Q with Tom Power

CBC
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Jun 6, 2025 • 36min

Cynthia Erivo says her new album makes her feel “totally naked”

Cynthia Erivo discusses her vulnerable new record “I Forgive You”, and all the big musical theatre roles that built her career. From her childhood obsession with Brandy to her performance as Elphaba in the movie musical Wicked, Erivo talks to Tom Power about her life as a singer, and all the surprises she encountered along the way.
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Jun 6, 2025 • 11min

Katie Tupper says that songwriting helped her settle into her identity

Hailing from Saskatoon, Katie Tupper didn’t have a big queer community to help her find herself. Now, she’s embracing her bisexuality, and singing soulful songs about the kinds of love she always wanted. Katie Tupper sits down to talk to Tom Power about bi erasure, and how fans are responding to her music.
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Jun 5, 2025 • 25min

“It becomes more personal as you go along” — Wes Anderson on creating films about family

The Phoenician Scheme is Wes Anderson’s latest feature film. And if you are a fan of deadpan screw ball humour, meticulously shot and edited behind a colour pallet of muted earth tones, you will not be disappointed. But for his thirteenth feature film, Wes is leaning a little more into action and even violence to tell his new father daughter comedy. He joins Tom Power to talk about the evolution of his singular way of telling family stories. 
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Jun 5, 2025 • 28min

Christopher Stowell on the future of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Christopher Stowell is the new artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet – Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. He’ll speak with Tom about why ballet is his “family business,” his career as a principal dancer and ballet leader, and what the future holds for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
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Jun 4, 2025 • 24min

Suddenly struck by pain, Gabrielle Drolet learned to write and draw again

A few years ago, the cartoonist and writer Gabrielle Drolet developed a condition that made her unable to use her hands. It kept getting worse over time, and as Gabrielle searched for a diagnosis, she also had to find new ways to make art. Her new memoir “Look Ma, No Hands” is the story of an artist coming to terms with disability, adapting to the unexpected, and ultimately learning to express herself again. Drolet joins Tom Power to talk about those experiences that informed her memoir. Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!
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Jun 4, 2025 • 23min

Savannah Ré bet on herself, and it led to a creative breakthrough

Whenever life got tough, Savannah Ré’s mom always used to quote a specific, motivational verse from the bible. Those words have now inspired Savannah’s new album, “Formed.” She tells Tom Power about the creative turn she’s taken on her new record, and the risks and rewards that come with going independent. Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!
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Jun 3, 2025 • 34min

Rebellious and reflective, Billy Idol looks back on a life in music

Turning 70 this year, legendary punk-rocker turned MTV Icon Billy Idol is back with his ninth studio album. “Dream Into It” reflects his life and career, with songs documenting his early days, his massive breakthrough, his drug addiction, and finally his rebirth. He tells Tom Power about why he’s looking back now.Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!
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Jun 3, 2025 • 19min

Dawn Macdonald on the mess and beauty of growing up in the Canadian North

Dawn Macdonald is a poet based in Whitehorse, Yukon whose 2024 debut poetry collection “Northerny” takes an honest, raw and unsentimental look at growing up and living in Canada’s North. Now, “Northerny” is the winner of this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize, Canadian First Book Prize. Dawn tells Tom Power about growing up off the grid without running water or electricity and her relationship with the natural world. Plus, she’ll read a poem from her collection titled “Wasp Summer.”Fill out our listener survey here. We appreciate your input!
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Jun 2, 2025 • 22min

Losing her voice taught Melanie Fiona to speak up for herself

After over a decade away from the spotlight, Canadian singer Melanie Fiona is back with an EP. “Say Yes” is her first record since she won two Grammys in 2012. She tells guest host Talia Schlanger how her intense burnout led to her spiritual awakening, and why she’s saying yes to singing again.
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Jun 2, 2025 • 20min

The wrestling saga at the heart of The Halluci Nation’s new EP

When Bear Witness and Tim “2oolman” Hill of The Halluci Nation watched wrestling as kids, they had to look past stereotypes and tropes to find Indigenous heroes in the ring. Now, their new EP “Path of The Baby Face” uses wrestling to tell a more empowering story. The music duo tell guest host Talia Schlanger about their collaboration with wrestling icon Bret “The Hitman” Hart. Plus, they discuss the ways they support and care for each other.

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