Q with Tom Power

Hassan Phills is a comedian from Scarborough, Ont., who turns the mundane details of everyday life into comedy gold. Not only has it earned him millions of views on TikTok, but it’s allowed him to tour across the country. Hassan sits down with Tom Power to tell us why he gave up basketball for comedy, why he thinks even his most local jokes are hitting with folks around the world, and how he got a...

Michelle Buteau has been a working actor and comedian for more than 20 years. In that time, she says it was rare that she’d come across a role that celebrated plus-size women — so she decided to create her own. Her show “Survival of the Thickest” is now back for its second season. Michelle joins Tom Power to tell us why she wanted to create a story about plus-size folks that’s celebratory and joyf...

Tucker Pillsbury, better known as Role Model, has quickly become one of this year's breakout stars with a hit album and a sold-out solo tour. This summer, he’ll be joining musician Gracie Abrams in arenas across North America. He sits down with Tom Power to tell us how homesickness inspired his latest album, “Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye),” and how turning to Americana music helped him get...

This weekend, Sum 41 will perform one final time at the Junos in Vancouver. The legendary Canadian rockers will also be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Lead singer Deryck Whibley joins Tom Power live onstage at Hollywood Theatre in Vancouver to talk about the band’s journey and their swan song. If you want more Sum 41, check out Tom’s conversations with Deryck from this past Februar...

You might know Britt Lower as Helly R. on the hit series “Severance,” but she makes no less of an impression playing a librarian in the new Canadian indie film “Darkest Miriam.” The actor joins Tom Power to tell us how her love of libraries helped her bring her character Miriam to life and what it took to prepare for her “Severance” role — like studying trapped animals and people under interrogati...

Michael Bublé is hosting the 2025 Juno Awards in his hometown of Vancouver. The Canadian crooner and five-time Grammy winner sits down with Tom Power in our studio to tell us his incredible story, including the time the legendary producer David Foster told him it was never going to happen for him. Plus, Michael shares how he really feels about those Christmas memes. If you enjoy this conversation,...

Farah Ghafoor is an award-winning Canadian poet whose debut poetry collection, “Shadow Price,” is about the climate crisis. She sits down with Tom Power to explain the finance term her book is named after, and how she sees the role of the poet during a crisis. She also reads an excerpt from her book called “The Last Poet in the World.” If you’re looking for more conversations with writers and poet...

After Rush ended, Alex Lifeson wasn’t sure if he’d ever make music again. The Canadian guitarist had toured the world with his best friends from high school and changed rock music, so he felt like he had been there and done that. But when Alex heard a young singer named Maiah Wynne, he was transfixed by her voice and lyrics. That led him to form his new band, Envy of None. Alex sits down with Tom...

Angélique Kidjo is a legendary Grammy-winning singer, a UNICEF international Goodwill Ambassador and one of the most lauded African artists of our time. She also has one of the most unbelievable stories in music. At the same time that she began finding success as a singer in her homeland of Benin, the country was under a strict military dictatorship. By age 23, she made a very daring and lucky esc...

Drew Tarves, also known as young friend, is an emerging artist based in Vancouver who’s getting ready to release his debut album, “motorcycle sound effects.” The album is a “genre-bending fever dream” about the nuances of growing up. young friend joins Tom Power to talk about his music and to set up a song off the record.

When the award-winning actor and playwright Anusree Roy was growing up, her grandmother would tell her stories about the Partition of India in 1947, when British India was divided into the Muslim-majority Pakistan and the Hindu-majority India. Now, decades later, Anusree is performing in a play she wrote about the Partition called “Trident Moon.” It follows nine women and girls over the course of...

The Montreal musician Yves Jarvis spent a year listening only to Frank Sinatra when he wrote his sixth and latest album, “All Cylinders.” He says it’s the least contrived thing he’s ever done. Not only did he produce the record, but he also plays every instrument on it, blending genres like bluegrass, jazz, folk and even yacht-rock in unexpected ways. Yves joins Tom Power to tell us how his songwr...

