Elamin Abdelmahmoud is a Sudanese Canadian writer, culture and politics commentator, and podcast host based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He is best known as a culture writer for

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

and as host of ''Pop Chat'' and co-host of ''Party Lines'' with

Rosemary Barton Rosemary Barton (born May 31, 1976) is a Canadian political journalist, currently serving as the chief political correspondent for CBC. In this role, she anchors her own Sunday morning news show, '' Rosemary Barton Live'', hosted the "At Issu ...

. In November 2022 the CBC announced that Abdelmahmoud will debut on January 30, 2023, as the host of '' Commotion'', a daily pop culture magazine show which will air after '' Q'' weekday mornings.

Early life and education

Abdelmahmoud was born in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

and emigrated to Canada at the age of 12, settling in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. He studied philosophy and gender studies at Queen's University, graduating in 2011. As a student at Queen's he wrote for the ''Queen’s Journal'' and worked at

CFRC-FM CFRC-FM (101.9 MHz) is the non-commercial campus radio station at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The station has one of the longest radio histories in Canada, with experimental broadcasts dating back to 1922 and serves Que ...

, the campus radio station. In 2018, Abdelmahmoud was awarded the One to Watch Award by the Queen's Alumni Association.

Career

Abdelmahmoud's career began as a production assistant at the CBC. He began working as researcher for ''

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight ''George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight'' (originally known as ''The Hour'') is a Canadian television talk show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos that aired on CBC Television from 2005 to 2014. As ''The Hour'', the show was so named, as it was a dail ...

'' in 2012 before joining ''The National'' as a researcher and editorial assistant. He left the CBC to join TVO, where he worked as a social for TVO's ''

The Agenda ''The Agenda with Steve Paikin'', or simply ''The Agenda'', is the flagship current affairs television program of TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster. Anchor Steve Paikin states that the show practices long-form journalism. Each hour- ...

''. Abdelmahmoud joined

in 2015 and took over writing BuzzFeed's morning newsletter in 2018. His inspirational newsletter signoffs gained widespread popularity, resulting in merchandise featuring his well wishes to readers. Abdelmahmoud has been a panelist on ''The National'' and is a regular guest on other CBC programs. In 2019 Abdelmahmoud began co-hosting the political podcast ''Party Lines'' with Canadian political journalist

. He began hosting ''Pop Chat'' in 2020. The same year he joined the ''

Podcast Playlist ''Podcast Playlist'' is a Canadian radio program and podcast, which airs weekly on CBC Radio One.Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: * Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. *Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'', ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. He is also known for writing about race as it pertains to music and social life including interviews with Yola,

Rhiannon Giddens Rhiannon Giddens (born February 21, 1977) is an American musician. She is a founding member of the country, blues and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player. Giddens i ...

, and

Jason Isbell Michael Jason Isbell (; born February 1, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007. Isbell h ...

about racism in country music and the whiteness of the Canadian cottage industry. Abdelmahmoud's first book ''Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces'' was published by Random House in 2022. The book draws on his experience identifying as Arab as a child only to be defined as Black after arriving in Canada.

Personal life

Abdelmahmoud lives in Toronto with his wife, Emily, and their daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdelmahmoud, Elamin CBC Radio hosts Black Canadian broadcasters Sudanese emigrants to Canada Queen's University at Kingston alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian memoirists Black Canadian writers Canadian talk radio hosts