Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

Wiz Khalifa just dropped his latest album ‘Kush + Orange Juice 2,’ the sequel to his 2010 mixtape that introduced him to the world. Khalifa joins Tom to talk about his early days as a hip-hop artist, why he’s never cared about being a celebrity, and what important lessons he learned from Snoop Dogg. 

The Alberta folk singer-songwriter Sister Ray is known for writing songs about heartbreak and sadness. But they decided to try something different with their new album “Believer”— their latest record is all about love and connection. Ella Coyes of Sister Ray tells Tom Power about how “freeing” it is to write about joy, how growing up around Métis art influenced their love of music, and why they think the embarrassing parts of being human is what connects us most. 

In Sook-Yin Lee’s film, “Paying For It,” a couple whose romantic attraction is waning decide to open up their relationship. While Sonny explores dating, her introverted boyfriend, Chester, opts to hire sex workers. The story is based on Sook-Yin’s real-life former relationship with Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown, who released a bestselling graphic memoir of the same name in 2011. It reflects on intimacy, connection, the rights of sex workers, the boundaries we put around relationships, and Toronto in the ‘90s. Sook-Yin joins Tom Power to talk about the movie and what she learned in the process of making it. Plus, she discusses her early work as a MuchMusic VJ, and how she struggled to deal with the slow cultural shift from alternative music to boy bands.

Amy Millan from the band Stars is back with her first solo record in fifteen years. Millan tells Tom how her album “I Went To Find You” was inspired by the loss of her father at five years old. Plus, she tells the story behind her new song “Make Way for Waves.”

You might not remember every song on the radio from 2007, but if you were anywhere near a club or dancefloor, you might remember the electronic duo Justice. Their debut album, with that glowing cross on the front, was impossible to ignore. Justice redefined electronic music for a new generation, and became one of the most influential acts of their time. The members of the band, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, join Q guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about what’s changed since then, why they’re not interested in nostalgia, and what it takes to keep making great music as you get older. 

Jennifer Archibald is one of North America’s busiest and most in-demand choreographers. At the end of May, she’ll debut her first piece for the National Ballet of Canada called “Kings Fall,” one of nine world premieres that she’ll go on this season. Archibald tells Tom Power about the commonality between chess and her journey in choreography and the ‘documentary ballet’ genre she’s become known for. 

Hanorah is a singer-songwriter from Montreal who’s opened for Mavis Staples, and grew up listening to Etta James and Joss Stone. On her latest EP “Closer Than Hell,” Hanorah moves beyond her early soul influences and explores a new voice. Hanorah tells Tom about surprising herself when she began songwriting, why she’s happy she didn’t win “La Voix” (the Quebec version of “The Voice”), and shares what inspired her new song “Barbed Wire.”

Courtney B. Vance is known for playing men of power and purpose — from Johnnie Cochran in “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” to Uncle George Freeman in “Lovecraft Country,” Vance now takes on Cobra Bubbles in the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch. He joins Tom Power to talk about the emotional depth of Bubbles in the new remake, how growing up as a Black actor in Detroit during the 1967 uprising shaped him, and why he didn’t watch a single video of the late Johnnie Cochran before playing him in "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story."

Sarah Levy comes from a pretty funny family. Her dad is the comedy legend Eugene Levy, her brother is Dan Levy, and all three of them were on the Emmy-winning show “Schitt's Creek.” But Sarah says the funniest one of them all is her mom, who’s also the person in her family who’s had the biggest influence on her comedy. Sarah joins Tom Power to talk about stepping out of the shadow of “Schitt's Creek” to carve her own path with “SurrealEstate,” which is now in its third season. If you like this conversation, check out Tom’s interview with Sarah’s brother, Dan Levy.

What happens when you let go? Dan Mangan found out when he stopped trying to make the best record of his career — and he ended up with one of the best records of his career. The Juno-winning singer-songwriter says it all goes to show that surrendering control might be the key to making something great. Dan sits down with Tom Power to tell us how a trip into the woods laid the foundation for his new album, “Natural Light,” and why he wrote a song about letting your kids know you love them no matter what they do. If you enjoy this conversation, take a listen to Tom’s chat with Max Kerman of Arkells.

