This week, we’re discussing Taylor Swift’s new album 'The Tortured Poets Department', which is already the most-streamed debut in Spotify history. Lilah is joined by music critic Ludovic Hunter-Tilney and life-long Swiftie Taylor Nicole Rogers to discuss their picks for best and worst songs, whether Swift’s personal life gets in the way of the music, and where she’ll go next.

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We love hearing from you. Lilah is on Instagram @lilahrap and we’re on X @lifeandartpod. You can email us at lifeandart@ft.com. We are grateful for reviews on Apple, Spotify etc.

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Links (all FT links get you past the paywall):

– ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is available now on all streaming platforms.

– Ludovic’s four-star review of the album is here: https://on.ft.com/4bf6289

– Listen to our episode on the Eras tour, ‘Can Taylor Swift get any bigger?’ here or by searching in this feed.

– Jo Ellison’s column from 2023, ‘Why I believe in Taylor Swift’: https://on.ft.com/49S6Xdh

More or Less:

– Ludovic wants more rap beef, like the one happening between Drake, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar and more. You can read his article about the rap beef here.

– Taylor wants to see more summer pop bangers. Keep an eye out for Ludovic’s review of Dua Lipa’s upcoming album ‘Radical Optimism’, which lands next Friday.

– Follow Lilah on Instagram for some great springtime content.

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The FT Weekend Festival is coming back, and will be in Washington on May 4. Speakers include Nancy Pelosi. To book tickets, go to ft.com/festival-us and use our exclusive discount code: weekendpodcast.

Special FT subscription offers for Life and Art podcast listeners, from 50% off a digital subscription to a $1/£1/€1 trial, are here: http://ft.com/lifeandart

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Clips this week are from Republic Records.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Culture chat: Is Taylor Swift’s new album too much? 22:52 Share

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Culture chat: Is Taylor Swift’s new album too much?