Q with Tom Power

The Juno-winning Canadian jazz singer and pianist Laila Biali is back with a new album, “Wintersongs,” which was inspired by some time she spent in Banff. She says the album brings her back to her roots as a classical pianist — a path that was cut short after a car accident changed her life at 15. Laila sits down with Tom Power to talk about the record, how it blends different sides of herself, an...

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 Canadian acting legend Saul Rubinek has returned to the stage to explore one of theatre’s most controversial characters: Shylock, the Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare’s comedy “The Merchant of Venice.” Saul stars as a fictionalized version of himself in Canadian Stage’s new production of “Playing Shylock,” which takes a poignant yet comedic look at cancel culture, representation and anti-Semi...

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...

One of the most famous tenors in the world, Andrea Bocelli, is celebrating three decades in music. In addition to a concert film and a new album called “Duets,” he’s the subject of a new documentary about his life, “Because I Believe.” It traces his journey from a rural farming village in Tuscany to sold-out stadium concerts with tens of thousands of fans. Andrea joins Tom Power to discuss his jou...

After signing a major recording contract at age 12, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque shot to the top of the pop charts with hits like “Leave (Get Out)” and “Too Little, Too Late.” She was on track to become one of the biggest pop singers of the 2000s — and then she seemingly disappeared overnight. In this interview with Tom Power, JoJo opens up about the betrayals she endured as a child star, the label issu...

The Canadian rapper, singer-songwriter and producer k-os is kind of like the Forrest Gump of popular music — he’s been everywhere. On the 20th anniversary of his smash hit album “Joyful Rebellion,” k-os sits down with Tom Power to share some wild stories from his life and career, like the time he hung out with Prince and how he has Shaquille O'Neal to thank for his first hit in the U.S.

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...

When the Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist Lindsay Ell moved from Calgary to Nashville, she found success, but she didn’t feel like she was being her authentic self. So she took a risk, left her record label and started getting more personal in her music, opening up about her experience as a victim of sexual assault and her recovery from an eating disorder. Now, she’s released her new EP, “...

The Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara Quin have been in the public eye for more than 25 years, during which they’ve released 10 studio albums and sold more than a million records. But for nearly 15 years, they’ve been quietly grappling with an elaborate catfishing scheme that’s changed their lives, careers and relationships. Now, they’ve decided to go public about it in a new documentary, “Fanatical...

A few years ago, the Canadian musician Brendan McLeod and his band The Fugitives wrote a collection of songs inspired by the real-life experiences of soldiers who fought at the Battle of Vimy Ridge during the First World War. Now, The Fugitives are getting ready to perform those songs in a new stage show, “Ridge,” at the Firehall Hall Arts Centre in Vancouver. Brendan joins Tom Power to talk about...

The actor, writer and comedian Jenny Slate (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Obvious Child) isn’t afraid to bare it all in projects that are vulnerable, frank and touching. In her whimsical new book of essays, “Lifeform,” Jenny writes about meeting her husband and having her first child during the pandemic. Jenny joins Tom Power to talk about the book and her thoughts on motherhood. Plus, she reads...

William Stanford Davis is a veteran actor who waited 40 years until his dream of becoming a series regular finally became a reality. He’s the breakout star of the hit sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” on which he plays the school’s enigmatic janitor Mr. Johnson. William joins Tom Power to share how he landed the role at 70, what his story can tell us about persistence, and how he managed to keep the fai...

Before her sudden death in 2023, Lisa Marie Presley was working on a memoir with the help of her eldest daughter, Riley Keough. After her passing, Riley took it upon herself to finish her mother’s project, relying on hours of audio tapes that Lisa Marie left behind. The result is the posthumous memoir “From Here to the Great Unknown,” which looks at what it was like to grow up in the whirlwind of...

Elle Mills doesn’t want her life to be the product anymore. She was just a kid when she started posting zany videos about her life on YouTube, racking up millions of views in the process. But by 19, she was burnt out and tired of playing a character. By 24, she quit. Now, Elle has found a new love in directing. Her first short film, “Reply,” is up now on her YouTube channel (@ElleOfTheMills). She...

When the Canadian chef Matty Matheson was growing up, first in Nova Scotia and later in Ontario, he liked going to punk shows, he didn’t do particularly well in school, and he didn’t think he was athletic or cool like his brothers. But once he moved to Toronto to study cooking, he discovered what he was great at. With no big plan or ambition, Matty became one of the best-known chefs and restaurate...

When Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” came out nearly 50 years ago, the Toronto cartoonist Paul Gilligan (Pooch Café) remembers cowering in the theatre and having recurring nightmares about the movie’s animatronic shark. He was only 10 at the time, but his fear left him with countless questions about what it means to be a man. Ahead of the film’s 50th anniversary, Paul has released a new graphic memoir,...

After rising to fame as the world’s highest-paid model in the early ‘80s, Isabella Rossellini broke away from convention with daring and experimental film roles in “Blue Velvet” and “Death Becomes Her.” In recent years, she’s continued to follow her instincts by opening up her own hobby farm and only choosing to pursue projects that challenge her, like her new film, “Conclave,” which lifts the cur...

A year ago this month, Matthew Perry suffered a fatal ketamine overdose following a lifelong struggle with addiction. The news became a big Hollywood story, but it was a deeply personal tragedy for Matthew’s family. Tonight, in the actor’s hometown of Ottawa, his family and friends will launch the Matthew Perry Foundation of Canada to support people recovering from addiction. Matthew’s stepfather,...

Ali Abbasi is no stranger to controversy. The Iranian-Danish filmmaker garnered a huge backlash from the Iranian government with his 2022 film, “Holy Spider,” and now his latest film, “The Apprentice,” is ruffling the feathers of Donald Trump. There’s no evidence that the former president has seen the film, but he’s already threatening to sue. Ali joins Tom Power to talk about “The Apprentice,” th...

Earlier this year, the Canadian singer-songwriter Billianne premiered her new single “Daydream” live on “The Today Show.” She joins Tom Power to talk about the song, her big network debut, and what it was like to find out Taylor Swift is a fan.

Céline Dion is having a moment. It’s not her first, and millions of fans are hoping it won’t be her last. While Céline’s international stardom seems obvious now, it was all so unlikely. Now, as a rare illness threatens to retire Celine’s more-than-four-decade long career, in Céline: Understood culture writer Thomas Leblanc reveals the surprising cultural, political and business alchemy that create...

Kaniehtiio Horn (Letterkenny, Reservation Dogs, Alice, Darling) is making her feature-length directorial debut with her genre-bending horror film “Seeds.” She joins Tom Power in studio to talk about the challenge of not only being a first-time director, but writing and starring in her film, what she learned from the late visionary horror director Jeff Barnaby, and what makes the rez such a perfect...

Maev Beaty, the Dora-winning Canadian actor, is taking on the lead role in the Canadian Stage production of the hit Broadway one-person show “My Name is Lucy Barton.” The play is based on Elizabeth Strout’s bestselling Booker-nominated novel of the same name. Maev joins Tom Power in studio to talk about why she wanted to take on this 90-minute solo performance, the challenges of that as an actor,...

Not many bands get a second chance, but Brooklyn’s Nada Surf are one of the lucky few. They hit it big with the mid-‘90s smash “Popular,” but only a couple of years later found themselves dropped by their record label. They grabbed their second chance and evolved into one of the great indie-pop bands of the last three decades. Lead singer-songwriter Matthew Caws drops by the studio to chat about s...