It’s the most-hyped wedding of the year: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got married at Madison Square Garden on July 3rd. There’s a lot that we know – a thousand guests, 20-minute vows, a jumbotron announcement. And there’s a lot that we don’t know – what did Taylor’s dress look like, and more importantly, what did Adam Sandler wear?
But what does the spectacle reveal about celebrity performance, fandom, and what public figures owe the people who put them there? In this episode, Jena and Michelle unpack how two of the biggest personal brands in music and sports came together, and why fans are more conflicted about Taylor’s happy ending than you might expect.
Listen here on Substack, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Read our writing about Taylor Swift:
Check out our recs:
The End of an Era, Disney+, 2025.
There are plenty of power publicists. But only one works for Taylor Swift., The Wall Street Journal, 2024.
The people who brought you Travis Kelce, The New York Times, 2024.
Learn more about the photo we discuss:
Patriot Front members and a solitary woman travel on a DC train: a picture and its story, Reuters, 2026.
Audio clip sources:
Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn
CBS Mornings (TikTok), 2026.
CBS Mornings (TikTok), 2026.
CNN (TikTok), 2026.
Ricki-Lee & Tim (Instagram), 2026.
Morgan St. Jean (Instagram), 2026.
Meredith Lynch (Instagram), 2026.
Page Six (TikTok), 2026.
Jojo (in KC) (TikTok), 2026.
ABC7LA (TikTok), 2026.
Learn more about the heatwave in Europe:
Air conditioning creates political divide after France records hottest day, BBC, 2026.
Geopolitical Europe needs air-conditioning, Carnegie Europe, 2026.
The overlooked reason Europe doesn’t have AC, The Atlantic, 2026.
Why Germans don’t have air conditioning, Deutsche Welle, 2026.
Learn more about America’s 250th anniversary celebrations:
One birthday, two party planners: Freedom 250 vs. America 250, explained, NBC News, 2026.
What is Freedom 250? And why are musical artists distancing themselves from its concerts?, The Hill, 2026.
White nationalists march in Washington amid 250th anniversary celebrations, The New York Times, 2026.
Learn more about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce:
All of Taylor Swift’s lyrics about getting married, from “Love Story” to “Honey”, Today, 2026.
The defiant conventionality of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, The Atlantic, 2025.
How Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s hand-picked charities learned about $26M donation: “Boy, have I got news for you”, People, 2026.
Inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding: 20-minute vows, Paul McCartney singing, and “bars everywhere”, People, 2026.
Jason and Travis Kelce sign reported $100 million podcast deal with Amazon’s Wondery, Forbes, 2024.
Kylie Kelce unseats Joe Rogan as top podcast with debut episode, The Hill, 2024.
Taylor Swift and the philosophy of Easter eggs, London School of Economics, 2024.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce unite in marriage, The New York Times, 2026.
Taylor Swift, what are you doing?, The New York Times, 2026.
What does it cost to take over Madison Square Garden?, The New York Times, 2026.
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About Did You See? with Jena and Michelle
Did you see that? Whether it’s in the news or pop culture, in print or online, we are living in a media overload. It’s a lot to process!
Did You See? is for anyone looking for space to pause and work through the media moments shaping how we see and understand the world. ◾
