Podcasts · Society & Culture

Q with Tom Power

CBC

300 episodes

Five days a week, Tom Power brings you candid conversations with the artists shaping our culture. Whether he’s chatting with A-listers or rising stars, his disarming warmth and meticulous research always gets below the surface, bringing us deeper into the art and lives of today's most compelling musicians, writers, actors and filmmakers.

More about the show

As a Canadian institution, Q has attracted the biggest names in the world. But it's never been about the fame. It's always been about the art.

Since becoming the host of Q in October 2016, listeners have come to know Tom for his in-depth interviewing style (asking founding Wu-Tang Clan member RZA what was inside his teenage notebooks), his mischievous sense of humour (jokingly chiding actor Catherine O'Hara for her parenting skills in Home Alone), and his genuine enthusiasm and fearlessness (singing a duet with Mavis Staples).

You’re just as likely to hear from celebrities and cultural icons as you are to hear from emerging artists at the beginning of their career. Tom gives each and every artist the space to tell their story in their own words. He also has a track record for interviewing artists on the precipice of stardom, like Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Daniel Caesar, who appeared on Q well before they hit the mainstream.

On Q, we cover arts and culture in all its forms, including music, movies, film, TV, comedy, painting, photography, theatre, cinema, Broadway, fashion, dance, opera, documentaries, books, fiction and memoirs.

Look to our archives to hear some of Tom’s award-winning artist interviews, including his moving and insightful conversation with the Canadian actor Michael J. Fox, which was awarded the prestigious gold medal for best interview at the 2021 New York Festivals Radio Awards.

In 2022, Tom spoke with Friends star Matthew Perry in front of a live audience. Their warm and frank conversation about the actor's struggles with substance abuse struck a chord, leading to millions views on TikTok and Instagram, while also being picked up by news outlets internationally, including Vanity Fair and CNN.

Tom’s impactful discussions with top talent have included Adele, Bono, Chappell Roan, Pamela Anderson, Cate Blanchett, Dua Lipa, Cher, Denzel Washington, Mick Jagger, Florence Pugh, Francis Ford Coppola, Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Jim Carrey, Billy Porter, Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Tyler Perry, Alicia Keys, Alan Moore, Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Darren Aronofsky, Harry Styles, Simu Liu, Sean Penn, Sandra Bullock, Michaela Coel, Ryan Reynolds, Katy Perry, Neil Young, Shakira, George Clooney, Ava DuVernay, Omar Apollo, Trixie Mattel, Orville Peck, Big Sean, Anil Kapoor, Jane Fonda, Robert DeNiro, Antonio Banderas, Elton John, Celine Dion, Kerry Washington, Chuck D, Steven Soderbergh, Mikey Madison, Cillian Murphy, Sean Baker, Steve McQueen, Paris Hilton, Taylor Tomlinson, Gwen Stefani, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kylie Minogue, Stanley Tucci, Rufus Wainwright, Caroline Polachek,…

Episodes page 2 of 6

  1. He used to drink a two-six a day. Now he releases two songs a week

    · 23 min

    Dillan King, also known as DillanPonders, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto. After surviving addiction and homelessness nearly a decade ago, he found a path to recovery and became an avid mental health advocate. Since…

  2. Chad Smith joins Rush to honour Neil Peart

    · 39 min

    Neil Peart is one of the most celebrated and influential drummers of all time. In the new documentary Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple, his life and legacy are honoured by his Rush bandmates, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.…

  3. New Music: summersets

    · 14 min

    As a solo artist in the 2010s, Kalle Mattson either won or was nominated for every major music prize in Canada. During the pandemic, he formed the band summersets with his childhood friend Andrew Sowka to explore…

  4. The original Widow's Bay script got this writer hired on Parks and Rec

    · 21 min

    Earlier this week, the hit horror-comedy series Widow's Bay made Emmys history with a record-breaking 14 wins, including best series. Katie Dippold, the show’s creator and showrunner, comes from a comedy background,…

  5. After a breakup, Ruth B had to learn to live her own story

    · 18 min

    Canadian singer-songwriter Ruth B first found fame writing songs in her childhood bedroom in Edmonton. Since breaking onto the charts in 2013, she’s gone on to amass nearly 10 billion streams. Now, five years after her…

