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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Librarian Laura Winton joins guest host Amil Niazi to share her reaction to news that the Alberta government has hit pause on a ban that would've seen more than 200 books be removed from public school libraries in Edmonton, including Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale,' due to sexually explicit content.
Plus, the new show KPOPPED has artists like the Spice Girls, Boyz II Men and TLC reimagine some of their biggest hits with help from K-pop groups, including ITZY, ATEEZ and Kep1er. Michelle Cho and Hannah Sung join guest host Amil Niazi to review the Apple TV+ musical mashup reality series.
Today on Commotion, guest host Amil Niazi sits down with Jesse Wente to talk about his friend, the iconic Canadian actor Graham Greene, who died Monday in Stratford, Ont., at the age of 73.
Plus, critics Eric Deggans, Rachel Ho and Kathryn VanArendonk join Amil to talk about the most anticipated fall TV shows.
Our attention spans are shrinking in a big way. Culture writer Rebecca Jennings, tech and public policy expert Vass Bednar, and media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan join the group chat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how social media and our phones are changing our relationship to art.
It’s the end of the week, and what a week it's been in pop music. There’s a new Sabrina Carpenter album, a new album from The Beaches, and that casual engagement announcement that broke the internet. Culture critics Reanna Cruz, Natalie Harmsen and Fran Hoepfner join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to unpack it all.
Users of AI chatbots like ChatGPT are turning them into friends and romantic partners, some are even falling in love. Kashmir Hill, technology reporter for the New York Times, chats with Elamin about how the new version of ChatGPT has left some users with a broken heart. And Globe and Mail TV critic J. Kelly Nestruck makes the case that the Canadian public broadcaster shouldn’t be remaking the original French language shows it creates in Quebec, instead make the originals easily available with subtitles.
Elamin is joined by culture critics El Jones and Riley Yesno to discuss the popularity of the YouTube debate series ‘Surrounded,’ and what it says about the way entertainment media platforms are mining hot button politicized topics and journalistic sensibilities to drive engagement.
TikTok Canada is shutting down – after a national security review flagged the threat of espionage by the Chinese government. Canadians will still be able to access TikTok .. but Canadian artists like the Beaches and bbno$ say they’re about to lose a vital resource. Tell Tale Harbour has made a big splash at this year's Charlottetown Festival. Based on the film The Grand Seduction, the new Canadian musical is the number-one selling show in the Confederation Centre's history. Now, it's wrapping up its run on P.E.I. and heading to Toronto. Ahead of its arrival, Elamin talks with two theatre insiders about what makes this musical such a fun and exciting new addition to Canadian theatre.
Author Jael Richardson and sports journalist Shireen Ahmed join guest host Radheyan Simonpillai to talk about the U.S. Open’s newest venture: a reality dating show set at the grand slam tennis tournament. Also, with Mac DeMarco releasing his first proper album in six years, ‘Guitar,’ his old friend Rollie Pemberton, a.k.a. Cadence Weapon, explains how the impish kid he knew in the Edmonton underground scene became one of the most successful indie musicians in North America.
Korean-culture writer Regina Kim, film critic Rachel Ho, and CBC entertainment reporter Jackson Weaver join the Group Chat to discuss the massive impact of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters as it transitions to the big screen; and whether the new English-dub version of the hugely successful Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 will translate into North American success.
With the release of ‘Highest 2 Lowest,’ the latest collab between Oscar-winners Spike Lee and Denzel Washington, Commotion guest host Rad Simonpillai is joined by culture critic Jay Smooth and film critic Sarah-Tai Black to discuss the reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s classic film, and where it stands amongst past Spike-Denzel movies. Also, as Oasis gets set to perform in Toronto, Guardian writer Rich Pelley talks about all the Oasis cover bands from across the globe he got a chance to interview -- including one right here in Canada.
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