Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

The Canadian comedy legend Tom Green has had an incredible career, from “The Tom Green Show” to “Freddy Got Fingered” to his many stand-up tours. Now, he’s been honoured with this year’s Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award from the Banff World Media Festival. Tom Power caught up with Tom live on stage in Banff for a special career-spanning conversation about his journey in comedy, the terrifying cancer diagnosis that changed his perspective on work and ambition, and why he's back in Canada to stay.

Fawn Parker is a Canadian writer whose novel “What We Both Know” was longlisted for the Giller Prize in 2022. Now, her debut poetry collection, “Soft Inheritance,” has won The Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize at this year’s New Brunswick Book Awards. It follows her mother's journey with cancer, from her mastectomy to her chemotherapy to her death in 2019. Fawn joins Tom to talk about the collection and reads a poem from it, titled “Woof.”

William Stanford Davis is a veteran actor who waited 40 years until his dream of becoming a series regular finally became a reality. He’s the breakout star of the hit sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” on which he plays the school’s enigmatic janitor Mr. Johnson. William joins Tom to share how he landed the role at 70, what his story can tell us about persistence, and how he managed to keep the faith for decades while waiting for his big break.

Old Man Luedecke is one of Canada's most beloved folk musicians. The two-time Juno winner became known for playing the banjo, but on his latest album, “She Told Me Where to Go,” he puts the banjo away. Old Man Luedecke talks to Tom about his decision to trade the five-string for the six-string, how it changed his approach to making music, and what working on a scallop boat during the pandemic taught him about his life choices.

When a band kicks off their career with a hit single about getting stoned and watching TV, it might be surprising to see them 30 years later as one of the biggest bands on the planet. Green Day has beat those long odds. All three members — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — talk to Tom about the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough record “Dookie,” how they wanted to create a monumental record when writing “American Idiot,” and why they think their latest album “Saviors” could be that next era of Green Day.

Visual artist Kapwani Kiwanga represents Canada at this year’s Venice Biennale, the Olympics of visual art. Her installation, “Trinket,” uses seven million conteria — small glass beads from Venice — to not only shimmer, but to interrogate a deep history of labour, cultural exchange and class dynamics. She joins guest host Talia Schlanger to discuss how she uses small beads to tell a big story and the motivation behind her Biennale artwork.

The Oscar-nominated actor June Squibb is living her dream at 94 years young. Decades into her career as a character actor, June is now enjoying her first leading role in the action-comedy movie “Thelma.” She joins guest host Talia Schlanger to reflect on the passage of time, the benefits of being an older actor, and why sometimes you need to have a little patience to reap the rewards of your hard work.

The Montreal pianist Alexandra Stréliski was working at an ad agency when the late director Jean-Marc Vallée discovered her music and started using it in his work. That gave her the push she needed to quit her job and pursue music full-time. This year, Alexandra was nominated for album of the year at the Junos. Just before that, she joined Tom to talk about the nomination and chasing her dreams.

Carol Burnett is one of the most adored comedians of all time. In 1967, she broke up the boys club that was network television with her freewheeling variety hour, “The Carol Burnett Show.” Now, more than half a century later, she’s still flexing her quick wit and comedic acting skills on shows like “Better Call Saul” and “Palm Royale.” In this special interview from Los Angeles, Carol sits down with Tom to reminisce about the hard-won lessons and chance encounters that helped her become a star.

When a wildfire ripped through Lytton, B.C., in June 2021, the town burnt almost entirely to the ground. Meghan Fandrich lost her small business, the Klowa Art Café, and turned to writing poetry for the first time in her life to help her cope with the loss. The result is her first collection of poetry, “Burning Sage: Poems from the Lytton Fire.” She joins Tom to talk about it and read a poem from the collection.

Last summer, Sam Smith joined Tom to talk about the release of their latest album, “Gloria.” Since then, the singer-songwriter has announced the re-release of their debut album, “In the Lonely Hour,” which earned them four Grammys when it came out a decade ago. We revisit Tom’s 2023 chat with Sam about their start in music, learning to centre joy in their life, and the highs and lows of finding their identity.

Before making her name as a singer-songwriter, Jennifer Castle worked at a restaurant in Toronto with celebrity chef and restaurateur Matty Matheson. Now, nearly 20 years later, Matty is an executive producer and actor on the hit series “The Bear” and Jennifer has a song featured in the new season. She joins Tom to set up the song, titled “Blowing Kisses.”

Ten years after immigrating to Canada from India, the rapper and singer Karan Aujla made history as the first Punjabi artist to ever win a Juno Award. But he was a global superstar well before then, topping the charts with his blend of Punjabi music over hip-hop and trap beats. Now, Karan is the latest Global Apple Music Up Next Artist, which makes him the first Punjabi artist to join the initiative geared towards identifying, showcasing and elevating rising talent. Karan talks to Tom about why Canada is a hub for Punjabi hip-hop, and the childhood losses that pushed him towards songwriting.

Jodie Comer is an Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor who you may know as the assassin Villanelle on the show “Killing Eve.” Though she’s been acting since childhood, Jodie treats every role with the intense work ethic of someone who’s still gunning for their big break. In her new film, “The Bikeriders,” she stars opposite Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon as a woman who married into a biker gang. The film was inspired by an actual Midwestern motorcycle club that started in the ‘60s. Jodie joins Tom to talk about the film, learning a new accent for the project, and the incredible work ethic that’s gotten her this far in her acting career.

The Canadian director Brendan Healy has taken on an epic project: a new production of Matthew López's seven-hour play “The Inheritance,” which has been called the most important play of the 21st century. Brendan sits down with Tom to tell us how the play represents a conversation between generations of gay men, what happens when you don't learn about the past, and how that conversation played out in real life at rehearsals.

The Canadian musician Jamie Fine first found success with the duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine after they won the singing competition show “The Launch” in 2018. But after realizing something wasn’t sitting right with her, Jamie decided to start fresh with a solo career. Now, she’s released her sophomore EP, “if this is it.” Jamie sits down with Tom to share some hard-earned wisdom from her journey in music, why she wishes it took longer for her to have found success, and how she became a superstar in South Africa.

You might know E.R. Fightmaster from their groundbreaking role as Dr. Kai Bartley on “Grey's Anatomy” or you may be familiar with their music. Earlier this month, the actor and musician released their second EP, “Bloodshed Baby” under their stage name Fightmaster. E.R. joins Tom to set up a song off the record and shares what it was like being cast as the first non-binary doctor on “Grey's Anatomy.”

Last year was a big one for Gracie Abrams. The singer-songwriter released her debut album, got nominated for best new artist at the Grammys, and opened for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour. Now, she’s released her sophomore album, “The Secret of Us,” which she co-wrote with her best friend. Gracie joins Tom in studio to talk about the record, getting over her fear of performing, and what it’s like working with Taylor.

The Montreal singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé is back with a new single, “Moi je t'aime.” It’s the Juno-winning artist’s first song in French, despite French being her first language. Dominique joins Tom to set up the track and explain what singing in French gives her as an artist.

Dr. Shirley Cheechoo is one of Canada’s most prominent voices in Indigenous film and theatre. At this year’s annual Weengushk International Film Festival, Dr. Cheechoo is giving back to her community with a special event called Blanket of Stars: A Tribute to Resilience, which is dedicated to Canada’s residential school survivors — or as she calls them, residential school warriors. Dr. Cheechoo joins Tom to talk about her life on stage and screen, and what art can and can’t do when it comes to healing.