Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
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. Subscribe to Sounds Good: CBC's Podcasts newsletter for the finest podcast recommendations and behind-the-scenes exclusives.
Episodes
Critics Kathryn VanArendonk and Saloni Gajjar chat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the new and returning TV shows they’re excited about for the new year. And Jackson Weaver shares some Canadian movies to look out for in 2026.
2025 was a big year on and off the runway. Fashion writers Danya Issawi, Tashira Halyard and Mosha Lundström Halbert look back on a year in fashion that was full of change, with Anna Wintour stepping down at Vogue, the death of Giorgio Armani and a new crop of designers taking over at places like Dior, Givenchy and Chanel.
Coming into 2025, the phrases '6-7,' 'Italian brainrot,' 'Coldplay kiss-cam' and 'astronaut Katy Perry' were not commonly used expressions, but thanks to the unpredictable tides of pop culture, they have become permanent parts of a shared lexicon. On this episode of Commotion, writers Amil Niazi, Niko Stratis, and Jackson Weaver reflect on the most memorable pop-cultural moments of 2025 – some of which, we’d rather forget.
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 latest book, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, to figure out what happened.
Culture writer Rebecca Jennings, tech/public-policy expert Vass Bednar, and media-studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan discuss how shrinking attention spans in the social-media age are impacting the way that literature, film, and music are produced and consumed.
Elamin is joined by culture critics Pablo The Don and Michael Blackmon, along with Juno nominated singer Tanika Charles to discuss ‘Here For It All’ - the new album from Mariah Carey, and why she remains one of the most iconic singer/songwriters of our time.
For almost 20 years, NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts have given the internet a chance to see some of the biggest artists and promising upcoming talents in an incredibly intimate, live setting that has made for unforgettable moments. At the same time, the series has become a crucial and trusted hub for Black pop music. At the inaugural Departures festival in Toronto, Elamin sat down with Bobby Carter, the host and series producer for NPR's...
This year, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the group chat gathered to talk about Kent Monkman, Kent Monkman is having a profound impact on the way we understand Canada’s past – and the histories of Indigenous peoples. Riley Yesno, Susan Blight and Marion Newman celebrated Kent Monkman, whose gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is now the subject of an opera in development. They spoke with Elam...
Elamin is joined by film critics Jesse Wente, Sarah-Ta Black & Jackson Weaver to discuss ‘Avatar: Fire & Ash’ - the latest installment in James Cameron’s sci-action blockbuster franchise and react to Disney’s new agreement with OpenAI that will give the public access to some of Disney’s most beloved characters via OpenAI’s popular Sora app.
Pretty much every best-of-2025 music list of note has featured Brooklyn band Geese’s third album, Getting Killed, at or near the top – a remarkable feat for an indie rock band whose members are still in their early 20s, and whose music is wilfully idiosyncratic, if not downright polarizing. Music journalist Emilie Hanskamp explains how Geese took the music world by storm this year, while CBC’s Lisa Christiansen explains why she jus...
Today, we remember Rob Reiner’s amazing Hollywood legacy, and a look back at some of the shows and films that may have flown under your radar. Elamin Abdelmahmoud chats with critics Roxana Hadadi, Rachel Ho, and Radheyan Simonpillai about their favourite Rob Reiner movies, and the best things they watched this year that didn’t get enough love.
Michael Healey’s new play 'Rogers V. Rogers: The Battle for Control Over Canada's Telecom Empire,' reveals a lot about the power structures that exist inside Canada. Elamin talks to journalist and author Paul Wells and The Globe and Mail’s Aisling Murphy about the success of the show, and how a story about a dysfunctional family and a corporate struggle make for perfect theatre.
With a hot debate raging between prominent Toronto content creators Marlon Palmer and City Boy JJ about the right and wrong ways to use the Toronto accent as a comedic tool to gain online popularity, Commotion guest host Radheyan Simonpillai is joined by culture critics Sandy Hudson and Matt Amha to discuss why conversations around who gets to celebrate and monetize local culture are more complicated than we might think.
Sophie ...
Critics Roxana Hadadi, Angelo Muredda and Jackson Weaver chat with guest host Radheyan Simonpillai about the new Knives Out movie 'Wake Up Dead Man,’ Quentin Tarantino talking trash about Paul Dano’s acting, and all the elaborate marketing tactics movie studios are using to get you to come to the theatre again.
CBC Music’s Natalie Harmsen, culture writer Riley Yesno, and Walrus writer Erin Macleod reflect on the big albums, trends, and challenges that defined Canadian music in 2025.
Remembering Frank Gehry – one of the most famous architects of the last half-century, who had an improbable path to global stardom. Elamin Abdelmahmoud sits down with architect and designer Lukasz Kos and architecture critc Alex Bozikovic to talk about how Frank's love of the arts gave rise to buildings that were works of art on their own – and what his lessons will be, for architects coming up today.
With the release of season ...
Club Chalamet is a Timothée Chalamet fan club started by Simone Cromer. Elamin is joined by pop culture writers Kayleigh Donaldson and CT Jones to dig into the business behind Club Chalamet, what it reveals about the current state of fandom, and whether the parasocial obsession with Timothée Chalamet has gone too far.
Plus, with iHeartMedia announcing its "Guaranteed Human" pledge, Elamin is joined by music industry insider Mich...
50 Cent's new Diddy doc is wiiild, and what to make of Canada's revolving door of Heritage Ministers
With the Netflix release of the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs docu-series ‘The Reckoning,’ executive produced by 50 Cent - Elamin is joined by entertainment reporter Taryn Finley and New York culture critic Jay Smooth to discuss the series and its approach to the Diddy scandal.
Plus, Canada has a new Heritage Minister – the seventh in fewer than 10 years. The Globe and Mail’s deputy arts and film editor Barry Hertz calls it a revolvi...
Three new movies illuminate what it means to be an absent father: Joachim Trier's movie 'Sentimental Value,' Chloé Zhao’s film 'Hamnet,' and Noah Baumbach’s movie 'Jay Kelly.' The Friday group chat gathers to talk about a new kind of Dad movie.
Zacharias Kunuk’s films are legendary for the way they show the beauty of Canada’s North and the richness of Inuit culture. His latest film 'Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)' is an epic love story, set four thousand years ago. Two artists from Igloolik, filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk and actor Zorga Qaunaq talk to Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the film and how Zacharias Kunuk’s movies have influenced Inuit storytelling in film.
Theatre criti...
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