Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

Film critics Rad Simonpillai, Kristy Puchko and Hanna Flint discuss the legacy of David Lynch, and review the new films, 'The Last Showgirl' starring Pamela Anderson and 'Better Man', a surprisingly great biopic on Robbie Williams.

Film critics Sarah-Tai Black and Jackson Weaver discuss the new film adaptation of Colson Whitehead's book ‘Nickel Boys’ with Elamin Abdelmahmoud and whether the praise it's receiving is valid. And ten years after its failed launch, music journalist Nate Rogers explains why consumers were so hostile to Pono, a digital-music platform and player developed by Canadian rock legend Neil Young.

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have many people thinking about climate change. So why aren’t we seeing more TV or film addressing this pressing global issue? Allison Begalman, co-founder of the Hollywood Climate Summit, and Kendra Pierre-Louis, climate reporter with Bloomberg, talk with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about what’s keeping Hollywood from reflecting our environmental reality. Plus, cu...

Elamin is joined by hip-hop academic Mark Campbell and emcee/academic Galac to discuss the Art Gallery of Ontario’s first international hip-hop exhibit, ‘The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century’ and what it can tell us about the way hip-hop is valued in certain cultural spaces. Plus, as the fires rage in and around L.A., so much of the attention is focused on the celebri...

Mark Zuckerberg's decision to get rid of fact checking on all of Meta's platforms is being called an extinction-level event for the idea of objective truth on social media and an 'extremely dangerous time' for journalism and democracy. But is it really all that bad? Elamin is joined by wrtiers Robyn Urback and CT Jones to talk about how this decision could change the way we live.

Culture writers Niko Stratis, Matthew Ismael Ruiz, and Reanna Cruz join the Commotion Group Chat to discuss Puerto Rican rap icon Bad Bunny’s new album, the new Netflix documentary on the life and untimely death of Swedish superstar DJ Avicii, and the radical new release from rising indie artist Ethel Cain. 

Inuk writer Napatsi Folger and Swampy Cree filmmaker Sonya Ballantyne discuss the new sitcom North of North, a comedy about a young Inuk mother in the remote fictional town of Ice Cove, Nunavut. The show, starring Anna Lambe, premiered on CBC Gem and APTN, and will have its global debut on Netflix later this year. Plus, Devon Ivie, staff writer at Vulture, talks about the new Netflix claymati...

As the curtains close on Justin Trudeau's almost 10 years in office, Elamin is joined by Riley Yesno, Justin Ling and Jen Gerson to talk about the power – and the shortcomings - of his particular brand as our first influencer Prime Minister. And we also dig into how Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre uses the internet quite differently, and what that says about this particular moment 

With last night’s debut of Monday Night Raw on Netflix, Elamin is joined by wrestling fans Pablo The Don and David Dennis Jr. to discuss the event and how it sets up this new era of the WWE’s flagship TV series. Also, author Craig Davidson pays tribute to his friend and fellow writer Andrew Pyper, the acclaimed Toronto-based horror novelist died on Jan. 3 at age 56.

Entertainment journalists Teri Hart and Aramide Tinubu join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to review the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, which officially signal the start of awards season in Hollywood. Plus, Teri reports on the legal drama between 'It Ends With Us' co-stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni.

Music journalists Vish Khanna, Caryn Rose, and Ian Grant weigh in on the new biopic 'A Complete Unknown,' starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan, and explain how the folk music hero has remained such a enigmatic and iconic figure in pop culture for over 60 years.

Culture critics Pablo The Don, Tristan Grant aka Wolfcastle and Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about what the music industry has in store for 2025, from Beyoncé at the Grammys, Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl to new music from rising stars Tia Wood and Doechii.

Elamin is joined by entertainment reporter Teri Hart, Mashable film editor Kristy Puchko, and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans to look ahead to the TV shows and films that will keep us glued to our screens in 2025. 

From protests at the Giller Prize to revelations around the late author Alice Munro, we look back at the controversies that changed Canadian literary institutions in 2024. Reporters Josh O’Kane and Michelle Cyca join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how there’s no going back. Plus – their picks for the best books of the past year. 

This year marks the 150th birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the lauded Canadian writer best known for her internationally-acclaimed novel Anne of Green Gables. The story of a spunky red-headed orphan who learns how to live and love on Prince Edward Island has transcended time and space, charming generations of readers with its wit, pastoral landscapes and rich characters. Today on Commotion, schol...

For all of the shows and films that made the best-of lists, there’s a LOT of great stuff that flew under the radar in 2024. Culture critics Rad Simonpillai, Thomas Leblanc and Ashley Ray join guest host Ali Hassan to talk about the best things they watched this past year — that most of us never heard about. 

It’s been three years since Squid Game came out and surprised everybody by becoming a gigantic hit. As season 2 drops today, Michelle Cho, Regina Kim and Kathryn VanArendonk join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud for a spoiler-free group chat about the return to the world of Squid Game.

Commotion guest host Ali Hassan is joined by culture critics Sharine Taylor, Danae Peart and Jovanté Anderson to discuss HBO's new Jamaica-set crime series Get Millie Black, and the way the show centers trans and queer Jamaican people. Plus, film critic Teri Hart talks about how Dwayne Johnson's new Christmas comedy, Red One, pulled in a record breaking 50 million views on Prime Video after a disa...

Fashion writers Danya Issawi, Joan Summers and Gianluca Russo look back on the year in Fashion, from John Galliano’s dolls, Charli XCX’s Brat summer and Zendaya’s red carpet moments for Challengers and Dune: Part II.

As the year winds down, Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Niko Stratis and Rad Simonpillai chat with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the pop culture highs and lows of 2024.

Increasing numbers of young viewers are abandoning traditional kids TV shows in favour of creator-produced online content. The Wrap’s TV reporter Kayla Cobb explains the impacts of this shift on both children and the entertainment industry at large. Plus, the ongoing protests against the Giller Prize, this country’s most prestigious literary award, has sent shockwaves through CanLit. Elamin s...

2024 was a year of highs and lows for the video game industry. There was a labour strike, mass layoffs and controversies around diversifying the gaming world. There were also long-anticipated new releases from big franchises and surprise indie successes from smaller developers. Culture writer Jonathan Ore and podcast host and producer Camille Salazar Hadaway join guest host Ali Hassan to talk abou...

Music journalists Rosie Long Decter and Natalie Harmsen reflect on the year in Canadian music, highlighting the artists, albums, and trends that defined the sound of Canada in 2024.

With the release of the album ‘Missionary’ - the first full-length collabo between Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, music critics Mastermind and A. Harmony join Elamin to review the new release, and how it holds up to the duo’s classic album collaborations - ‘The Chronic’ and ‘Doggystyle.’ Plus, 'The Brutalist' has been nominated for seven Golden Globes and critics are calling it a ‘New Great American...

It’s been a year on the internet. A pygmy hippo in Thailand captured our hearts, a model taught us how to make Cocoa Puffs from scratch, a woman turned a word-on-the-street interview into a media empire — and that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Elamin is joined by culture critics Samantha Cole, Jackson Weaver and CT Jones to look back on everything that went down online this year....