Jian Ghomeshi
Q (radio show) was presented by whom from Apr 2007 to Oct 2014?
Q ( radio show ) Q ( styled q ) is a Canadian arts magazine show produced by and airing on CBC Radio One , with syndication to public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange . 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 hold that distinction ) , Q is the highest rated show in its timeslot in CBC history , surpassing even Peter Gzowski who previously hosted the second hour of Morningside during the slot . The show is also regarded as standing out in CBC Radio Ones schedule through attracting a younger , more social-media-adept audience than other CBC Radio programming . Q launched in April 2007 . It was hosted by Jian Ghomeshi until October 2014 . Shad was chosen by the CBC in March 2015 as Qs 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 , formerly the host of Radio 2 Morning , in the fall . Power debuted as host on October 24 , 2016 . From late March to May 15 , 2020 , due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada , the 10 a.m . broadcast of the program was suspended in favour of an extended broadcast of the networks 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 , replacing that networks 7-8 p.m . hour of regular programming . 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 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 CBCs 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 networks afternoon programming block . It moved to its current time slot , replacing Sounds Like Canada , 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 Torontos Rogers Centre where much of the show was created ) , Ghomers Pile , or one even closer to Jian Ghomeshi , the show host of Iranian 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 [ the Q team ] went Yes , thats it . It felt like the right name . Its an enigmatic letter [ they ] hope will become associated with the show . Beginning in 2013 , a one-hour weekly spinoff series , Q The Music , was added to the CBC Music 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 and his musical group The Boxmasters 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 shows producers to not ask questions about his movie career . Ghomeshi had mentioned Thorntons acting in the introduction . Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like mashed potatoes without the gravy . The following night , opening for Willie Nelson at Torontos Massey Hall , 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 made a mock follow-up interview promoting the 2009 Air Farce Live 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 . Ghomeshis dismissal . Ghomeshi was fired from the CBC in October 2014 , amidst a mounting series of allegations that he had sexually assaulted a series of women , including former Q producer Kathryn Borel . After his departure , the program was hosted by a rotating series of guest hosts , including existing CBC staffers such as Brent Bambury , Piya Chattopadhyay , Tom Power , Allan Hawco and Talia Schlanger , and outside figures such as Wab Kinew , Rachel Giese , Damian Abraham , Candy Palmater , Shad , Daniel Richler and Sean Rameswaram . Many of the guest hosts were effectively auditioning for a place on the shortlist of potential new permanent hosts . 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 . 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 and Kevin Smith 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 . Shads selection was announced on March 10 , 2015 . His debut as host was on April 20 , with a live broadcast from the CBCs Glenn Gould Studio . Producers indicated that under Shad , the program would increase its focus on music and would adopt a looser , less structured format . Concurrently with Shads debut as host , the program also unveiled new theme music composed by Canadian musician Bahamas . Tom Power era . Shad was replaced with Tom Power in August 2016 , as the programs ratings had declined significantly over the period when he hosted . Palmater returned as guest host of the show for the weeks between Shads departure and Powers debut . Concurrently with Power taking over the hosts chair , the show also debuted another new theme song , composed and performed by Ewan and Shamus Currie of The Sheepdogs through their side project BROS . Other regular contributors to the show include CBC Musics Raina Douris and Odario Williams , 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 and YouTube . 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 Ghomeshis 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 weeks interviews and musical performances ( similar to some sports radio show television simulcasts ) with the shows interim hosts instead with Ghomeshis 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 . External links . - Q audio podcast RSS - Q video podcast RSS - Q TV at YouTube - The Story of Q