Would you like to return to television, and if so, in what type of show?
Sonia Favreau
I wouldn’t want to return to television in a concept I’ve already done. I don’t dream of returning to a talk show or a cultural magazine, I dream of being able to do on television what I do on the radio, but it’s impossible. Doing 35-minute interviews, round tables on numerous subjects with experts, testimonials, all that in depth and slowly, that’s not done on television. I don’t miss the speed of television, the eight-minute interviews between two commercials, a confidence, a laugh and an anecdote, I couldn’t do that anymore. On the radio, the guests settle in and let themselves go, just like me. There’s one thing I miss, and that’s the audience. I sometimes do broadcasts with the public on the radio, I like that, I like the public’s reactions, it’s precious.
Passionate about a thousand subjects, always on the lookout for current events and what’s happening in the world, what do you do to get away from it all?
Natalie Dufour
I’m not really picking up! The radio show Penelope deals with all the subjects of society, geopolitics, sports, science, culture, environment, it is impossible to tune out, because this program is in direct symbiosis with the citizen that I am. To relax, I see my friends who I miss a lot! I work six days a week, even on weekends, so I see less of my family and friends. During my vacation, I go to a restaurant for dinner at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday evening, which I never do when I work, because I have the life of a monk!
Did your car accident influence the way you interview people? I find you full of empathy, were the accident and the months of convalescence a great moment of reflection on your way of seeing the world?
Marie Lamensch
It changed my outlook on people in general because I heard so many stories of people who had had accidents and who carry with them life stories that transformed them. There is also the post-#metoo period where I received a lot of comments and testimonials. Empathy, people talk to me a lot about it, I think that indeed, I developed it a lot on the radio, we need compassion, kindness, and in empathy, there is a lot of depth and connection to the other that is possible. Humility and empathy have become very important values. The accident brought me a lot of humility, because obviously, when you have to relearn how to do a lot of things, when you can’t eat or walk, it puts you in a vulnerable position, so I surrendered. take into account the very strong bond that we could experience with each other.
Have you ever thought about playing a role in a TV series, a soap opera, a film?
Diane Therrien
I took acting classes for 15 years, until my late teens, but there was something inside me that I wasn’t able to unlock! Currently I am playing in A boy a girl. I play my own role, that’s the limit of what I can do: exaggerate a little who I am and Guy A. Lepage wrote me a bigger role in the next season! I learned a lot from Sylvie Léonard, who is an incredible actress. I saw her work very closely, putting herself into her character, it’s much more complex than you can imagine. I’ve already been offered small roles, but I don’t like it, I overact, I have no desire to play anything!
How do you prepare for interviews with people who have experienced sometimes happy and sometimes unhappy events?
Julie Bourbonniere
I prepare a lot. The team prepares very extensive research files. I talk to those around me about the subject that we are going to discuss on the air. I like to dissect things that I don’t understand, like talking for 30 minutes about nuclear energy with two specialists, understanding green hydrogen or very complex geopolitical questions. I learn, I prepare and I tune into the words of the person in front of me and I let myself be carried away. There is intellectual and cerebral preparation, then on the air, I am entirely listening and abandoning. That’s what I ask my guests, that they also surrender, that’s where the magic happens.
To what extent was the influence of your parents decisive on your career path?
John Fleming
I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my father, Winston McQuade. By osmosis, as a child, I followed him on film sets and sets, it prepared me for this job. My mother was the intellectual of the family, with her I learned intellectual rigor, I developed my critical sense and I learned to question things. My great lucidity comes from my mother. Both were very decisive.
What makes you happy in your daily life?
Thanya Deshaies
My cats. Since I was born, I have always had animals. It makes me immensely happy first thing in the morning when I wake up! I’m not a morning person, but I wake up with a smile thanks to my two cats. My work brings me joy, as does working with a brilliant team. A good glass of wine makes me happy, a great meal with friends, that’s my greatest joy, entertaining at home, going to a restaurant and closing the restaurant!
After all these years of meetings and interviews on many subjects, have you developed any interests? And is there a person you met who had such an impact on you that you left everything and went to the ends of the earth with them?
Jacqueline Buckinx
I love the question! Geopolitics, I really developed a great interest in international politics, it’s really a subject that has become a passion. As for meetings, there have been so many brilliant people that I have interviewed, there is the psychiatrist Christophe André, Alain Crevier, Laure Adler, Frédéric Lenoir, the writer and doctor Jean Désy. I like older people, 70 and 80 years old, who speak with a lot of wisdom, like Monique Miller. I experience great emotions during an interview.