Q with Tom Power
CBC
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.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, Hans Zimmer, Denis Villeneuve, Alex Garland, Alan Ritchson, Britt Lower, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, David Blaine, Brian Tyree Henry, Perfume Genius, Deepa Mehta, Tracy Chapman, Chloë Sevigny, Josh Hartnett and many more.
Episodes
Mentioned books
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Feb 6, 2025 • 25min
Rufus Wainwright: Mourning the death of the American Dream with his first requiem
Rufus Wainwright is a difficult artist to categorize at the best of times. As a musician, he’s recorded pop songs, folk music, operas and stage musicals. But his new album, “Dream Requiem,” is a little different, even for him. It’s a religious work inspired by a range of subjects, including a poem by Lord Byron, the music of Giuseppe Verdi, and his beloved late dog Puccini. He also managed to recruit Meryl Streep to narrate the project. Rufus joins Tom Power over Zoom to talk about the different influences behind “Dream Requiem,” his upbringing in Quebec, and how this project really mourns the death of the American Dream.
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Feb 6, 2025 • 13min
Quick Q: How Lia Pappas-Kemps perfectly captures teen angst
The Toronto singer-songwriter and actor Lia Pappas-Kemps (best known for her role as Jane in “Anne with an E”) recently released her debut EP, “Gleam.” She calls the record a fragmented love letter to her teenage years, which isn’t surprising seeing as she wrote it all between the ages of 16 and 19. Lia joins Tom Power to discuss the EP and she introduces us to a track called “Switchblade.”
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Feb 5, 2025 • 25min
Tom Rooney: The esteemed Canadian actor on what it takes to play a dog
Tom Rooney is one of Canada’s most beloved stage actors. Over the last three decades, he’s taken on some of theatre’s most memorable roles, from Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” to Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady.” But Tom has also played a big part in contemporary Canadian theatre, which is where we find him now. Currently, he’s playing Majnoun in Mirvish’s remount of “Fifteen Dogs,” based on the Giller Prize-winning book of the same name by André Alexis. The story follows a group of dogs who are given the gift of human consciousness and language. Tom drops by the “Q” studio to talk about his life in acting, his love of the craft, and what it takes to play a dog.
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Feb 5, 2025 • 29min
Terry O’Reilly: How he became Canada’s king of advertising
Terry O'Reilly, the insightful host of CBC's "Under the Influence", shares his fascinating journey from childhood to becoming a titan in advertising. He reflects on his early media experiences and the rejections that fueled his passion. O'Reilly discusses the birth of his radio show, born from a casual night out, and explores innovative strategies that helped revive unexpected brands, like a group of nuns. He also delves into the thrilling evolution of advertising, especially in the age of social media, highlighting the artistry behind iconic commercials.
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Feb 4, 2025 • 49min
Ins Choi: The Kim’s Convenience creator on his unlikely life in the arts
The Canadian actor and playwright Ins Choi is best known as the creator of “Kim’s Convenience,” which started as a play in 2011 before it became a hit sitcom in 2016. This month, “Kim’s Convenience” is back at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company where it was first professionally staged in 2012. Ins sits down with Tom Power to talk about the ups and downs of adapting “Kim’s Convenience” for TV, the role that faith has played in his life, and what it’s like stepping into the part of Appa in this latest production.
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Feb 3, 2025 • 23min
Gavin Rossdale: Bush’s early days & what he thinks when he hears Glycerine
For a time in the ‘90s, there was no band on earth bigger than Bush. Their debut album, “Sixteen Stone,” had singles that were in heavy rotation on MuchMusic, MTV and every rock radio station. That record also turned singer Gavin Rossdale into a star. Ahead of Bush’s cross-Canada tour this spring, Gavin joins Tom Power to look back on the band’s early days, what it was like breaking out of Britain when they didn’t sound like the Britpop bands of the time, and what goes through his mind when he hears “Glycerine.”
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Feb 3, 2025 • 22min
Mikey Madison: Anora and her strikingly nuanced portrayal of sex work
Mikey Madison is up for an Oscar for her role in Sean Baker’s Palme d'Or-winning film “Anora.” The story follows a sex worker from Brooklyn who meets and marries the son of a Russian oligarch. But their fairytale romance is threatened after news of their shotgun wedding reaches his parents in Russia. A few months ago, Mikey sat down with Tom Power to talk about her deep research and preparation for the role, why she feels protective of her character, and how the film changed her life.
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Jan 31, 2025 • 25min
Amrit Kaur: How acting exacerbated her insecurities — until a teacher set her straight
The Canadian actor Amrit Kaur is one of the breakout stars of Mindy Kaling’s HBO Max series “The Sex Lives of College Girls.” She joins Tom Power to talk about getting into acting for all the wrong reasons, being inspired by her character Bela, and how acting eventually helped her overcome her self-loathing.
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Jan 31, 2025 • 15min
Quick Q: Sechile Sedare on forming their brother-sister musical duo
When you were growing up, did you get along with your sibling? Did your parents want you to get along better than you did? When Leela and Jay Gilday were growing up in Northwest Territories, their dad wanted them to sing together more, but it wasn’t until decades later that they did. Leela and Jay both have distinguished music careers on their own, but more recently, they’ve come together as the contemporary roots duo Sechile Sedare (“my younger brother, my older sister” in Dene). They join Tom Power to talk about their collaboration. Plus, they set up their new single, “Hold On.”
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Jan 30, 2025 • 25min
Sook-Yin Lee: Why she adapted her ex’s memoir about paying for sex
In Sook-Yin Lee’s new film, “Paying For It,” a couple whose romantic attraction is waning decide to open up their relationship. While Sonny explores dating, her introverted boyfriend, Chester, opts to hire sex workers. The story is based on Sook-Yin’s real-life former relationship with Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, who released a bestselling graphic memoir of the same name in 2011. It reflects on intimacy, connection, the rights of sex workers, the boundaries we put around relationships, and Toronto in the ‘90s. Sook-Yin joins Tom Power to talk about the movie and what she learned in the process of making it. Plus, she discusses her early work as a MuchMusic VJ, and how she struggled to deal with the slow cultural shift from alternative music to boy bands.
