We thought Taylor Swift broke the internet just by teasing an appearance on the New Heights podcast with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and his brother, Jason Kelce. Then she went and did the real thing.
With over 1.2 million people watching live, the YouTube premiere stream faded to black and abruptly ended after an hour and 45 minutes.
So, at this point, who knows if the internet even still exists anymore? These words may just be floating out into outer space. Who’s even to say that matter and organic life itself still enjoys the same state that it once did pre-Taylor Swift on New Heights?
But in the rare chance that our universe is still stable, and you want the tl;dr version of the nearly-two-hour podcast highlights, we are here for you.
We already knew that Taylor Swift revealed her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, with Jason and Travis Kelce. And a nice teaser clip of her making light of all the male sports fans that may have been annoyed with her continually being shown during Chiefs games. But of course, there was so much more, and nobody was left disappointed… at least before the whole stream crash and everything.
So here now are the biggest moments and everything you truly need to know from the podcast of the ages.
The first podcast, Taylor’s Version
One reason Swift appeared on New Heights was that it was her first podcast appearance. Period. For someone who millions dedicate their fandom to, the opportunity to see and listen to her in a long-form format was special.
So after a completely over-the-top intro from Jason Kelce, Swift admitted it was her first podcast and how the host made her feel at home by wearing one of her shirts.
“That was such an amazing intro and also thanks for wearing the merch. That goes a long way, immediately makes me feel comfortable looking deeply into my own eyes,” Swift said.
Swift also cracked a joke about how the New Heights podcast helped launch her relationship with Travis Kelce, a sign of things to come, as she brandished some exquisite millennial humor throughout.
“This podcast has done a lot for me. I owe a lot to this podcast. This podcast got me a boyfriend, ever since Travis decided to use it as his personal dating app about two years ago,” Swift joked.
“I know a guy…”
There is always going to be a Beauty and the Beast element to the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift relationship. And that was shown almost immediately as Swift told a story about Kelce trying to track her down to meet her at the Eras Tour stop in Kansas City.
“It was such a wild, romantic gesture to just be like, ‘I WANT TO DATE YOU.’ At first, when I looked at it, I was like, this dude didn’t get a meet and greet, and he’s making it everyone’s problem. That’s what I thought at first,” Swift said. “He realized he didn’t even reach out to our management. When this podcast came out, I was like, ‘did he ever reach out to be like in the tents or did we know he was in the building. He came with Pat and he thought that because he knew the elevator lady that he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room.”
“That’s how it works in 1973. But yeah, he was really like ‘I know a guy I can figure this out.’”
Unfortunately, “knowing a guy” doesn’t get you an immediate in with the most famous pop star in the world. However, it did at least open the door.
The first date
We also learned a little bit more about just how far Taylor Swift has come as a football fan since starting to date Travis Kelce. She shared some amazing insights from their first date, where she was embarrassed to assume that the Kelce brothers were on the field together during the Super Bowl, not realizing that both played offense for different teams and thus would not be lining up opposite each other.
“Jason, on our first date I legitimately asked him what it was like when the Chiefs played the Eagles in the Super Bowl and he looked across the field across the line of scrimmage and saw his brother standing on the other, like five feet in front of him on the field. He didn’t even look at me. Like I now know what an insane question that was… I thought everyone was on the field at the same time. I thought it was like Jared Goff is here and Josh Allen is here and they blow a whistle and they go at each other and they’re like, who’s going to win,” Swift recounted.
Amazingly, she has gone from that to being an NFL Draftnik and getting irrationally excited when the Chiefs drafted Xavier Worthy last year.
can’t believe she said that michigan cheated and harbaugh’s final three years are invalid but i don’t wanna piss off the swifties so i agree
— Bill DiFilippo (@billdifilippo.bsky.social) August 13, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The masters deal
Probably the most emotional part of the podcast was Swift talking about buying back the original recordings of her first six albums that were part of an ongoing dispute. The saga surrounding those album rights led to Swift re-recording much of that music and has been a significant story in the music world for several years. Finally, earlier this year, Swift was successful in acquiring the records from private equity group Shamrock Holdings.
Swift said the deal came about after her mother and brother met with Shamrock officials.
“I don’t ever really talk about it. They sat down with Shamrock Capital, and they told them what this meant for me. They told them the whole story of all the times we’ve tried to buy it, all the times it’s fallen through, all the times we have gotten plans together and figured out something we thought was going to work, and it didn’t at the last minute,” she said.
Finally, Shamrock agreed to a deal, and Taylor Swift recalled how she burst into tears. She then said she interrupted Travis Kelce playing video games to tell him the news, and they both cried together.
“I very dramatically hit the floor for real, bawling my eyes out, just weeping,” Swift recollected.
Taylor Swift tears up talking about buying her masters back.
