of this album (24:06), how Swift is grappling with her level of fame on a lot of the songs on this record (57:12), and the many, many, many easter eggs that are sprinkled throughout this album...
Published 04/21/24
Less than a week away from the release of 'The Tortured Poets Department,' Nora and Nathan talk through some of the burning questions they have about this album. They talk about the five "stages of grief" playlists Taylor Swift released on Apple Music (1:00), what it means that this is most likely a breakup album about Joe Alwyn (13:18), and how this album might sound given that Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner are her main collaborators on it (27:54). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan...
Published 04/16/24
Nora and Nathan are here to break down the third album from Maggie Rogers, 'Don't Forget Me.' They talk about how the fact that the album was written over the course of five days impacted its sound (1:00), how she's moved away from the electronic sounds of 'Heard It In A Past Life' and toward the sounds of Linda Rondstadt and Sheryl Crow (32:05), and how her friendships play a major role on this record (48:01). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more...
Published 04/12/24
Nora and Nathan take a look at Kacey Musgraves's sixth album, ‘Deeper Well.’ They start by talking about where they think Kacey is at in her career before getting into the album. They go through all the songs, talking about which were their favorites and least favorites (19:30), and at the end, they talk about what they are looking for from Kacey in the future. Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Isaiah Blakely Additional Production Supervision: Kaya McMullen Learn more about...
Published 04/09/24
'Cowboy Carter' is here, marking Beyonce's foray into country music—or has she been here all along? Nora and Nathan talk about the breadth of this 27-song album (1:00), the array of influences that Beyoncé pulled from for this project (39:13), and some of their favorite and least favorite songs (1:09:46). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 04/04/24
With everyone from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift to Dua Lipa releasing albums this spring, Nora and Nathan are coming together to discuss them all. They talk about why we may be seeing this flux in album releases (1:00), what Taylor's been up to ahead of the release of 'The Tortured Poets Department' (24:03), and the bonus tracks on Olivia Rodrigo's 'Guts (Spilled)' (31:35). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Published 03/28/24
Nora and Nathan are back to cover a very busy spring for pop music. They'll be breaking down everything from Beyonce's 'Cowboy Carter' to Dua Lipa's 'Radical Optimism' and of course Taylor Swift's newest release: 'The Tortured Poets Department.' It's "Pop Girl Spring" starting March 28th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 03/26/24
Nora and Nathan convene for an emergency pod after Taylor Swift announced her new album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. They talk about how the announcement went over with her fan base versus in the room at the awards show (1:00), speculate on what the album is about based on the track list that was released yesterday (30:43), and discuss whether or not she worked with Jack Antonoff on this album or went in a different direction (52:32). Hosts: Nora...
Published 02/06/24
Nora and Nathan are here to walk you through everything you need to know before two big Taylor Swift events: the Super Bowl and the Grammy's. They give a rundown on the Chiefs and the 49ers and how the game might go for Travis Kelce (1:00), the logistics of Taylor getting from Tokyo to Las Vegas in time for the game (37:01), and what squad she might be bringing along with her (60:14). Then they preview the Grammy's and make some predictions on what awards Taylor might be bringing home with...
Published 02/02/24
Taylor Swift was named TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year, and in conjunction with that honor gave a rare interview for the profile. Nora and Nathan talk about why she might have decided to give the interview (1:00), some of the major revelations that came from the piece (15:58), and what it means for her future music that she’s in a very happy moment in her life (48:21). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Published 12/07/23
Almost two weeks out from the release of '1989 (Taylor's Version),' Nora and Nathan open up the mailbag to talk about which of the rereleases have had the best vault tracks so far (1:00), which '1989' vault track they think Taylor Swift would make a music video for (45:37), and which album they think best represents Travis Kelce (1:01:51). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 11/09/23
Nora and Nathan break down the latest release in Taylor Swift’s re-recording project: ‘1989.’ They discuss if Max Martin not producing affected the re-recordings (1:00), which songs sound the most similar and different from their originals (35:51), and the five new vault tracks that almost sound like they could be found on ‘Midnights’ (51:17). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 10/29/23
Nora and Nathan review the Eras Tour movie. They talk about their experiences in the theater (1:00), which songs got cut from the movie (21:35), and whether they would have liked to have seen more behind-the-scenes footage in the film (38:16). Then, they talk about "Tay-vis" (1:00:40) and the forthcoming release of '1989 (Taylor's Version)' (1:16:44). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 10/20/23
It's time to spill our guts. Nora and Nathan talk about the sophomore album from Olivia Rodrigo, the immense pressure she was under after the success of 'SOUR' (1:00), how Dan Nigro and other influences helped her develop the sound on this album (24:44), and debate whether or not songs like "the grudge" and "lacy" are about Taylor Swift (41:31). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 09/14/23
Nora and Nathan talk about Taylor Swift announcing that ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ is coming at the final show of the first leg of the U.S. Eras Tour (1:00), then reflect on this first leg of the tour as a whole, including how her hair became a character (23:25), which songs they changed their opinion about after seeing them live (36:16), and when we might expect to see a tour documentary (1:00:44). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad...
Published 08/10/23
Nora and Nathan talk about the news that Taylor Swift's concert in Seattle was so loud it caused seismic activity equal to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake (1:00). Then they gear up for the final US leg of the Eras Tour in LA, and debate whether or not she'll announce '1989 (Taylor's Version)' at one of the shows (24:03). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 08/02/23
Nora and Nathan talk about Harry Styles's Love on Tour finally ending this week, and the rumors that Taylor Swift will do a second U.S. leg of her tour (1:00). Then, they draft their new favorite songs from 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' (17:16). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 07/27/23
A little over a week after the release of 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version),' Nora and Nathan open up the mailbag to answer some questions and to continue processing their feelings about the album. They talk about why it seems like there has been less hype around the 'Speak Now' rerecord compared to previous ones (1:00), whether "I Can See You" undermined "Cruel Summer" as the song of the summer (31:59), and if we'll get a live version of this album (42:06). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan...
Published 07/19/23
Nora and Nathan break down the most recent release in Taylor Swift’s rerecording project: ‘Speak Now.’ They talk about the songs where her voice has most obviously changed and how it is different (25:26), their favorite vault songs from this rerelease and where they might be pulling inspiration from (41:13), and an Easter egg from the “I Can See You” music video that hints that ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ might be coming next (1:16:22). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya...
Published 07/12/23
Less than a week away from the release of 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version),' Nora and Nathan open up the mailbag to answer some listener questions. They talk about which songs off of 'Speak Now' they are most looking forward to hearing the rerecordings of (1:00), discuss whether the Eras Tour set list will be altered once the album is released (15:51), and make predictions for what the vault soundtracks featuring Hayley Williams and Fall Out Boy will sound like (26:36). Hosts: Nora Princiotti...
Published 07/05/23
Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard talk about the rollout of 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' compared to her other albums (1:00), the speech she gave before playing "Dear John" as a surprise song (16:36), and the announcement of international dates for the Eras Tour (31:20). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Published 06/28/23