''q with Tom Power'' (previously known as ''q with Jian Ghomeshi'') is a Canadian arts magazine show produced by and airing on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

, with syndication to public radio stations in the United States through

Public Radio Exchange The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...

. The program mainly features interviews with prominent cultural and entertainment figures, though subjects and interviewees also deal with broader cultural topics such as their social, political and business aspects, as well as weekly panels on television/film and music on Mondays and Fridays respectively. Though not the highest-rated show on CBC Radio One ('' The Current'' and ''

As It Happens ''As It Happens'' is a Canadian interview show that airs on CBC Radio One in Canada and various public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated on-air on November 16, 2018. It has bee ...

'' hold that distinction), ''Q'' is the highest rated show in its timeslot in CBC history, surpassing even

Peter Gzowski Peter John Gzowski (July 13, 1934 – January 24, 2002), known colloquially as "Mr. Canada", or "Captain Canada",Mary Gazze Canadian Press via The ''Toronto Star'', August 23, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-27. was a Canadian broadcaster, write ...

who previously hosted the second hour of '' Morningside'' during the slot. The show is also regarded as standing out in CBC Radio One's schedule through attracting a younger, more social-media-adept audience than other CBC Radio programming."CBC pics rapper Shad as new host of Q"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', March 11, 2015. ''Q'' launched in April 2007. It was hosted by

Jian Ghomeshi Jian Ghomeshi (born June 9, 1967) is a British-born Persian-Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In ...

until October 2014.

Shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae

was chosen by the CBC in March 2015 as ''Q''s new permanent host. His official debut as host was April 20. The show was also re-branded as ''q'' at the same time. In August 2016, the CBC announced that Shad would be replaced as host by

Tom Power Thomas Francis Power (1869 – February 25, 1898) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for one season. In 1890, he played primarily as a first baseman, but also played as a second baseman, ...

, formerly the host of '' Radio 2 Morning'', in the fall."CBC's Q replacing Shad as host"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

, August 15, 2016. Power debuted as host on October 24, 2016. From late March to May 15, 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

, the 10 a.m. broadcast of the program was suspended in favour of an extended broadcast of the network's morning news program '' The Current''; however, Power was heard on ''The Current'' as a contributor of arts stories during this period. New episodes of the program still aired in the evening repeat slot, and the program was temporarily added to the schedule of

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, replacing that network's 7-8 p.m. hour of regular programming. In November 2022 the CBC announced a change to the program's format. Beginning January 30, 2023, the program's length will be reduced from 90 minutes to one hour, and will concentrate more strongly on Power's long-form interviews, while the magazine aspects of the show will be transferred to the new 30-minute show '' Commotion'', to be hosted by

Elamin Abdelmahmoud Elamin Abdelmahmoud is a Sudanese Canadian writer, culture and politics commentator, and podcast host based in Toronto, Ontario. He is best known as a culture writer for BuzzFeed and as host of ''Pop Chat'' and co-host of ''Party Lines'' with R ...

Episodes

The program airs live Monday to Friday at 10:00 a.m. (10:30 NT) for 90 minutes, and an abbreviated 60-minute edition is then repeated at 9 p.m. Due to lesser time restraints (such as less time lost to

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

breaks) the evening repeat is able to air all of the feature content from the 90-minute daytime edition, although some shorter interstitial segments may be edited out. Stations carrying the show in the United States also broadcast the one-hour edition. It is broadcast mostly from CBC's Toronto studios, although the show also sometimes airs special broadcasts from other Canadian cities. On Fridays, the show formerly aired for two hours, and included a theme called "Friday Live", where featured musicians are invited for an interview primarily as the opening segment with live performances throughout the program.

History

''Q'' first aired on April 16, 2007, replacing '' Freestyle'' in the network's afternoon programming block. It moved to its current time slot, replacing ''

Sounds Like Canada ''Sounds Like Canada'' was a Canadian radio program, which aired weekday mornings on CBC Radio One from 2002 to 2008. Until the end of May 2008, the program was hosted by the award-winning broadcaster Shelagh Rogers, and in the summers by a rotat ...

