Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

It’s been three years since Squid Game came out and surprised everybody by becoming a gigantic hit. As season 2 drops today, Michelle Cho, Regina Kim and Kathryn VanArendonk join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud for a spoiler-free group chat about the return to the world of Squid Game.

Commotion guest host Ali Hassan is joined by culture critics Sharine Taylor, Danae Peart and Jovanté Anderson to discuss HBO's new Jamaica-set crime series Get Millie Black, and the way the show centers trans and queer Jamaican people. Plus, film critic Teri Hart talks about how Dwayne Johnson's new Christmas comedy, Red One, pulled in a record breaking 50 million views on Prime Video after a disappointing box office run.

Fashion writers Danya Issawi, Joan Summers and Gianluca Russo look back on the year in Fashion, from John Galliano’s dolls, Charli XCX’s Brat summer and Zendaya’s red carpet moments for Challengers and Dune: Part II.

As the year winds down, Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Niko Stratis and Rad Simonpillai chat with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the pop culture highs and lows of 2024.

Noor Naga, author of "If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English" and a key voice in the CanLit Responds campaign, discusses the rapidly changing landscape of children's media. She highlights the mass shift from traditional kids' TV, such as Nickelodeon and Disney, to YouTube, revealing how this impacts young viewers and the industry. Naga also delves into the ongoing protests against the Giller Prize, addressing the ethical concerns around corporate sponsorship and the resulting division in the Canadian literary community.

2024 was a year of highs and lows for the video game industry. There was a labour strike, mass layoffs and controversies around diversifying the gaming world. There were also long-anticipated new releases from big franchises and surprise indie successes from smaller developers. Culture writer Jonathan Ore and podcast host and producer Camille Salazar Hadaway join guest host Ali Hassan to talk about how the past year played out in the video game industry. Plus, comedian and culture critic Ashley Ray discusses Jamie Foxx’s new Netflix standuup special 'What Had Happened Was…' and the online reaction to it.

Music journalists Rosie Long Decter and Natalie Harmsen reflect on the year in Canadian music, highlighting the artists, albums, and trends that defined the sound of Canada in 2024.

With the release of the album ‘Missionary’ - the first full-length collabo between Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, music critics Mastermind and A. Harmony join Elamin to review the new release, and how it holds up to the duo’s classic album collaborations - ‘The Chronic’ and ‘Doggystyle.’ Plus, 'The Brutalist' has been nominated for seven Golden Globes and critics are calling it a ‘New Great American Masterpiece.’ But is it really? Radheyan Simonpillai joins Elamin to talk about 'The Brutalist'. 

Samantha Cole, a culture critic and co-founder of 404 Media, and CT Jones, a pop culture writer for Rolling Stone, dive into the quirky world of 2024 internet trends. They discuss the tragicomic rise of a social media personality who expertly turned an interview into fame overnight. They explore the clash of modern celebrity culture with traditional feminine ideals through the 'tradwife' movement. The conversation also highlights concerns over disinformation and declining internet authenticity, pondering how these shifts impact human connections.

With news of a lawsuit accusing Jay-Z of raping a 13 year-old girl after an awards show more than two decades ago along with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Elamin is joined by culture critics Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Rania El Mugammar. They'll discuss the allegations, the online response, and discuss how we might hold space for believing those who come forward with these types of claims, while considering other factors that might sway our moral compass. Plus, Jen Sookfong Lee chats with Elamin about Interior Chinatown, a new show based on the award-winning novel by Charles Yu, and whether the book’s metafictional premise works on screen.