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
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...
With pioneering MuchMusic program ‘RapCity’ having its 35th anniversary celebrations this year, Elamin is joined by the show's original creator and producer, Michele Geister - to look back on the program’s early rise to prominence.
Imagine this: Two of the best hockey players on the best teams in the NHL are arch-rivals on the rink. Off the ice: they’re lovers. That’s the premise of a new series on Crave called Heated Rivalry – adapted from a popular series of romance novels. Lainey Lui and former pro hockey player Brock McGillis join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about a show that might be the steamiest on TV right now.
Plus, people are talking about C...
Choclair’s first full length album in 20 years - veteran music critic Dalton Higgins and Canadian music industry veteran Craig ‘Big C’ Mannix join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to review the new album and reflect on Choclair’s early rise to prominence. And Guardian columnist Stuart Heritage discusses the upcoming fourth entry in the action-comedy film series Rush Hour, a movie that is reportedly being made at the request of President Donald ...
For decades, Thomas King was considered to be one of the most prominent Indigenous authors and creators, so news that he has no Indigenous ancestry came as a shock to many people this week. Jesse Wente is a writer and Storyteller in Residence at Toronto Metropolitan University. Jesse worked closely with Thomas King on the screen adaptation of Thomas King's novel 'The Inconvenient Indian.' Jesse joins Elamin Abdelmahmoud to work thr...
With the recent passing of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, Elamin Abdelmahmood is joined by University of West Indies professor Sonja Stanley Niaah and culture critic Danae Peart to look back on the role Cliff played in the genre’s rise to global pop dominance.
'Stranger Things' season five returns to Netflix this week. TV critics Alison Herman and Hoai-Tran Bui join Elamin to talk about how the show became a cultural phenomenon, and...
Cree journalist Michelle Cyca and Anishinaabe/Mohawk writer Kim Wheeler assess the fallout from award-winning author Thomas King’s recent admission that he’s not actually of Cherokee descent, as he has claimed throughout his career.
Plus, this week, the Jim Henson Company, home of Sesame Street and the Muppets, auctioned more than 400 items from its archives, including props and puppets. Min Chen, culture editor at Artnet News, ...
Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue is always a barometer for the year’s hottest celebrities, especially ahead of Oscar season. Well, this year -- for the first time -- those celebrities are only men. Culture critics Vinson Cunningham and Lainey Lui join Elamin to talk about this new class of leading men and what it says about masculinity and this moment we’re living in.
Tobias Jesso Jr. released a critically acclaimed, Juno...
De La Soul is back with a new album, 'Cabin In The Sky.' It's the group's first album in eleven years, and the first since the death of one of De La Soul's founding members, Trugoy the Dove. Music critic Ian Steaman and rapper Keysha Freshh join Elamin to talk about the album, how it's being received, and how Trugoy shows up on it.
The British government says it wants to make it illegal to resell tickets for more than thei...
Elamin is joined by culture critics Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Sarah-Tai Black and Syrus Marcus Ware to discuss ‘Wicked: For Good,' the controversy around Michelle Obama’s recent comments about Black women and hair, and why Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You,' has had its earliest entry into the Billboard Hot 100
With the season four finale of The Morning Show out now, Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks to TV critic Emily Longeretta and comedian Cassie Cao about why this season was its most outrageous yet, and why we can’t stop watching.
Paul McCartney is performing two dates in Canada this week, in the lead-up to the long-awaited release of the fourth instalment in The Beatles’ Anthology series of archival recordings. However, he’s also r...
Nardwuar the Human Serviette made a name for himself on MuchMusic, interviewing artists and surprising them with deep cut facts. Now he's selling out global shows, and collaborating with Nike. Radio host and programmer Mastermind and music critic Lisa Christansen join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss how Nardwuar built his brand and why so many fans are resonating with his work today. And culture critic Scaachi Koul explains why the ...
There are lots of movies out now that were actually books first - Frankenstein, The Running Man, and Hamnet is coming soon. So we're asking the question – do you have to read the book before you watch the movie? Bookstore co-owner Jo Saul, culture writer CT Jones and film critic Bilge Eibiri join Elamin to weigh in, and let’s just say, they have strong opinions.
Morgan Campbell of CBC Sports and Sirius XM host Tara Slone give us their morning-after take on The Grey Cup and how it reflected this current pivotal moment in Canadian culture. Comedian and podcaster Marlon Palmer joins us to talk about the new Eddie Murphy doc, and why he is one of the greatest comics of our time.
Film critics Rad Simonpillai, Teri Hart, and Kaiya Shunyata join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss Edgar Wright’s reboot of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller The Running Man, the growing cult appeal of the Toronto-based comedy series The Office Movers, and the disastrous box-office performance of Sydney Sweeney’s would-be Oscar contender Christy.
Entertainment writer Jackson Weaver and culture critic Kathryn VanArendonk talk with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about Vince Gilligan’s long-awaited show Pluribus and how it's asking big, philosophical questions in new ways. And It’s been more than a decade since Grand Theft Auto got an update – and now the new version of the iconic video game has been delayed, again! Alyssa Mercante explains why, and why it matters.
A lot has been said about Margaret Atwood’s memoir ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ since it was published last week, which makes sense, because she revealed a whole lot about her life that most of us didn’t know. Author Heather O’Neill, and writer Deborah Dundas join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how reading Margaret Atwood's memoir changes the way we read her work.
Correction for this episode: Graeme Gibson's first wife'...
Montreal-based graphic artist Raymond Biesinger has a new book out called '9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off.' He describes it as an informal guide for professional creatives to protect themselves from exploitation. He joins Elamin Abdelmahmoud along with Vancouver-based photographer Jackie Dives to talk about fighting back after having creative work appropriated without permission.
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