Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

At the 2026 Academy Awards, Paul Thomas Anderson finally won his Oscars, everybody cheered for Michael B. Jordan's best actor win and a big night for the Canadian talent behind 'Kpop Demon Hunters' and 'Frankenstein.' Entertainment reporter Teri Hart, Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri and comedian Ashley Ray recap the big night with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

Sinners and One Battle After Another are dominating the most exciting Oscar race in years. Plus, the best actor field is wildly competitive between Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Wagner Moura. But maybe Ethan Hawke pulls out a dark horse win? Film critics Rad Simonpillai, Adrian Horton and Jackson Weaver join Elamin Abdelmahmoud with their Academy Award hopes and predictions.

A recent case brought forward by the U.S. Department of Justice claims the ‘concert industry is broken’ and that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are to blame. Policy expert Vass Bednar and musician Rollie Pemberton join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss the case, proposed settlement and what this means for the price of your concert tickets. The President’s Cake, a debut film from Hasan Hadi, takes place...

Last fall, Alberta’s education minister ordered schools across the province to remove books containing explicit depictions of a sexual act from their libraries and classrooms. Over 150 titles have been removed from shelves, including the graphic novel version of Margaret Atwood’s 'The Handmaid’s Tale' and George Orwell’s '1984.' Ira Wells, author of the book 'On Book Banning' and the president of...

At the end of last year, several prominent artists lost millions of streams from the Spotify bot crackdown including Doechii, Davido and BTS' Jimin. The move has sparked conversations online around the impact of artificial intelligence and inflated statistics. Music industry insiders Michelle Santosuosso and Kevin Amougou talk to Elamin Abdelmahmoud about what all of this means for the future of m...

Almost half of the Toronto Film Critics Association's members have resigned after it was revealed that actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ recent acceptance speech was edited to remove her support for Palestine. Canadian Press reporter Alex Nino Gheciu tells Elamin about the fallout. You can find more on this story, including the TFCA's full statement, here . Plus, film critics Hanna Flint and Kay...

Harry Styles’ ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’ and BLACKPINK’s ‘Deadline’ are beckoning us back to the club with two very different takes on dance music. Culture critics Lucy Ford, Louise Bruton, and Michelle Cho share their thoughts with Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

Rap Essentials was a series of Canadian compilation albums released in the late '90s and early 2000s. The series gave fans access to new music, and inspired so many artists. Rap Essentials 2001 was particularly influential. To mark the 25th anniversary of that album, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Canadian music industry insider Craig "Big C" Mannix and journalist/publicist Dalton Higgins, to di...

The Nova Scotia government announced they're making massive cuts to grants to arts and culture programs in the province. And for some artists and organizations these cuts will be catastrophic. Poet and culture critic El Jones and novelist Stephanie Domet join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to explain what’s on the line. And Scream 7 is the number one movie at the box office right now. Film critic Teri Hart s...

Bruno Mars is one of those artists who produces hit after hit. He's the king of collabs and now he's back with a solo album 'The Romantic.' Culture critic Pablo The Don and musician/tv producer Romeo Candido dive into it and his pop legacy with Elamin Abdelmahmoud. And the Netflix documentary series ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive’ has returned for its eighth season, taking viewers behind the scenes...

Industry, the HBO drama set in the highest echelons of finance and power, presents a truly toxic tangle of relationships, politics and greed. As the season wraps up, culture critics Chris Murphy and Roxana Hadadi join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to reflect on the fourth season finale and what the show helps us understand about the cost of success. And Canadian films are struggling at the box office, accor...

With the 50th season of ‘Survivor’ kicking off this week, guest host Amil Niazi is joined by fans Jael Richardson, Ashley Ray and former contestant Omar Zaheer to look back on the reality show’s rise, memorable moments and what its long term success might say about us.

Meta and Google’s YouTube are currently on trial in Los Angeles to face a lawsuit that claims the company’s platforms were deliberately designed to enhance their addictive qualities and get young users hooked on them. Tech-culture journalist Alyssa Mercante joins gust host Amil Niazi to explain what’s at stake in the trial, and how the outcome could transform the way we consume social media. ...