'', in fall 2008. The name was chosen by the staff of the show from a list they themselves had compiled. A test run of the show was made using the name Radar. Other possible names (some clearly tongue-in-cheek) included "State-of the-Arts in Canada", "Awesometown", "Afternoon Delight", "Smells like Canada", "Full Duplex Repeater", "Skybox Three" (the room in Toronto's

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...

where much of the show was created), "Ghomer's Pile", or one even closer to

, the show host of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian descent, "Royal Canadian Air Farsi". Names a little closer to the mark included Studio Q and The Cue. According to Ghomeshi, "A couple of the ... suggestions came close", when the name 'Q' was brought up "there was a pause in the room and he Q teamwent 'Yes, that's it.' It felt like the right name. It's an enigmatic letter

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

hope will become associated with the show." Beginning in 2013, a one-hour weekly spinoff series, ''Q The Music'', was added to the

schedule, airing a selection of interviews and performances by musicians previously broadcast on the daily program. On April 15, 2015, the show changed its name to the lower case ''q''.

2009 Thornton interview

On April 8, 2009,

Billy Bob Thornton Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller ''One False Move'', and received international attention after writing, directing, a ...

and his musical group

The Boxmasters The Boxmasters is an American rock band founded in Bellflower, California, in 2007 by Academy Award-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton and J.D. Andrew. The group has released eleven albums, with another one being released on April 15, 2022 Befor ...

made an appearance on ''Q'' that was widely criticized and received international attention after Thornton was persistently unintelligible and discourteous to Ghomeshi. Thornton eventually explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career. Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton's acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like "mashed potatoes without the gravy". The following night, opening for

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

at Toronto's

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

, Thornton said mid-set he liked Canadians but not Ghomeshi, which was greeted with boos and catcalls. The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu. Ghomeshi and comedian

Alan Park Alan John Park (November 5, 1962 – November 10, 2022) was a Canadian comedian and political satire, political satirist best known for his appearances on the ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'' where he gave humorous commentary on current events. Thou ...

made a mock follow-up interview promoting the 2009

Air Farce Live ''Royal Canadian Air Farce'' (broadcast as ''Air Farce Live'' during 2007, and ''Air Farce—Final Flight!'' in 2008), and often credited simply as ''Air Farce'', was a Canadian sketch comedy series starring the comedy troupe Royal Canadian Air F ...

television special. The sketch has Ghomeshi asking Thornton (Alan Park) about his plans for New Years, leading to the actor responding similar answers to the April interview. The two continue to banter until they break character and laugh around.

Ghomeshi's dismissal

Ghomeshi was fired from the CBC in October 2014, amidst a mounting series of allegations that he had

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

a series of women, including former ''Q'' producer

Kathryn Borel Kathryn Borel (born June 23, 1979) is a Canadian writer, editor and radio producer. She was a founding producer of the CBC Radio One show '' Q''. Borel is the author of ''Corked: A Memoir'' (2009). After his departure, the program was hosted by a rotating series of guest hosts, including existing CBC staffers such as

Brent Bambury Brent Bambury (born 1960)"CBC announces host for 'All in a Day': Brent Bambury to replace Ken Rockburn". ''Ottawa Citizen'', January 16, 2002. is a Canadian radio and television personality. He has hosted a number of radio and television programs ...

Piya Chattopadhyay Piya Chattopadhyay () is a Canadian journalist, currently host of '' The Sunday Magazine'' on CBC Radio One. She is known for her work on CBC Radio,Allan Hawco Allan Hawco is a Canadian writer, actor, and producer from Bell Island, Newfoundland. He is best known for his roles in the series ''Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan'', ''Republic of Doyle'', and '' The Book of Negroes'', and the television limited series ...

and Talia Schlanger, and outside figures such as

Wab Kinew Wabanakwut "Wab" Kinew (; born December 31, 1981),
''Toronto Star' ...

Rachel Giese Rachel Giese is a Canadian journalist, who won the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing in 2019 for her book ''Boys: What It Means to Become a Man''. Currently the editorial director of LGBT news website ''Daily Xtra'', her work has also a ...

Damian Abraham Damian Abraham (also known as Father Damian, Pink Eyes and Mr. Damian) is a Canadian musician and presenter who first came to prominence as the vocalist for the band Fucked Up. Career Abraham formed Fucked Up in Toronto in 2001. To date the b ...

