Meet the Pop Chat panel: Culture critics from around the Twitterverse
CBC Podcasts | Posted: September 13, 2020 8:00 AM | Last Updated: September 14, 2020
Elamin Abdelmahmoud hosts Pop Chat, CBC Podcasts new weekly show
CBC Podcasts is thrilled to announce the launch of Pop Chat, a new podcast hosted by Elamin Abdelmahmoud.
What sets this podcast apart is its epic roster of culture aficionados. Featuring some of the most exciting critics from around the world (many of whom you may recognize from Twitter), every Wednesday we get to listen in on the Pop Chat panel as they debate, discuss and make sense of the major stories blowing up the internet.
So without further ado, read on to introduce yourself to the Pop Chat panel.
Elamin Abdelmahmoud (host)
Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) is the co-host of CBC Politics' podcast Party Lines, and a frequent culture commentator for CBC News. He's a culture writer for BuzzFeed News, where he also writes Incoming, the daily morning newsletter. His work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Maclean's, and Rolling Stone.
Shireen Ahmed
Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) is a writer, public speaker, mentor, and award-winning sports activist who focuses on Muslim women, and the intersections of racism and misogyny in sports. She is part of the "Burn It All Down" feminist sports podcast team - the first feminist sports podcast that analyzes sports culture from an intersectional feminist lens. When she isn't watching soccer, she drinks coffee as a tool of resistance.
"I can't wait to talk sports (obv), tv, books, FOOD, random things and (un)popular opinions. Also, the Golden Girls because I feel like they never got their proper respects. I have other hills I am prepared to die on."
Sarah Hagi
Sarah Hagi is a Toronto based writer of essays, humour and journalism. Her work has appeared in publications like The New Yorker, GQ Magazine, Time Magazine, The Globe and Mail, Food & Wine, and many other publications.
Kevin Fallon
Kevin Fallon (@kpfallon) is a senior entertainment reporter at The Daily Beast. He has written for Out, Newsweek, Glamour, The Week, and The Atlantic, among other publications, and is a member of the Critics Choice Association and Television Critics Association. Yes, he is related to Jimmy Fallon, assuming you are referring to the painting contractor from Long Island.
"Why is pop culture important right now? The world right now is *horrifying*! Pop culture can serve as a much-needed and fun distraction, but it's also a necessary lens through which we can process and learn from all of the erstwhile horribleness. We need pop culture to help us move forward!"
Kathleen Newman-Bremang
Kathleen Newman-Bremang (@KathleenNB) is a Toronto-based writer and producer. She has produced many high-profile productions like The Social, eTalk: Live at the Oscars, the iHeartRadio MMVAs and Crave original series Cravings: The Aftershow. Her writing has appeared in Lainey Gossip, Cosmo, Elle, Corduroy Magazine, and The Kit. She is currently the senior writer at Refinery29 Canada and a frequent culture commentator for various CBC and CTV programs.
Angelina Chapin
Angelina Chapin (@angelinachapin) is a senior writer at New York Magazine's The Cut who covers gender, politics and culture. Before that, she was a reporter at HuffPost who wrote about criminal justice and immigration.
Andrea Warner
Andrea Warner (@_AndreaWarner) is the author of Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography and We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the '90s and Changed Canadian Music. She's an associate producer at CBC Music, theatre critic, radio columnist, and freelance writer. She's part of the programming committee of the Vancouver Podcast Festival and co-hosts the weekly podcast Pop This!.
"Pop culture is SAVING my life right now. Honestly, would I have made it through the first few weeks of pandemic without turning to the Fast & the Furious franchise or the John Wick trilogy? Of course, but it wouldn't have been as tolerable."
Hussein Kesvani
Hussein Kesvani (@hkesvani) is an author, journalist and producer based in South London, UK. He has reported and written for BuzzFeed News, VICE, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and the New Statesman among others. He was the UK and Europe editor of MEL Magazine, and is currently a writer, producer and co-host of the popular political comedy podcast Trashfuture. He is a dual citizen of the UK and Canada.
Amil Niazi
Amil Niazi (@amil) is an award-winning content creator who has worked as an editor and producer at CBC, VICE, BBC and The Guardian. As a freelance writer and cultural critic her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Refinery29, Elle Canada and VICE.
Stacy Lee Kong
Stacy Lee Kong (@stacyleekong) is a writer, editor and the founder of Friday Things, a weekly newsletter that delivers smart takes on the week's biggest pop culture stories—or at least, the ones she can't stop thinking about. Her bylines have appeared in publications including Maclean's, the Globe & Mail, Reader's Digest and enRoute. She has worked at some of the largest magazine brands in Canada, including Flare, Canadian Living, House & Home and Chatelaine, and is currently the deputy editor of the West End Phoenix, an independent local newspaper in Toronto.
"I get annoyed when people dismiss TV shows, internet memes and fashion as unimportant. Like... what? Storytelling is foundational to human existence, and these are our stories! And, it's not just about analyzing the show or celebrity or meme itself. There's also a value in the conversations we can have using pop culture—more than anything else, I think it's a useful tool to explore race, gender, sexuality or ability."
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