The Q Interview

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This is Q with Tom Power Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

We've moved! Please join us over at our new home: Q with Tom Power. Five days a week, acclaimed interviewer Tom Power sits down with the artists, writers, actors and musicians who define this cultural moment in time. 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.

Introducing: Q with Tom Power Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Hi! So, you may have noticed this feed has gone dark for the past few months…but we’ve returned to tell you some good news: we’re back! And we’re moving! You can now find us over at Q with Tom Power – our new and improved podcast. See you over there!

From Michigan to the NFL to acting: Terry Crews on his life and what it truly means to be ‘tough’ Aug 17, 2022

Show notes

Terry Crews didn’t have a typical journey into Hollywood. You may know him now as Lieutenant Terry Jeffords on Brooklyn Nine-Nine or as the host of America's Got Talent, but before all that, Terry was a professional football player — and before that, he was doing all that he could to get out of his hometown of Flint, Michigan. These are the stories that Terry writes about in his new memoir, Tough: My Journey to True Power. Terry tells Tom about his ever-evolving relationship with what it means to be tough, his turbulent NFL career and his rise in Hollywood.

David Cronenberg on censorship, the beauty of body horror and his newest film Crimes of The Future Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

For a guy who’s made legendary films like The Fly, Scanners and Shivers, you’d think David Cronenberg would be used to the feeling of releasing a new film. But as the Canadian director tells Tom Power, that’s not really the case. David says that every time he makes a new film, he feels incredibly exposed, like he’s opening himself up and showing the world the most vulnerable parts of himself. It’s similar to what the main character in his new film Crimes of the Future goes through, except Saul Tenser (played by Viggo Mortensen) is literally cutting himself open and giving the insides of his body to his audience as a representation of his creativity. David tells Tom why a film he wrote more than 20 years ago is more relevant than ever, how his home country of Canada wasn’t the most supportive of his films when he was starting out, and why he doesn’t see his work as body horror.

Arcade Fire’s Win Butler on the connection between music and survival Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

When life gets tough, Win Butler’s survival instincts kick in and he turns to music. That’s what happened during one of his first bouts of depression as a teenager, and then again when the pandemic began and he needed to find some hope and a bit of safety. It’s when working through those feelings and experiences that he writes some of his best songs. Win and Tom talk about a few things, like: is there a deeper, more spiritual side to falling in love with music? How do you write a hopeful song during a pandemic? And what’s it like becoming a huge, indie music-defining band in your early 20s? Listen to find out.

Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor: A friendship that changed Canada’s country rock music scene forever Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

When Greg Keelor moved to Toronto as a kid, he didn't intend on making friends. Despite that, Greg ended up being pals with a guy named Jim Cuddy. For Canadians, this friendship is one of the most important things to happen to Canadian rock country music — because from that friendship, Blue Rodeo was born. Greg and Jim tell Tom about how they got their start, the moment they knew things were about to change and why letting go was the best thing they could do for their music.

Janelle Monáe is a ‘dirty computer.’ Here’s what that means to her — and how you can be one, too Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

What does it mean to have agency over your memories? What do you gain when you put your phone down and pay attention to what’s happening right in front of you? And what’s a dirty computer, anyway? Before Janelle Monáe was a Grammy-nominated artist, she was busy writing short stories. As a kid, she wrote science fiction and horror stories, including one where her grandmother was abducted by aliens. But her love of sci-fi and horror didn’t stop there — it’s something you can hear in her albums, like The ArchAndroid and Dirty Computer. Tom spoke with Janelle when she released her first collection of short stories called The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer.

Why Jane Fonda uses her influence to ‘stand up for the underdog’ Jul 08, 2022

Show notes

For somebody who’s won some of the biggest awards in entertainment, you might be surprised at how often Jane Fonda has been arrested. But for Jane, advocating for something you believe in is a risk worth taking. You might know Jane from movies like Klute, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? or Barbarella. Or maybe you’re more familiar with her most recent Netflix series, Grace and Frankie. While Jane has built this incredible, award-winning career, she’s continuously advocated for the “underdog” — speaking out about causes from the Vietnam War to racism to climate change. All of this is in her book, What Can I Do? The Path from Climate Despair to Action. In this conversation from 2020, Jane takes Tom back to the early days of her activism, what it was like being criticized by former U.S. president Richard Nixon and why she’s never decided between acting and activism.

Buffy Sainte-Marie: A living legend looks back at 81 Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

Where do you start with a legend like Buffy Sainte-Marie? Maybe you go back to New York in the ‘60s, where she played alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. Or maybe you're more familiar with her Oscar-winning song Up Where We Belong. Or maybe you were a kid in the ‘70s who saw Buffy breastfeed her son on Sesame Street (a first in television history). So again, where do you start with a legend like Buffy Sainte-Marie? Tom was able to sit down with her for a rare career chat and he decided to start at the beginning — in Saskatchewan, the place she was born. Buffy is the focus of a new CBC podcast, aptly called Buffy, which unpacks her music and impact on popular culture over the last five decades. Listen to Buffy talk about what it’s like when your music gets banned in the United States, why winning an Oscar doesn’t necessarily mean you can quit your day job and why — even at 81 years old — you can still be as creative as you were when you were a kid.

Why Selma Blair never asks, “Why me?” Jun 22, 2022

Show notes

Before Selma Blair was an actor, an advocate or a writer, she was known as, “Mean Baby” – a nickname lovingly given to her by her parents. Although that comes off innocent enough, how does that kind of nickname impact your sense of self? So, she might’ve started out as "Mean Baby," but Selma’s somebody you likely know from movies like Cruel Intentions, Legally Blonde and Hellboy. She’s also gotten a lot of attention recently for opening up about her diagnosis with MS and her struggles with alcoholism. So what happens when you feel like your life is predetermined for you? Why can hitting rock bottom actually be kind of freeing? And what do you do when your doctor tells you to hide your diagnosis of MS for your career? Selma tells Tom about all this and more.

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