Best Commotion Podcasts (2026)

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Fashion wins and misses in 2025 25:40

Play Pause

4h ago25:40

25:40

2025 was a big year on and off the runway. Fashion writers Danya Issawi, Tashira Halyard and Mosha Lundström Halbert look back on a year in fashion that was full of change, with Anna Wintour stepping down at Vogue, the death of Giorgio Armani and a new crop of designers taking over at places like Dior, Givenchy and Chanel.…

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The biggest pop culture moments of 2025 25:29

12h ago25:29

25:29

Coming into 2025, the phrases '6-7,' 'Italian brainrot,' 'Coldplay kiss-cam' and 'astronaut Katy Perry' were not commonly used expressions, but thanks to the unpredictable tides of pop culture, they have become permanent parts of a shared lexicon. On this episode of Commotion, writers Amil Niazi, Niko Stratis, and Jackson Weaver reflect on the most…

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The Sound of Silence from Unexplainable 30:59

15m ago30:59

30:59

A scientist asked people to sit in a silent room for 15 minutes. Almost half of them decided to give themselves a painful electric shock instead. What is it about our brains that makes our relationship with silence so strange? And should we learn how to listen to it? This is the third episode of the four-part Unexplainable series, The Sound Barrier…

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How riot grrls were replaced with girl power you could buy [2025 HIGHLIGHTS] 25:17

9m ago25:17

25:17

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 latest book, Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Agains…

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What our shrinking attention span means for arts and entertainment [2025 HIGHLIGHTS] 25:11

5h ago25:11

25:11

Culture writer Rebecca Jennings, tech/public-policy expert Vass Bednar, and media-studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan discuss how shrinking attention spans in the social-media age are impacting the way that literature, film, and music are produced and consumed.

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Mariah Carey's new album, and why she's still one of the most iconic singers of our time [2025 HIGHLIGHTS] 26:00

19h ago26:00

26:00

Elamin is joined by culture critics Pablo The Don and Michael Blackmon, along with Juno nominated singer Tanika Charles to discuss ‘Here For It All’ - the new album from Mariah Carey, and why she remains one of the most iconic singer/songwriters of our time.

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Naughty or nice? The 2025 holiday music round up 37:06

2d ago37:06

37:06

Every Christmas season, pop stars far and wide throw their Santa hats into the ring to see who has the next "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and this year is no exception. It's a yearly tradition on Switched On Pop to explore the deluge of holiday hits, and 2025 sees formidable entries to the canon from folks like Kylie Minogue, Leon Bridges, and…

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How NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts became a hub for Black pop [2025 HIGHLIGHTS] 26:08

9d ago26:08

26:08

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 …

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Hydronics: The OG HVAC - Part 1 1:24:14

2d ago1:24:14

1:24:14

In this episode we are once again diving into the world of hydronics systems and air-to-water heat pumps. These systems are poised to transform how we heat and cool homes and buildings in the US. In this Part 1 of a two part series, we’ll be tracing the historical "divergence" that pushed the US toward forced-air ducting while Europe stayed with th…

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How Kent Monkman creates new conversations about art and Canada's past [2025 HIGHLIGHTS] 25:36

3d ago25:36

25:36

This year, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the group chat gathered to talk about Kent Monkman, Kent Monkman is having a profound impact on the way we understand Canada’s past – and the histories of Indigenous peoples. Riley Yesno, Susan Blight and Marion Newman celebrated Kent Monkman, whose gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagl…

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Friday wrap on: Avatar 3 and new Disney/OpenAI deal 25:23

6d ago25:23

25:23

Elamin is joined by film critics Jesse Wente, Sarah-Ta Black & Jackson Weaver to discuss ‘Avatar: Fire & Ash’ - the latest installment in James Cameron’s sci-action blockbuster franchise and react to Disney’s new agreement with OpenAI that will give the public access to some of Disney’s most beloved characters via OpenAI’s popular Sora app.…

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The Geese divide + best new Xmas albums! 25:12

13d ago25:12

25:12

Pretty much every best-of-2025 music list of note has featured Brooklyn band Geese’s third album, Getting Killed, at or near the top – a remarkable feat for an indie rock band whose members are still in their early 20s, and whose music is wilfully idiosyncratic, if not downright polarizing. Music journalist Emilie Hanskamp explains how Geese took t…

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Remembering Rob Reiner, and the 2025 shows and films you might've missed 25:16

8d ago25:16

25:16

Today, we remember Rob Reiner’s amazing Hollywood legacy, and a look back at some of the shows and films that may have flown under your radar. Elamin Abdelmahmoud chats with critics Roxana Hadadi, Rachel Ho, and Radheyan Simonpillai about their favourite Rob Reiner movies, and the best things they watched this year that didn’t get enough love.…

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What Rogers V. Rogers play tells us about Canada in this moment 25:28

15d ago25:28

25:28

Michael Healey’s new play 'Rogers V. Rogers: The Battle for Control Over Canada's Telecom Empire,' reveals a lot about the power structures that exist inside Canada. Elamin talks to journalist and author Paul Wells and The Globe and Mail’s Aisling Murphy about the success of the show, and how a story about a dysfunctional family and a corporate str…

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The year that killed music (best and worst of 2025) 47:27

9d ago47:27

47:27

From big-ticket albums by Taylor and Gaga, to a revival of the stomp-clap revival – 2025 had it all, for better and for worse. Now that the year has come to a close, it's time to take a look back at the past twelve months: what happened in the zeitgeist, what we loved listening to, and what we missed here on the show. Reanna, Charlie, and Nate talk…