  6. Why Sarah Paulson was ‘terrorized’ by her latest role

    · 24 min

    When Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe winner Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) was offered the lead role in the new family drama Closing Night, she was terrified. Directed by her American Horror Story co-star Cody Fern,…

  7. Jungle refuses to feed the algorithm

    · 22 min

    For more than a decade, the British band Jungle have been making music that gets people moving. What started with childhood friends Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland has grown into a band with a global audience, a…

  8. The ‘wildest music’ Stewart Goodyear ever heard? Classical

    · 39 min

    Acclaimed Toronto pianist Stewart Goodyear has been described as one of the finest pianists of his generation. This week, he opens the Calgary Symphony Orchestra’s Classics season with Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in…

  9. New Music: CJ Wiley

    · 14 min

    On CJ Wiley’s debut EP, Just Can’t Quit, the non-binary singer-songwriter chronicles the life cycle of a relationship, from crush to falling in love to commitment to breakup. They sit down with guest host Ali Hassan to…

  10. Gary Oldman’s one acting pet peeve

    · 30 min

    Gary Oldman returns as Jackson Lamb for Season 6 of the hit spy thriller Slow Horses. The Oscar-winning actor joins Tom Power to talk about the secret to playing a crude, flatulent and brilliant MI5 agent — and why…

  11. Le Ren ‘felt like a loser’ for loving bluegrass

    · 21 min

    Canadian folk musician and singer-songwriter Le Ren (a.k.a. Lauren Spear) has toured the world with Jeff Tweedy and Andy Shauf, and earned co-signs from artists like Orville Peck. On her new album, Don’t Be Funny…

  12. How one flick from Jesus led Ins Choi to his calling

    · 35 min

    Ins Choi, the creator of Kim’s Convenience, is back with a new play — and this time he’s getting even more personal. It’s called Son of a Preacherman and it’s about the Canadian playwright’s childhood as a “PK”…

  13. Kofi refuses to choose between being a musician and a pro athlete

    · 14 min

    Toronto artist Kofi isn't interested in picking a lane. He’s one of Canada’s top-ranked volleyball players, currently training with the Canadian National Men's Volleyball Team ahead of the next Summer Olympics. At the…

  14. Zorga Qaunaq is a recovering people pleaser

    · 22 min

    Zorga Qaunaq is a visual artist, a traditional Inuit tattoo artist, and an Inuktitut language educator — but she didn’t become an actor until just a few years ago. It took five rounds of auditions for her to land the…

  15. When his son had brain surgery, Spencer Burton found hope in music

    · 15 min

    For most of us, home is a place that we’re from, or a place of safety and comfort. For Canadian country-folk singer Spencer Burton, home took on a whole new meaning when he found himself at his son's bedside in the…

  16. Philip Akin isn’t here to mentor you, he’s here to radicalize you

    · 38 min

    Philip Akin has been telling stories on Canadian stages for decades, and mentoring some of this country’s best theatre artists for just as long. In 2000, he co-founded the Obsidian Theatre Company, which trains,…

  17. How Beverly Hills, 90210 changed Kathleen Robertson’s life overnight

    · 24 min

    Kathleen Robertson is no stranger to hit TV. She’s starred on hugely popular shows like Boss, Tracker and the ’90s cultural phenomenon Beverly Hills, 90210, where she played Clare Arnold. Now, she’s going toe-to-toe…

  18. Why Caity Gyorgy likes to ‘rage bait’ her pianist Mark Limacher

    · 28 min

    Singer Caity Gyorgy and pianist Mark Limacher have been making waves in the Canadian jazz scene with their duo and orchestral recordings. Now, they’re back with their third duo album, You Irritate Me So, which is a…

  19. Rick Campanelli on MuchMusic, his gambling addiction and recovery

    · 44 min

    If you were a fan of MuchMusic in the ’90s and early 2000s, you’ll remember Rick Campanelli, better known as “Rick the Temp.” The bubbly, charming VJ was a mainstay on Canada’s answer to MTV, having won a temp gig that…

