Best Commotion Podcasts (2025)

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What Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue says about masculinity in this moment, and Tobias Jesso Jr.'s new album 25:56

Play Pause

2h ago25:56

25:56

Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue is always a barometer for the year’s hottest celebrities, especially ahead of Oscar season. Well, this year -- for the first time -- those celebrities are only men. Culture critics Vinson Cunningham and Lainey Lui join Elamin to talk about this new class of leading men and what it says about masculinity and this moment…

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How Trugoy the Dove shows up on De La Soul's new album, and the UK wants to ban for profit ticket resales 26:03

3h ago26:03

26:03

De La Soul is back with a new album, 'Cabin In The Sky.' It's the group's first album in eleven years, and the first since the death of one of De La Soul's founding members, Trugoy the Dove. Music critic Ian Steaman and rapper Keysha Freshh join Elamin to talk about the album, how it's being received, and how Trugoy shows up on it. The British gove…

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Quitting Spotify (ft Deerhoof) 44:12

20m ago44:12

44:12

In June 2025, indie veterans Deerhoof scrubbed their entire catalog from the world’s dominant streaming platform. The catalyst wasn't low royalties, but Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek’s investment in AI military technology through his investment firm Prima Materia. Greg Saunier and Satomi Matsuzaka explain why they are prioritizing their ethics over …

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FRIDAY WRAP on Wicked: For Good, Michelle Obama's comments on Black hair, and Mariah Carey 29:49

13h ago29:49

29:49

Elamin is joined by culture critics Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Sarah-Tai Black and Syrus Marcus Ware to discuss ‘Wicked: For Good,' the controversy around Michelle Obama’s recent comments about Black women and hair, and why Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You,' has had its earliest entry into the Billboard Hot 100…

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Why this season of The Morning Show is the most outrageous yet, and the allure of Paul McCartney 25:53

2h ago25:53

25:53

With the season four finale of The Morning Show out now, Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks to TV critic Emily Longeretta and comedian Cassie Cao about why this season was its most outrageous yet, and why we can’t stop watching. Paul McCartney is performing two dates in Canada this week, in the lead-up to the long-awaited release of the fourth instalment i…

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Nardwuar’s timeless appeal, and the magic of the Now You See Me franchise 25:47

1d ago25:47

25:47

Nardwuar the Human Serviette made a name for himself on MuchMusic, interviewing artists and surprising them with deep cut facts. Now he's selling out global shows, and collaborating with Nike. Radio host and programmer Mastermind and music critic Lisa Christansen join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss how Nardwuar built his brand and why so many fans …

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Is there a Disney curse?: Demi, Selena, and Miley 48:06

16m ago48:06

48:06

This year, there were a few records that delivered less-than-optimal returns on either the Hot 100 or the Billboard 200 – and they all came from former Disney pop stars. Demi Lovato’s latest album peaked at number nine on the Billboard 200, where it spent one week and then fell off; Selena Gomez’s record with Benny Blanco peaked at number 2 on the …

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Should you read it before you watch it? 25:48

12h ago25:48

25:48

There are lots of movies out now that were actually books first - Frankenstein, The Running Man, and Hamnet is coming soon. So we're asking the question – do you have to read the book before you watch the movie? Bookstore co-owner Jo Saul, culture writer CT Jones and film critic Bilge Eibiri join Elamin to weigh in, and let’s just say, they have st…

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Did The Grey Cup meet this Canadian moment? + new Eddie Murphy doc 25:36

9d ago25:36

25:36

Morgan Campbell of CBC Sports and Sirius XM host Tara Slone give us their morning-after take on The Grey Cup and how it reflected this current pivotal moment in Canadian culture. Comedian and podcaster Marlon Palmer joins us to talk about the new Eddie Murphy doc, and why he is one of the greatest comics of our time.…

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Friday wrap on The Running Man, The Office Movers and Christy 26:39

12d ago26:39

26:39

Film critics Rad Simonpillai, Teri Hart, and Kaiya Shunyata join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss Edgar Wright’s reboot of Stephen King’s dystopian thriller The Running Man, the growing cult appeal of the Toronto-based comedy series The Office Movers, and the disastrous box-office performance of Sydney Sweeney’s would-be Oscar contender Christy.…

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Pluribus is the best thing on TV right now, and GTA 6 delay 25:32

13d ago25:32

25:32

Entertainment writer Jackson Weaver and culture critic Kathryn VanArendonk talk with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about Vince Gilligan’s long-awaited show Pluribus and how it's asking big, philosophical questions in new ways. And It’s been more than a decade since Grand Theft Auto got an update – and now the new version of the iconic video game has been del…

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How Margaret Atwood's memoir changes the way we see her books 30:15

2d ago30:15

30:15

A lot has been said about Margaret Atwood’s memoir ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ since it was published last week, which makes sense, because she revealed a whole lot about her life that most of us didn’t know. Author Heather O’Neill, and writer Deborah Dundas join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how reading Margaret Atwood's memoir changes …

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Rosalía's 'LUX' brings the symphony to the club 44:02

14d ago44:02

44:02

Spanish pop star Rosalía is back with her new album, Lux. Over eighteen tracks, she trades in the dembow beats that filled her last record Motomami for maximalist orchestral sounds more in line with Björk than Bad Bunny. The album is dense: there's four movements, thirteen languages, arrangements by Caroline Shaw, and a wide breadth of influences –…

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How creative artists fight back after getting ripped off 20:46

11d ago20:46

20:46

Montreal-based graphic artist Raymond Biesinger has a new book out called '9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off.' He describes it as an informal guide for professional creatives to protect themselves from exploitation. He joins Elamin Abdelmahmoud along with Vancouver-based photographer Jackie Dives to talk about fighting back after having creative …

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From the charts to podcasts, the state of rap in 2025 25:54

12h ago25:54

25:54

Hip-hop radio veterans Mastermind and Jay Smooth, along with music industry academic Michelle Santosuosso join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss the rise of rappers turned popular podcasters and how that squares against the decline of rap music on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

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Friday wrap on All's Fair, Die My Love, and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 28:13

16d ago28:13

28:13

Critics Teri Hart, Roxana Hadadi and Jackson Weaver join guest host Amil Niazi to discuss the new Kim Kardashian legal drama ‘All’s Fair,’ and how motherhood shows up in Jennifer Lawrence's new film, ‘Die My Love’ and in ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,’ starring Rose Byrne.