, Candy Palmater, Shad,

Daniel Richler Daniel Richler (born 1957) is a Canadian arts and pop culture broadcaster and writer."The apprenticeship of Daniel Richler". ''Montreal Gazette'', May 19, 1991. Biography Richler was born in London, England."When it's time to stop looking like a ...

and Sean Rameswaram. Many of the guest hosts were effectively auditioning for a place on the shortlist of potential new permanent hosts."And then there was Shad: inside the search for the new host of Q"
''

'', March 13, 2015. During the transition process, the CBC faced controversy when it announced that it intended to remove all Ghomeshi-hosted segments of the program from its online archive of previously-broadcast content."CBC Radio agrees to leave Q archives online after listener backlash"
Canada.com, December 23, 2014. They ultimately reversed this decision in the face of public disapproval, allowing the content to remain accessible online for the standard two-year period applicable to all other CBC content, but reaffirming that no content hosted by Ghomeshi will be re-aired on terrestrial radio. Late in the guest-hosting phase,

Measha Brueggergosman Measha Brueggergosman (née Gosman; June 28, 1977) is a Canadian soprano who performs both as an opera singer and concert artist. She has performed internationally and won numerous awards. Her recordings of both classical and popular music ha ...

and

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

each hosted a single show as part of a "Thursday surprise" feature, in which the show would be turned over for one day to a guest host whose identity had not been announced in advance.

Shad era

The "final five" shortlist of host candidates comprised Shad, Palmater, Richler, Rameswaram and Power. Shad's selection was announced on March 10, 2015. His debut as host was on April 20, with a live broadcast from the CBC's

Glenn Gould Studio The Canadian Broadcasting Centre, also known as the CBC Toronto Broadcast Centre, is an office and studio complex located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It serves as the main broadcast and master control point for the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora ...

. Producers indicated that under Shad, the program would increase its focus on music and would adopt a looser, less structured format. Concurrently with Shad's debut as host, the program also unveiled new theme music composed by Canadian musician

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Tom Power era

Shad was replaced with

in August 2016, as the program's ratings had declined significantly over the period when he hosted. Palmater returned as guest host of the show for the weeks between Shad's departure and Power's debut. Concurrently with Power taking over the host's chair, the show also debuted another new theme song, composed and performed by Ewan and Shamus Currie of

The Sheepdogs The Sheepdogs are a Canadian rock band formed in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 2004. The Sheepdogs were the first unsigned band to make the cover of ''Rolling Stone'' and have gone on to a career featuring multi-platinum album sales and four Jun ...

through their side project BROS. Other regular contributors to the show include CBC Music's

Raina Douris Raina Douris (born February 2, 1986) is a Canadian radio broadcaster, currently working in the United States as the host of NPR's syndicated music program '' World Cafe''.Bruce Warren"Hello, Goodbye: Raina Douris joins World Cafe as Talia Schlange ...

and

Odario Williams Odario Williams is a Canadian musician and broadcaster, currently heard as the host of the evening program ''Afterdark'' on CBC Music. In addition to ''Afterdark'', Williams makes regular appearances on CBC Radio One's '' Q''. Prior to that, he had ...

, who appear as part of a weekly segment devoted to new album releases, and Jael Richardson as a book reviewer.

Television versions

Filmed footage of interviews and live musical performances from the radio program airs on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The show was syndicated from September 2014 until September 2016 for weekend airings to commercial television stations in the United States through PPI (the former Program Partners), a major syndicator of Canadian programming into the American television market. Due to Ghomeshi's dismissal from the CBC mere weeks after its premiere, the PPI version of the show had its format shifted abruptly to feature a 'best-of' compilation of the week's interviews and musical performances (similar to some

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

show television simulcasts) with the show's interim hosts instead with Ghomeshi's segments completely removed, rather than the intended format of replays of archival content with Ghomeshi throughout several years. The show was effectively relaunched in early May 2015 with Shad taking a greater role in the PPI version of the series.

References

External links

''Q''

''Q'' audio podcast

RSS
''Q'' video podcast

RSS {{DEFAULTSORT:Q (Radio Show) 2007 radio programme debuts CBC Radio One programs Public Radio International programs Canadian talk radio programs Canadian music radio programs Canadian podcasts