  20. Anthony Hopkins thinks we all think too much

    · 25 min

    Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, The Father, The Remains of the Day) is best known as an Oscar-winning actor, but his first love was music. He’s just released a new album of his own compositions, conducted by…

  21. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth grew up on Son of a Critch. Now it’s time to say goodbye

    · 22 min

    English actor Benjamin Evan Ainsworth practically grew up on the set of Son of a Critch. The CBC sitcom, based on Canadian actor and comedian Mark Critch’s memoir of the same name, stars Benjamin as a young,…

  22. Andrea Martin on SCTV, Broadway and embracing your inner clown

    · 42 min

    Andrea Martin is known for her work in Godspell (1972), SCTV, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and her Tony-winning performances in Pippin and My Favourite Year. A few months ago, she was honoured with the ICON Award from The…

  23. For Bob Odenkirk, embarrassment can be a good thing

    · 25 min

    Last year, Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Mr. Show) sat down with Tom Power to tell us how embarrassment has fueled some of the best decisions in his life and career. He reflects on chasing the things…

  24. This poet’s new collection is a love letter to Toronto

    · 9:09

    Sanna Wani’s debut poetry collection, My Grief, the Sun, won the 2023 Trillium Book Award for Poetry. Now, she’s returned with her follow-up, Lantern. Sanna sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to…

  25. New Music: Emily Steinwall

    · 16 min

    Toronto musician Emily Steinwall grew up on classic rock, but her teenage years brought a new obsession: jazz saxophone. That passion led her to study under the legendary Juno Award-winning saxophonist Kirk MacDonald,…

  26. Lana Condor visualized her way to some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises

    · 22 min

    Lana Condor (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, X-Men: Apocalypse) isn’t afraid of switching things up and trying something new. Her latest role is in the live-action/animation film Coyote vs. Acme, which takes place…

  27. How MuchMusic inspired TyriqueOrDie to change his sound

    · 14 min

    Growing up in Scarborough, Tyrique Clarke, also known as TyriqueOrDie, drew early inspiration from rap heavyweights like Lil Wayne and MF Doom. But after immersing himself in Toronto’s underground rave culture as an…

  28. Sami Landri says she’s always ‘been a contrarian to the core’

    · 23 min

    Sami Landri is the proudest Acadian you’ll ever meet. The “trash-chic” Canadian drag queen has reached millions of fans with her Chiac accent and absurdly hilarious TikToks. After becoming a fan favourite on Canada’s…

  29. New Music: SNACKTIME

    · 22 min

    The Philadelphia band SNACKTIME went from playing free shows in a city park to performing at some of the most coveted music festivals in North America. After selling more than 900 tickets to their first headlining…

  30. Agatha's Almanac: The art of slow living

    · 24 min

    Amalie Atkins is a multi-disciplinary Saskatchewan-based artist whose first feature documentary, Agatha’s Almanac, is a love letter to “solitude, seeds, and slow living.” It tells the story of Amalie’s now 92-year-old…

  31. New Music: Michaela Slinger

    · 13 min

    Michaela Slinger is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Vancouver who had an epiphany while listening to Q with Tom Power on CBC. She joins guest host Garvia Bailey to tell us how our show inspired her new album,…

  32. Thundercat: ‘Writing with Mac Miller was a glorious day’

    · 14 min

    Some artists do their best work alone. Others thrive on collaboration. Grammy-winning bassist, producer and singer-songwriter Thundercat — also known as Stephen Bruner — has always lived in both worlds. But coming from…

  33. Will Forte on the movie Hollywood tried to bury

    · 35 min

    If you’ve watched TV or gone to the movies at any point over the last 25 years, you’ve probably seen Will Forte. The actor and comedian is known for his work on Saturday Night Live, MacGruber, The Last Man on Earth and…

  34. Slushy Noobz and the art of being ‘chalant’

    · 16 min

    Martin Andrijasevic and Hamzah Al-Emad, best known for their YouTube channel Slushy Noobz, have experienced a meteoric rise since beginning their collaboration three years ago. Earlier this summer, they livestreamed…

