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Q with Tom Power

CBC Podcasts & Radio On-Demand

Five days a week acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define pop culture. Whether he’s ribbing Adele, singing a boyband classic with Simu Liu, or dissecting faith with U2 frontman Bono – Tom brings the same curiosity, respect and meticulous preparation into every conversation. He also has a track record for interviewing artists on the precipice of stardom – like Lizzo and Billie Eilish — who appeared on Q well before hitting the mainstream. Hear your favourite artists as they truly are, every weekday with Tom Power.

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Location:

Canada, ON

Description:

Five days a week acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define pop culture. Whether he’s ribbing Adele, singing a boyband classic with Simu Liu, or dissecting faith with U2 frontman Bono – Tom brings the same curiosity, respect and meticulous preparation into every conversation. He also has a track record for interviewing artists on the precipice of stardom – like Lizzo and Billie Eilish — who appeared on Q well before hitting the mainstream. Hear your favourite artists as they truly are, every weekday with Tom Power.

Twitter:

@CBCRadioQ

Language:

English

Contact:

416-205-3700

Email:

q@cbc.ca

Episodes

Elisapie: How translating pop songs to Inuktitut helped her heal

9/21/2023
Elisapie was jogging and listening to ABBA when she got the idea for her latest project, “Inuktitut.” It's a 10-track covers album of notable rock and pop hits that each represent a special childhood memory for Elisapie. She joins Tom to talk about the “healing journey” she's been on by reclaiming some of her most painful childhood memories through song.

Duration:00:25:38

Alison Leiby’s new show “Oh God, A Show About Abortion” + Karkwa is back after 13 years

9/21/2023
Some of Alison Leiby’s most popular and transformational comedy has stemmed from an unwanted pregnancy. She tells Tom why she wanted to write about her experience with abortion in her one-woman show, “Oh God, A Show About Abortion,” which is currently at Just For Laughs in Toronto. Plus, Polaris Prize-winning Quebecois band Karkwa disappeared for 13 years. Now, they’ve decided it’s time to make new music and have just released a new album “Dans la seconde.” Keyboardist and songwriter François Lafontaine tells Tom where they’ve been and why they’ve decided to come back.

Duration:00:27:06

Bernie Taupin: Writing hit songs with Elton John, avoiding the limelight, and why he’s telling his story now

9/20/2023
Bernie Taupin, who wrote lyrics for Elton John’s biggest hits, has never chased the limelight. But in his new memoir, “Scattershot,” the Grammy-winning songwriter opens up. Bernie joins Tom to share how his love of music started, his memories of working with Elton, and what he credits for their unbreakable bond.

Duration:00:38:45

Leslie Jones: “SNL,” lessons on failure and getting her first big break in her 40s

9/19/2023
When Leslie Jones was in her late 40s, her brother — the last remaining member of her nuclear family — died. Leslie says that experience taught her to stop caring about whether or not people laughed at her jokes, and inspired her to become a more daring comic. In her new memoir, “Leslie F*cking Jones,” she details her journey to becoming a household name — the early days growing up in Memphis, the sense of identity she discovered in comedy, and her time as a writer and cast member on Saturday Night Live. She joined Tom to talk about the stories in her memoir, the advice she got from Jamie Foxx that changed her comedy career, and how she ended up on Saturday Night Live.

Duration:00:34:14

Mick Jagger: The Rolling Stones, Charlie Watts and the future of music

9/18/2023
The Rolling Stones are back with “Hackney Diamonds,” the band’s first album of original material in 18 years. In a Canadian exclusive interview, frontman Mick Jagger talks to Tom about the record, the changing music industry and losing their drummer Charlie Watts.

Duration:00:39:41

Marcia Griffiths: The early days of reggae, creating the electric slide, and almost getting killed touring with Bob Marley

9/15/2023
For 60 years, Marcia Griffiths has left an indelible mark on Jamaican music, often being called the Queen of Reggae. She sat down with Tom to talk about her incredible career in music, being one of Bob Marley’s I-Threes, and how she’s feeling about being honoured with the Order of Jamaica.

Duration:00:34:10

Bahamas: Making a “country” record, staying off your phone, and the problem with perfection

9/15/2023
Afie Jurvanen, also known as Bahamas, talks to Tom about his new album, “Bootcut,” how he makes time to be creative, and the story behind his song, “Nothing Blows My Mind.”

Duration:00:17:07

The Blind Boys of Alabama's Jimmy Carter: Gospel, touring during Jim Crow and singing for Obama

9/14/2023
Jimmy Carter (NOT the 39th U.S. president) is a legendary gospel singer and co-founder of The Blind Boys of Alabama. The group has been around for decades and they’ve just released their first album in six years, “Echoes of the South,” which is also the title of the first radio show they ever appeared on in the mid-1940s. Jimmy tells Tom about his love of gospel, what it was like touring in the South during segregation, and the advice he’d give to young musicians as he’s just retired at 91 years old.

