Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

The critically acclaimed Canadian theatre director and actor Moya O’Connell is directing a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 masterpiece “Hedda Gabler.” The play follows a woman named Hedda who’s trapped in a loveless marriage as she struggles with the realities of domestic life. When her old flame comes back to town, she’s driven to commit some manipulative and disturbing acts. Moya sits down with Tom to tell us more about the play, what makes Hedda such a timeless character, and her own experience of playing the iconic role in 2012.

Ncuti Gatwa is the new Doctor Who — the time and space-travelling lead in the BBC's hit show of the same name. Ahead of the season premiere, Ncuti joins Tom to tell us what it was like taking the reins on this British pop culture institution, and what he wanted to bring to the show as the first Black queer Doctor.

Evany Rosen is one of the funniest people in Canadian television. She’s the creator of the new comedy series “Davey & Jonesie's Locker,” which follows two oddball high school best friends as they travel through the multiverse via a portal in their locker. Evany joins Tom to talk about the show and what inspired it.

Steve Albini, the musician and legendary producer, died on Tuesday, May 7 from a heart attack. He was 61 years old. Today we revisit Tom’s conversation with Steve, back when the most famous record he ever produced, Nirvana’s “In Utero,” turned 30 last fall.

Iceland’s top streaming artist isn’t Björk or Sigur Rós — it’s Laufey. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter is redefining jazz for Gen Z, and this year, she won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album. Laufey sits down with Tom in studio to talk about her meteoric rise, falling in love with the cello, and what it’s like being called Gen Z’s jazz icon.

When the Oscar-winning director Ryusuke Hamaguchi set out to make his latest film “Evil Does Not Exist,” the music kind of came before the idea. The film tells the story of a close-knit rural community in Japan and the city folk who have plans to build a glamping site in their hamlet. Hamaguchi joins Tom to tell us how the film was largely inspired by the music of his composer, Eiko Ishibashi.

The Canadian country singer MacKenzie Porter grew up on a cattle and bison ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta. When her brother Kalan won “Canadian Idol” in 2004, she learned a lot about the good and bad of the music industry. She’s just released a new album, “Nobody’s Born with a Broken Heart,” which explores her struggle to make it in Nashville. MacKenzie sits down with Tom in studio to talk about the record and some of the hard-won lessons she learned in the Music City.

Rick and Jeff Kuperman (a.k.a. the Kuperman Brothers) are Canadian directors and choreographers whose work spans film, TV, music videos, concerts and stage shows. Now, they’ve made their Broadway debut as the choreographers of “The Outsiders” — a new musical based on S. E. Hinton’s seminal novel of the same name. The Kuperman Brothers join Tom to talk about “The Outsiders” and how being dragged to martial arts classes as kids helped them find their path.

Few names are as instantly recognizable as Jerry Seinfeld. After nearly 50 years in comedy, TV and film, he’s now flexing his directorial muscles with “Unfrosted” — a new movie all about the creation of Pop-Tarts. Jerry chats with Tom about the film, his early days on Johnny Carson, his relationship with Larry David, and how he really feels about the “Seinfeld” finale.

The Canadian twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn went from playing in the super successful band Courage My Love to moving in an entirely different direction as Softcult. They sit down with Tom to set up a song from their new EP, “Heaven.”

George Gershwin’s iconic concerto “Rhapsody In Blue” turns 100 this year. To mark the occasion, Béla Fleck, one of the world’s greatest living banjo players, has released an album of his takes on the American classic. Béla joins Tom to tell us what inspired this project and how he arranged one of the 20th century’s most famous orchestral pieces for a bluegrass band.

Carley Fortune is the Canadian author behind the New York Times bestselling novels “Every Summer After” and “Meet Me at the Lake” (the latter of which is being adapted for Netflix by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle). Carley talks to Tom about her new book “This Summer Will Be Different,” leaving journalism to pursue being a novelist, and why the romance genre is having a moment right now.

Dua Lipa is back with her third studio album, “Radical Optimism.” The Grammy-winning pop superstar sits down with Tom in New York for an in-depth conversation about the record, shifting her sound and her mindset, and what she loves about clubbing.

Mark Clennon is a Jamaican Canadian actor and musician who stars in the powerful new film “I Don't Know Who You Are.” The story follows a Toronto musician named Benjamin who must pull together the money for the HIV-preventive PEP treatment following a sexual assault. What ensues is an emotional weekend as he races against time to get the medication within 72 hours. Mark talks to Tom about the film and how it made him reflect differently on his home of Jamaica.

The acclaimed Toronto singer-songwriter Charlotte Day Wilson is back with her second studio album, “Cyan Blue.” She sits down with Tom to talk about the record and how she almost became a professional hockey player before she decided to pursue music instead.

The Canadian composer Ari Kinarthy always dreamed of scoring a film, but he never expected it to be a film about his own life. The new documentary “Ari’s Theme” unfolds his remarkable story as someone living with type two spinal muscular atrophy — a rare genetic condition that progressively weakens the muscles in the body. Ari talks to Tom about the music he made for the film and why he wants it to be his legacy.

Emily Henry is an internationally bestselling author credited with cracking the modern romance novel, especially for Gen Z and millennials. Three of her books, including her breakout hit “Beach Read,” are being turned into movies. But these stories aren’t your stereotypical bodice rippers. Emily joins Tom to share her recipe for the perfect love story, why she’s tired of people looking down on the romance genre, and why she still believes in love.

In Christian Sparkes’s new psychological thriller, “The King Tide,” a young girl with mysterious powers washes ashore a remote island community in Newfoundland. But after her powers go dormant, the once peaceful community devolves into violence. Christian joins Tom to talk about the film and why he was interested in exploring the darker side of his home province.

The Toronto-based sketch comic Laura Ramoso has amassed more than one million followers on TikTok and Instagram for her hilarious impressions of her German mom and Italian dad. Laura talks to Tom about her audition to Juilliard as a dramatic actor, how she found sketch comedy, and the joy of returning to the stage in her new one-woman show, “Frances.”

The textile artist Hangama Amiri is known around the world for making masterpieces out of fabric. A lot of that fabric is from a home she was forced to leave. Hangama was seven years old when the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996. Years later, after fleeing Afghanistan and settling in Canada with her family, she started stitching together her memories of home. Hangama talks to Tom about her work, the Afghan store where she buys her materials, and what home means to her these days.