In 2021, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner got everything she’d ever wanted: her memoir “Crying in H Mart” became a surprise New York Times bestseller, and her band’s breakthrough album “Jubilee” received multiple Grammy nominations. But all of that success came at the cost of her mental and physical health, so she moved to Seoul to regroup. Now, Japanese Breakfast is back with a new album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women),” which explores that time in Michelle’s life. She sits down with Tom Power to talk about the grief that shaped her, the moment she realized she needed to walk away from it all, and how moving to Seoul helped her find her voice again.

What do you do when the world around you is anything but calm? For the Juno-winning Indigenous blues artist Crystal Shawanda, the answer was to go inward. She joins Tom Power to talk about her powerful and deeply personal new track “This Peace,” which channels her family’s strength, her culture and her own journey of self-discovery to find calm in the midst of life’s storms.

When Yanic Truesdale was growing up in Quebec, he used to watch American TV with his grandmother — but he didn't speak any English, so she had to translate the whole show to him line by line. When he started getting cast in TV roles, no one was prouder of him than his grandmother. Since then, Yanic has become a beloved actor all over the world, particularly for his role as Stars Hollow’s passive aggressive hotel concierge, Michel, on the hit show “Gilmore Girls.” Yanic joins Tom Power to talk about his early days as an actor, his life-changing audition for the show that put him on the map, and why he didn't want to have a French accent for his new role in “Étoile” — the latest series from “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Canadian actor Noah Lamanna stars as Kat in the new season of the hit HBO show “The Last of Us.” Noah joins Tom Power to talk about the moment they found out they’d be on one of the biggest shows on TV, what it’s like working with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and how the film and TV industry has evolved for non-binary actors.

Comedian Benito Skinner grew up attending Catholic school in Idaho, where he didn’t feel safe being an out gay man. Instead, he concealed his sexuality and threw himself into football. Now, Benito is mining that awkward and uncomfortable time in his life for his art. He’s the creator and star of “Overcompensating,” a new comedy show from A24 and Amazon Prime that’s loosely based on his own life and experiences. Benito joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the show and his journey from closeted perfectionist to self-acceptance.

The Canadian indie pop band and filmmaking collective shy kids consists of three multi-hyphenate friends: Matthew Hornick, Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg. They’re musicians, but they’re also filmmakers, animators, writers, directors and technology advocates. Matthew, Walter and Patrick sit down with guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about their new album, “a gathering of batteries,” and why diving into OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora actually made them less afraid of the technology, despite receiving more than 40 death threats for their work. If you like this and you’re looking for more from shy kids, check out Tom Power’s conversation with Matthew from last year. 

For nearly 30 years, “The Lion King” musical has been captivating audiences, becoming the highest-grossing production of all time, in theatre or in film. But when creator Julie Taymor was approached to make the stage show, she had never seen the original animated Disney movie it's based on. Julie joins Tom Power to tell us the story behind the production, the one scene in the movie that seemed impossible to recreate on stage, and why she wanted to accept the challenge.

Bestselling Canadian writer Eliza Reid has written plenty of non-fiction, but she’s just released her first novel, “Death on the Island.” It’s a murder mystery involving diplomats in Iceland — a place that’s quite familiar to her, considering she served as the country’s first lady from 2016 to 2024. Eliza sits down with Tom Power to talk about her new book and the challenges she faced switching from writing fact to fiction.

After 26 years dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, Guillaume Côté will soon retire following his final performance on June 5. Last year, after announcing his decision to move on, the acclaimed Canadian dancer and choreographer sat down with Tom Power to talk about the physical demands of ballet, the “expiration date” that all professional dancers face, and what he’s looking forward to most in his next chapter.

When you were growing up, did you get along with your sibling? When Leela and Jay Gilday were growing up in Northwest Territories, their dad wanted them to sing together more, but it wasn’t until decades later that they did. Leela and Jay both have distinguished music careers on their own, but more recently, they’ve come together as the contemporary roots duo Sechile Sedare (“my younger brother, my older sister” in Dene). Earlier this year, they joined Tom Power to talk about their collaboration. Plus, they set up their new single, “Hold On.”