Q with Tom Power

A few months ago, a new podcast and radio show called “Bookends” premiered on CBC. It’s hosted by Mattea Roach, the Canadian “Jeopardy!” champion who held a 23-game winning streak a few years ago. Right before the show’s debut, Mattea sat down with Tom Power to tell us a bit about “Bookends” and what they were most looking forward to. Plus, they shared the correct strategy for wagering on a Daily...

The director Robert Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Witch) has been fascinated and haunted by the shadowy form of Nosferatu since he was a kid. Now, he’s brought his take on “Nosferatu” back to the screen with his long-anticipated remake of the same name, which stars Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe and Bill Skarsgård. Robert joins Tom Power to discuss the film and why he wanted to bring t...

The Canadian actor Lauren Collins became famous for playing a gutsy, outspoken high school student on "Degrassi: The Next Generation.” But now as she approaches her 40s, she’s matured into roles that portray women with new kinds of problems, such as when to have a baby, how not to work so much, and what to do about the ghost of your mother who won’t shut up. Lauren sits down with Tom Power to talk...

For 20 seasons, National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Heather Ogden has been performing the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the enduring holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” Heather sits down with Tom Power to talk about the magic and opulence of this production — and what makes the Sugar Plum Fairy’s solo so tricky. Plus, she makes a special announcement about an upcoming National Ballet of Can...

Suki Waterhouse is best known as a model and actor, but she’s had a quiet passion for music since she was a kid. After starring in the hit show “Daisy Jones & The Six,” which is about a band finding success in the ‘70s, she was inspired to finally pursue a career in music. Suki joins Tom Power to talk about her career pivot and her new album, “Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda changed the face of Broadway forever when he wrote the musical “Hamilton.” Now, he’s bringing his talent back to the screen with Disney’s upcoming film “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Lin joins Tom Power to talk about why we can’t get enough of “The Lion King,” how the wild success of “Hamilton” changed his life, and what he thinks about the state of Broadway today.

From playing bars in Saskatoon to arenas around the world, the Canadian rock band The Sheepdogs have come a long way in two decades. To mark their 20th anniversary as a band, lead singer Ewan Currie joins Tom Power to talk about what it means to have longevity in rock and roll — and why the band couldn’t resist making a holiday song.

This year, decades after re-establishing herself as a solo artist, Cher was finally recognized by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She’s also just released a new book, “Cher: The Memoir,” which is the first of a two-part autobiography that covers her start in music from 1946 to 1976. In this conversation with Tom Power, Cher tells us her story of growing up with a mother who wanted to be a star h...

The acclaimed tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain has died at age 73. Last year, he was in Toronto for his show “Masters of Percussion” at Massey Hall. Just before that concert, he spoke to Tom Power about his life in music, from his most notable collaborations to the life advice he got from the late George Harrison. In tribute, we revisit that conversation.

Michael Healey’s award-winning play “The Master Plan” is a biting satire about the Sidewalk Labs fiasco in Toronto, when the Google sister company attempted to build a smart city in an underdeveloped neighbourhood on the city’s waterfront. It’s based on the book “Sideways: The City Google Couldn't Buy” by tech reporter Josh O’Kane, and it’s now being remounted at the Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto....

The Canadian pianist D.D. Jackson got an unusual request during the pandemic: his old friend, Canada’s former poet laureate George Elliott Clarke, asked him to turn a poem he had written for his daughter into a song. That led to a whole project in which George sent D.D. different works by Canadian poets for D.D. to transform into music. The result of their collaboration is a new album called “Poet...

It’s been eight years since Gwen Stefani has released an album. Following a very public divorce, she needed some time to heal, pick up the pieces of her life and find her voice again. Now, after some time away from music, she’s back with her fifth studio album, “Bouquet.” Gwen joins Tom Power to talk about the record, her time in No Doubt, and finding real love for what she says might be the first...

Densil McFarlane, the lead singer of the Canadian punk rock band The OBGMs, felt like he was in a rut, so he decided to seek out therapy. That decision opened up a whole new world that he explores on his band’s new album, “Sorry, It’s Over.” Densil sits down with guest host Saroja Coelho to chat about the album and what he learned about being vulnerable in his art.

