Q with Tom Power

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 in real life at rehearsals.

The Canadian musician Jamie Fine first found success with the duo Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine after they won the singing competition show “The Launch” in 2018. But after realizing something wasn’t sitting right with her, Jamie decided to start fresh with a solo career. Now, she’s released her sophomore EP, “if this is it.” Jamie sits down with Tom to share some hard-earned wisdom from her journey in music, why she wishes it took longer for her to have found success, and how she became a superstar in South Africa.

You might know E.R. Fightmaster from their groundbreaking role as Dr. Kai Bartley on “Grey's Anatomy” or you may be familiar with their music. Earlier this month, the actor and musician released their second EP, “Bloodshed Baby” under their stage name Fightmaster. E.R. joins Tom to set up a song off the record and shares what it was like being cast as the first non-binary doctor on “Grey's Anatomy.”

Last year was a big one for Gracie Abrams. The singer-songwriter released her debut album, got nominated for best new artist at the Grammys, and opened for Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour. Now, she’s released her sophomore album, “The Secret of Us,” which she co-wrote with her best friend. Gracie joins Tom in studio to talk about the record, getting over her fear of performing, and what it’s like working with Taylor.

The Montreal singer-songwriter Dominique Fils-Aimé is back with a new single, “Moi je t'aime.” It’s the Juno-winning artist’s first song in French, despite French being her first language. Dominique joins Tom to set up the track and explain what singing in French gives her as an artist.

Dr. Shirley Cheechoo is one of Canada’s most prominent voices in Indigenous film and theatre. At this year’s annual Weengushk International Film Festival, Dr. Cheechoo is giving back to her community with a special event called Blanket of Stars: A Tribute to Resilience, which is dedicated to Canada’s residential school survivors — or as she calls them, residential school warriors. Dr. Cheechoo joins Tom to talk about her life on stage and screen, and what art can and can’t do when it comes to healing.

The legendary Canadian actor Donald Sutherland has died at age 88. Over the course of his six-decade career, he was in more than 150 films and TV series, and more recently he was honoured with his very own Canadian stamp. Today, we revisit Tom’s conversation with Donald about his stamp, his early days as an actor, and why he didn’t want dual Canadian and American citizenship.

Lily Gladstone is having an incredible year. She was nominated for an Oscar for her starring role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and she became the first Indigenous actor to win a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award. In her latest film, “Fancy Dance,” Lily brings another Indigenous character to screen. She joins Tom to talk about her post-“Killers of the Flower Moon” fame, the importance of preserving endangered Indigenous languages, and what kinds of projects she wishes to be involved with moving forward.

Elisapie was jogging and listening to ABBA when she got the idea for her latest project, “Inuktitut.” It’s a 10-track covers album of classic pop and rock hits that each represent a special childhood memory for the Inuk singer-songwriter. What makes the album unique is that each song is translated into Inuktitut. Elisapie joins Tom to talk about the project and how reclaiming some of her most painful childhood memories through song started her on a healing journey.

The comedian Paul Scheer has had roles on some of the biggest sitcoms ever, including “30 Rock,” “Parks and Recreation” and “The League.” He also co-hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the world, “How Did This Get Made,” which takes on the worst movies of all time. But in his new memoir, “Joyful Recollections of Trauma,” Paul writes about the abuse he and his mom suffered at the hands of his stepfather. He joins Tom to share how he escaped the cycle of abuse, why pain often leads to humour, and how he found a community in improv comedy.