Q with Tom Power

CBC
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Mar 4, 2025 • 33min

Josh Gad has complicated feelings about tough love

Josh Gad (Frozen, The Book of Mormon) has made a huge name for himself on the stage and screen, but he says he’s struggled with anxiety and body image issues throughout his career. The award-winning actor, singer and comedian has just released a new memoir, “In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some,” that sheds some light on those obstacles. Josh joins Tom Power over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles to talk about the book, his most famous role voicing Olaf in Disney’s “Frozen” franchise, and his time working with a legendary theatre director whose tough love might have crossed the line into something more harmful.
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Mar 4, 2025 • 13min

Derek Chan wants you to snack during his new play

“A Taste of Hong Kong” is a new play that combines theatre and food to tell a story that’s not often seen on stage. Described as a “snack-sized tasting class,” the show invites audiences to try some of Hong Kong’s famous street foods (including pineapple buns, curry fish balls and siu mai) as they watch the performance. The story follows actor Derek Chan as Jackie, a man who moves to Canada from Hong Kong during the pro-democracy protests. Derek joins Tom Power to talk about the play, its delicious food, and why he feels it’s important to share this story about Hong Kong with Canadians.
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Mar 3, 2025 • 33min

Víkingur Ólafsson: The billion-stream pianist

Víkingur Ólafsson is one of the world’s most in-demand classical pianists right now. The Icelandic musician just picked up a Grammy for his “Goldberg Variations” album, and he recently reached one billion streams for his music. Before playing a few shows in Canada, Víkingur dropped by our studio and sat down at Glenn Gould’s rehearsal piano that lives here. He talked to Tom Power about why Gould is such a big influence on him. Plus, he played us his favourite version of the “Goldberg Variations.”
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Mar 3, 2025 • 19min

T. Thomason is taking his Dirty Thoughts on the road

T. Thomason is a Canadian singer-songwriter who recently released an album called “Tenderness.” Now, he’s taking it on the road with his Dirty Thoughts tour. The tour is a collaboration with sex educators and workers, queer and trans small business owners and queer spaces. T. joins Tom Power to talk about the tour and how he hopes it will create an experience that draws people in and dispels shame.
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Feb 28, 2025 • 26min

Why Molly Parker loves playing complex characters who’ve “lost everything”

Molly Parker, a Canadian actor renowned for her roles in Kissed, Six Feet Under, and Deadwood, chats with Talia Schlanger about her latest role as a brilliant doctor grappling with amnesia. She dives into her love for portraying characters who've hit rock bottom and how these roles foster personal growth. Molly reflects on her journey from ballet to acting, the transformative impact of complex roles, and the balance of talent, opportunity, and luck in her career. Her insights reveal the art and labor behind embodying such challenging characters.
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Feb 28, 2025 • 22min

Peter Fernandes was told he’d never do Shakespeare. Now he stars in Fat Ham

When Peter Fernandes was just starting out as an actor in Edmonton, he was told he didn't have the right stuff to do Shakespeare. In fact, he was told he could never do Shakespeare. Today, he’s one of the most celebrated theatre actors in the country with a starring role in a new production of “Fat Ham” — James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of “Hamlet” set at a barbecue in the American South. Peter sits down with Tom Power to tell us about the play, why he was so keen to bring it to Canada, and how it challenges conceptions of Black masculinity.
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Feb 27, 2025 • 26min

Jay Douglas: The reggae legend on Toronto’s almost forgotten Jamaican music scene

Jay Douglas has been making reggae music in Canada for decades. First as the frontman of The Cougars, a popular group in Toronto and Montreal’s Caribbean nightclub scenes, and then as a solo artist. A new documentary, “Play It Loud,” tells Jay’s story and the story of reggae in Toronto. He sits down with Tom Power in our studio to talk about the film, and how he went from selling out clubs in the ‘60s to almost being forgotten.  
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Feb 27, 2025 • 28min

Nish Kumar: The political comedian on getting death threats from the far-right

Nish Kumar is a British stand-up comedian who isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers with his political comedy. But when he started getting death threats, it seriously impacted his mental health. Ahead of his new North American tour, Nish drops by our studio to chat with guest host Talia Schlanger about his comedy, the death threats he's received from the far-right, and why he wanted to talk about it all in his stand-up routine.
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Feb 26, 2025 • 37min

Deryck Whibley: The Sum 41 frontman looks back on his life through heaven and hell

For nearly 30 years, Sum 41 has been one of Canada’s most beloved and successful rock bands. This year, they’re saying their final goodbye, and lead singer Deryck Whibley has decided to share his story in a new memoir, “Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell.” He joins Tom Power to look back on his life and career, which saw him reach the heights of rock stardom and the depths of addiction and self-destruction.
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Feb 26, 2025 • 13min

Quick Q: How a soccer injury led Nia Nadurata to songwriting

Nia Nadurata is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Toronto who just released her first EP, “Still Living With My Parents.” It captures the thoughts and emotions of a young artist who’s at an important intersection in her life as she starts on a new path as an adult. Nia joins Tom Power in our studio to talk about her music and set up a song off the record.

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