‘Tortured Poets Department’: Our Burning Questions

Swifties have known since early February that Taylor Swift has a new album, Tortured Poets Department, due April 19, with some notably provocative song titles (“So Long London,” “But Daddy I Love Him”) and big-name guest stars (Post Malone, Florence Welsh). But since then, information on the album has been scarce, so fans have more than filled the void, passing around possibly fake leaked snippets of songs while pranking each other with both ChatGPT-generated lyrics and a ridiculous viral parody where an AI-generated Taylor sings lines like, “I’m so happy my Travvy made it to the big game.”

In the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, we look into the frenzy of speculation surrounding the new album, and add some of our own, while pondering some burning questions, with Brittany Spanos and Rob Sheffield joining host Brian Hiatt for the discussion (be sure to check out Spanos’ and Sheffield’s new 500 Greatest Songs podcast as well.) Will Swift add a Poets era to the remaining dates of Eras tour? Are any of the leaks real? Will Swift take a long break after the Eras Tour? To hear the full episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play above.)

Download and subscribe to Rolling Stone‘s weekly podcast, Rolling Stone Music Now, hosted by Brian Hiatt, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts). Check out six years’ worth of episodes in the archive, including in-depth interviews with Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Halsey, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, Brandi Carlile, Phoebe Bridgers, Rick Ross, Alicia Keys, the National, Ice Cube, Taylor Hawkins, Willow, Keith Richards, Robert Plant, Dua Lipa, Killer Mike, Julian Casablancas, Sheryl Crow, Johnny Marr, Scott Weiland, Liam Gallagher, Alice Cooper, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, John Legend, Donald Fagen, Charlie Puth, Phil Collins, Justin Townes Earle, Stephen Malkmus, Sebastian Bach, Tom Petty, Eddie Van Halen, Kelly Clarkson, Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, the Zombies, and Gary Clark Jr. And look for dozens of episodes featuring genre-spanning discussions, debates, and explainers with Rolling Stone’s critics and reporters.