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BONUS Sombr and the debate over concert criticism 12:32

19d ago12:32

12:32

The recent TikTok drama between Sombr and one of his fans got a lot of people talking. The 20-year-old pop star responded to a 25-year-old fan after she called his show ‘cringe’ and said his jokes were immature. Music critic Emilie Hanskamp chats with Elamin about how the intragenerational fight played out, and what it says about the state of the i…

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The memes of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and Canada in Eurovision? 25:20

20d ago25:20

25:20

How did a song about a shipwreck become one of the biggest songs of Gordon Lightfoot's career? Music critic and writer Niko Stratis and writer Conor Kerr join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about why the internet is flooded with memes of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. And Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out his vision for the future in this new f…

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Canadian literary festivals are having urgent conversations, and Rosalia is redefining global pop stardom 25:36

20d ago25:36

25:36

Literary festivals bring people together who love books, and they also move a bunch of merchandise. But what’s the deeper work happening here? Stephanie Domet and Leslie Hurtig are both involved with running literary festivals and join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the special place these events have at this particular cultural moment. And musi…

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Lily Allen and Tate McRae revive the revenge anthem 33:50

7d ago33:50

33:50

They say the best revenge is living well, but if you’re a pop star going through a break up, that’s false. The best revenge is releasing a searing scorched-earth revenge banger that calls out your ex and, ideally, rides that vengeance to the top of the Billboard charts. That’s exactly what Tate McRae and Lily Allen have done in the wake of their hi…

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Halo is coming to PlayStation. Are the console wars over? 16:14

9d ago16:14

16:14

Tech culture journalists Alyssa Mercante and Jonathan Ore join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about Xbox’s decision to make its exclusive game, Halo, available on rival PlayStation consoles, and what that says about the state of the video-game industry right now.

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The heartbreak of fandom and why it's about more than baseball 36:02

23d ago36:02

36:02

If the World Series showed us anything this year, it’s that the game was about so much more than baseball. Elamin Abdelmahmoud sits down with Morgan Campbell, Kaitlyn McGrath and Joyita Sengupta to talk about why Canada's team came out on top, despite not winning it all.

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Friday wrap on Welcome to Derry, Bugonia, and Dream Eater 27:46

25d ago27:46

27:46

Sonya Ballantyne, Beatrice Loayza and Laura Hall join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the horrifying return of Pennywise the clown in HBO’s ‘Welcome to Derry,’ the existential horror of Emma Stone’s film ‘Bugonia,’ and nightmare-inducing Canadian indie horror film ‘Dream Eater.’ Fill out our listener survey: https://cbc.ca/CommotionSurvey…

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Cementing Carbon 1:01:15

24d ago1:01:15

1:01:15

This is a crossover episode with the Spring Street Passive House education and advocacy series. Welcome to a pivotal conversation on the future of our built world. The concrete industry, indispensable for modern infrastructure, is facing an urgent mandate: reconcile its foundational role (pun) with its role as a source of environmental pollution. T…

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BONUS How Misty Copeland changed ballet 12:28

26d ago12:28

12:28

Misty Copeland took her final bow last week, retiring from a 25 year career at American Ballet Theatre. A decade ago, she made headlines when she became the first Black woman to be promoted to principal dancer at the company. Lydia Murray, marketing and communications manager at Baryshnikov Arts in New York, joins Elamin Abdelmahmoud to reflect on …

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Lily Allen goes all in on her divorce album 24:29

26d ago24:29

24:29

Culture writer Olivia Petter, and music critic Reanna Cruz delve into Lily Allen’s new album ‘West End Girl’ with Elamin Abdelmahmoud and talk about how it doesn’t just hint at the breakdown of a marriage, it paints a detailed, devastating picture, and why fans are obsessively dissecting every track. Fill out our listener survey: https://cbc.ca/Com…

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How US politics shapes the discourse around what we see onscreen, and Daniel Caesar's new album 24:54

28d ago24:54

24:54

With the new film ‘A House of Dynamite’ and season 3 of the ‘The Diplomat’ streaming now on Netflix, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by culture critics El Jones and Kathryn VanArendonk to look at the ways political thrillers are being received amidst our real world geo-political tensions. And CBC Music journalist Natalie Harmsen talks about the new a…

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Can “professor” Charlie Puth pass our qualifying exam? 38:27

9d ago38:27

38:27

Charlie Puth breaks down his new single "Changes," a maximalist eighties production hiding a melancholy story about drifting friendships. As he prepares for fatherhood, the singer-songwriter reflects on how relationships evolve from deep conversations to small talk, why he listens to lyrics last, and his belief that music should offer a three-minut…

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Does ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ actually deliver? 25:08

29d ago25:08

25:08

Film critic Adrian Horton, music journalist Dominic Tardif, and podcaster Vish Khanna join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the new Bruce Springsteen biopic ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ and whether it offers any fresh insight into the making of his 1982 classic ‘Nebraska,’ which has also recently been reissued in a deluxe box set. Fill o…