Skip to content
Opens in a new window
The cultural impact of couple's therapist Esther Perel, and Clement Virgo's film Steal Away
22 July 2026

The cultural impact of couple's therapist Esther Perel, and Clement Virgo's film Steal Away

Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud

About

Esther Perel has built an empire around helping people navigate relationships through her podcast and bestselling books. She recently served as a consultant on Olivia Wilde's couple's comedy The Invite, and was even a major inspiration for Penelope Cruz's character in the film. Culture writers Rebecca Jennings and Marisa Meltzer join Elamin Abdelmahmoud to discuss how a couple's therapist infiltrated pop culture and why her ideas are resonating so widely today.


Director Clement Virgo says his latest film Steal Away is his most ambitious yet. Film critic Sarah-Tai Black talks about how the movie applies many different genre lenses -- Afrofuturism, horror and political allegory -- on a story rooted in Black Canadian history.