Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

As the Edmonton Oilers square off against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row, CBC Edmonton’s Min Dhariwal and professor Judith Ellen Brunton discuss how the intensity of Oilers fandom in Edmonton transcends mere hometown boosterism to resemble something more like a religion. Plus, Michael Williams joins Elamin to talk about Sly Stone’s enormous legacy. The music legend, and hitmaker died this week at 82. Michael also remembers Juliette Powell, former MuchMusic VJ and host of Electric Circus who died this week.

The plot of Mountainhead – Succession creator Jesse Armstrong’s new satire of the world’s most powerful billionaires – offers insight into the feud between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Culture writers Vinson Cunningham and Mike Isaac talk about how it illuminates the the drama between the world’s most powerful man and the richest person on the planet. 

Malcolm X would’ve turned 100 years old this year. To commemorate his life, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Professor Mark Anthony Neal, Sandy Hudson and Matt Amha for a brief look at the commercialization of Malcolm X’s legacy over the decades and how it has or hasn’t aligned with his actual mission and message.

Culture writer Joan Summers, music journalist Maura Johnston, and rapper and author Rollie Pemberton join Elamin Abdelmahmoud for the Friday Group Chat to share their thoughts on new releases from Addison Rae, Turnstile, and Lorde.

After 26 years dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, Guillaume Côté will take his final bow tonight. Elamin talks with two of his longtime collaborators – the dancer Greta Hodgkinson and choreographer Anisa Tejpar about his legacy, and why he just might be the GOAT of Canadian ballet. Plus, the latest version of Google’s AI tool Veo can make impressively realistic looking 8-second videos. While this has inevitably raised concerns about people being fooled by deepfake videos, Kyle Orland from Ars Technica chats with Elamin about a curious trend he noticed: real TikTokers pretending to be AI generated. 

Xtra Magazine reporter Mel Woods and Laura Winton of the Library Association of Alberta discuss the provincial government’s plans to introduce new age-appropriate standards for books in school libraries, and how they could adversely affect books with 2SLGBTQ+ themes. Plus, critic Rendy Jones talks about the Gen-Z comedy 'Adults,' which explores the absurd ups and downs of being in your 20s in the 2020s in New York City.

What is Canadian content? And why does it matter? The Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission has been hearing very different answers to that question — as they try to come up with new CanCon rules. Jesse Wente, Vass Bednar and Anthony Q Farrell join Elamin to talk about why getting CanCon right has never been more important. 

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.

Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by Vulture’s Alison Willmore, Inverse’s Hoai-Tran Bui and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival’s Aram Siu Wai Collier for a group chat about Karate Kid: Legends, and what they're most excited to see in theatres this summer.

Ms. Rachel is one of the biggest children's entertainers right now, and she's been using her social media to talk about how the Israel-Hamas war has affected children. Elamin chats with Jael Richardson and Kathryn VanArendonk about the reaction and criticism Ms. Rachel is getting for wading into conflict and tragedy.