On the Netflix show Famous Last Words, people are interviewed about their lives knowing the conversation won't be shared until after their deaths. The second episode of the series features actor Eric Dane, whose heartfelt message to his daughters illustrates the power of a person's last words. Dr James Maskalyk and palliative care nurse Sandra Marche have witnessed many final moments, and share th...

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and BBC have apologized for airing a racial slur during Sunday’s BAFTA award ceremony. It happened after John Davidson, a guest with Tourette’s Syndrome, shouted offensive language at award presenters, and Sinners stars, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo. Culture critic and activist Syrus Marcus Ware unpacks the story with host Elamin Abdelm...

The 2026 Winter Olympic Games have come to an end and it’s time to look back on golden moments, national disappointments and internet memes. Sports journalist Shireen Ahmed and culture critic Mel Woods reminisce and bid ciao to Milano Cortina with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud. Plus, Montreal’s Kid Koala says Charlie Chaplin movies inspired his debut animated feature, Space Cadet, which has no dialogue...

Writer/rapper Rollie Pemberton, Sirius XM host Tara Slone, and entertainment reporter Teri Hart join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the 2026 Olympic Games, including the women's Olympic gold medal hockey game. Plus, they discuss how the Epstein files scandal surrounding L.A. talent-agency mogul Casey Wasserman has reverberated through the worlds of entertainment and sports.

Elamin is joined by culture critics Pablo The Don, Jay Smooth and A. Harmony to discuss new albums from Jill Scott and J. Cole, and the legacy of politician and activist Reverend Jesse Jackson - and the ways Jesse Jackson’s contributions intersected with pop culture.

A new Netflix docuseries looks back at the cultural force that was America’s Next Top Model. Tyra Banks, its creator and host, sits down to face the reality show’s most controversial moments, from extreme makeovers to photoshoots in Black and brown face. Culture critics Amil Niazi, Chris Murphy and Bee Quammie join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the legacy of America’s Next Top Model and a...

Ben Bankas is a Canadian comedian who’s selling out venues throughout North America with his hate-filled stand-up routine, including jokes about Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last month. Commotion asked two comedians to go witness one of his gigs – Anne McMaster took us up on the challenge, and Ali Hassan did not. They join Elamin to talk about Ben Bankas – and...

The year might be 2026, but for fans of Canadian indie music, it’s starting to feel a lot like 2005. Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything” has gone viral after making a dramatic appearance on Heated Rivalry, and Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl” recently went gold in Canada over two decades after its release. With the key players in the 2000s Canadian indie boom set...

The new adaptation of Wuthering Heights is sexy, but Emily Bronte fans are wondering if they read the same book as director Emerald Fennell. Film critics Hanna Flint, Jackson Weaver and Alison Willmore join guest host guest host Radheyan Simonpillai to talk about the reimagined 19th century classic, the Canadian mockumentary Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and pay tribute to actor James Van...

With comedian Ben Palmer’s fake immigration hotline going viral on TikTok and YouTube, Commotion guest host Radheyan Simonpillai is joined by culture critic El Jones and comedian Ashley Ray. They break down the satirical clips -- done in the style of Sacha Baron Cohen -- and explain what they reveal about our political discourse and this moment America is in. Plus - with stores in Montreal, Toront...

Joan Chen played a series of iconic, beautiful women in the 80s and 90s, from Wan Jung in the Oscar-winning film 'The Last Emperor' to Josie Packard in David Lynch’s 'Twin Peaks.' Now in her 60s, the actor has been showing off her range in films like 'Didi,' 'The Wedding Banquet' and, most recently, 'Montreal, Ma Belle.' Culture critics Hoai-Tran Bui and Thomas Leblanc talk to guest host Radheyan...

Musicians like Bruce Springsteen have quickly released anti-ICE protest songs, while folk singer Jesse Welles has become a viral sensation thanks to his hastily recorded reaction songs to current events. Slate columnist Carl Wilson and podcaster Vish Khanna talk to Commotion guest host Radheyan Simonpillai about the fine line between making an effective protest song versus merely setting topical t...