E85: Karma Is My Boyfriend? Unpacking Taylor Swift’s Song ”Karma”

“Me and Karma vibe like that.”  This week on AP Taylor Swift Podcast we dive deep into “Karma” from Midnights and its surprising literary connections. Continuing from last week's exploration of Emily Dickinson, we unravel how Taylor Swift plays with themes of fate, justice, and reincarnation in this song. We analyze the song's vivid metaphors, from keeping your side of the street clean to flexing like a goddamn acrobat—wait, but who’s flexing? Plus, we debate whether Taylor herself becomes karma by the song’s end and what that means for her storytelling. 

Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe

Stay up to date at aptaylorswift.com 

 

Mentioned in this episode: 

 

• Emily Dickinson 
• “Kingdom of Heaven” 
• Spiderman 
• Aladdin 
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 
• My Lady Jane 
• Bridgerton
• Mean Girls 
• John Tucker Must Die 

 

***

 

Episode Highlights: 

[01:46] What is Karma?

[07:08] “You’re talking shit for the hell of it”

[10:21] “I keep my side of the street clean”

[18:01] “Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is a god”

[22:51] “Spider boy, king of thieves” 

[30:20] “Ask me why so many fade but I’m still here”

[35:50] “Karma’s gonna track you down”

[44:44] The purpose of “Karma”