The hit series “Severance,” which just finished Season 2, managed to knock “Ted Lasso” out of its place as the most-watched show on Apple TV+. That’s partly due to its premise, which explores a nightmarish experiment to enforce work-life balance by splitting your consciousness into two. There’s the you that goes into work (your “innie”) and the you that lives outside of work (your “outie”). Actors...

In Mark Anthony Green’s debut feature, “Opus,” a young journalist (Ayo Edebiri) is invited to the home of a reclusive pop icon (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. The first-time director drew on his own experience as a former GQ editor who covered celebrity and style for 13 years. He joins Tom Power to talk about the film and how it explores the illusion of celebrity cultur...

Though he's donned a mask since the beginning of his music career, Orville Peck says it’s not so much a disguise as it is a representation of who he truly is. Last year, around the release of his album “Stampede,” Orville joined Tom Power in our studio to talk about his career, how he found a home in country music, and why he walked away from fame at the peak of his success. If you enjoy this conv...

Charlotte Le Bon is a French Canadian actor and director who plays Chloe in Season 3 of “The White Lotus.” Back in 2023, around the time she released her feature directorial debut “Falcon Lake,” Charlotte joined guest host Talia Schlanger to tell us how her Quebec roots shaped her career — starting with her very first acting job in France.

The Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer (Dune, Interstellar, Gladiator, The Lion King) has created some of the most iconic film scores of all time, but he’s struggled with stage fright for as long as he can remember. Now, he and his orchestra are featured in the new documentary “Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert,” in which they perform live onstage at a massive concert in Dubai. Hans...

The Montreal punk band Nobro is up for rock album of the year at the Junos Awards later this month. Lead singer and bass player Kathryn McCaughey joins Tom Power to share the story behind Nobro’s song “Where My Girls At” off their Juno-nominated album.

Back in 2020, the Canadian singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk found himself with a lot of extra time to think about the direction of his life and music. During that time, he allowed himself the space to dream — both literally and figuratively. Those dreams became the foundation of his new album, “Revelation,” which is now nominated for a Juno. Last fall, Leif joined Tom Power to talk about the recor...

Director Alfonso Maiorana’s new documentary, “Goddess of Slide,” tells the story of Ellen McIlwaine, a pioneering singer-songwriter and slide guitarist who should have been a household name. Born in Nashville and raised in Japan, Ellen played with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Taj Mahal before ultimately settling down in Calgary where she worked as a school bus driver in the last de...

Emma Portner is a celebrated Canadian dancer and choreographer who’s known for her distinctive style. She’s choreographed for the likes of Justin Bieber, Maggie Rogers, the Norwegian National Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada. Now, the National Ballet of Canada is nominated for two Olivier Awards (the highest honour in British theatre) for a show that includes Emma’s piece “Islands”. The n...

Sam Crane is the director and star of “Grand Theft Hamlet” — a documentary that follows how he and a friend mounted a full production of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” inside the video game “Grand Theft Auto Online.” Sam joins Tom Power to talk about the project, what the process of making it looked like, and why Shakespeare translates so well to the ultra-violent world of “Grand Theft Auto.”

Sandra Oh (Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy) is back in a new film, “Can I Get a Witness?” It’s set in a not-too-distant future when climate change has been solved. But there’s a catch: all humans are required by law to end their life at 50. The Ottawa-born actor joins Tom Power to talk about the movie and why it spoke to her. Plus, she reflects on her journey as an actor, from finding her passion at e...

Nico Williams is an award-winning Canadian artist known for creating soft sculptures out of intricate beadwork. In Canada, beading has a long artistic and cultural history among Indigenous people who’ve been using glass beads to decorate moccasins and clothing for generations. But Nico takes that a step further by beading everyday objects like J-cloths, grocery store flyers and lawn chairs. He tal...

In the 1980s, Rick Astley became a global superstar with hits like “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever.” But then, at age 27, he quit the business. That could have been the end of the story, but then the Rickroll meme of the mid-2000s brought him back to the world’s attention. Now, Rick has released a new memoir, “Never,” in which he opens up about his strange and incredible life. He j...