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Has parodying the Toronto accent gone too far, and the cultural impact of the Shopaholic series 25:01

16d ago25:01

25:01

With a hot debate raging between prominent Toronto content creators Marlon Palmer and City Boy JJ about the right and wrong ways to use the Toronto accent as a comedic tool to gain online popularity, Commotion guest host Radheyan Simonpillai is joined by culture critics Sandy Hudson and Matt Amha to discuss why conversations around who gets to cele…

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Friday Wrap on: Wake Up Dead Man, and Quentin Tarantino trash talks Paul Dano 25:36

19d ago25:36

25:36

Critics Roxana Hadadi, Angelo Muredda and Jackson Weaver chat with guest host Radheyan Simonpillai about the new Knives Out movie 'Wake Up Dead Man,’ Quentin Tarantino talking trash about Paul Dano’s acting, and all the elaborate marketing tactics movie studios are using to get you to come to the theatre again.…

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Why pop songwriters break the rules (ft. Amy Allen) 57:10

19d ago57:10

57:10

Grammy-winning songwriter Amy Allen joins NYU Steinhardt students live to trace her path from early pitch songs to co-writing some of the decade's defining hits. She explains why Halsey's "Without Me" needed an extended chorus but no pre-made chord loops, how Harry Styles' "Matilda" required character-driven writing for emotional safety, and what m…

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The best in Canadian music in 2025 25:26

20d ago25:26

25:26

CBC Music’s Natalie Harmsen, culture writer Riley Yesno, and Walrus writer Erin Macleod reflect on the big albums, trends, and challenges that defined Canadian music in 2025.

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How Frank Gehry's love of art showed up in the buildings he created, and S2 of For The Culture 25:11

15d ago25:11

25:11

Remembering Frank Gehry – one of the most famous architects of the last half-century, who had an improbable path to global stardom. Elamin Abdelmahmoud sits down with architect and designer Lukasz Kos and architecture critc Alex Bozikovic to talk about how Frank's love of the arts gave rise to buildings that were works of art on their own – and wha…

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Club Chalamet and can fandom actually go too far, and iHeartRadio stands up to AI 25:11

22d ago25:11

25:11

Club Chalamet is a Timothée Chalamet fan club started by Simone Cromer. Elamin is joined by pop culture writers Kayleigh Donaldson and CT Jones to dig into the business behind Club Chalamet, what it reveals about the current state of fandom, and whether the parasocial obsession with Timothée Chalamet has gone too far. Plus, with iHeartMedia announc…

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How Sombr’s bedroom recordings became his biggest hits 39:21

16d ago39:21

39:21

Sombr went from crafting raw, reverb soaked songs alone in his Lower East Side bedroom to finding his life shifting in ways he never could have predicted across 2024 and 2025. His biggest tracks kept their imperfections even as world class players at Sound City added new layers, and a disco groove he began as a late night joke transformed into a br…

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50 Cent's new Diddy doc is wiiild, and what to make of Canada's revolving door of Heritage Ministers 25:11

23d ago25:11

25:11

With the Netflix release of the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs docu-series ‘The Reckoning,’ executive produced by 50 Cent - Elamin is joined by entertainment reporter Taryn Finley and New York culture critic Jay Smooth to discuss the series and its approach to the Diddy scandal. Plus, Canada has a new Heritage Minister – the seventh in fewer than 10 years. The…

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Friday Wrap on: Sentimental Value, Hamnet, Jay Kelly 27:08

27d ago27:08

27:08

Three new movies illuminate what it means to be an absent father: Joachim Trier's movie 'Sentimental Value,' Chloé Zhao’s film 'Hamnet,' and Noah Baumbach’s movie 'Jay Kelly.' The Friday group chat gathers to talk about a new kind of Dad movie.

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How Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) brings Inuit storytelling to the big screen, and Broadway shows at the movies 27:40

27d ago27:40

27:40

Zacharias Kunuk’s films are legendary for the way they show the beauty of Canada’s North and the richness of Inuit culture. His latest film 'Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)' is an epic love story, set four thousand years ago. Two artists from Igloolik, filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk and actor Zorga Qaunaq talk to Elamin Abdelmahmoud about the film and how …

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How RapCity connected Canadians through hip-hop 25:03

28d ago25:03

25:03

With pioneering MuchMusic program ‘RapCity’ having its 35th anniversary celebrations this year, Elamin is joined by the show's original creator and producer, Michele Geister - to look back on the program’s early rise to prominence.

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The gay hockey romance Heated Rivalry is lusty, horny, and real, and why Claire Danes' face has the internet talking 32:57

29d ago32:57

32:57

Imagine this: Two of the best hockey players on the best teams in the NHL are arch-rivals on the rink. Off the ice: they’re lovers. That’s the premise of a new series on Crave called Heated Rivalry – adapted from a popular series of romance novels. Lainey Lui and former pro hockey player Brock McGillis join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about a show …

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"It’s a Hail Mary every time" (ft. Marc Rebillet) 51:49

30d ago51:49

51:49

When it comes to improvisational loop jams, few have gone as viral as Marc Rebillet. From his 2020 lockdown-era video “How to Funk in Two Minutes,” which features him wearing nothing but a bathrobe, to unsuspecting New York street corners, and eventually the Coachella main stage, Rebillet has come to be known as “loop daddy” for his gifted ability …

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Beyond the View 1:31:29

24d ago1:31:29

1:31:29

Windows are pivotal to the lived experience of a home. They impact the basic aesthetic and provide natural light, views, ventilation, and safety. However, they are also nearly always the largest single source of heat loss and gain - it's hard to overstate the importance of getting windows right, as they play a huge role in a building's energy use. …