Q with Tom Power

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 whether or not you’ll ever hear new music from the band.

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.

Canada’s own Kevin Durand plays the tyrannical bonobo Proximus Caesar in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” — the latest installment in the long-running “Planet of the Apes” franchise. Kevin sits down with Tom to talk about the film, what it was like going to “ape school” in preparation for his role, and his path to becoming one of the busiest Canadian actors in Hollywood.

The critically acclaimed Canadian theatre director and actor Moya O’Connell is directing a new production of Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 masterpiece “Hedda Gabler.” The play follows a woman named Hedda who’s trapped in a loveless marriage as she struggles with the realities of domestic life. When her old flame comes back to town, she’s driven to commit some manipulative and disturbing acts. Moya sits down with Tom to tell us more about the play, what makes Hedda such a timeless character, and her own experience of playing the iconic role in 2012.

Ncuti Gatwa is the new Doctor Who — the time and space-travelling lead in the BBC's hit show of the same name. Ahead of the season premiere, Ncuti joins Tom to tell us what it was like taking the reins on this British pop culture institution, and what he wanted to bring to the show as the first Black queer Doctor.

Evany Rosen is one of the funniest people in Canadian television. She’s the creator of the new comedy series “Davey & Jonesie's Locker,” which follows two oddball high school best friends as they travel through the multiverse via a portal in their locker. Evany joins Tom to talk about the show and what inspired it.

Steve Albini, the musician and legendary producer, died on Tuesday, May 7 from a heart attack. He was 61 years old. Today we revisit Tom’s conversation with Steve, back when the most famous record he ever produced, Nirvana’s “In Utero,” turned 30 last fall.

Iceland’s top streaming artist isn’t Björk or Sigur Rós — it’s Laufey. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter is redefining jazz for Gen Z, and this year, she won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album. Laufey sits down with Tom in studio to talk about her meteoric rise, falling in love with the cello, and what it’s like being called Gen Z’s jazz icon.

When the Oscar-winning director Ryusuke Hamaguchi set out to make his latest film “Evil Does Not Exist,” the music kind of came before the idea. The film tells the story of a close-knit rural community in Japan and the city folk who have plans to build a glamping site in their hamlet. Hamaguchi joins Tom to tell us how the film was largely inspired by the music of his composer, Eiko Ishibashi.