Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is on your radio, on your cinema screens, on your streaming services, in your earphones and now she’s in Australia! And on The Big Issue! With Taylormania striding across much of the country, we look at the fandom, the folklore and the billion-dollar industry surrounding the powerhouse performer. So get your friendship bracelets and decoder rings ready, as we bring you the love story of Taylor Swift and the cultural moment.

More highlights in this edition:

• Before Taylor, another country singer crossed into pop stardom: LeAnn Rimes describes growing up in the spotlight, and learning to trust her intuition, in her Letter to My Younger Self.
• As music journo Sarah Smith approaches her 40th birthday, she pays tribute to the women who got her there: her mum, her daughter and Cher.
• She may be a one-hit wonder to some, but for Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen, answering the call of Carly Rae Jepsen was a direct line to unashamed poptimism.
• Writer Patrick Lenton relives his salad days of pub-rock fandom, following Custard’s Dave McCormack (now better known as the voice of Bluey’s dad) across NSW.
• In The Big Picture, photographer Sasha Maslov meets the volunteers saving Ukraine’s lost, traumatised and abandoned pets.
• We chat with Force of Nature: The Dry 2 director Robert Connolly about Eric Bana, the bush and adapting Jane Harper’s bestseller for the big screen.
• And Julius Roberts whips up his family recipe for Epic Tarragon Roast Chicken on Tastes Like Home.