Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

Following his 2024 breakout hit, Big Dawgs, Hanumankind has become a global rapper. Born in Kerala, India and growing up all over the world, Hanumankind quickly drew interest at local open mics in India for his Houston rap influences and his ability to freestyle on a whim. In 2023, he signed with Def Jam India and by the next year, he was playing Coachella and working with artists like A$AP Rocky. He stopped by the Q studio to talk to Garvia Bailey about his first North American tour, his album Monsoon Season and how he continues to put South Indian hip-hop on the map with his own unique sound and aesthetic.

Canadian television producer Jeff Norton created Netflix’s latest global hit: Finding Her Edge. It follows three sisters facing loss, heartbreak and the immense pressure of their family’s figure skating legacy. Olympic-winning ice dancers Piper Gilles, Paul Poirier and Elvis Stojko make cameos. Jeff joins Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to talk about how he adapted the series from a young adult book and created such a popular teen drama. 

Canadian writer and director Ian Tuason’s debut feature film is Undertone. The horror movie follows a podcaster who gets sent a series of disturbing audio files that invite paranormal activity into her own life. Ian Tuason joins Q guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about the real life events that inspired the film, shooting the film on a microbudget in his family home and the multi-studio bidding war the film sparked before landing at A24.

You might recognize Lia Pappas-Kemps from her recurring role on the CBC TV show Anne with an E, but she always knew she was meant to be a musician. Lia went from hanging out in music venues in Toronto when she was only eight-years-old, watching her older sister’s rock band, to writing her own songs and now releasing her debut record. She dropped by the Q studio to talk to Garvia Bailey about the new album, Winged, and how she turns her self-doubt into soaring melodies. 

Two-time JUNO-award winning jazz vocalist Dominique Fils-Aimé is back with a new album, My World Is The Sun. It’s inspired by something her mother taught her: you don’t find peace, you build it. In between stops on her cross-Canada tour, Dominique stops by the Q studio to chat with Garvia Bailey about making the new album, how she fell in love with jazz and why creative freedom can lead to healing.

Canadian electronic music pioneer Nash the Slash toured with the likes of Iggy Pop and Gary Numan. But he didn’t make the same splash at home. Nash the Slash was the stage name of Toronto musician Jeff Plewman, who quietly died in 2014. But his artistry is coming back into the light with a new documentary, Nash the Slash Rises Again! The doc’s director Tim Kowalski joins Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to talk about how Nash the Slash broke out of Toronto’s alternative scene in the ’70s to tour internationally, open for The Police and other big acts. 

Ronnie Burkett, the Governor General Award-winning puppeteer, is back with a new show Little Willy. He joins Garvia Bailey to talk about why he wanted to do a provocative, comedic take on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Ronnie reflects on 40 years of doing puppet shows for adults with his Theatre of Marionettes and why audiences make the puppets “real.”

Kate Hudson was raised by Hollywood royalty: Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. When she was growing up, they told her that if she wanted to be an actor it had to be because of something deep inside her — not just for fame and fortune. In 2024, Kate sat down with Tom Power for a conversation about her Hollywood upbringing, as well as her role in Max Minghella’s Shell, her Oscar-nominated role in Almost Famous and why she started making music.

Game of Thrones is known for its complex story arcs, violent political conflicts and its big ensemble cast. But a new prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is leaning into humour and putting a focus on the charming duo at the centre of the story. Canadian screenwriter Ira Parker created the show with author George R. R. Martin. He joins guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about how he created the new series and how he went from shooting films in his dad’s warehouse in St. Catharines, Ontario to making an emotional TV series in Hollywood. 

For nearly fifty years, Canadian author Robert Munsch has been publishing books that have a firm place in the hearts and bedtime routines of families all over the world. Now, a stage play at the Young People’s Theatre (YPT) in Toronto brings some of that Munsch magic to stage. Q guest host Garvia Bailey speaks with the play’s co-directors Stephen Colella and Karen Gilodo about adapting five iconic and classic Munsch stories for the stage, and why those books are so enduring and beloved.

Three years ago, Harry Styles was coming off one of the biggest tours in history and had just won album of the year at the Grammys. But instead of rushing to release another record and riding that wave of success, he pulled back and spent time alone. Harry told himself he wouldn’t return to the studio until he answered two important questions: what he wanted to say with his music, and why he was making it in the first place. In this Canadian exclusive interview, Tom Power catches up with Harry in Los Angeles to talk about the path that led to his latest album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.

