Q with Tom Power

This week, Canadian R&B musician Aquakultre (a.k.a. Lance Sampson) releases his new album, 1783. The title refers to a pivotal year for Afro-Nova Scotians: after the American War of Independence ended, thousands of Black Loyalists arrived in Nova Scotia seeking new homes. Lance traces his own family lineage back to those early settlers. He joins guest host Garvia Bailey to discuss the stories behind the record — and how that history continues to reverberate today.

About a decade ago, Canadian musician Teagan Johnston was just getting her start in Toronto’s music scene. As her career began to gain momentum and her circle of musician friends grew, she found herself wrestling with some unexpected emotions. She was thrilled to see her peers succeed, but she also started to wonder whether she truly belonged, and if it would ever be her turn. Those conflicting feelings became the inspiration for her latest single, Neon Schoolgirl. Teagan joins guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to tell us how writing the song helped her confront and overcome her imposter syndrome.

After more than 30 years on screen, Katherine LaNasa is finally having a breakout moment with her Emmy-winning role on The Pitt. But the road wasn't easy. As she was preparing to take on the hit medical drama, she was also undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Katherine sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to talk about that health scare, her hard-fought early years as an actor, and what it means to reach a new level of recognition at this stage of her career.

On his new album Pray for Me, Toronto-based R&B singer RAAHiiM straddles the line between his religious upbringing and a musical style that feels true to who he is. He talks to guest host Garvia Bailey about the breakout year he’s had since being named Apple Music Canada’s Up Next Artist, and how he honours both his family roots and his creative identity through his music.

Last year, a movie called My Father’s Shadow made history when it became the first Nigerian film to be officially selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Set over the course of a single day in Lagos in 1993 (a day that happens to be one of the most catastrophic in Nigerian history), the film follows two young boys who join their father on a trip to the city so he can collect his paycheck. The story is semi-autobiographical, based on director Akinola Davies Jr.’s own family experiences. During the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Akinola sat down with Tom Power to talk about memory, Nigeria’s lesser known history, and the stuff you learn about your parents after they're gone.

Thirty years ago, a modest Canadian documentary called Project Grizzly turned into an unlikely cult classic, winning over high-profile admirers such as Quentin Tarantino. Directed by Peter Lynch, the film follows Troy Hurtubise — an unconventional metalworker and amateur inventor who survived a near-fatal grizzly bear attack as a young man. Determined to face a grizzly again, Troy sets out to build a bear-proof suit of armour from a mix of scrap metal, rubber, hockey equipment and duct tape. But what Peter ultimately captures on film is something more complicated: a portrait of a man whose bold dream slowly becomes an all-consuming obsession. Three decades later, Peter sits down with guest host Talia Schlanger in the Q studio to look back on the film and its enduring legacy.

Award-winning actor Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves, Killers of the Flower Moon) is returning to the stage in a new theatre production called Witch. It follows a woman named Elizabeth who’s ostracized by her community after being branded a witch. But when the devil comes to town looking for souls, it’s Elizabeth who refuses to be bought while others give in right away. Tantoo sits down with guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the play, its theme of resilience, and the connection she feels to her character.

The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games start today and Canadian figure skater Elladj Baldé is representing Canada in a new way — as a special contributor on CBC. Elladj started skating at age six and, like many budding athletes, grew up dreaming of Olympic glory. But as a young Black man, he didn’t always see himself reflected in the world of figure skating, and that started to impact how he felt about the sport and even himself. In this conversation with guest host Garvia Bailey, Elladj talks about the crushing disappointment he experienced after he narrowly missed qualifying for the Sochi Olympics, how a trip to Guinea, West Africa changed his relationship with skating, and how he found a new sense of purpose on the ice.

For years, Tanya Tagaq has dazzled the Canadian music scene with a blend of sounds that span throat singing, trip-hop, dance, rock and classical music. But back in 2018, she surprised us with a different type of project: a novel called Split Tooth. Now, Tanya is reimagining parts of that novel in a new stage show called Split Tooth: Saputjiji. Not only that, she’s mashing it up with a new album set to be released in March. Ahead of the world premiere of Split Tooth: Saputjiji in Vancouver, Tanya joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the production, and what she gets from being on stage and performing. 

Marina Zenovich is a two-time Emmy Award-winning documentarian who’s built a career taking on some of pop culture’s most complex and controversial figures. From Roman Polanski to Lance Armstrong to Robin Williams to Richard Pryor, her specialty is getting past tricky, evasive subjects to uncover something real. Marina joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about her latest CNN documentary, I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not, and how she cuts through celebrity myth to find the human underneath.