

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
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 20, 2024 • 18min
Q Introduces | Personally: Short Sighted
People don’t think Graham Isador is losing his sight. They think he’s an asshole.Short Sighted is an attempt to explain what vision loss feels like by exploring how it sounds.Written and hosted by master storyteller Graham Isador, the show’s mini episodes are an intimate and irreverent look at accessibility and its personal impacts.Get lost in someone else’s life. From a mysterious childhood spent on the run, to a courageous escape from domestic violence, each season of Personally invites you to explore the human experience in all its complexity, one story — or season — at a time. This is what it sounds like to be human.More episodes of Personally are available at: https://link.chtbl.com/6dEWdP7z
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 20, 2024 • 32min
Leon Bridges: Returning to his Texas roots on his new album
Leon Bridges is back with his fourth studio album, “Leon.” It’s a moving collection of 13 songs that take a look at the place that shaped him as a person and as an artist: his home of Fort Worth, Texas. Leon joins Tom Power to reflect on his supersonic rise to fame after the release of his debut album, his evolving relationship with his faith and how that shows up in his music, and why Fort Worth is such a meaningful place to him.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 20, 2024 • 17min
Graham Isador: Why he made a podcast to explain what vision loss feels like
Graham Isador is a Canadian writer and playwright who’s living with a degenerative eye disease called keratoconus, which means he’s losing his sight. But since there’s no obvious sign of it, people don’t always believe him. His new project, “Short Sighted,” started as a one-man play and is now a five-part podcast series that explains what it’s really like for him to lose his vision. Graham joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the project and what he’s learned about himself along the way.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 19, 2024 • 32min
Maggie Rogers: Songwriting, Divinity School & conquering her inner critic
It's not uncommon for big musical artists to take a break in between albums, but it is uncommon for them to use that break to go to Harvard Divinity School. That's exactly what Maggie Rogers did a few years ago at the height of her success. She sits down with Tom Power to talk about that decision, how she applied her theological studies to her work as a singer-songwriter, and how trusting her instincts and prioritizing fun on her latest album, “Don’t Forget Me,” changed her approach to songwriting.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 18, 2024 • 21min
Eve Hewson: Bad Sisters and the boom of Irish art
As one of Bono and Ali Hewson’s four children, Eve Hewson (The Perfect Couple, Flora and Son, The Knick) might be as close to Irish royalty as you can get. But she’s also managed to carve out her own path in acting. While she has a few high-profile Hollywood films in the works, it’s the Irish stories, like the Emmy-nominated black comedy series “Bad Sisters,” that she holds closest to her heart. Eve talks to Tom Power about where that Irish pride comes from and what drew her to her latest role in “Bad Sisters,” which is back for Season 2.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 18, 2024 • 26min
Samuel D. Hunter: Fatherhood, male friendship & hope for the future
Samuel D. Hunter is the award-winning playwright and screenwriter behind “The Whale.” His latest play, “A Case for the Existence of God,” is about an unlikely friendship between two men who have one thing in common: they’re single fathers of young daughters. Samuel was inspired to write the play after he adopted his own daughter and realized that as a parent he no longer had "the luxury of being cynical.” He joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the play, and why he puts so much of himself in his work.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 15, 2024 • 28min
Fat Mike: The end of NOFX
Mike Burkett, also known as Fat Mike, is the lead singer and bassist of NOFX, which is not only one of the most influential and successful punk bands of all time, but also one of the longest-serving. They’ve been together for 41 years, but just last month, it all came to an end when they wrapped up the last few shows on their final tour. In this chat with guest host Talia Schlanger, Mike opens up about how it feels to say goodbye, what he regrets, and what he calls his “desperate need for validation.”
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 15, 2024 • 15min
Quick Q: Logan Staats on meeting Taj Mahal, creative freedom & his song Deadman
The Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Logan Staats has had one heck of a month. He performed alongside Eric Clapton, Taj Mahal and Allison Russell at a Robbie Robertson tribute concert in Los Angeles, and then he took part in the inaugural Reverie Indigenous Music Residency presented by CBC and the SOCAN Foundation. Ahead of a special performance at Massey Hall in Toronto, Logan sits down with guest host Talia Schlanger to tell the story behind his new song “Deadman” off his latest record.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 14, 2024 • 28min
Anna Marie Tendler: Why she left John Mulaney out of her new memoir
Anna Marie Tendler is a multidisciplinary artist known for her evocative self-portraits that explore grief and isolation. In 2021, following her high-profile divorce with comedian John Mulaney, Anna checked herself into a psychiatric facility, seeking treatment for self-harm and suicidal ideation. She details that experience in her new memoir, “Men Have Called Her Crazy,” which is her reintroduction to the world as an artist on her own terms. Anna joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about her mental health journey, how photography kept her grounded and why she chose to leave her ex-husband out of the book.
%3BResize%3D(3000).jpg&w=360&h=360&output=jpg)
Nov 14, 2024 • 16min
Wolf Castle: On the wake-up call that led to his new album
Before he started working on his new album, the rapper Tristan Grant (also known as Wolf Castle) suffered a concussion following a skateboarding accident. The long recovery process got him thinking about his life and the man he wants to be. Tristan sits down with Tom Power to talk about that personal growth journey and how it impacted his latest record, “Waiting for the Dawn.”