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Artwork for Q with Tom Power

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.

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  • 22 episodes
  • Avg 25 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • Today · 23 min

    Michael Dowse found his freedom as a broke filmmaker

    <p>Back in the ’70s, Canadian stuntman Ken Carter attempted to execute the boldest maneuver of his career: launching a rocket-powered car one mile across the St. Lawrence River from Ontario into New York State. It was a stunt rife with challenges and setbacks. Ken’s story is now the inspiration behind the new film The Stunt Driver, which recently made its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival. Director Michael Dowse (FUBAR, Goon) joins Tom Power to unpack Ken’s legacy

  • Yesterday · 28 min

    How community theatre saved Jesse Eisenberg’s life

    <p>Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, A Real Pain) drew on his own roots in community theatre to write and direct his latest movie, The Debut. Starring Julianne Moore as a shy housewife-turned-actor and Paul Giamatti as a director pushing her to her limits, the film is inspired by the many unproduced musicals Jesse has penned over the years. He joins Tom Power in the Q studio to discuss The Debut, the relationship between art and anxiety, why some people hate musicals, and the role truth plays

  • Yesterday · 20 min

    New Music: Mariel Buckley

    <p>Choosing to pursue a single passion can feel like a calling — until the reality of the grind hits. Albertan singer-songwriter Mariel Buckley explores the highs and lows of going after your dreams on her Juno-winning album, Strange Trip Ahead. She joins Tom Power in the Q studio to discuss a song off the album, how she went to culinary school before becoming a musician, and how k.d. lang took a chance on her when she was just starting out.</p>

  • Wednesday · 24 min

    Noomi Rapace: ‘Movies were my escape and my oxygen’

    <p>Swedish actor Noomi Rapace has built a career playing deeply complex characters, starting with her breakout role as Lisbeth Salander in 2009’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. In her new film, In Alaska, she plays an FBI agent searching for a suicidal Inuk teen who accidentally pierces an oil pipeline with a bullet. Noomi joins Tom Power to talk about the film, her acting career, and how movies became her escape, her oxygen and her link to the world.</p>

  • Wednesday · 22 min

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

    <p>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 then, he’s set a Guinness World Record by releasing an original single every week for 138 consecutive weeks, ran 100 marathons in 100 days for men’s mental health, and ran the length of Toronto’s Yonge Street (more than a double marathon) to raise funds for homelessness. Dillan

  • Tuesday · 38 min

    Chad Smith joins Rush to honour Neil Peart

    <p>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. Along with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, they join Tom Power in the Q studio to discuss the film and share stories about their late friend, bandmate and musical legend.</p>

  • Tuesday · 13 min

    New Music: summersets

    <p>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 Everly Brothers harmonies and to alleviate the weight of being a solo artist. Now, summersets has released a new album, Pine Trees in a Perfect Row, written “to be a (complicated) love letter to Northern Ontario and small town Canadian identity.” Kalle joins Q guest host Garvia Baile

  • Monday · 20 min

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

    <p>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, having written the Ghostbusters remake and The Heat, as well as for Parks and Recreation. A few months ago, she joined Tom Power to talk about Widow's Bay, how she’s always been a fan of horror and how her comedy roots helped her write a scary show.&nbsp;</p>

  • Monday · 18 min

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

    <p>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 last project, she’s returned with a new album, Peace To Make. Largely written in the aftermath of a breakup, the album finds Ruth looking back at her past while discovering new parts of herself in the process. She joins Tom Power to talk about Peace To Make, the vulnerability b

  • September 18 · 23 min

    Why Sarah Paulson was ‘terrorized’ by her latest role

    <p>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, the film follows an internationally renowned movie star who’s navigating a life-changing event while also trying to reconnect with her estranged family on the opening night of her Broadway play. Sarah sits down with Tom Power to talk about the film, why acting is her way to the

  • September 18 · 21 min

    Jungle refuses to feed the algorithm

    <p>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 Brit Award and a new third member, Lydia Kitto. With Jungle's new record Sunshine out now, Josh, Tom and Lydia join Q guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about friendship, how the band has grown and why they’ve always preferred to let the music do the talking.</p>

  • September 17 · 38 min

    The ‘wildest music’ Stewart Goodyear ever heard? Classical

    <p>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 A Minor. Ahead of the performance, Stewart sits down with Tom Power at the piano in the Q studio to talk about what first sparked his love of the instrument, why he considers Beethoven his therapist, and why classical music was, in his words, the “wildest music” he had ever hear

  • September 17 · 13 min

    New Music: CJ Wiley

    <p>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 talk about the record’s concept and what inspired them to examine, as they put it, “the masochistic ritual of love.”</p>

  • September 16 · 29 min

    Gary Oldman’s one acting pet peeve

    <p>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 he’s relishing the chance to settle into a long-term role. He also shares the research behind some of his most iconic characters, from Commissioner Gordon in Batman Begins and George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise.</p>

  • September 16 · 20 min

    Le Ren ‘felt like a loser’ for loving bluegrass

    <p>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 Without Me, she unpacks the chaos of her 20s and comes out on the other side with a new perspective on life and her career. Le Ren joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about the new album, finding humour in pain, and navigating the public-facing realities of being a performer.</p>

  • September 15 · 35 min

    How one flick from Jesus led Ins Choi to his calling

    <p>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” (preacher’s kid), and how theatre and the arts took him away from becoming a man of the cloth. Ins joins Tom Power in the Q studio to talk about the production and how it all kind of came about by chance.</p>

  • September 15 · 13 min

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

    <p>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 same time, he’s also building an impressive career as a singer-songwriter and producer. Kofi joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about his new album, Phone Home, the discipline behind managing two full-time passions, and how he’s proving you can reach the top in both athletic

  • September 14 · 22 min

    Zorga Qaunaq is a recovering people pleaser

    <p>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 part of Millie Maktana on the CBC sitcom North of North. Now, she’s attending the Toronto International Film Festival with two films making their world premieres: In the Heart of the South and In Alaska. From her very first acting role to two films at TIFF, Zorga sits down with Q

  • September 14 · 14 min

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

    <p>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 hospital, while he spent three months recovering from a major surgery. Spencer joins Q guest host Ali Hassan to talk about his new single, Bound for Home, what it was like writing his upcoming self-titled album in a hospital, and how the music became a way for his family to find —

  • September 11 · 37 min

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

    <p>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, produces and showcases Black talent across the country. Now, he’s directing a new production of Ohio State Murders at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Philip joins Tom Power to talk about the play, how he takes theatre to the precipice, and why he thinks Black artists are too

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