Elamin Abdelmahmoud (born March 10, 1988)[1][2] is a Sudanese Canadian writer, culture and politics commentator, and broadcaster based in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known as a culture writer for BuzzFeed and as a CBC Radio podcast and network radio host.
Elamin Abdelmahmoud | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 10, 1988[1][2] |
| Education | Queen's University |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and commentator |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | Official Instagram |
In November 2022 the CBC announced that Abdelmahmoud would debut on January 30, 2023, as the host of Commotion, a daily pop culture magazine show which airs after Q weekday mornings.[3]
Early life and education
editAbdelmahmoud was born in Sudan and emigrated to Canada at the age of 12, settling in Kingston, Ontario.[4][5] He studied philosophy and gender studies at Queen's University, graduating in 2011.[4] As a student at Queen's he wrote for the Queen’s Journal and worked at CFRC-FM, the campus radio station.[6] In 2018, Abdelmahmoud was awarded the One to Watch Award by the Queen's Alumni Association.[7]
Career
editAbdelmahmoud's career began as a production assistant at the CBC.[4] He began working as researcher for George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight in 2012 before joining The National as a researcher and editorial assistant.[6] He left the CBC to join TVO, where he worked as a social for TVO's The Agenda.[4][6] Abdelmahmoud joined BuzzFeed in 2015 and took over writing BuzzFeed's morning newsletter in 2018.[6] His inspirational newsletter signoffs gained widespread popularity, resulting in merchandise featuring his well wishes to readers.[6] Abdelmahmoud has been a panelist on The National and is a regular guest on other CBC programs.[8] In 2019 Abdelmahmoud began co-hosting the political podcast Party Lines with Canadian political journalist Rosemary Barton.[9] He began hosting Pop Chat in 2020.[10] The same year he joined the Podcast Playlist as the program's new host.
As a long-form writer, Abdelmahouhd has written about culture and politics for publications including Chatelaine, Maclean's and The Guardian. He is also known for writing about race as it pertains to music and social life including interviews with Yola, Rhiannon Giddens,[11] and Jason Isbell about racism in country music[12] and the whiteness of the Canadian cottage industry.[13]
Abdelmahmoud's first book Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces was published by Random House in 2022.[14] The book draws on his experience identifying as Arab as a child only to be defined as Black after arriving in Canada.[15][16]
Personal life
editAbdelmahmoud lives in Toronto with his wife, Emily, and their daughter Amna Eliot.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b Abdelmahmoud, Elamin (2021-10-08). "50 years of multiculturalism: We do it well... except when we don't". Canadian Geographic. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ a b "Birthday tweet". 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
- ^ Connie Thiessen, "Reimagined ‘Q with Tom Power,’ new CBC Podcasts unveiled as part of public broadcaster’s winter slate". Broadcast Dialogue, November 30, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Elamin Abdelmahmoud, Artsci'11, Talks about his Career and Queen's Progress in Equity". www.queensu.ca. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Donaldson, Emily (13 May 2022). "Review : Elamin Abdelmahmoud 'leads us to the poetry of Highway 401' in his memoir 'Son of Elsewhere'". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Singh, Katherine (10 April 2019). "Signing Off". Review of Journalism. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "One to Watch Award Past Recipients". www.queensu.ca. Queen's Alumni. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Elamin Abdelmahmoud (ArtSci'11) Wins One to Watch Award". Queen's Arts & Science News. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Introducing Party Lines (Trailer)". CBC. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Meet the Pop Chat panel: Culture critics from around the Twitterverse". Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Abdelmahmoud, Elamin (5 June 2020). "Rewriting Country Music's Racist History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Abdelmahmoud, Elamin. "Jason Isbell Is Tired Of Country's Love Affair With White Nostalgia". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Abdelmahmoud, Elamin (20 March 2019). "Breaking the colour code of the Canadian cottage experience". Cottage Life. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Skwarna, Naomi (19 May 2022). "Review: Elamin Abdelmahmoud's memoir Son of Elsewhere is a vulnerable inwards glance at moving to another country". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Burton, Nylah (20 May 2022). "Elamin Abdelmahmoud Is Truly the 'Son of Elsewhere'". Shondaland. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Abdelmahmoud, Elamin (14 May 2022). "Opinion: From Khartoum to Kingston: A journey to becoming Black". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Dooreleyers, Jemma (9 May 2021). "The Mother Load". Review of Journalism : The School of Journalism. Retrieved 26 May 2022.