Q with Tom Power

At the Munich Olympics on Sept. 5, 1972, the Palestinian militant organization Black September stormed the Olympic Village, where they immediately killed two Israeli athletes and took nine more hostage. Ultimately, all of the Israeli hostages lost their lives. As the crisis unfolded in real-time, the story was being broadcast live on television by ABC Sports. Now, the Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum h...

After nearly 40 years of marriage, the Canadian actors Paul Gross and Martha Burns say they’re still learning new things about each other. Currently, they’re co-starring as one of theatre’s most dysfunctional married couples, George and Martha, in a new production of Edward Albee’s “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at Canadian Stage. Paul and Martha sit down with Tom Power to tell us what it’s lik...

At the height of her fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Eve seemed to have it all: stadium tours, a clothing line, and collaborations with the likes of Prince, Missy Elliott and Gwen Stefani. But in her new memoir, “Who’s That Girl?,” she tells the story of what was actually going on behind the scenes. Eve joins Tom Power to talk about some of the major highlights of her career, the negative...

For 20 years, the Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch has been disappearing into his roles, whether it be a high school football player in “Friday Night Lights” or a loner frontiersman in his latest series “American Primeval.” He joins Tom Power to talk about the intense preparation he does for his roles, why he thinks of acting as service, and his thoughts about appearing in the upcoming “Friday Night L...

Bear Witness of The Halluci Nation joins guest host Talia Schlanger to set up the group’s first new single of 2025, “Babylon.” The track pays tribute to Ottawa’s Babylon night club, which hosted the groundbreaking electric powwow parties that kickstarted their career.

If you’ve ever thought it was too late for you to try something new, you should listen to Sindhu Vee. She’s one of the most talked-about comics in the U.K. right now, but just a few years ago, she was an investment banker who was trying to figure out what to do with her life after having kids. Sindhu joins Tom Power to tell us how she got her start in comedy without ever having seen a live stand-u...

The comedian, actor and poet ALOK joins guest host Saroja Coelho to talk about their new standup special, “Biology,” and their experience making a cameo appearance on the Peabody-winning show “Sort Of.” Plus, Holly Cole is a Juno-winning Canadian jazz singer who’s been making music since the early 1990s. Now, she’s back with her 13th studio album, “Dark Moon.” Holly joins Tom Power to talk about t...

At the Golden Globes earlier this month, Brady Corbet’s sprawling historical epic “The Brutalist” took home best drama, best director and best actor for Adrien Brody, who stars as the fictional Jewish Hungarian architect László Tóth. Brady sits down with Tom Power to reflect on the critical acclaim for his latest film, his transition from acting to directing, and why it’s easier to tell historical...

The Canadian actor Allan Hawco (Republic of Doyle) has spent a good chunk of time playing detectives. Now, he stars in the new police procedural “Saint-Pierre,” which is set on St-Pierre-Miquelon, the French island just off the coast of Newfoundland. Allan drops by to chat with Tom Power about the show’s unique location and why he’s drawn to detective-type roles.

The Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof risked everything to make his new political thriller, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” He had already been arrested, sentenced and imprisoned in Iran for making films that authorities found to be "propaganda against the system,” so he had to shoot his latest film entirely in secret. Mohammad sits down with Tom Power to explain how he managed to direct the film...

José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker whose debut film, “Young Werther,” reimagines Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic novella “The Sorrows of Young Werther” as a modern-day rom-com. José sits down with Tom Power to talk about the film and why he thinks this 18th-century German tragedy is a universal story that we can still learn from today.

The critically acclaimed new film “Nickel Boys,” based on Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, is largely shot from the point of view of its two main characters as they try to survive in an abusive reform school called the Nickel Academy. Director RaMell Ross sits down with Tom Power to talk about his decision to tell the story through the eyes of his two leads, how tr...

Mark Critch is a Canadian comedian and actor who spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just a month before he made his announcement to resign as leader of the Liberal Party. Mark speaks with Tom Power about landing the only year-end interview with the prime minister, plus, he looks back on some of his favourite Trudeau-era comedic moments. He also discusses the fourth and latest season of “Son...

