Q with Tom Power

Newfoundland’s own Alan Doyle is one of Canada’s great songwriters. He sits down with Tom to celebrate the release of his 20th album, titled “Welcome Home,” and reflects on the early days of his band, Great Big Sea.

The actor Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Private Parts) has reunited with “Sideways” director Alexander Payne for the new film “The Holdovers” — and now he’s nominated for best actor at the Oscars. Paul talks to Tom about the nomination, growing up in an academic world like his character in the film, and what sets Alexander apart from other directors.

The rapper Vince Staples can kind of do it all, even if he doesn’t see himself as any sort of celebrity. “The Vince Staples Show,” which Vince wrote and stars in, just might change that. It's a funny and honest semi-autobiographical story about a guy named Vince Staples who’s navigating fame while also rubbing up against his past life in Compton and Long Beach. Vince tells Tom all about it.

“Bob Marley: One Love” is a new biopic about Bob Marley in the late ‘70s — a time when Jamaica was in political turmoil and Bob was conflicted about the direction of his music. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard, Joe Bell) is no stranger to dramatizing the stories of real-life people. He tells Tom what a feature film brings to Bob’s story that a documentary could never do, why he casted...

Amanda Parris is the type of artist who believes in sharing the spotlight. As an award-winning playwright, writer, TV producer and broadcaster, she’s used her success to amplify the work of other Black artists throughout her career. Amanda sits down with Tom to talk about the lightbulb moment that pushed her toward writing, how she convinced an Oscar-winning actor to drop a few bars on stage, and...

In his new series “In the Know,” Zach Woods (Silicon Valley, The Office) plays an insufferable public radio host who interviews artists and celebrities. His character also happens to be a stop motion puppet, but the guests he talks to are very real. Zach chats with Tom about the project, public radio stereotypes, and why it’s important to make fun of yourself and the things you love.

Sunny Drake is an award-winning Australian-Canadian TV and theatre creator who interviewed more than 40 children about all manner of topics, from beauty to climate change. In his new theatre work, “CHILD-ish,” adult actors voice what the kids told him. Sunny joins Tom to share what he learned, how these kids’ words can help adults, and why this project gave him a sense of hope.

The Canadian actor Pablo Schreiber (The Wire, Orange Is the New Black) stars as the cybernetically enhanced super-soldier Master Chief in “Halo” — the TV adaption of the massively popular video game of the same name. He sits down with Tom to chat about that character and some of his other iconic roles, including Nick Sobotka on “The Wire” and George ‘Pornstache’ Mendez on “Orange Is the New Black....

Keyon Harrold is one of the most sought after trumpet players in music right now. He’s played with everyone from Beyoncé to Mary J. Blige and Rihanna. On his new album, “Foreverland,” he reflects on empowerment and vulnerability, while also processing a racial assault that he and his son suffered back in 2020. Keyon joins Tom to talk about the record and how he’s using music to find his peace.

Cole Sprouse (Riverdale, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) started acting when he was just a baby. As a kid, he got his big break when he and his twin brother Dylan landed a Disney show called “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” At 18, Cole decided to retire from acting — but he later returned to star in the massively popular teen drama series “Riverdale.” Now, at age 31, he’s one of the biggest celebri...

The actor Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) has been a familiar face since the 1980s. After starring in some seminal John Hughes movies as a teenager, Molly’s fame sent her into the stratosphere. But growing up in the public eye wasn’t always easy. Molly tells Tom about what it was like being a child star, how she handled losing her privacy, and why she wanted to...

Kathy Griffin has been doing stand-up for decades, but it hasn’t always been a smooth road. In 2017, she posted a photo of herself with a bloody mask of Donald Trump, which launched a massive controversy, a Department of Justice investigation, and fears about the future of her career. Things only got worse after that. Kathy’s mother died, her sister died, she lost half of her left lung to cancer,...

In the new crime drama series “Allegiance,” Supinder Wraich plays a rookie cop who’s grappling with her job and the justice system as she fights to exonerate her politician father. It’s the first North American police procedural to focus on a Sikh Punjabi officer. Supinder sits down with Tom to talk about what that means — and how her character struggles to balance her job, her culture and her fam...

