This episode features some of the best conversations of 2023, we’ll be back daily from January 29, 2024. 

Over the past year we took a break from the top news stories to look at moments in pop culture that have had a big impact. 

In this episode we interrogate the cultural juggernaut that was the Barbie movie, and then allegations against Russell Brand. 

Featured:

Wenlei Ma, TV and film critic

Dani de Placido, senior contributor at Forbes magazine

2023 Collection: Pop culture

ABC News Daily is the podcast that helps you understand the issues affecting your world. Every episode, host Samantha Hawley walks through one story with the help of an ABC colleague or expert in under 15 minutes. When you want coverage you can trust, listen to ABC News Daily.

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As scammers get more sophisticated, many Australians are losing their hard-earned money.

But now, one woman who lost half a million dollars in a fake investment scheme has fought back, tracking down and confronting the scammer, before passing the details on to police. 

Featured: 

Michael Atkin, ABC consumer affairs reporter

The woman who tracked down her scammer

Many young Australians have given up hope of ever buying a home. 

So how are political leaders planning to fix the nation’s housing crisis?

Peter Dutton’s proposal is to slash migration to free up housing.

And Labor has a plan to build 1.2 million new homes over the next five years.

But how do they stack up?

Featured: 

Ann Chakraborty, Melbourne renter

Gareth Hutchens, ABC business and economics reporter

The renters who will never buy

Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson said no when OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman asked if she could be the voice for a new version of ChatGPT. 

But they went ahead and released a chatbot that the actor thinks sounds “eerily similar” to herself. 

As artificial intelligence becomes more sophisticated, how do we protect ourselves from being copied? 

Featured: 

Sharon Goldman, AI reporter at Fortune

Has AI stolen Scarlett Johansson’s voice?

When a boat carrying Chinese men arrived in Western Australia last month it was unusual. 

Not only because it’s rare for boats to make it to the mainland but those on board are almost never from China. 

So why are Chinese nationals so desperate to get to Australia that they pay people smugglers?  

Featured: 

Wing Kuang, ABC reporter

Why Chinese people are the latest boat arrivals

It’s a tale of Australia’s richest woman, swimming stars, a renowned Indigenous artist, and a portrait. 

Vincent Namatjira’s painting of Gina Rinehart is apparently so unflattering the National Gallery of Australia has been asked to take it down. 

Now it’s making news around the world. 

Today, host of RN’s The Art Show, Daniel Browning, on how an attempt to censor art backfired. 

Featured: 

Daniel Browning, host of RN’s The Art Show and ABC editor of Indigenous radio

2023 Collection: Pop culture

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