AI images, deepfakes and children’s class photos

Outlouders, it’s Friday the 13th and the vibes are… chaotic. From Wuthering Heights to Finger Princesses to The Year of the Fire Horse and our weekly reccos, today's show is A LOT.

We’re about to enter the Year of the Fire Horse and apparently it’s all action, freedom and breakthrough energy. Unless you’re a Pig (sorry, Holly Wainwright). Jessie Stephens and Clare Stephens are claiming this as their zodiac Super Bowl, but there’s a tiny historical footnote involving superstition, falling birth rates and the suggestion Fire Horses are “too wild.” Rude.

And, the robots have taken over your child’s class photo. And no, we're not 'just' talking fixing gappy smiles. Add in AI-cheating uni students, 200-written-in-a-year AI romance novels by one author and its controversial use in true crime documentaries and suddenly we’re asking: are we outsourcing our brains? Or just evolving?

Plus: the petty hills we will absolutely die on. Quiet carriages. TEABAG OUT. No, Coke Zero isn’t fine. Yes, you must wave. The list is long and, at times, unhinged.

And finally… are you a Finger Princess? The friend who asks questions she could very easily Google. We fear it’s us.

Welcome to Friday, friends. It's a vibe.

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Recommendations

Clare recommends the podcast Adrift.

Jessie recommends The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and True Crime Conversation's, The 15-Minute Trial That Found Courtney Herron's Killer Not Guilty.

Holly recommends Wuthering Heights, (the OG) by Emily Bronte.  

What To Listen To Next: 

• Listen to our latest episode: Jessie and Clare Stephens' Weird Twin Shit Just Got Weirder
• Listen: An Affair Confession Live On Air
• Listen: The Best (And Worst) Generations Of Parents. A Leaderboard!
• Listen: The Most Bizarre Celebrity Profile We’ve Ever Read
• Listen: Do I Matter? & The Bathroom Taboo
• Listen: The Female Emaciation Era — Holly & Jessie Weigh In
• Listen: An Urgent Theory About Kim Kardashian & Lewis Hamilton
• Connect your subscription to Apple Podcasts 

Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here including the very latest episode of Parenting Out Loud, the parenting podcast for people who don't listen to... parenting podcasts.

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Watch Mamamia Out Loud:

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What to read: 

• Day 15 of the robots telling me what to eat.
• 'Gen Z knows more about AI than their bosses. It's about to change how we all work.'
• 'I walk straight into them': 17 women on the petty hill they will die on.
• We asked women to share their acts of micro-pettiness. Prepare to take notes.
• 2025 was dominated by the Let Them Theory. 2026 will be Let Them Be Petty.

THE END BITS: 

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CREDITS:

Hosts: Clare Stephens, Jessie Stephens & Holly Wainwright

Group Executive Producer: Ruth Devine

Executive Producer: Tina Matolov

Audio Producer: Leah Porges

Video Producer: Josh Green

Junior Content Producer: Tessa Kotowicz

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