Ilana Glazer is the actor and comedian who co-created and co-starred in the hilariously raunchy and unabashedly feminist comedy series “Broad City.” While she travels for a new stand-up comedy tour, she joins Tom to reflect on her life in comedy, her friendship with her “Broad City” co-creator Abbi Jacobson, and why she thinks stand-up can be a useful tool to ease anxiety.

The Canadian director Domee Shi won an Oscar in 2018 for her animated short film “Bao.” For her debut feature, “Turning Red,” she mined her childhood in Toronto to create the first Pixar film set in Canada. A few years ago, around the time of its release on Disney+, Domee talked to Tom about making “Turning Red,” how she drew inspiration from her family life, and what it was like reliving the awkw...

You might know Bob Geldof as an activist and one of the organizers of Live Aid — the epic 1985 benefit concert to raise funds for Ethiopia famine relief — but first and foremost, he’s a musician. Bob is the lead singer-songwriter of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats, which is largely remembered for their 1979 hit “I Don't Like Mondays.” When The Boomtown Rats had a new album out a few years ag...

Last year was a big one for Spiritbox. Dubbed the hottest new thing in heavy metal, the Canadian band scored a collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion and a Grammy nomination for best metal performance. Lead singer Courtney LaPlante talks to Tom about Spiritbox’s success and what this kind of recognition means to them.

The show “Top Boy” has had an interesting life. The gritty British drama about drug dealers on a low-income housing estate was originally cancelled in 2014 — until an unlikely saviour stepped in. Turns out, Drake was a big fan of “Top Boy” and he was able to get the show back on the air for three more seasons. Now, the drama is back again, but in a different form: a novel. “Top Boy” creator and sh...

Back to Back Theatre is an Australian theatre company that's driven by an ensemble of actors who are neurodiverse. Now, they're bringing their production of “The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes” to this year's PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver. At the heart of the play is the question: when artificial intelligence overtakes human intelligence, how will people be treated...

Terrace Martin is a rapper, singer, musician and highly sought after producer who’s worked with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Travis Scott to Herbie Hancock. Ahead of the Grammys, where he’s nominated for best progressive R&B album, Terrace joins Tom to talk about the artists who shaped him over the years, how music led him away from gang culture while growing up in South Central Los Angeles, and hi...

Daisy Ridley’s first major role was in the multi-million dollar “Star Wars” franchise with “The Force Awakens.” Now that her time in the “Star Wars” universe is over, Daisy is pursuing projects that speak to her creativity, no matter the size. Her latest role is as a socially anxious office worker in the indie film “Sometimes I Think About Dying.” Daisy joins Tom to talk about her connection to th...

Celine Song's first feature film “Past Lives” was just nominated for best picture at this year's Oscars. Celine joined Tom back when the film first premiered at Sundance and talked about capturing love in an honest and ordinary way, how her own experience inspired the film's story, and what the mystery is in the heart of her film.

In the ‘90s, during a time when grunge music reigned supreme, an unlikely album went platinum: “Cracked Rear View” from Hootie & the Blowfish. Since then, Hootie’s frontman Darius Rucker has continued making music, transitioning from alt-rock to country. Darius’s latest record is called “Carolyn’s Boy.” He joins Tom to talk about the massive success of “Cracked Rear View,” what he thinks about the...

Kim Thúy's bestselling novel “Ru” has received a Governor General's Award for Fiction, been shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and won Canada Reads. Now, “Ru” has been made into a film, which tells the story of a woman born in Saigon during the Tet Offensive, her time in a refugee camp in Malaysia, and her subsequent life in Quebec. Kim speaks with Tom about how “Ru” is based on her own life story,...

Last month, Canadian playwright David Yee was awarded the Siminovitch Prize, Canada’s most valuable theatre award, which is given each year to an artist whose groundbreaking work has transformed Canada’s theatre scene. David talks to Tom about why his writing career started out of necessity, his theatre company Fu-GEN, and changing the game for the next generation of Asian Canadian playwrights.