Since August, Japan's second-hand bookshops have been getting mysterious bulk orders, and more than 50 tonnes of books have been shipped to the US. Booksellers suspect AI companies are behind it. We also look at why young Chinese workers are asking whether a Golden Week holiday counts if they have to work weekends to make up for it. Then Joseph Gordon-Levitt questions why AI creation Tilly Norwood is called an actress when nobody calls Donald Duck an actor. Plus the Shortlist, our weekly round-up of what to watch.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Since August, Japan's second-hand bookshops have been getting mysterious bulk orders, and more than 50 tonnes of books have been shipped to the US. Booksellers suspect AI companies are behind it. We also look at why young Chinese workers are asking whether a Golden Week holiday counts if they have to work weekends to make up for it. Then Joseph Gordon-Levitt questions why AI creation Tilly Norwood is called an actress when nobody calls Donald Duck an actor. Plus the Shortlist, our weekly round-up of what to watch.Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Morning Run crew condenses the top conversations from the week, and keeps you clued in on the stories you might have missed. 

What's the Focus

Japan's Mystery Book Buyer

On this week's WTF, or What's the Focus, thieves in France make off with a 210kg, diamond-studded book illustrated by Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. Meanwhile, an AI-generated internet sensation called Tung Tung Tung Sahur is at the centre of a legal battle over who owns AI-created characters. And in Japan, the social-media app BeReal is getting a little too real, with workers accidentally exposing confidential workplace information. Plus, the team's recommendations for the weekend.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

On this week's WTF, or What's the Focus, thieves in France make off with a 210kg, diamond-studded book illustrated by Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau. Meanwhile, an AI-generated internet sensation called Tung Tung Tung Sahur is at the centre of a legal battle over who owns AI-created characters. And in Japan, the social-media app BeReal is getting a little too real, with workers accidentally exposing confidential workplace information. Plus, the team's recommendations for the weekend.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Stolen Books, Brain Rot & BeReal Blunders

Stanford researchers say the human brain may really be two separate organs pushed together by evolution, so maybe we have always been in two minds. Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure shows 1,156 securities trades in July alone, which raises the question of how far a president should be kept from his own investments. Back home, the Fisheries Department is trying to work out whether piranhas are living in Klau Dam in Raub, and the fish they need to check was thrown away. Richard Bradbury, Roshan Kanesan and Frankie Lim run through the week's stories in What's The Focus.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Stanford researchers say the human brain may really be two separate organs pushed together by evolution, so maybe we have always been in two minds. Donald Trump's latest financial disclosure shows 1,156 securities trades in July alone, which raises the question of how far a president should be kept from his own investments. Back home, the Fisheries Department is trying to work out whether piranhas are living in Klau Dam in Raub, and the fish they need to check was thrown away. Richard Bradbury, Roshan Kanesan and Frankie Lim run through the week's stories in What's The Focus. Image Credit: Shutterstock

Two Brains, 1,156 Presidential Trades and the Piranha That Got Away

For years the question was whether AI would take our jobs. Now there's a site called RentAHuman.ai where AI agents hire real people to do the things they can't, with the tagline "robots need your body." We also look at ZuckOff, an app that scans for Bluetooth signals to warn you when there might be a pair of smart glasses recording nearby, and ask whether you have a right to know when the person across the table is wearing a camera. Then we come home to take a look at Pulau Tioman, newly named Asia's quietest island, and whether it can stay quiet now that everybody knows.



Image Credit: Shutterstock

For years the question was whether AI would take our jobs. Now there's a site called RentAHuman.ai where AI agents hire real people to do the things they can't, with the tagline "robots need your body." We also look at ZuckOff, an app that scans for Bluetooth signals to warn you when there might be a pair of smart glasses recording nearby, and ask whether you have a right to know when the person across the table is wearing a camera. Then we come home to take a look at Pulau Tioman, newly named Asia's quietest island, and whether it can stay quiet now that everybody knows.Image Credit: Shutterstock

Japan's Mystery Book Buyer

In 1 playlist(s)

What's the Focus

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips