Chandler Levack’s second film, Mile End Kicks, is a nostalgic coming-of-age tale set in Montreal’s indie rock scene in 2011. Barbie Ferreira stars as Grace Pine, a Toronto music critic who impulsively moves to Montreal to write a book about Alanis Morissette and gets very distracted along the way. Montreal Gazette writer T’Cha Dunlevy, author Lux Alptraum and cutsleeve drummer Lian McMillan join Elamin to talk about the movie.

Thanks to her new memoir ‘Famesick,’ Lena Dunham is all over our feeds after being out of the spotlight for awhile. Slate’s Scaachi Koul and Vulture’s Fran Hoepfner [HOFF-ner] chat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about how Lena Dunham became a polarizing cultural figure and the way she reflects on her past successes and failures now. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

In the finale of Canada Reads 2026, the win went to the historical novel 'The Cure for Drowning' by Loghan Paylor and championed by Tegan Quin. Set during the Second World War, the novel follows a nonbinary protagonist named Kit as they navigate wartime, a love triangle and sibling rivalry on their family farm in rural Ontario.

Tegan and Loghan joined Elamin Abdelmahmoud in the hours after their win to look back on the week and talk about why this book has resonated with readers across the country.

New York City rapper/producer Afrika Bambaataa was one of the most pivotal figures in the early evolution of hip-hop in the early ‘80s, thanks to an Afrofuturist aesthetic that thrust the music out from the streets of the Bronx onto dancefloors around the world. However, his reputation as a musical visionary and community leader was forever tarnished when allegations of child sexual abuse surfaced in 2016. In the wake of Bambaataa’s cancer-related death last week at the age of 68, Duke Black American Studies professor Mark Anthony Neal and hip-hop writer/broadcaster Jay Smooth grapple with the legacy of a problematic pioneer. Plus - it has been a long time since Canadian films did as well as they’re doing now at the Box Office. Globe and Mail film critic Barry Hertz joins Elamin Abdelmahmoud to explain WHY – and what it may have to do with Canadian pride. 

DTF St Louis is one of the most original shows on TV right now – Critics Michel Ghanem [MEE-shell GAH-nim] and Vinson Cunningham join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about Sunday's finale and what the show reveals about male friendship in mid-life. Virtual K-pop group Plave just released their latest EP Caligo Pt. 2. It’s the follow up to last year’s Caligo Pt. 1 album that sold more than a million copies, a first for a virtual group. Michelle Cho talks with host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about Plave's success.

A lot has happened in the four years since the last season of Euphoria -- for both the show’s characters and its cast members. Vulture TV critic Roxana Hadadi [ha-DAW-dee] and OnlyFans creator Gwen Adora join Elamin to talk about where the show picks up in season three, its continued obsession with sex work and the controversies its weathered along the way. Plus - the biggest music festival in North America, Coachella, once again takes over the polo fields of Indio, California for two weekends of fun in the sun. CBC Music’s Natalie Harmsen fills us in on the buzziest performances from the event – including the long-awaited stage return of Justin Bieber.

With NASA’s first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years coming to an end, Elamin Abdelmahmoud is joined by ‘The Nature of Things’ co-host Anthony Morgan, along with culture critics Pablo The Don and El Jones, to look back on Artemis II's big moments and how they're landing in pop culture. 

Summer House is a reality show set in the Hamptons that’s been full of drama for 10 seasons. But the scandal happening off screen is what has got fans more invested than ever. Maybe too invested? Culture critics Ashley Ray and Chris Murphy join Commotion guest host Amil Niazi to talk about what’s happening, and what it says about this moment in reality television. 

Plus, Mark Lee, a member of the K-Pop group NCT, recently announced he would be leaving the group and his label SM Entertainment after 10 years. Culture writer Lucy Ford talks with guest host Amil Niazi about why Mark’s exit is bombshell news for K-Pop fans.

Memes featuring convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are all over the internet, and an online game called ‘Five Nights at Epstein’s' has gone viral with U.S. middle and high school students. Journalist Kat Tenbarge joins guest host Amil Niazi to talk about what the memeification of Epstein says about this moment we’re in. And Toronto Star's arts critic Joshua Chong talks about 'Big Mistakes.' Dan Levy co-created and stars in the show that follows siblings who get mixed up in an organized crime ring.

'The Drama' starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya hits theatres on April 3. The movie hinges on a dark secret that's already stirred up controversy before the film's release. Film critics Bilge Ebiri and Rachel Ho talk to guest host Amil Niazi about the controversy, and why the movie still lands even if you know the spoilers.

Plus, with Saskatchewan passing the Film Content Information Act that puts the onus on movie theatres to create their own content warning. Commotion guest host Amil Niazi is joined by University of Saskatchewan professor Jerry White to talk about what inspired this act and its ramifications for moviegoers in the province and Canada writ large.

Elamin is joined by CBC entertainment reporter Jackson Weaver and filmmaker Kwame Mason to discuss the new TV series ‘Hate The Player: The Ben Johnson Story’ and the film ‘Youngblood’.

Plus, music/tech journalist Cam Gordon discusses his new book, ‘Track Changes: The Origin Story of Canadian Music on the Internet (1990-2010),’ and the unsung early online adopters who built the foundation of the country’s modern-day music industry.