The new sitcom “North of North” follows a young Inuk mother named Siaja who’s on a journey to reclaim her life while living in the fictional Arctic community of Ice Cove — a town where everybody knows your business. Co-creators Stacey Aglok MacDonald and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril say they made the place up to represent all Inuit communities across the North. They join Tom Power to talk about shooting...

The Grammy-nominated electro-pop duo Sofi Tukker has been igniting dance floors around the world since their hit song “Best Friend” first blew up after being featured in an iPhone commercial. Now, they’re back with a new album, “Bread” (an acronym for “Be Really Energetic and Dance”), which is a vibrant mix of electronic music and bossa nova. Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern join Tom Power ov...

Jonah Yano is a Montreal-based musician who’s known for his work with artists like Mustafa, Charlotte Day Wilson and BadBadNotGood. He recently released a new double album, “Jonah Yano & The Heavy Loop,” which features a 30-minute improvised experimental noise music piece. Jonah joins Tom Power over Zoom to talk about the track and why he chose that direction for the record.

The Canadian violinist Lara St. John was a child prodigy who was only two when she started playing her instrument. But her young age also made her extremely vulnerable. When she was 14, Lara was sexually assaulted and raped by her 78-year-old instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. It took more than 35 years for the school to acknowledge the abuse she suffered. Now, Lara is ma...

The legendary singer Art Garfunkel made his name with Paul Simon in the celebrated folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. Now, he and his son, Art Garfunkel Jr., have released their first collaborative album, fittingly titled “Father and Son,” which reimagines some of their favourite songs. Dubbing themselves Garfunkel & Garfunkel, the father-son duo join Tom Power to discuss their collaboration. Plu...

The Canadian indie rock/shoegaze band Ombiigizi is a collaboration between Anishnaabe artists Adam Sturgeon (Status/Non Status) and Daniel Monkman (Zoon). Adam joins Tom Power to break down the title track off their new album, “Shame,” and what they find helpful about embracing and interacting with negative emotions.

Waxahatchee is the solo project of the American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield. Last year, around the release of her sixth record, “Tigers Blood,” she joined Tom Power to look back on her career and music. She discusses her early days making punk music with her twin sister, how her 2020 album “Saint Cloud” became the soundtrack to the pandemic for many, and how she learned to trust her instin...

Sometime in her 30s, the award-winning Canadian theatre actor and writer Haley McGee started thinking about death. Was she making the best use of her time on Earth? And could being more aware of death help her live life to the fullest? Last year, Haley sat down with Tom Power to talk about her acclaimed solo show, “Age is a Feeling,” which sets out to answer those questions.

Bill T. Jones is a renowned dancer and choreographer whose work looks at race, death, mortality, grief and sexuality. In the late ‘80s, he visited clinics full of terminally ill patients — some of whom were just weeks away from passing — and created compelling dance pieces based on their movements. Last year, while he was in Toronto to give a talk at the Art Gallery of Ontario about his work with...

Unlike a lot of other gold medallists at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Phil Wizard didn't grow up dreaming of becoming an Olympian. The Vancouver-based breakdancer sits down with Tom to reflect on his big win and why his personal motto is to “think like an artist, but train like an athlete.”

As a filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) is legendary for his vision, drive and propensity to risk it all. This year, he put it all on the line once again for his latest film, “Megalopolis” — a Roman epic set against the backdrop of New York City. We revisit Tom Power’s wide-ranging interview with the acclaimed auteur about why he doesn’t want “Megalopolis” to be called...

When the singer and composer Arooj Aftab released her 2021 album “Vulture Prince,” she gained fans like Barack Obama, Elvis Costello and Caroline Polachek. That album also earned her a Grammy for best global music performance. Now, Arooj is back with her fourth studio album, “Night Reign.” She joins Tom to tell us about her journey in music, her fascination with the night, and what it was like goi...