Big laughs. Smart takes. Every day. Commotion is where you go for thoughtful and vibrant conversations about all things pop culture. Host Elamin Abdelmahmoud calls on journalists, critics, creators and friends to talk through the biggest arts & entertainment stories of the day, in 30 minutes or less.
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Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Vulture’s Alison Willmore, Inverse’s Hoai-Tran Bui and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival’s Aram Siu Wai Collier for a group chat about Karate Kid: Legends, and what they're most excited to see in theatres this summer.
Ms. Rachel is one of the biggest children's entertainers right now, and she's been using her social media to talk about how the Israel-Hamas war has affected children. Elamin chats with Jael Richardson and Kathryn VanArendonk about the reaction and criticism Ms. Rachel is getting for wading into conflict and tragedy.
‘Forever’ is a new Netflix tv series that reimagines Judy Blume’s controversial YA book of the same name, through the lens of the contemporary Black teen experience. Guest host Radheyan Simonpillai is joined by culture critics Kathleen Newman-Bremang and David Dennis Jr. to discuss the new series and its approach to the teen drama genre. Plus, with the second season of HBO’s hit zombie drama ‘The Last of Us’ winding down this week, culture reporter Kat Tenbarge explains how the story development...
So many TV shows and movies mine the dramatic potential of those first few days on campus where new students get to re-invent themselves.But despite everything that’s come before it, Benito Skinner’s new show, 'Overcompensating,' treads new ground. Chris Murphy and Jackson Weaver join guest host Rad Simponpillai to talk about why it’s so refreshing. Plus, ‘0-60 Driving Academy’ is a new series that’s being called Atlantic Canada’s first Black sitcom. It’s also inspired by the real life experienc...
Elamin is joined by Leander Schaerlaeckens and Richard Sutcliffe to talk about the new season of Welcome to Wrexham, a docu-series about Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buying a Welsh football team. Plus, over the course of the past decade, Andy Shauf has emerged as one of Canada's most respected singer-songwriters with multiple Juno nominations and fans like Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and Barack Obama. Vish Khanna explains how this low-key musician has developed a fervent fanbase, and...
For this Friday’s Group Chat, culture critics Teri Hart, Eli Glasner and Rebecca Jennings join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to get into the latest, and possibly final, instalment of Tom Cruise's 'Mission: Impossible' franchise. Plus, American newspapers publish AI-generated summer reading lists with books that don't exist.
Elamin is joined by Refinery29 journalist Taryn Finley, who lays out what has happened at music mogul Sean Combs' trial in New York. Plus, film critics Jackson Weaver and Adrian Horton weigh in on A24’s new Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd buddy comedy Friendship, and how it subverts traditional depictions of male companionship on screen.
Elamin is joined by Jeevan Sangha and Joyita Sengupta to discuss the second season of the acclaimed dramedy series ‘Late Bloomer’ — and why season two of this look at the Sikh-Canadian millennial experience is being called its best season yet. Plus, Gloria Malone joins to talk about the release of ‘La Bellaza,’ the new album from Polaris Music Prize winner Lido Pimienta.
The world’s most prestigious film festival is on right now, and the headlines coming from Cannes include the muted response to the new Mission Impossible movie, and reaction to the new red carpet rules. Film critics Barry Hertz and Rad Simonpillai chat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the big stories at Cannes this year. Plus, the standout stories from Eurovision with Karen Fricker, who talks about Austria's JJ stealing the win over fan-favourite Sweden, and Israel's second place finish....
The phrase 'girl power' was coined by Bikini Kill in the early 1990s, but its meaning was watered down later in the decade when angry radical women in music were followed by younger, less opinionated pop stars. Sophie Gilbert dives into 1990s and 2000s pop culture in her new book, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, to figure out what happened.
Music writers Carl Wilson, Andrea Williams and Sarah Boesveld discuss Morgan Wallen's new album 'I'm The Problem,' Maren Morris’s pivot to pop on 'Dreamsicle' and Lana Del Rey’s honky-tonk makeover.
Romance author Emily Henry is back with one of the most anticipated novels of 2025, and it’s already topping bestseller lists. Elamin speaks with two culture critics, CT Jones and Alicia Foshay, about her latest book 'Great Big Beautiful Life,' and what makes her writing so popular. Plus, Indigenous Studies professor and Winnipeg Press columnist Niigaan James Sinclair discusses the Hudson Bay Company’s controversial decision to sell off its collection of Indigenous art and artifacts as part of i...
With the Disney+ series ‘Andor’ coming to an end, Elamin is joined by critics Lyvie Scott and Radheyan Simonpillai to discuss the show and why it’s being called the best installment in the Star Wars franchise to date. Plus, culture writer Tabby Kibugi fell in love with K-pop, growing up in Kenya in the 2000s. She chats with Elamin about why two decades later, she decided to step away as a fan after seeing a continuous cycle of cultural appropriation and stereotyping of Black culture by K-pop art...
Elamin is joined by culture critics Matt Amha and Joyita Sengupta to look at the rise of 6ixBuzzTV. The popular and controversial Instagram account played a big role during the federal election. Commotion unpacks 6ixBuzzTV's growing relevance in the Canadian media landscape. Plus, Tristan Grant, aka the rapper Wolf Castle, has founded the first Indigenous music label in Atlantic Canada. He joins Elamin to talk about why Castle Records is important to him, and about his first signed band, The Hel...