The hip-hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids are back with their sixth studio album (and first on a major label), “Red Future.” Yung Trybez and Young D join Tom Power to talk about the concept of Indigenous Futurism, riding the line between serious subject matter and levity, and why they believe this record is their magnum opus.

The director Jane Schoenbrun first became known for their 2021 movie “We're All Going to the World's Fair,” which tapped into a teenaged fascination with the culture of viral memes. Jane’s latest film, “I Saw the TV Glow,” follows two suburban teens who get emotionally enmeshed in a fictional ‘90s TV show called “The Pink Opaque.” The result is a moody investigation of identity, growing up and mak...

It’s been more than 25 years since the Swedish hardcore punk band Refused released their seminal album, “The Shape of Punk to Come.” Their most famous song from that album, “New Noise,” has been called a political anthem and a protest song. It’s been used in the Palme d'Or'-winning film “Triangle of Sadness” as well as in the hit show “The Bear.” Frontman Dennis Lyxzén of Refused joins Tom Power t...

Nikki Giovanni carved out a revolutionary legacy during the civil rights era with poems that uplifted the experiences of Black Americans. On Monday, she died at age 81, following her third cancer diagnosis. We revisit Tom Power’s conversation with the iconic poet from earlier in the year when she discussed her involvement in the birth of hip-hop, why artists should go to space, and how she packed...

The British-Turkish writer Elif Shafak has written over a dozen novels, many of which have been translated to nearly 60 languages. She’s often credited as being the most-read female novelist in Turkey. Elif joins Tom to talk about the importance of water in her latest novel There are Rivers in the Sky, the transformational power of literature, and what being prosecuted for her work has taught her...

Toronto rapper Clairmont the Second talks to Tom about his experience of loss and paranoia on his brand new album “They Said it Would Rain,” and how despite the challenges he’s faced in recent years, his record ends in triumph. 

Canadian folk musician Valdy has been making music and criss-crossing the country for over 50 years. Valdy has 16 albums to his name, sold over half a million records and received the Order of Canada and two Junos. Valdy joins Tom in the Q studio to talk about his iconic 1972 hit “Rock and Roll Song,” what keeps him playing almost 200 shows per year at the age of 79 and his political and social ac...

Patrick Nichols has been photographing Toronto’s hip-hop artists for decades. His latest photo, “A Great Day in Toronto Hip Hop,” features 103 key players from the scene captured all in one place. It’s just been put on display in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s new exhibit, “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.” Patrick sits down with Tom Power to talk about the photograph,...

Margo Martindale is no stranger to playing dangerous women, whether it be a KGB agent on “The Americans” or the matriarch of a crime family on “Justified.” She now turns her talents to another dangerous woman: Ruth Landry, a maple syrup farmer in rural Quebec who decides to pull an $18 million maple syrup heist in “The Sticky,” a new series based on a true story. She tells Tom Power about how she...

When Michael Ross Albert recently bought a condo in Toronto, he realized that the dream of homeownership is more like a nightmare. The Canadian playwright was inspired by his own and his friends’ experiences of homeownership to write his new play, “The Bidding War.” The dark comedy chronicles several Torontonians trying to purchase the “last nice home” in the city. He joins Tom Power in the Q stud...

When Scottish actor Alan Cumming read the script for the Canadian movie “Drive Back Home,” he really connected to the character of Perley, a New Brunswick-born ad man living in Toronto in the 1970s. Despite the obvious differences, the character, like Alan, was abused by his father when he showed early signs of his queerness. Alan joins Tom Power to chat about what it’s like to act out scenes so c...

Julian Taylor is back with a new album, “Pathways.” The Toronto singer-songwriter needed to go inward to make this new album, writing songs about the realities of being a musician and reflecting on his experiences of being dropped by a label when he was younger. Julian drops by the Q studio to tell Tom Power about his ups-and-downs in the music industry, what was on his mind when making the new al...