Q with Tom Power

CBC

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.

  • 30 minutes 9 seconds
    Never mind method acting. Baz Luhrmann is a “method director”

    You've heard of method actors — performers who fully immerse themselves in a role until a project is complete —  but Baz Luhrmann has been called a “method director.” Spectacle is his signature. From the glittering chaos of Moulin Rouge! to the roaring parties of The Great Gatsby, Baz fills every frame with vibrant colour, music and movement. For his new documentary, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, he dives headfirst into the glitter once again, this time to tell the story of his longtime muse, Elvis Presley. The film shows the King of Rock and Roll not as a myth, but as a ferocious live performer full of humanity and power. Baz joins guest host Garvia Bailey to reflect on the bold, anything-goes style that’s defined his career, and why he’s drawn to cultural icons and big emotional swings.

    6 March 2026, 9:15 am
  • 17 minutes 34 seconds
    Director Emma Higgins reimagines teen girl fandom as a horror film

    Emma Higgins is a Vancouver-based filmmaker who first cut her teeth making music videos. In 2021, she won a Juno for her work with Jessie Reyez on the track No One's In The Room. Now, she’s released her feature directorial debut, Sweetness, which follows a 16-year-old girl who kidnaps her rockstar idol in an attempt to “help” him recover from addiction. Emma drops by the Q studio to talk to guest host Garvia Bailey about the film and why teenage fandom was perfect fodder for a horror movie.

    6 March 2026, 9:10 am
  • 24 minutes 11 seconds
    Ashton James reimagines a cult classic with his performance in Youngblood

    Ashton James is quickly becoming one of Canada’s most exciting rising actors. His latest leading role is in the film Youngblood, a remake of the 1986 hockey drama of the same name. Ashton sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about hitting the ice with purpose, learning how to skate like a pro, and how his grandmother in St. Lucia helped inspire his journey into acting. Plus, he shares his memories of the late Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer.

    5 March 2026, 9:15 am
  • 26 minutes 41 seconds
    Oscar-nominated animator Chris Lavis on the magic of stop-motion

    Chris Lavis is the Montreal-based writer, director and animator behind the Oscar-nominated stop-motion film The Girl Who Cried Pearls. The 17-minute animated short is a modern-day fable about a poor boy in Montreal who finds himself caught between love and greed after falling for a girl who cries pearls. In this conversation with guest host Garvia Bailey, Chris talks about representing Canada and the NFB at this year’s Academy Awards, the painstaking craft behind the film’s intricate stop-motion animation, and what it was like to find out that his hero, Steven Spielberg, is a fan of the movie.

    5 March 2026, 9:10 am
  • 22 minutes 59 seconds
    Merkules is on tour with Snoop Dogg and doing songs with Shaquille O'Neal

    After a life-altering attack that nearly killed him when he was 16, Cole Stevenson, also known as Merkules, set out to become one of the biggest rappers on Canada’s West Coast. Growing up, he had pictures of Snoop Dogg on his bedroom wall. So years later, when Snoop’s label Death Row Records came calling, Merkules almost hung up the phone. Today, he’s the only Canadian artist to ever be signed to the iconic label. Merkules sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about his debut for Death Row, Survivor's Guilt, which is a statement album about his life, career, and the obstacles he’s overcome along the way.

    4 March 2026, 9:15 am
  • 23 minutes 45 seconds
    How a Yale professor ended up in two of the year’s biggest movies

    Paul Grimstad is a Yale professor and music composer who just so happens to be in two of this year’s most talked-about films: One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme. Paul talks to guest host Talia Schlanger about how he landed the roles without an agent or recent acting credits, the advice he got from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and what he means when he says “experimenting is a lot like experiencing.”

    4 March 2026, 9:10 am
  • 24 minutes 39 seconds
    Ian Thornley didn’t see himself as a frontman, but his bandmates did

    Ian Thornley has been at the helm of the rock band Big Wreck for the better part of 30 years — but he didn’t always see himself as a frontman. With encouragement from his bandmates, he stepped into the role and Big Wreck went on to become bona fide Canadian hitmakers. The band’s latest album, The Rest of the Story, is out now, and they’re currently on tour across Canada. Ian stops by the Q studio to talk with guest host Garvia Bailey about returning to the spotlight, the highs and lows of life on the road, and how his longtime friend Chad Kroeger helped him write his first solo record.

    3 March 2026, 9:15 am
  • 26 minutes
    How a midlife crisis led Julia Dault to embrace the hyper-local

    Julia Dault is an acclaimed Canadian abstract painter and sculptor whose work can be found in the Guggenheim Museum, Miami’s Pérez Art Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and many other notable galleries around the world. But after a midlife crisis, Julia shifted her focus away from international exhibits and toward the hyper-local. She sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about that change, and why she decided to open a community art studio in Toronto called Hot Pizza, built around a simple motto: art for everyone.

    3 March 2026, 9:10 am
  • 36 minutes 57 seconds
    Hilary Duff is reclaiming her past as Lizzie McGuire

    After a decade away from music, Hilary Duff is back with Luck… or Something — a new album that dives into the messy, vulnerable and raw parts of life she’s now navigating in her late 30s. Hilary sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to discuss her comeback album, child stardom, and her complicated relationship with Lizzie McGuire. 

    2 March 2026, 9:15 am
  • 14 minutes 20 seconds
    Jully Black is touring Canada’s most beloved intimate venues

    Jully Black, Canada’s Queen of R&B Soul, is currently on tour, but not the kind of tour we’re used to. She’s performing at small venues across the country for what she’s calling the Jully Black Live Experience. Guest host Garvia Bailey catches up with the R&B powerhouse to talk about why she wanted to get up close and personal with her fans. Plus, Jully reflects on how a song she recorded more than 25 years ago has earned her a new Juno nomination — and a spot at Q Live at the Junos, taking place in Hamilton on March 26.

    2 March 2026, 9:10 am
  • 23 minutes 35 seconds
    Gorillaz on how loss and a trip to India inspired their new album

    Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett — the architects of the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum band Gorillaz — are back with their ninth studio record, The Mountain. It might be the group’s most personal record yet, as it follows a fictional story inspired by real events. After Damon and Jamie both lost their fathers, they decided to travel to India where they gained a new understanding of death and family. The Mountain was the result of that journey. Damon and Jamie join guest host Talia Schlanger to open up about the album and the personal loss that fuelled it.

    27 February 2026, 9:15 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App