Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

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 new book, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, to figure out what happened.

Music writers Carl Wilson, Andrea Williams and Sarah Boesveld discuss Morgan Wallen's new album 'I'm The Problem,' Maren Morris’s pivot to pop on 'Dreamsicle' and Lana Del Rey’s honky-tonk makeover.

Romance author Emily Henry is back with one of the most anticipated novels of 2025, and it’s already topping bestseller lists. Elamin speaks with two culture critics, CT Jones and Alicia Foshay, about her latest book 'Great Big Beautiful Life,' and what makes her writing so popular. Plus, Indigenous Studies professor and Winnipeg Press columnist Niigaan James Sinclair discusses the Hudson Bay Company’s controversial decision to sell off its collection of Indigenous art and artifacts as part of its liquidation efforts.

With the Disney+ series ‘Andor’ coming to an end, Elamin is joined by critics Lyvie Scott and Radheyan Simonpillai to discuss the show and why it’s being called the best installment in the Star Wars franchise to date. Plus, culture writer Tabby Kibugi fell in love with K-pop, growing up in Kenya in the 2000s. She chats with Elamin about why two decades later, she decided to step away as a fan after seeing a continuous cycle of cultural appropriation and stereotyping of Black culture by K-pop artists.  

Elamin is joined by culture critics Matt Amha and Joyita Sengupta to look at the rise of 6ixBuzzTV. The popular and controversial Instagram account played a big role during the federal election. Commotion unpacks 6ixBuzzTV's growing relevance in the Canadian media landscape. Plus, Tristan Grant, aka the rapper Wolf Castle, has founded the first Indigenous music label in Atlantic Canada. He joins Elamin to talk about why Castle Records is important to him, and about his first signed band, The Hello Crows.

Last Friday. Montreal indie-rock collective Arcade Fire released ‘Pink Elephant,’ their first album since bandleader Win Butler was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2022. Music journalist Maura Johnston and Montreal Gazette reporter T’Cha Dunlevy discuss how their relationship with the band’s music has changed in recent years, and how the band’s new record is being received by fans and media. Plus, Nicholas Quah shares his thoughts on the new Golden Globes category, Best Podcast, which will be introduced in 2026.

Culture writer Ellen O’Connell Whittet, film critic Angelo Muredda, and CBC reporter Jackson Weaver discuss how this week's papal conclave played out on social media; the inexplicable popularity of 'Italian brain rot' content among young internet users; and the latest developments in the story surrounding the outfit BLACKPINK singer Lisa was wearing at the Met Gala.  

Bella Ramsey is weighing in on the debate over gendered categories at awards shows – arguing women need their own category, separate from men. But the Last of Us star, who identifies as non-binary, says there’s still a lot of work required to figure out how to make actors like them feel valued and comfortable, if they don’t neatly fit in a gender-specific category. Mel Woods joins guest host Ali Hassan. Plus, with the return and rebrand of Maple Leaf Pro Wresting in Toronto this Saturday, guest host Ali Hassan is joined by wrestling fan and culture critic Sarah Kurchak for a brief look back on the history of the Maple Leaf wrestling brand and what its return might signal for the future of wrestling in Canada.

Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian poet and essayist, has just won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his writing in The New Yorker. Here's our conversation taped in April 2024. Elamin spoke with Mosab Abu Toha - whose home in Gaza was destroyed - about how he and other artists are able to keep creating in the face of destruction.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 100 per cent tariff on films produced outside of the U.S. And despite Trump saying later he would consult the film industry before making any moves, there’s still a lot of uncertainty in Hollywood North. Elamin chats with Kate Ziegler, the president of ACTRA Toronto and Miles Dale, a film producer who won an Oscar for ‘The Shape of Water.’ Plus, Slate columnist Scaachi Koul talks to Elamin about discovering an AI-generated biography about her life, 'From Shattered Dreams to Unstoppable Voice', while promoting her memoir 'Sucker Punch.'