Q with Tom Power

“A Taste of Hong Kong” is a new play that combines theatre and food to tell a story that’s not often seen on stage. Described as a “snack-sized tasting class,” the show invites audiences to try some of Hong Kong’s famous street foods (including pineapple buns, curry fish balls and siu mai) as they watch the performance. The story follows actor Derek Chan as Jackie, a man who moves to Canada from H...

Víkingur Ólafsson is one of the world’s most in-demand classical pianists right now. The Icelandic musician just picked up a Grammy for his “Goldberg Variations” album, and he recently reached one billion streams for his music. Before playing a few shows in Canada, Víkingur dropped by our studio and sat down at Glenn Gould’s rehearsal piano that lives here. He talked to Tom Power about why Gould i...

T. Thomason is a Canadian singer-songwriter who recently released an album called “Tenderness.” Now, he’s taking it on the road with his Dirty Thoughts tour. The tour is a collaboration with sex educators and workers, queer and trans small business owners and queer spaces. T. joins Tom Power to talk about the tour and how he hopes it will create an experience that draws people in and dispels shame...

The Canadian actor Molly Parker (Kissed, Six Feet Under, Deadwood) has become known for playing complex characters with really compelling stories. In her new series, “Doc,” she stars as a brilliant doctor who’s struggling with amnesia. Molly joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the show, her journey as an actor, and why she loves playing characters who’ve “lost everything.”

When Peter Fernandes was just starting out as an actor in Edmonton, he was told he didn't have the right stuff to do Shakespeare. In fact, he was told he could never do Shakespeare. Today, he’s one of the most celebrated theatre actors in the country with a starring role in a new production of “Fat Ham” — James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of “Hamlet” set at a barbecue in the America...

Jay Douglas has been making reggae music in Canada for decades. First as the frontman of The Cougars, a popular group in Toronto and Montreal’s Caribbean nightclub scenes, and then as a solo artist. A new documentary, “Play It Loud,” tells Jay’s story and the story of reggae in Toronto. He sits down with Tom Power in our studio to talk about the film, and how he went from selling out clubs in the...

Nish Kumar is a British stand-up comedian who isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers with his political comedy. But when he started getting death threats, it seriously impacted his mental health. Ahead of his new North American tour, Nish drops by our studio to chat with guest host Talia Schlanger about his comedy, the death threats he's received from the far-right, and why he wanted to talk about it all...

For nearly 30 years, Sum 41 has been one of Canada’s most beloved and successful rock bands. This year, they’re saying their final goodbye, and lead singer Deryck Whibley has decided to share his story in a new memoir, “Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell.” He joins Tom Power to look back on his life and career, which saw him reach the heights of rock stardom and the depths of addict...

Nia Nadurata is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Toronto who just released her first EP, “Still Living With My Parents.” It captures the thoughts and emotions of a young artist who’s at an important intersection in her life as she starts on a new path as an adult. Nia joins Tom Power in our studio to talk about her music and set up a song off the record.

Enrico Colantoni (Galaxy Quest, Flashpoint, Veronica Mars) is one of Canada’s most successful actors with more than 100 TV and film credits to his name. He joins Tom Power to look back on his career, from his early days as a struggling actor, to getting his first big break playing John Belushi in an episode of “A Current Affair,” to developing his memorable character Mathesar in the movie “Galaxy...

The Toronto-born artist Saya Gray has just released her debut album, “Saya,” but it isn’t her first foray into music by a long stretch. Saya grew up in a piano studio, surrounded by some of the best musicians in the country. She’s been gigging seriously since she was a teenager, playing in bands with much older musicians at clubs where she had to use a fake ID to get in. Eventually, she started to...

In the new sitcom “Small Achievable Goals,” co-creators Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen star as two women who are navigating menopause while also working in the podcast world. You might recognize the duo from the wildly funny all-female Canadian sketch comedy show “Baroness Von Sketch Show.” Meredith and Jennifer sit down with guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about “Small Achievable Goals,...