  35. Sara Bareilles is embracing the ‘grief exorcism’

    · 36 min

    Seven years after her last album, Sara Bareilles is back with Good Grief — a record born out of some of the hardest years of her life. The two-time Grammy winner, actor and Broadway lyricist lost two close friends,…

  36. What do punk and folk music have in common? Mama’s Broke explain

    · 13 min

    At first glance, punk and folk seem to live in two different worlds. But look below the surface and you’ll find the two genres have more in common than you might think. Nova Scotia folk duo Mama’s Broke (Amy Lou Keeler…

  37. Remembering Dolly Parton

    · 25 min

    Yesterday, the world lost one of country music’s greatest legends, Dolly Parton, who died at age 80 in Nashville. A few years ago, Dolly spoke with Tom Power about her extraordinary career, how growing up in a family…

  38. Fiver is ‘cleaning house’ inside and out

    · 19 min

    Sometimes the songs just stop coming. Simone Schmidt, the songwriter behind Fiver, found themselves unable to write before finding their way back to song through an unexpected metaphor. Years after a psychic gave them…

  39. For Jean-Michel Blais, pianos are excellent secret keepers

    · 21 min

    Jean-Michel Blais has been a celebrated figure in the post-classical piano world since the release of his critically acclaimed debut album in 2016. This fall, he’s releasing a new concept album, mirador, inspired by…

  40. Tracy and Martina go from Cape Breton to the ‘promised land’

    · 18 min

    Justine Williamson and Greg Vardy are the Canadian sketch comedy duo behind Tracy and Martina, two fun-loving best friends from Cape Breton. Those characters got their start on YouTube, where their sketches racked up…

  41. The Tragically Hip: Fulfilling a friend's last wish to go on tour

    · 41 min

    It’s been 10 years since the iconic Canadian band The Tragically Hip performed together for the last time with their fearless frontman and friend, Gord Downie. To commemorate the anniversary, the band is releasing a…

  42. This play mashes up a British Restoration comedy with an Asian rom-com

    · 24 min

    When acclaimed playwright, actor and theatre director Jovanni Sy went back to school a few years ago, he was told to direct something funny. He originally wanted to take on The Way of the World — William Congreve’s…

  43. How this country singer learned to finally love his voice

    · 26 min

    Not too long ago, Max McNown was sitting on a pier in Southern California. He had just taught himself guitar and was busking for change. Though he grew up singing, he didn’t see himself becoming a professional…

  44. Laura Marling is in her Raffi era

    · 25 min

    English singer-songwriter Laura Marling has spent years writing songs about imagined futures, family and motherhood. First she wrote the album Song for Our Daughter before she had kids, then Patterns in Repeat after…

  45. American Girl in Italy: The story behind the iconic photo

    · 16 min

    For 75 years, American Girl in Italy has been one of the world's most famous photographs. The image of a young woman walking through a crowd of men has been interpreted as everything from street harassment to female…

  46. Hanumankind brings a global influence to his rap music

    · 24 min

    Following his 2024 breakout hit, Big Dawgs, Hanumankind has become a global rapper. Born in Kerala, India and growing up all over the world, Hanumankind quickly drew interest at local open mics in India for his Houston…

  47. How Skiifall got Virgil Abloh’s seal of approval

    · 19 min

    Skiifall is a Montreal-based rapper and producer whose music exists at the intersection of grime, electronic music, hip-hop and forward-thinking bass culture. His unique sound brought him early success and caught the…

  48. Hannah Einbinder knows Hacks will follow her for life

    · 24 min

    Hannah Einbinder is the award-winning actor and comedian known for her breakout role in the HBO series Hacks. On the heels of the show’s series finale, she’s branching out with a new film, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp…

  49. Sara Porter breaks up with the sun on stage

    · 20 min

    What would you do if you suddenly couldn't go out in the sun? That's what happened to dancer and choreographer Sara Porter in her early 20s after developing a rare autoimmune disorder that left her unable to tolerate…

  50. Whitehorse: Your favourite Canadian musician’s favourite musicians

    · 24 min

    Husband-and-wife roots rock duo Whitehorse is back with their ninth studio album, All I Want Is All of It, which asks the question: can you really have it all? Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland have been touring the…

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