Duration:00:23:32

Richard Linklater: Growing up with NASA in your backyard, having a “free-range” childhood and “Apollo 10½”

9/14/2023
Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Slacker, School of Rock) takes you back to the space race era with his film, “Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood.” It's an animated period piece that's steeped in ‘60s nostalgia, but also speaks to our world today. He joined Tom when the film first came out to talk about growing up by the NASA space station, what it meant to have a “free-range” childhood, and how it inspired “Apollo 10½.”

Duration:00:19:04

Paul Simon: faith, the dream that inspired “Seven Psalms,” and coming to terms with hearing loss

9/13/2023
One night in 2019, Paul Simon had a dream telling him to work on a new album called “Seven Psalms.” That led him to contemplating big existential questions about his beliefs. Tom visited Paul at the legendary musician’s home near Austin, Texas — in the studio where he recorded “Seven Psalms” — for a rare sit-down chat about the album.

Duration:00:24:59

Denis Villeneuve: How adapting “Dune” was a lifelong dream come true

9/13/2023
It takes an experienced director like Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Prisoners) to tackle a project like the sci-fi epic “Dune.” Denis joined Tom to discuss his lifelong love of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel, and what it’s like to adapt a book that’s long been considered "unfilmable.”

Duration:00:24:02

Rufus Wainwright on growing up in a family of famous folk musicians and his latest album “Folkocracy”

9/12/2023
Given his operatic, maximalist and pop-centered career, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Rufus Wainwright comes from one of the royal families of folk music. On his latest album, “Folkocracy,” Rufus takes a look back at his folk roots. He tells guest host Talia Schlanger about his earliest musical memories and shares the story behind his new album.

Duration:00:22:06

On his debut album “When It Blooms,” Nonso Amadi finds harmony between Afrobeat and R&B

9/12/2023
Nonso Amadi is the Nigerian Canadian musician making waves globally for his music that fuses Afrobeat and R&B. He’s performed all over the world and has racked up millions of streams, all before the release of his debut album. Nonso tells guest host Talia Schlanger about his unique sound, how watching his sisters dance to MTV made him fall in love with music, and how he made the jump from chemical engineering student to releasing his debut record, “When It Blooms.”

Duration:00:18:48

Seth Rogen: writing comedies, Superbad, and where cannabis legalization went wrong in Canada

9/11/2023
Seth Rogen (Superbad, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up) talks to Tom about his debut book, “Yearbook,” which features a collection of hilarious personal essays about his early life in Canada and his adventures in Hollywood.

Duration:00:39:44

Nickelback: the band’s early days, being parodied and the evolution of its identity

9/8/2023
When Nickelback released its 10th studio album, “Get Rollin',” lead singer Chad Kroeger and guitarist Ryan Peake sat down with Tom to talk about the band's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the people who backed them from day one, and the song that launched a thousand memes: “Photograph.”

Duration:00:38:48

Emma Seligman “just wanted to make a teen sex comedy with queer girls” front and centre

9/7/2023
The director Emma Seligman’s “Bottoms” is an unabashedly queer romp starring Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) and Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies). They play high school best friends who hatch a scheme to win their cheerleader crushes by starting an all-girl fight club. Emma tells Tom about making the new no holds barred teen comedy.

Duration:00:24:51

How staying true to herself helped Zalika Reid-Benta become an award-winning author

9/7/2023
The author Zalika Reid-Benta was only 28 when she took the book industry by storm. Her debut book, “Frying Plantain,” was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. But here’s the thing: Zalika almost didn’t finish that book after some initial feedback deemed the manuscript “too Jamaican” and “too Canadian.” Now, she’s back with her second book and debut novel, “River Mumma” — a fantasy that unequivocally pays homage to her roots. She talks to Tom about her new novel and how her unwavering commitment to her roots paid off.

Duration:00:20:28

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie thought her writing was "too dark" for a children's book — here's what changed her mind

9/6/2023
Known as one of the most influential writers in the world, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s work has found its way into Beyoncé songs and multiple TED Talks. She’s challenged her readers to reflect on colourism in North America (“Americanah”), equality (“We Should All Be Feminists”), and even death (“Notes on Grief”). Now, she’s reflecting on family in her first children’s book, “Mama’s Sleeping Scarf,”written under the alias Nwa Grace-James. Chimamanda tells Tom how her late parents inspired her new alias, why she thought her style of writing would never make for a good children’s book, and how she’s dealt with rejection in her career.

Duration:00:30:50

Maria Bamford on her new memoir and why she makes jokes about mental illness

9/5/2023
The comic and actor Maria Bamford is well known for taking taboo subjects — like OCD, suicidal ideation and anxiety — and placing them at the heart of her comedy. But the joke isn’t that these things are funny, what’s funny is how she frames her own experience struggling with her mental health. With a new memoir out, Maria joins Tom to talk about her mental health journey, what attracts her to “cults,” and the comfort of having a rigid belief system.

Duration:00:36:37

How a complicated relationship with his dad inspired Raymond Antrobus's new poem

9/5/2023
The poet Raymond Antrobus is back with his second spoken word album, “An Investigator (of Missing Sounds).” Raymond tells Tom about how being a new dad affected his ability to write, and how his own relationship with his father made it onto the album. He also sets up one of his new poems, “The Perseverance.”

Duration:00:14:51

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