You've heard of method actors — performers who fully immerse themselves in a role until a project is complete — but Baz Luhrmann calls himself a “method director.” Spectacle is his signature. From the glittering chaos of Moulin Rouge! to the roaring parties of The Great Gatsby, Baz fills every frame with vibrant colour, music and movement. For his new documentary, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, he dives headfirst into the glitter once again, this time to tell the story of his longtime muse, Elvis Presley. The film shows the King of Rock and Roll not as a myth, but as a ferocious live performer full of humanity and power. Baz joins guest host Garvia Bailey to reflect on the bold, anything-goes style that’s defined his career, and why he’s drawn to cultural icons and big emotional swings.

Emma Higgins is a Vancouver-based filmmaker who first cut her teeth making music videos. In 2021, she won a Juno for her work with Jessie Reyez on the track No One's In The Room. Now, she’s released her feature directorial debut, Sweetness, which follows a 16-year-old girl who kidnaps her rockstar idol in an attempt to “help” him recover from addiction. Emma drops by the Q studio to talk to guest host Garvia Bailey about the film and why teenage fandom was perfect fodder for a horror movie.

Ashton James is quickly becoming one of Canada’s most exciting rising actors. His latest leading role is in the film Youngblood, a remake of the 1986 hockey drama of the same name. Ashton sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about hitting the ice with purpose, learning how to skate like a pro, and how his grandmother in St. Lucia helped inspire his journey into acting. Plus, he shares his memories of the late Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer.

Chris Lavis is the Montreal writer, director and animator behind the Oscar-nominated stop-motion film The Girl Who Cried Pearls. The animated short is a modern-day fable about a poor boy in Montreal who finds himself caught between love and greed after falling for a girl who cries pearls. In this conversation with guest host Garvia Bailey, Chris talks about representing Canada and the NFB at the Academy Awards this month, the painstaking craft behind the film’s intricate stop-motion animation, and what it was like to find out that his hero, Steven Spielberg, is a fan of the movie.

After a life-altering attack that nearly killed him when he was 16, Cole Stevenson, also known as Merkules, set out to become one of the biggest rappers on Canada’s West Coast. Growing up, he had pictures of Snoop Dogg on his bedroom wall. So years later, when Snoop’s label Death Row Records came calling, Merkules almost hung up the phone. Today, he’s the only Canadian artist to ever be signed to the iconic label. Merkules sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about his debut for Death Row, Survivor's Guilt, which is a statement album about his life, career, and the obstacles he’s overcome along the way.

Paul Grimstad is a Yale professor and music composer who just so happens to be in two of this year’s most talked-about films: One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme. Paul talks to guest host Talia Schlanger about how he landed the roles without an agent or recent acting credits, the advice he got from actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and what he means when he says “experimenting is a lot like experiencing.”

Ian Thornley has been at the helm of the rock band Big Wreck for the better part of 30 years — but he didn’t always see himself as a frontman. With encouragement from his bandmates, he stepped into the role and Big Wreck went on to become bona fide Canadian hitmakers. The band’s latest album, The Rest of the Story, is out now, and they’re currently on tour across Canada. Ian stops by the Q studio to talk with guest host Garvia Bailey about returning to the spotlight, the highs and lows of life on the road, and how his longtime friend Chad Kroeger helped him write his first solo record.

Julia Dault is an acclaimed Canadian abstract painter and sculptor. You can find her work in the Guggenheim Museum, Miami’s Pérez Art Museum, the National Gallery of Canada, and many other notable galleries around the world. But after a midlife crisis, Julia shifted her focus away from international exhibits and toward the hyper-local. She sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey to talk about that change, and why she decided to open a community art studio in Toronto called Hot Pizza, built around a simple motto: art for everyone.

After a decade away from music, Hilary Duff is back with Luck… or Something — a new album that dives into the messy, vulnerable and raw parts of life she’s now navigating in her late 30s. Hilary sits down with guest host Garvia Bailey in the Q studio to discuss her comeback album, child stardom, and her complicated relationship with Lizzie McGuire.