Q with Tom Power

After three decades, the Canadian pop-punk band Sum 41 is calling it quits. But when frontman Deryck Whibley started writing the group’s latest album, “Heaven :x: Hell,” he didn’t realize it would be their last. He joins Tom to explain how the writing process helped him reach a decision he’s been debating for years, and how he told the band he was ending things.

Leanne Toshiko Simpson is looking at romantic comedy through a new lens. The fourth-generation Japanese Canadian writer has just released her debut novel, “Never Been Better,” which tells a love story set at a psychiatric facility. Leanne lives with bipolar disorder and has spent time in a psych ward herself. She joins Tom to tell us why she wanted to use the rom-com format to talk about mental il...

Alex Garland’s latest film “Civil War” is unsettling even in its premise — maybe because of how real it feels. Set in a dystopian future America, the film follows a team of journalists who travel across the country during a rapidly escalating second American civil war. Alex joins Tom in studio for a conversation about his feelings on journalism and media, what inspired the film, and why it’s not j...

After making his name in series like “Twin Peaks” and “Sex and the City,” Kyle MacLachlan is now back on the small screen as the star of the new Amazon Prime series “Fallout.” The show is based on the hit video game series of the same name. Kyle joins Tom to chat about the show and look back at his career, including his starring role as Paul Atreides in David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of “Dune.”

The Cree Métis singer-songwriter iskwē is back with her first solo album since 2019, “nīna.” On the record, she channels her feelings of heartbreak, remorse, self-doubt, isolation and resilience. iskwē joins Tom to share how an extended trip to Mexico served as much-needed creative inspiration, what it was like working with Grammy-nominated producer Damian Taylor, and why she feels that this recor...

Mike Post is the multi-Grammy-winning composer behind some of the most recognizable TV theme songs of all time, from “The A-Team” and “Magnum, P.I.” to “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and “Law & Order.” Now, Mike is back with new music — but not for the small screen. He’s released a bluegrass and blues record, titled “Message from the Mountains & Echoes of the Delta.” He chats with Tom about the rec...

The award-winning Canadian writer and professor Ian Williams has been named this year’s Massey lecturer. Since 1961, the Massey Lectures have invited distinguished writers, thinkers and scholars to present their ideas in a five-part lecture series across Canada. Ian sits down with Tom to tell us why he’s chosen the topic of conversations for his cross-country lecture series, how listening can be a...

The musician and actor Rudy Mancuso lives with synesthesia, which in his case means hearing everyday noises as musical patterns. In his first feature film, “Música,” he gives us a look into the life of a young man who experiences the world through sound. Rudy chats with guest host Talia Schlanger about depicting his form of synesthesia on screen — and why hearing music in everything can be both a...

The singer-songwriter Dawn Landes has just released her new album, “The Liberated Woman's Songbook.” It was inspired by a 1971 book of the same name that chronicles the women’s liberation movement through a collection of songs from the 1800s to early 1970. Dawn talks to guest host Talia Schlanger about the power of music as a tool for activism, finding solace and inspiration through the voices of...

Few voices in folk music have captured a time and place quite like Joan Baez’s. Her incredible life is on display in the documentary “Joan Baez I Am a Noise,” which follows her career as she becomes one of the definitive singers of her generation. The film also gives an intimate look at her life, loves and traumas through diary entries, recordings and performances. Joan talks to Tom about her care...

The Canadian director Brendan Healy has taken on an epic project: a new production of Matthew López's seven-hour play “The Inheritance,” which has been called the most important play of the 21st century. Brendan sits down with Tom to tell us how the play represents a conversation between generations of gay men, what happens when you don't learn about the past, and how that conversation played out...

After 26 years dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, Guillaume Côté will be retiring following the 2024-2025 season. The Canadian dancer and choreographer joins Tom in studio to tell us why it’s the right time to move on, why he’s starting his own dance company with a new production of “Hamlet,” and how ballet dancers are expected not just to dance through intense pain, but to look graceful...

Shakira is back with her first new album in seven years, “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” which details her tumultuous breakup with her ex-partner and the father of her two children. She sits down with Tom for a revealing interview about vulnerability, survival and what really matters in her life. Read the Spanish transcription of this interview here.

When Ani DiFranco was first setting out as an artist, she felt like she had two paths in front of her. There was the one she actually took — the path of an independent punk feminist singer-songwriter — and the one she didn't take as an actor and dancer. Now, she’s made her Broadway debut in “Hadestown” as Persephone, the reluctant wife of Hades. Ani tells Tom how it feels to revisit her old dreams...

The actor Mary Elizabeth Winstead always grounds her performances in reality, no matter if the role is a character from a comic book, an alien in “Star Wars,” or a glamorous movie star like the one she plays in the new drama series, “A Gentleman in Moscow.” Mary joins guest host Talia Schlanger in studio to talk about the show, what it was like acting opposite her real-life husband (Ewan McGregor)...

Shakira is back with her first new album in seven years, “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran,” which details her tumultuous breakup with her ex-partner and the father of her two children. She sits down with Tom for a revealing interview about vulnerability, survival and what really matters in her life. Plus, the Canadian writer Zehra Naqvi is about to release her debut poetry collection, “The Knot of My Ton...

There’s been a lot of buzz around the new film Love Lies Bleeding, starring actors Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, which has been called an “erotic thriller on steroids.” Katy chats with Q guest host Talia Schlanger about what the film means to her, how coming up in the competitive bodybuilding world prepared her for this role, and why this movie matters to queer audiences.

Canadian singer-songwriter Adaline has written an EP called Hymnal, all about reconciling her queerness with the religion she was raised in. She joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the catharsis of writing the album and finding community outside her religion.

Sheryl Crow has sold over 50 million albums, won nine Grammy Awards, and inspired countless songwriters and artists to follow in her footsteps. Now, over 30 years into her career, she’s releasing her 11th studio album, “Evolution.” Sheryl joins Tom to talk about how concerns around artificial intelligence inspired the title track on this album, why she uses her music to speak out, and what advice...

You might know Roy Wood Jr. from his time as a correspondent on “The Daily Show.” But for years, Roy has honed his comedy as a traveling stand-up comic. Roy spoke with Tom when he was touring his stand-up in Canada and explained why it was time for him to leave “The Daily Show.”

Grammy-winning violinist James Ehnes is one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. The Order of Canada member violinist drops by the studio to tell Tom about his life in music and what it was like growing up as a child prodigy in Brandon, Manitoba.  The musician Caroline Rose had an incredible 2023 - they released their album “The Art of Forgetting,” picked up a Grammy nomination an...

The Last Dinner Party have had a huge year with a viral moment on TikTok, a number-one album, and winning both BBC Radio 1's Sound Of 2024 contest and the rising star award at the BRITs. Abigail Morris and Georgia Davies of the band join guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about their big year, the origins of the band and taking a non-traditional route into the industry.

Zelda Williams just made her directorial debut with the film Lisa Frankenstein. She joins Tom to talk about growing up on the movie sets of her father, the late comedian and actor Robin Williams, and what motivated her to start making her own movies.

Canadian writer and director Clement Virgo has worked on some of the most critically acclaimed television shows of the 2000s — from The Wire and The Book of Negroes to Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. But his latest project, the film Brother, feels like his most personal yet. He sits down with Tom to talk about returning to his hometown to film a story of familial love and grief, and ho...

For three decades, Regina King (One Night in Miami, If Beale Street Could Talk) has captivated audiences on screen, cementing herself as a Hollywood legend. The Oscar and four-time Emmy-winning actor and director joins Tom to talk about some of her most iconic characters and why she wanted to take on her latest role as Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress,...