Q with Tom Power

CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand

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...

Location:

Canada, ON

Genres:

Culture

Arts & Entertainment News

Media & Entertainment Podcasts

Networks:

CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand

Description:

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.

Twitter:

@CBCRadioQ

Language:

English

Contact:

416-205-3700

Website:

http://www.cbc.ca/q/

Email:

q@cbc.ca

Listen on a live station

KUSU-FM

43 minutes remaining

Episodes

Why this artist believes Indigenous stories are Canada’s DNA

4/17/2026

The Governor General’s Award-winning performing artist Sandra Laronde is bringing her novel She Holds Up The Stars to the stage. The story, about an Indigenous girl who forms an unexpected bond with a spirited horse, is performed using multi-disciplinary elements like a full orchestra, movement and a muscular horse puppet. Sandra tells Tom how she saw her novel as a stage show from the very beginning, why she believes the arts shouldn’t be siloed, and how Indigenous stories can help all Canadians know themselves better.

Duration:00:24:31

Scrubs has a “no a–hole” policy to thank for its success

4/17/2026

The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning show Scrubs was special for the way it balanced comedy, satire and surrealism, all while being grounded in a very real story about medical interns at a fictional hospital. Now, as the show returns for a tenth season, Tom talks to main cast member Sarah Chalke about the legacy of the show, her friendships with her castmates, and how it felt to step back into the halls of Sacred Heart Hospital more than 25 years later.

Duration:00:16:58

Maren Morris’s Dreamsicle is more than just a divorce album

4/16/2026

Nashville singer-songwriter Maren Morris is back with a new album, Dreamsicle. It’s her first release after her divorce last year, but it’s not just a breakup record. It’s an examination of the physical, mental and emotional changes that happen after a traumatic personal event. Maren joins Tom Power to discuss Dreamsicle, her 20 years of making music, and the importance of the collaborators on the record.

Duration:00:24:16

These choreographers are making the invisible visible through dance

4/16/2026

Or Schraiber and Bobbi Jene Smith are two of the most important names in contemporary dance. They’re also a married couple. Or and Bobbi join Tom Power to tell us how their creative and personal partnership began while they were dancers at the Batsheva Dance Company, how the Gaga dance style influences their work, and their Canadian debut at the National Ballet of Canada, Procession.

Duration:00:24:46

Piano virtuoso Lang Lang on the teacher who didn’t believe in him

4/15/2026

You don’t become one of the most successful pianists of our time without a lot of practice. That’s something Lang Lang knows all about. Six years after the release of his celebrated record Piano Book, the virtuoso Chinese pianist is back with a new album, Piano Book 2. It’s designed to inspire people of all ages, levels and backgrounds. Lang Lang sits down with Tom Power at the Glenn Gould piano in our studio to discuss the album, and his life in music. He tells us about the teacher who didn’t believe in him, how he got past that early rejection, and how he found the right people to support him.

Duration:00:36:12

Folk trio The Pairs don’t write songs with perfect endings

4/15/2026

What happens when you start to feel anxiety and self-doubt in the middle of chasing your dreams? The Canadian folk trio The Pairs don’t necessarily have the answer, but they are working through these feelings on their new album, Together on a Rock. While their songs don’t come with perfect endings, the stories they tell are incredibly honest and vulnerable. Renée Coughlin and Hillary Watson of The Pairs join Tom Power to set up their devastating new track, Past My Prime.

Duration:00:16:01

Superstar producer Greg Wells on his hitmaking career

4/14/2026

Greg Wells is a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated record producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and mix engineer who was recently made a Member of the Order of Canada. He sits down with Tom Power to talk about his early days playing in k.d. lang’s band, producing and writing hits for artists like Adele, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Celine Dion and Taylor Swift, and why he’s spent the last few years converting an old church in rural Newfoundland into a community music hub.

Duration:00:45:13

The Dears almost quit the band several times

4/13/2026

Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak are a husband-and-wife duo who lead the acclaimed Montreal rock band The Dears. In the early 2000s, they put a heavy stamp on indie pop music in Canada. Now, they’re celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band with the release of a new album, Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Life Is Beautiful! Murray and Natalia sit down with Tom Power to talk about their hopeful new record, their partnership and that very unique time in Canadian music when they got their start.

Duration:00:34:45

Mark Critch wants Trump to know he isn’t sorry

4/13/2026

After years playing U.S. President Donald Trump on the news parody show This Hour Has 22 Minutes, comedian Mark Critch has come up with a few ideas on how Canada should deal with him. He’s just released a new book, Sorry, Not Sorry, in which he argues that it’s time for Canadians to park their apologies and match the president’s bravado with some of our own. Mark joins Tom Power to share his unapologetic look at what makes Canada worth fighting for.

Duration:00:25:41

Jacob Collier moves toward restraint and limitation on his new record

4/10/2026

Jacob Collier is heading on tour with his latest album, The Light For Days. It’s a stark contrast to his last project, Djesse — a sprawling eight-year saga built on collaboration and voices from around the world. Now, he’s stripped it all back to just Jacob and his guitar. The musical polymath joins Tom Power to talk about the album, making music alone once again, the magic of his live performances and why human connection is still at the heart of everything he does.

