Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

Earlier this week, a giant ice sculpture appeared in the middle of downtown Toronto with the release date of Drake's new album hidden inside. It attracted a lot of gawkers, live streamers and people with pickaxes, until the fire department hosed it down. Music journalist Emilie Hanskamp, culture critic Matt Amha and comedian Marlon Palmer join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about how Drake is a master at marketing and getting everyone’s attention.

After sharing her diagnosis of a rare neurological condition, it seemed possible that Celine Dion might never perform again. Now she is back with a new song, and a 16-night residency in Paris that sold out in minutes. Elamin Abdelmahmoud checks in with Eugénie Lépine-Blondeau, host of Radio-Canada's Admission générale podcast and Benjamin Locoge, editor-in-chief for Culture of Paris Match, about the buzz building around Celine's return.

Premiering in 2023, the Netflix series Beef was an instant smash hit thanks to its gripping premise about a minor road-rage incident between two strangers that snowballs into an all-consuming, back-and-forth battle. For season two, creator Lee Sung Jin introduces a new cast of characters who clash at an upscale country club. Variety TV critic Alison Herman and Vulture TV critic Roxana Hadadi talk to Elamin Abelmahmoud about whether the second season is as successful as the first.

Nevon Sinclair was a Toronto-based singer, vocal coach and vocal arranger whose talents helped shape the sound of artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson, Loony and Shi Wisdom. He died recently at the age of 39. Elamin is joined by music journalist and publicist Dalton Higgins and CBC Music producer Ryan Chung to look back on Nevon Sinclair’s legacy and the role Toronto’s Black Christian music community has played in giving us some of Canada’s most successful R&B singers and musicians to date.

The memes being lobbed by the U.S. and Iran have been fueled not only by the intensity of their conflict, but also pop culture and AI. James Poniewozik, chief television critic for The New York Times, and Iranian Canadian journalist Samira Mohyeddin talk with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about how these memes have shifted our understanding of the US-Iran war.

Plus, millions of people love watching zit popping videos online, a fascination that’s spawned a very popular TV show hosted by the dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee. Zit popping enthusiast and culture critic Sarah-Tai Black explains the emotional and social reasons behind the show's popularity.

The marketing company Chaotic Good Projects has become a lightning rod of controversy in the music industry in recent weeks, after a viral essay from indie musician Eliza McLamb shed light on their claims that they can manipulate social media algorithms to boost the careers of their clients, including the rock band Geese. Music journalists Steven Hyden and Matthew Ismael Ruiz discuss whether Chaotic Good’s tactics are shady and unethical, or if they’re simply a modern update of traditional music-biz PR.

Asha Bhosle, one of Bollywood's brightest stars, sang over 12,000 songs over the course of her eight-decade career. She died on April 12 at the age of 92. Culture critic and fan Aparita Bhandari talks about the many highlights of Bhosle's iconic career.