The Canadian director Ron Dias describes his new film “Morningside” as a love letter to Scarborough — the district of Toronto where he grew up. The film follows a group of Scarborough residents as they grapple with violence in their community, a rapidly changing city, and the loss of their local community centre to gentrification. Ron sits down with guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the fil...

Calgary's Tate McRae is back with five Juno nominations and a brand new album, “So Close To What.” The reigning Canadian pop princess talks to Tom Power about her skyrocketing career, growing up on social media, and how she’s learning to slow down and appreciate the present moment.

Sebastian Gaskin is a musician from Tataskweyak Cree Nation in Manitoba who fuses his culture with R&B, rock and pop music. Now, he’s released his debut album, “Lovechild.” Sebastian joins Tom Power to talk about his path in music, how he came around to embrace his Indigenous identity in his art, and why writing joyful and hopeful songs is just as important to him as writing political songs.

The musician Will Oldham, also known as Bonnie "Prince" Billy, is more than 30 years into his career with no sign of slowing down. With the release of his new album, “The Purple Bird,” Will joins Tom Power to reflect on his life and music. He tells us about the time he met Johnny Cash, how he ended up conducting Cash’s cover of his song “I See a Darkness,” and how that memorable recording session...

Matt Wright is a Canadian comedian from Newfoundland and Labrador who’s just released his first stand-up special, "Live at the Majestic.” He drops by our studio to chat with Tom Power about his life in comedy and why he says it's his human right to be a goof. Plus, Vivian Chong is a Dora-nominated performer who’s blind in both eyes. She lost her vision a few years ago after she had a toxic reactio...

Matthew Rankin is the Canadian director and star of the film “Universal Language.” It’s an absurdist comedy set in an alternate version of Winnipeg with two official languages: Farsi and French. During the Toronto International Film Festival last fall, Matthew dropped by to chat with Tom Power about his vision for this film and why he wanted to collaborate with Winnipeg’s Persian community.

When the Canadian musician Charlie Houston was a student at NYU a few years ago, she took an edible that gave her a really bad trip. It was so bad that she quit music, dropped out of school and moved back in with her parents in Toronto. Now, she’s released her debut album, “Big After I Die,” which explores the precarious and often surreal experience of transitioning between phases of life. Charlie...

The Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden joins Tom Power to talk about her new covers album “Mixtape,” the time she was called a one-hit wonder, and why she thinks the ‘90s are making a resurgence in 2025.

Avan Jogia is a Canadian actor, author and director who spent his teen years in the spotlight as one of the stars of the hit Nickelodeon series “Victorious.” Now, Avan’s new book of poetry, “Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob),” takes a critical look at the culture of celebrity and the sinister side of fame. Avan tells Tom Power about how starring on a Nickelodeon show felt like he was “performing...

When the award-winning author Jason Reynolds was visiting a juvenile detention centre, he asked what kind of books young boys checked out the most. The answer really surprised him: romance novels. Jason realized that young men have a real hunger to learn about love, sensitivity and intimacy. That sparked the idea for his latest book, "Twenty-Four Seconds from Now,” which follows a Black teen boy w...

A few years ago, the musician Tia Wood moved to Los Angeles from her home of Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta. Though she comes from a musical family (her mom is in a drum group, her sister is a Juno winner, and her dad is a founder of the award-winning group Northern Cree), Tia has managed to find her own sound. Now, she’s the first Indigenous woman to be signed to Sony Music Canada, and she’s...

The Grammy-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara has a unique talent for capturing the inner life of someone growing up in the digital age as they deal with love, acceptance and rejection. On her fourth and latest album, “Love & Hyperbole,” she opens up about her feelings of being an introvert in an extrovert’s industry. Alessia sits down with Tom Power to talk about the record and h...

They say never meet your heroes, but don't tell that to Brandi Carlile. The 11-time Grammy winner has teamed up with Elton John on a new album, “Who Believes in Angels?” Its title track is all about the realities of working with someone you admire. Brandi joins Tom Power to introduce us to the song and tell us more about her collaboration with Elton.