You’ve probably heard the voice. It’s warm, a little bit gravelly, and carries that unmistakable East Coast lilt that makes you feel like you’re sitting in a kitchen in St. John’s rather than listening to a national broadcast. That is the magic of Q with Tom Power.
But here’s the thing: most people think Q is just another celebrity press circuit stop. They assume it's just a place where actors go to plug a movie they don't actually like or where musicians recite the same three anecdotes they’ve told in ten other cities.
Honestly? They’re wrong.
Since Tom Power took over the captain’s chair in 2016, the show has undergone a quiet, radical transformation. It stopped being a show about the business of culture and started being a show about the humanity of it. If you’re still thinking of the "old" version of the show—the one defined by slickness and, well, a very different host—you’re missing out on what has become the most vulnerable space in North American media.
The Tom Power Effect: Why Artists Actually Open Up
Most interviewers have a "gotcha" energy or a "let's be best friends" fake-ness. Tom doesn't. He has a folklore background—literally, he studied it at Memorial University—which means he understands that stories aren't just content. They're how we survive.
When Adele sat down with him to talk about 30, she didn't just give him the standard PR lines. She stayed longer than scheduled. Why? Because Tom asked about the things that actually matter to an artist: the fear of being seen, the weight of the past, and the specific, tiny moments that spark a song.
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It’s the same reason RZA talked to him about what was inside his teenage notebooks, or why the late Matthew Perry gave one of his most searingly honest interviews about addiction on the Q stage. Tom isn’t looking for a headline. He’s looking for the person behind the persona.
A Shift in the Vibe
In early 2023, the show made a massive structural change. It dropped from 90 minutes to one hour.
A lot of long-time listeners were worried. Would we lose the depth? Actually, the opposite happened. By moving the "magazine" segments—the panels and the quick reviews—to a sister show called Commotion, Q with Tom Power became laser-focused on the long-form interview. It’s now a dedicated space for the "big chat."
The Newfoundland Secret Sauce
You can’t talk about Q without talking about Newfoundland. Tom is a founding member of the traditional folk band The Dardanelles. He grew up in the "session" culture of St. John’s, where you learn to listen as much as you learn to play.
That "session" energy is all over the show. It’s informal. It’s playful. Sometimes it’s kinda mischievous. He’ll jokingly chide Catherine O’Hara for her parenting skills in Home Alone, and then, five minutes later, he’s asking a deep, philosophical question about the nature of comedy.
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This isn't a fluke. It’s a skill set honed in pubs and on folk festival stages. It allows him to connect with legends like Robert Plant or Mick Jagger in a way that feels like peer-to-peer respect rather than fan-to-idol worship.
Breaking the "Star" Cycle
One of the best things about the show is that it doesn't just chase the A-list. Sure, you’ll get your Dua Lipas and your Denzel Washingtons. But Tom has this uncanny knack for finding people on the "precice of stardom."
Think back to the early days. Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Daniel Caesar were all on Q before they were household names. The show treats a rising indie singer from Saskatoon with the same intellectual curiosity it grants to a Hollywood director like Francis Ford Coppola.
What Really Happened with the Rebrand?
Let's address the elephant in the room. For a long time, the show's name was synonymous with Jian Ghomeshi. When he was fired in 2014 amid a storm of allegations, the show was in an existential crisis. There was a brief period with the rapper Shad—who is incredibly talented but never quite found the right "radio" rhythm for this specific format—before Tom was brought in from Radio 2 Morning.
The transition wasn't just about changing the host; it was about changing the soul of the program. They rebranded to a lowercase "q" and eventually leaned into Tom’s name to signal a new era of transparency and warmth.
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The ratings, which had dipped significantly during the transition years, climbed back up. People didn't just want "arts coverage." They wanted a host they could trust. They wanted someone who felt like a real person, not a curated brand.
Surprising Facts About the Show
- The Snooker Habit: When Tom is on the road, he doesn't just stay in his hotel. He is notorious for finding the "dingiest pool halls" in whatever city he's in to work on his snooker game (which he admits is still pretty bad).
- Youngest Host: Tom became the youngest national host in CBC history at age 21 when he took over Deep Roots.
- The New York Festivals: The show has a shelf full of Gold Medals from the New York Festivals Radio Awards. His interviews with Michael J. Fox, Bono, and Mick Jagger are basically required listening for anyone interested in the craft of the interview.
- The Theme Song: That catchy, driving theme you hear? It was composed by Ewan and Shamus Currie of The Sheepdogs. It sets the tone perfectly: it's rootsy, modern, and energetic.
How to Get the Most Out of Q
If you’re a casual listener, you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Q with Tom Power is now a multi-platform beast.
- The YouTube Channel: Some interviews are better watched. Seeing the body language between Tom and a guest like Rose Byrne or Lee Byung-hun adds a whole other layer of context.
- The Live Tapes: Keep an eye out for the roadshows. When the team goes to places like St. John’s or the Toronto International Film Festival, the energy is electric.
- The Podcast Feed: The radio edit is great, but the podcast often gives you a slightly longer, more "unfiltered" version of the conversation.
The Actionable Insight: How to Listen Better
Most of us treat podcasts or radio as background noise while we fold laundry or drive to work. Don't do that with Q.
The next time a guest comes on that you think you don't care about—maybe a Canadian poet you’ve never heard of or a folk singer from the 70s—don't switch the station. Stay for the first ten minutes.
The genius of Q with Tom Power isn't that it interviews famous people; it’s that it makes every person's story feel vital. You’ll find that the "stranger" often has more to say about your own life than the A-lister does.
Your Next Steps
- Listen to the Michael J. Fox interview: It is a masterclass in empathy and resilience.
- Check the archives for "Toy Heart": If you like Tom’s style, he also hosts this specific podcast about the history of bluegrass music.
- Follow the social feeds: The team is great at posting "the interview after the interview" clips on Instagram and TikTok that never make it to the airwaves.
The cultural conversation in Canada is loud and often messy. But for one hour a day, Tom Power manages to make it feel like a quiet, honest talk among friends. That’s why it works. That’s why we’re still listening.