Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

After eight seasons, the time travel romance series 'Outlander' is coming to an end this week. Like its lead character, Outlander is stuck between two worlds: the harsh prestige TV of the last decade and on-screen romances of today. Culture critics Kathryn VanArendonk and Kayleigh Donaldson talk to Elamin Abdelmahmoud about how Outlander has stuck around despite never quite cracking the mainstream.

Also, video games like 'Stardew Valley' and 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' are surging in popularity. The trend even has a name: cozy gaming. Niko Stratis joins Elamin to talk about what makes a game “cozy” and why she loves playing them.

The Montreal Canadiens are the last Canadian team left in the NHL playoffs. But before you start calling them “Canada’s team,” let’s be clear, this is Quebec’s team. Elamin Abdelmahmoud talks with Montreal Gazette writer Brendan Kelly who wrote the book 'Habs Nation: A People's History of The Montreal Canadiens' and Biz, a rapper whose Habs anthem is everywhere right now. They’ll talk about the team’s connection to the sovereignty movement, and why these playoffs are about something much bigger than hockey.

And Vulture's Hershal Pandya talks about the new documentary 'Marty, Life is Short' which looks back on the decades-long career of Canadian comedian Martin Short and features all the famous friends he’s made along the way.

The new musical 'It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken' uses the Tragically Hip’s songbook to tell the story of an Iraqi immigrant adapting to his new home in Canada in the early 2000s in Kingston, Ontario. Globe and Mail critic Aisling Murphy and theatre historian Karen Fricker chat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud about how the Hip’s songs translate to the musical-theatre format.

The Big Five answers the most pressing question of our time: what are the “Big 5” of any given category? Not the best 5. Not the top 5. Not anyone’s favourite 5. But objectively, the Big 5. In each episode, Donovan Woods, Tom Power, and a celebrity guest tackle new topics and debate things like: what are the Big 5 farm animals? Types of hats? Slang terms for “butt”? Ways to cook a potato? In this episode, Elamin joins in to scrap about the big five sea creatures, guys named John and email sign-offs.

More episodes of The Big Five are available wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/TB5xCWEA

Half Man, from the creator of Baby Reindeer Richard Gadd, a new adaptation of Lord Of The Flies, and a surprise capsule episode of The Bear are talking about the dark side of masculinity in really interesting ways. Culture critics Hanna Flint, Jackson Weaver and novelist Ben Purkert join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to explain how they illuminate what’s wrong with masculinity right now.