Q with Tom Power

The comedian Ilana Glazer (Broad City) is back with a new film, “Babes,” which looks at the messy realities of female friendship and motherhood. She joins Tom in studio to tell us how her own pregnancy inspired the film, her most surprising observations about having a baby, and why she’ll be telling stories that centre female friendships for the rest of her career.

The Canadian actor Lamar Johnson has been having a moment, from his acclaimed performance in Clement Virgo’s film “Brother” to his Emmy nomination for his emotional role in the hit post-apocalyptic drama “The Last of Us.” At this year’s Canadian Screen Awards, Lamar will receive the Radius Award, which is presented to a Canadian whose work is making waves globally. He chats with Tom about the awar...

Siphesihle November is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. This June, he’ll be dancing lead roles in the company’s productions of “Don Quixote” and “Jewels” by George Balanchine. Siphesihle sits down with Tom in studio to talk about his journey from South Africa to Canada to pursue dance, his quick rise to the coveted role of principal dancer, and what keeps him inspired and foc...

The Canadian icon Nelly Furtado is back with a new single as she puts the finishing touches on her upcoming seventh studio album. We revisit Tom’s conversation with Nelly from a few months ago, where she explains why she took a break from the spotlight and what inspired her to get back to making music.

Geoff McFetridge has been called “the most famous Canadian artist you’ve never heard of.” As a graphic artist and painter, he’s collaborated with directors such as Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola, designed for brands like Nike and Apple, and created huge murals for Ottawa’s transit system. In a rare interview, Geoff tells Tom how the DIY culture of skateboarding in Calgary influenced him to get into...

After working at some of the biggest animation studios in the world and breaking out with her own art, the Canadian cartoonist Aminder Dhaliwal is reflecting on what it means to protect your creativity (and your sanity) in a world that’s always demanding that we work harder and faster. The result is her new graphic novel, “A Witch’s Guide to Burning,” which tells a fairy tale-like story about how...

The director Tarsem Singh first made a name for himself in the ‘90s making iconic music videos for bands like R.E.M. and Dream Warriors. In 2000, he captured moviegoers' imaginations with the sci-fi thriller, “The Cell,” starring Jennifer Lopez. His latest movie, “Dear Jassi,” is based on the real-life story of Jassi Sidhu, a young Sikh woman from Vancouver who was kidnapped and murdered while vis...

After blowing up on TikTok, the rising Canadian pop star Alexander Stewart has now released his debut album, “bleeding heart.” He sits down with Tom to discuss his journey, writing songs about eating disorders and body dysmorphia, how devastated he was when his voice changed, and how Shawn Mendes’s singing coach took him under his wing.

The Australian director George Miller made his name with the post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” film trilogy that he launched 45 years ago. In 2015, he revived the franchise with a fourth film, “Fury Road,” which won six Oscars and introduced the character of Furiosa. Now, George has created a new film in the franchise that focuses on Furiosa’s origin story. He sits down with Tom to discuss “Furiosa” and...

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. Now, Jane has made a new film called “I Saw the TV Glow,” which 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 identit...

The father-daughter duo Ethan and Maya Hawke have teamed up for the new film called “Wildcat,” which follows the life of Flannery O'Connor while she was struggling to publish her first novel. Ethan and Maya join Tom to talk about their collaboration and why O’Connor’s work connected with them so deeply.

The comedian Zainab Johnson had dreams of being a professional basketball player until she got hit by a truck and started reevaluating her life. Now, more than a decade deep into her career as a comedian and an actor, Zainab has released one of the most talked about specials of the year, “Hijabs Off.” She talks to Tom about pulling through personal chaos, from growing up with 12 siblings to switch...

Harlan Coben is one of the most successful writers out there today with more than 80 million books in print, published in 46 languages. In recent years, several of his books have been turned into series for streaming giants, including "Shelter," "The Stranger," “The Innocent,” “Gone for Good,” and the number one global Netflix hit “Fool Me Once.” And yet, despite his success, Harlan still suffers...

The Canadian jazz musician Christine Jensen is back with her third jazz orchestra album, “Harbour.” She tells Tom about a track called “Fantasy On Blue,” which was inspired by Miles Davis’s famous jazz album “Kind of Blue.”

Joyner Lucas is a rapper who has millions of streams and two Grammy nominations. He tackles big subjects in his music, from self-harm and addiction to police brutality. Joyner joins Tom in studio to talk about his new album, “Not Now I'm Busy,” and the sacrifices he's made to find success.

After a near-death scuba diving accident that left her with PTSD, the Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Alana Yorke released the biggest album of her career, “Dream Magic.” But that’s not the end of the story. One morning in 2022, Alana woke up to find that she couldn’t move the left side of her body due to a stroke. Following a long recovery, she started recording her latest album, “Destroyer,” which...

The artist, musician and filmmaker Laurie Anderson has been prolific for decades. With a career that’s been called uncategorizable, she’s worked in performance art, music, film, sculpture and painting. You might recognize her voice best in its computerized form from the 1981 song “O Superman.” Now, Laurie is being awarded an honourary degree by the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax....

The Canadian folk singer Kaia Kater is back with a new album, “Strange Medicine.” She sits down with Tom to talk about the record, why she fell out of love with the banjo for a while, and her journey back to it.

Tom Selleck has been on Hollywood’s A-list since bursting onto screens in the TV show “Magnum, P.I.” in the early ‘80s. By the end of that decade, he had reached a whole new level of fame with massive box office hits like “Three Men and a Baby.” More recently, he’s become known for his role as NYPD commissioner Frank Reagan on the hugely successful crime drama series “Blue Bloods.” Now, the actor...

Matthew Macfadyen (Succession, Pride & Prejudice) stars in the miniseries “Stonehouse,” which tells the story of the disgraced British MP John Stonehouse who faked his own death after allegedly being recruited as a spy. Last year, Matthew joined Tom to talk about the show and the parallels he sees between his roles on “Stonehouse” and “Succession.”

Kathleen Hanna is a punk icon, a pioneer of the riot grrrl movement, and one of the most influential feminists of the ‘90s. As the frontwoman of Bikini Kill, Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin, she’s empowered women to feel liberated over their bodies and minds. Now, she’s released a gripping new memoir, “Rebel Girl,” in which she details the abuse she endured by men throughout her life, the terror she o...

The Newfoundland-based writer Don McKay has been publishing poems about the natural world since the ‘80s. This year, he was honoured with the Lifetime Recognition Award from the Griffin Poetry Prize. In celebration of the honour, Don reads two poems that are particularly meaningful to him and chats with Tom about the themes that run through his work.

Alice Munro, a Canadian author who was revered worldwide as master of the short story and who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, has died at the age of 92. Tom goes into the CBC archives to bring you Peter Gzowki’s 1996 interview with the late author.

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian grew up hearing stories about his family members who died during the Armenian genocide, many years before he was born. In his new memoir “Down With the System,” he shares his family’s story and looks back on his career through the lens of his Armenian heritage. Serj joins Tom to talk about the origins of his activism, how System of a Down got on the radio, and wheth...

Billianne is a Canadian singer-songwriter who recently premiered her new single “Daydream” live on “The Today Show.” She sits down with Tom to discuss the song, her big network debut, and what it was like to get Taylor Swift’s seal of approval on TikTok.