— Pop Crave (@popcrave.com) August 13, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Life after the Eras Tour: bread and otters
A decent chunk of the podcast was dedicated to Swift’s incredible Eras Tour that broke pretty much every record possible by an entertainment act. Jason Kelce, as host, led Swift through recounting all the various stops along the way. Swift mentioned some of the easter eggs in the show and how they were constructed to be such a powerful and almost overwhelming experience for fans. Travis Kelce shared how powerful a show it was and how it inspired him to try to shoot his shot with the pop icon.
But the real joy was learning what life was like for Taylor Swift after the Eras Tour.
As part of that discussion, we learned that Swift’s hobbies are, well, let’s just say old school.
“All my hobbies could be categorized as hobbies you could have had in the 1700s. I get on my granny sh*t,” Swift joked. “I like to sew, I specialize as you know in children’s purses and baby blankets. I love to paint, I love to cook, I have a different baking obsession every six months. Right now we’re very deep in a sourdough obsession that has taken my life.”
Just how deep is the love of bread baking? Swift said that she is reading sourdough bread blogs and lifted up the online bread community. So if you are currently one of those lucky souls, congrats on cashing in on the opportunity of a lifetime as the bread baking business is about to boom like never before.
As for Travis Kelce, we learned about his offseason passion for one day rescuing an otter. Maybe the less detail we can go into there, the better, just so you can let your imagination run wild.
Meeting the Royal Family
We got some decent insights into the infamous playoff game where Jason Kelce met Taylor Swift for the first time. That included him running shirtless through the stands in the freezing cold to say hello to a young fan. But we also got this scoop on what it was like when the Eagles legend met the Royal Family in England and the dilemma over what to do with his can of beer.
“I watched him have this moment with his beer where he’s just like, I want to take it, but I know that I probably should not take it,” Swift recalled. I watched this happen. If I don’t have my beer, what do I do with this hand now?”
If Jason Kelce meeting the Royal Family isn’t perfect fodder for a televised reality show, I don’t know what could possibly top it. Let’s forget the late-night stuff on ESPN with Jason Kelce and give the people truly what they want – flaming tables with the Bills mafia and awkward encounters with foreign dignitaries.
Undercover at Arrowhead
Over the last two years, we have seen hundreds of shots of Taylor Swift cheering on Travis Kelce from the suites at Arrowhead Stadium. But it’s hard to remember just how much of a big deal it was when she was seen walking into Arrowhead for the first time to support her new love interest. Or so we thought.
Swift stunned Jason Kelce, and probably everyone listening, by sharing that when she attended her first Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears, she walked in the front door.
“I was walking in. I had a hat on, and I had a mask on. And I’m walking in the front, we’re walking with thousands of people in Arrowhead, and nobody noticed,” Swift said.
Can you imagine scanning the ticket of Taylor Swift and never even realizing it? At the very least, that person deserves some homemade sourdough bread in the mail.
Female football fans
Jason Kelce asked Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce about the influx of female football fans that have arrived in large part due to Swift’s presence. Both had no idea that it would resonate as much as it had, and Swift gave credit to the game itself for leading more female fans to stick around after sampling some action because of her presence.
“Seeing all the little girls in the stands at games, and you can see a proud father standing right there next to them. It’s definitely been fun to see that surprise,” Kelce said.
“A lot of the women and girls, maybe they watched one game to see me cheer on my boyfriend or whatever. But if they stayed, which is what people are saying based on the numbers, that’s because the game is so great and it’s such an amazing, interesting thing to learn about,” Swift declared.
(Anti) Social media
Swift gave some sage advice after a discussion on all of the insane media attention that has come the way of the pairing ever since they started dating. And to summarize it, they have both made the wise decision to disconnect from the endless feedback loop.
“I have so many friends or acquaintances or people who will see one comment they don’t like and it will ruin their day, ruin their night. And I say just want to say to them you should think of your energy as it’s expensive. It’s a luxury item. Not everyone can afford it. Not everyone has invested in you for you to have the capital to care about this,” Swift said.
It’s wise advice to anyone in the public eye. Many individuals are so caught up in life on the internet and social media that they think it’s real life and has a real impact, when in fact, it often doesn’t translate to the real world.
“I do detach from the internet in a huge way. I’ve had my comments disabled on Instagram for 10 years now. I don’t miss it,” she added.
Get a first look at the cover of Taylor’s new album The Life of a Showgirl
Available for pre-order now at https://t.co/aYNn7lTXv8 and releasing everywhere 10/3
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW … And, baby, that’s show business for you ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/BULHWUkDC4
— New Heights (@newheightshow) August 13, 2025
The new album
Finally, the end of the New Heights episode (at least before it crashed) was the revelation of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl. Swift was beyond excited to break the news to the world, revealing the album cover, track list, and much more. It was crafted while on the Eras Tour and will feature a much more upbeat theme than her last album, The Tortured Poets Department. Kelce even added that it would be filled with bangers.
As if the hype couldn’t get any bigger, Swift and Kelce both did a tremendous sales job with the singer saying, “This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time.”
The new album releases on October 3, 2025, which just so happens to come right after the Chiefs play the Ravens in one of the most highly anticipated games of the NFL regular season.
About Matt Yoder