Last Friday. Montreal indie-rock collective Arcade Fire released ‘Pink Elephant,’ their first album since bandleader Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2022. Music journalist Maura Johnston and Montreal Gazette reporter T’Cha Dunlevy discuss how their relationship with the band’s music has changed in recent years, and how the band’s new record is being received by fans and media. Plus, Nicholas Quah shares his thoughts on the new Golden Globes category, Best Podcast...
Culture writer Ellen O’Connell Whittet, film critic Angelo Muredda, and CBC reporter Jackson Weaver discuss how this week's papal conclave played out on social media; the inexplicable popularity of 'Italian brain rot' content among young internet users; and the latest developments in the story surrounding the outfit BLACKPINK singer Lisa was wearing at the Met Gala.
Bella Ramsey is weighing in on the debate over gendered categories at awards shows – arguing women need their own category, separate from men. But the Last of Us star, who identifies as non-binary, says there’s still a lot of work required to figure out how to make actors like them feel valued and comfortable, if they don’t neatly fit in a gender-specific category. Mel Woods joins guest host Ali Hassan. Plus, with the return and rebrand of Maple Leaf Pro Wresting in Toronto this Saturday, guest ...
Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet and essayist, has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his writing in The New Yorker . Here's our conversation taped in April 2024. Elamin spoke with Mosab Abu Toha - whose home in Gaza was destroyed - about how he and other artists are able to keep creating in the face of destruction.
Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on films produced outside of the U.S. And despite Trump saying later he would consult the film industry before making any moves, there’s still a lot of uncertainty in Hollywood North. Elamin chats with Kate Ziegler, the president of ACTRA Toronto and Miles Dale, a film producer who won an Oscar for ‘The Shape of Water.’ Plus, Slate columnist Scaachi Koul talks to Elamin about discovering an AI-generated biography abou...
The annual Met Gala isn’t just about who’s wearing what, it’s when fashion truly becomes art. This year’s theme is a celebration of Black fashion and style – inspired by professor Monica L. Miller’s book 'Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.' The morning after, Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks with J Wortham and Tyler Foggatt about some of the best looks and how the theme was interpreted. Plus, Elamin chats with Niko Stratis about her debut book, 'The Dad Rock ...
Vancouver’s own Nathan Fielder is making some of the most original, tender and absurd comedy on TV. Amil Niazi, Angelo Muredda and Adam Nayman join Elamin to talk about season two of 'The Rehearsal.'
Culture writer Niko Stratis, rapper/author Rollie Pemberton and music journalist Emilie Hanskamp join the group chat to discuss the new album from high-energy Toronto punks PUP, the renewed cultural relevancy of early 2000s Canadian pop-punk, and the Mark Carney/Down With Webster viral moment.
Elamin is joined by Sarah Kurchak and Glenn Sumi to discuss the popular Netflix series ‘Love On The Spectrum’ and what it can tell us about mainstream television’s perceptions of autistic people. Plus, Down With Webster played the Liberals’ victory party on Monday night, and as it turns out, Mark Carney’s a genuinely big fan of the rap-rock band. Elamin talks with band member Tyler Armes about free-styling with the prime minister backstage, and what you can tell about a person based on the music...
Remember that show on TLC, 'What Not to Wear'? Hosts Stacy London and Clinton Kelly are back with a new show called 'Wear Whatever the F You Want.' Elamin chats with Amil Niazi and Joan Summers chat about how the new show takes an entirely different philosophy to fashion. Plus, Elamin chats with William Leathers, the [rincipal trumpet player at the Nashville Symphony, about Julliard’s plans to become tuition-free.
The group chat unpacks how the federal election campaign unfolded in pop culture and what the results mean for a country in the midst of a trade war. But above all -- what does this election tell us about our Canadian cultural identity? Jesse Wente, Emilie Nicolas, and Jen Gerson join Elamin for the 'morning after' edition of Commotion.
Given the hacking of the notorious image board website 4chan and its return, Elamin is joined by New York Times tech columnist Mike Isaac and culture critic Rayne Fisher-Quann to look back on the platform’s controversial legacy and whether losing it is actually a good thing for internet culture. Plus, the Festival of Literary Diversity was the first of its kind in Canadian literature — a book festival celebrating diverse authors here and beyond. As it reaches its 10th anniversary, founder Jael R...
Film critics Radheyan Simonpillai, Rachel Ho, and Kyle Buchanan join the Group Chat to discuss Canadian horror-master David Cronenberg’s deeply personal, oddly poignant new film 'The Shrouds,' how the media coverage around Ryan Coogler’s Sinners reveals the differing standards for success that Black filmmakers are held to, and a peculiar new rule being enforced by the Oscars.
The second season of the critically-acclaimed series ‘Andor’ dropped this week. Elamin is joined by Inverse journalist and Star Wars fan Lyvie Scott to tee up the new season and why this latest installment in the Star Wars franchise continues to break new ground.
Elamin is joined by political watchers Justin Ling, Riley Yesno and Robyn Urback to discuss the role social media and non-traditional media platforms has played in politics and civic engagement this Federal Election.
Every episode of the show Black Mirror presents a new and terrifying prediction of how technology is going to shape our future. And when Charlie Brooker first created Black Mirror back in 2011 — our relationship with technology was a far-cry from what it is today. Nicholas Quah and Hanna Flint talk about Black Mirror's seventh season. Plus, could Meta be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram? Vass Bednar, a policy expert at McMaster University, discusses the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s antit...
