In 2023, Taylor Swift dominated the music industry. Beyonce had a Renaissance. HBO’s Succession ended. Tina Turner died. Online, we debated how much men think about The Roman Empire and Martin Scorsese went viral on TikTok. But more than anything, there was an extreme amount of pink thanks to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie blockbuster.

For better or worse, what drove pop culture in 2023? And when we look back on the art we consumed this year… What was it that we were collectively looking for?

Culture writer and podcaster Niko Stratis and Elamin Abdelmahmoud, host of CBC’s Commotion, explain.

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