Duration:00:37:54

Tenille Townes returns to her own intuition on her new song Enabling

4/10/2026

Growing up in Grande Prairie, Alta. and listening to her parent’s old record collection, Tenille Townes has always turned to music to make sense of the world. Now, she’s a Nashville-based singer-songwriter touring with artists like Shania Twain and Miranda Lambert. After going through some major career shifts, she’s back to making music to help her process uncertain times. Tenille Townes joins Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about her song Enabling, off her new record called The Acrobat.

Duration:00:13:14

Dan Levy almost left Hollywood to open a hotel in Italy

4/9/2026

Dan Levy is returning to TV with his new show Big Mistakes, which follows siblings who get mixed up in an organized crime ring. Dan joins Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about why family dynamics were on his mind, and how his own lineage has shaped his path in the industry. Plus, he’ll reflect on his early days at MTV, and his award-winning show Schitt’s Creek.

Duration:00:44:49

Nina Lee Aquino on ‘getting her teeth kicked in’ for theatre

4/8/2026

The acclaimed theatre director Nina Lee Aquino joins Tom to talk about bringing Cicadas, a radio play she directed, to the stage, and why she wants to challenge expectations around how we tell environmental stories with this eco-thriller. Plus, Nina opens up about why she believes theatre has the power to make the world a better place — and why she says it’s something AI just can’t touch.

Duration:00:24:37

Q Live at the Junos: Part 2

4/8/2026

Ahead of the 55th Juno Awards in Hamilton, Ont., Tom Power hosted a special live audience taping of Q at the historic Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton. In this episode, you’ll hear interviews and performances from that night featuring musicians like Sister Ray and Jade LeMac, and comedian Adam Christie. You can find the first part of this live show, featuring on-stage interviews and performances from Begonia, the cast of It’s a Good Life if You Don’t Weaken, and TOBi, Jully Black and Saukrates, here.

Duration:00:27:14

Robert Bateman is one of Canada’s most misunderstood artists

4/7/2026

A new documentary shines light on the early years of the hugely successful Canadian wildlife painter Robert Bateman. The Art of Adventure peels back the layers of how the artist fell deeply in love with the natural world and launched a lifelong fight to protect it. Yet, critics often dismiss Robert’s art. He’s received the Order of Canada, but has never been invited to show at the National Gallery of Canada. At 95, Robert looks back with Tom Power on an unusually artistic career which has been both celebrated and misunderstood by his home country.

Duration:00:28:41

How Magi Merlin created her own kind of ‘broken R&B’

4/7/2026

Montreal artist Magi Merlin is carving out a sound all her own — blending punk, R&B, neo-soul and electronic music into what she calls “broken R&B.” With an already global and growing following, Merlin is releasing her debut album, Powerhouse, this July. Magi joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about finding her sound, and what it means to be an artist right now.

Duration:00:12:32

Paul Anka on My Way, giving the Beatles advice and his love of Canada

4/6/2026

After 70 years in the music industry, Paul Anka has more than 900 songs to his credit. The prolific Canadian songwriter is also the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard Top 100 during seven consecutive decades. In the new HBO documentary Paul Anka: His Way, Paul recounts his life as a teen idol in the ’50s, writing some of the most memorable songs for artists like Buddy Holly and Frank Sinatra, and how he’s managed to evolve through the trends of each passing decade. A few months ago, Paul joined Tom Power to talk about his life in music, having a good cry after he wrote My Way, and meeting the Beatles back when they were a cover band.

Duration:00:37:55

Chantal Kreviazuk is reclaiming her most famous hits for other artists

4/3/2026

Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk is known for her distinct voice and gift for writing songs rooted in honesty and vulnerability. It’s a talent that’s earned her a Grammy and multiple Junos. But you might not know that beyond her career as a successful solo artist, Chantal has also penned songs for some of the world’s biggest artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Gwen Stefani and Kelly Clarkson. Now, she’s reimagining those songs on her new cover album, In My Own Voice. Last fall, Chantal joined Tom Power at the piano in the Q studio to talk about the hits that made her a star in Canada, and why she wanted to reclaim some of the songs she’s written for others.

Duration:00:40:45

Amanda Peet asks the hard questions about facelifts, validation and death

4/2/2026

Amanda Peet plays a character maybe a little bit too close to home in her new film Fantasy Life. The film brings up questions about aging, art and relevancy — all things on Amanda’s mind — alongside the complicated debate around cosmetic surgery. Amanda tells Tom Power about how the search for validation can lead you down some dark paths.

Duration:00:24:50

How Adam Sturgeon went from being a pro hockey player to a rock musician

4/2/2026

When Adam Sturgeon was walking around his neighbourhood in London, Ont., he kept seeing all these construction signs saying “big changes are coming,” which got him wondering if those changes would be good ones. So he wrote some new music to process his feelings about it. You can hear those songs on his band Status/Non-Status's latest album called Big Changes. Adam joins Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about his band’s new record, and how he went from a life in professional hockey to being an artist and community worker who uses music to heal.

Duration:00:23:07