Stay ConnectedBig 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.
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Millions of people are encountering the crisis in Venezuela right now through memes – from Nicolás Maduro's 'viral dance' that reportedly angered U.S. President Donald Trump to the Nike track suit he wore on the flight to New York City, which sold out in hours. Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks with New York Times technology reporter Mike Isaac about how our responses to a complex crisis are different when memes shape our understanding.
Plus, forty years on, Jim Henson's Labyrinth still feels like nothing else - an 80s dark fantasy that gets under your skin. The film returns to cinemas this week to mark the big anniversary. Culture writers Kayleigh Donaldson and Roxana Hadadi get into why this movie has become a cult classic. The re-release comes during another anniversary - ten years since the death of David Bowie who was at his peak as the Goblin King.
AI has already transformed what we read, watch, and listen to .. and some people are already fed up. So .. are we in for a cultural reset this year? And how has AI changed our relationship with authenticity, and what we want from the arts? Elamin Abdelmahmoud sits down with culture critics Kate Lindsay, Joshua Rothman and Niko Stratis.
There are so many big albums to look forward to in 2026, and there are so many industry trends, like the rise of AI in music. What should we pay attention to? And what can we expect? Music journalists Emilie Hanskamp, Richie Assaly, and Reanna Cruz join Elamin to discuss.
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 Tiny Desk Concerts.
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