Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

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 t...

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...

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. 

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.

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.

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...

After the death of Pope Francis, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican to choose the next pontiff. And if there's one film on people's minds right now it's Conclave. The Academy award winning film explores the secretive process of electing the next Pope. Elamin chats with film critic Radheyan Simonpillai, comedian and podcast host Ashley Ray, and entertainment reporter Teri Ha...

Let's be honest: we all love to gossip. But we don't necessarily like owning up to how much we love gossip. So why do we still do it, and what does our penchant for gossip mean for our relationship to truth? Today on Commotion, author and podcaster Kelsey McKinney joins host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how we as a society think about gossip — and why that thinking might need to evolve.

Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Jackson Weaver and Rollie Pemberton join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about Ryan Coogler’s new film 'Sinners.'

Montreal singer-songwriter Bells Larsen joins Elamin to talk about why he was forced to cancel an upcoming U.S. tour due to Trump-administration visa policies that directly target trans people. His upcoming album 'Blurring Time' is out April 25.  Plus, 'Art of Dancehall,' is a new book by Major Lazer's Walshy Fire, and it documents the genre’s rise from the streets of Jamaica to the global st...

To commemorate National Canadian Film Day, Elamin is joined by Jesse Wente, Sarah-Tai Black and Nathalie Younglai to discuss the state of Canadian filmmaking in 2025 and how our current political moment is shaping our sense of Canadian film culture.

The adaptation of Margaret’s Atwood dystopian novel - The Handmaid’s Tale – is into its sixth and final season. It’s been described as a window into the future when it comes to reproductive rights and women' s autonomy, but it also has a lot to say about the dynamic between Canada and its neighbour to the south. Elamin speaks with Arizona O’Neill and Moira Donegan about the latest season.&nbs...

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal are back as Ellie and Joel trying to survive in a fledgling civilization while the rest of the world succumbs to a fungal outbreak that turns people into zombies. Season 2 of The Last Of Us debuts on Sunday – the morning after, Elamin talks with TV critic Alison Herman and die-hard fan Mel Woods, about why HBO’s post-apocalyptic show is meeting the moment. Plus, cultu...

Jovanté Anderson, Siddhant Adlakha and Jael Richardson join guest host Rad Simonpillai to talk about Viola Davis’s new action thriller G20, the romantic comedy A Nice Indian Boy, and the very public spat between The White Lotus’s creator and music composer.

For more than four decades, hockey legend Wayne Gretzky has been celebrated as a national hero across Canada. However, Gretzky hanging out with U.S. President Donald Trump, in the middle of Trump’s trade war against Canada, and all the annexation threats, has caused many fans to disown ‘the Great One.’ Karl Subban, author and father of hockey player P.K Subban, sportscaster Tara Slone, and podcast...

Netflix's ‘Pulse’ is the latest in the batch of medical dramas out now. What do doctors and nurses get from watching medical dramas? Elamin Abdelmahmoud chats with Dr. Kwadwo Kyeremanteng an Intensive Care doctor and Amie Archibald Varley, a former ER and labour and delivery nurse, to get their takes. And film critic Sarah-Tai Black talks with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about ‘Village Keeper’ - the...

On the eve of the first new Bon Iver album in six years, music critics Emilie Hanskamp and Matthew Ismael Ruiz chat with Elamin about how Justin Vernon transcended underground folk hero status to become one of the most important artists of the 21st century. And columnist Marsha Lederman, also a mom to a teenage boy, says if you have kids, Netflix's Adolescence should be required watching.

With the season three finale of The White Lotus out now, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by CBC entertainment reporter Jackson Weaver and culture critic Michelle Cho to discuss who died and who survived, and whether this slow season lived up to their expectations. And futurist and former model Sinead Bovell reacts to the news that H&M, the popular Swedish fashion retailer, is working with artifi...

Culture critics Niko Stratis, Rad Simonpillai and Sonya Ballantyne join Elamin Abdelmahmoud for a group chat on Val Kilmer’s most memorable roles and the films Flow, now streaming on Crave, and A Minecraft Movie opening in theatres.

CBC reporter Jonathan Ore checks in from the Nintendo Direct event in New York City, where the videogame giant unveiled its latest console, the Nintendo Switch 2. Is this highly anticipated upgrade worth the wait?

Based on a true story, Dying for Sex asks us to think hard about what we’d do if we only had months or years to live. Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks about some surprising truths of a terminal cancer diagnosis the comedy gets right with Jen Pogue and Sophie Kohn. They share their experiences - Jen as a patient, and Sophie as a caregiver. Jen was featured on the Women On Screen Out Loud podcast about com...

With the passing of Canadian rap legend Bishop Brigante after a long battle with cancer, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Juno-award winning artist Choclair and ‘Views B4 The 6’ podcast host Big Tweeze to look back on the decades long legacy of the Scarborough native. And Steven Zeitchik, Senior Editor for Technology and Politics at The Hollywood Reporter, about the recent update to ChatGPT that's...

Elamin is joined by New York Times theatre critic Michael Paulson, longtime theatre critic Glenn Sumi, and CBC entertainment reporter Jackson Weaver to discuss U.S. President Trump’s takeover of The Kennedy Center and what it could signal for the culture of theatre in that country, and Denzel Washington in ‘Othello’ becoming the highest grossing non-musical Broadway show ever and what its high tic...

The Juno Awards were held in Vancouver last night at a time when national pride is surging. So did last night’s show make us proud to be Canadian? Elamin is joined by music journalist Lisa Christiansen.