Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

Back in 2020, the Canadian singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk found himself with a lot of extra time to think about the direction of his life and music. During that time, he allowed himself the space to dream — both literally and figuratively. Those dreams became the foundation of his new album, “Revelation,” which is now nominated for a Juno. Last fall, Leif joined Tom Power to talk about the record and what he learned from reading Carl Jung’s book “Memories, Dreams, Reflections.” 

Director Alfonso Maiorana’s new documentary, “Goddess of Slide,” tells the story of Ellen McIlwaine, a pioneering singer-songwriter and slide guitarist who should have been a household name. Born in Nashville and raised in Japan, Ellen played with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Taj Mahal before ultimately settling down in Calgary where she worked as a school bus driver in the last decade of her life. Now, she’s finally receiving her rightful place in music history. Alfonso joins Tom Power to tell us more about her remarkable life and legacy.

Emma Portner is a celebrated Canadian dancer and choreographer who’s known for her distinctive style. She’s choreographed for the likes of Justin Bieber, Maggie Rogers, the Norwegian National Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada. Now, the National Ballet of Canada is nominated for two Olivier Awards (the highest honour in British theatre) for a show that includes Emma’s piece “Islands”. The nominations are for best new dance production and outstanding achievement in dance. Last year, Emma joined Tom Power over Zoom to talk about “Islands,” which defies traditional ballet conventions and does away with tutus.

Sam Crane is the director and star of “Grand Theft Hamlet” — a documentary about how he mounted a full production of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” inside the hit video game “Grand Theft Auto V.” Sam joins Tom Power to talk about the project, what the process of making it looked like, and why Shakespeare translates so well to the ultra-violent world of “Grand Theft Auto.”

Sandra Oh (Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy) is back in a new film, “Can I Get a Witness?” It’s set in a not-too-distant future when climate change has been solved. But there’s a catch: all humans are required by law to end their life at 50. The Ottawa-born actor joins Tom Power to talk about the movie and why it spoke to her. Plus, she reflects on her journey as an actor, from finding her passion at eight years old to becoming one of Hollywood’s most accomplished stars.

Nico Williams is an award-winning Canadian artist known for creating soft sculptures out of intricate beadwork. In Canada, beading has a long artistic and cultural history among Indigenous people who’ve been using glass beads to decorate moccasins and clothing for generations. But Nico takes that a step further by beading everyday objects like J-cloths, grocery store flyers and lawn chairs. He talks to Tom Power about taking the traditional practice of beading to a new frontier, winning the 2024 Sobey Art Award, and why beading can be meditative.

In the 1980s, Rick Astley became a global superstar with hits like “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Together Forever.” But then, at age 27, he quit the business. That could have been the end of the story, but then the Rickroll meme of the mid-2000s brought him back to the world’s attention. Now, Rick has released a new memoir, “Never,” in which he opens up about his strange and incredible life. He joins Tom Power to share some of those stories.

Karen Knox’s new film “We Forgot to Break Up” tells the story of The New Normals, a fictional indie rock band on the rise in the early 2000s. Their songs are hard, their relationships are fraught and they’re trying to make it in an industry that wants to shape them into something else. The Canadian director drops by our studio to talk to Tom Power about this coming-of-age story and why she wanted to tell it.

The Grammy-winning Canadian producer Boi-1da has found massive success by crafting hits for the likes of Drake, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Eminem and more. Ahead of being honoured with the International Achievement Award at this year’s Junos, Boi-1da sits down with Tom Power for a rare conversation about his career, what Canadian artists need now more than ever, and how his dad playing a certain couple of tapes in the car led to one of his biggest hits.

Ikky is a Canadian musician and producer who’s bringing Punjabi music to the world — and putting the spotlight on Canada in the process. The international hitmaker has racked up billions of streams and worked with artists both at home and in India. Now, he’s back with a new single, “Tell Me,” which is a bilingual collaboration between OneRepublic and Karan Aujla. Ikky sits down with Tom Power to tell us how that track came to be, how his work fuses traditional Indian music with influences from his upbringing in Toronto, and why he feels more Canadians need to open their minds to Punjabi music.

Kris Davis is a Canadian pianist whose new album, “Run the Gauntlet,” has been getting a lot of attention. She joins Tom Power to tell us why she wanted to dedicate the record to six female jazz pianists who’ve influenced her throughout her career, and how she went about composing new pieces of music in their honour. Plus, Kris sets up the title track from the album.

In Netflix’s new political thriller “Zero Day,” Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Legion) plays Evan Green, a brash, outspoken and wildly popular political commentator who streams his government conspiracies to millions of viewers. Evan’s number one target is the country's former president, played by Robert De Niro. The British actor joins Tom Power to tell us how he developed his character, what he learned from watching hours of conspiratorial media, and what it was like going up against De Niro in this role.

When the Canadian singer-songwriter Basia Bulat was a kid, she felt embarrassed by the Polish disco music her dad listened to. But now that she’s a parent herself, she’s found a new appreciation for her parents’ taste in music. It even inspired a tune on her latest album, “Basia's Palace.” Basia joins Tom Power to talk about the album, the Polish music that soundtracked her childhood, and how she also drew inspiration from video games.

After his huge success with “Parasite” in 2019, Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho is back with a new film, “Mickey 17.” The title character, Mickey (played by Robert Pattinson), is an “expendable” — a disposable crew member on a space colony who undertakes dangerous missions and laboratory tests. Whenever he dies, his body and memories can simply be “reprinted” by his employer. Director Bong joins Tom Power to talk about the film, what he wanted to say about authoritarianism and bad politicians, and the appeal of reprinting Robert Pattinson.

Calgary’s Jan Lisiecki was only nine when made his orchestral debut as a classical pianist. While most of us were still figuring out cursive, he was playing sold-out recitals — so, of course, he was called a child prodigy. But Jan has complicated feelings about that term. He joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about his new album, “Preludes,” why he’s been resistant to being called a child prodigy, and what he’s looking forward to as he turns 30 later this month.

Amanda Seyfried was 17 when she landed her breakthrough role as Karen Smith in “Mean Girls.” But as fun as the movie was, she didn’t want to get pigeonholed as “the ditzy blonde” forever. Amanda says her first true departure was her starring role in Atom Egoyan’s erotic thriller “Chloe,” which established her as a serious actor who was willing to take a risk. Now, she’s teamed up with the Canadian director once again on his new film, “Seven Veils.” Tom Power caught up with Amanda to talk about her latest role and how she looks back on the trajectory of her career.

You never know who you might meet at a Canadian gas station. AHI sits down with Tom Power to tell us how a chance encounter at a truck stop in Thunder Bay inspired him to pursue music full-time. He also sets up a song off his new album, “The Light Behind the Sun.”

You may know the Canadian comedian and actor Mae Martin from their hit stand-up special “SAP,” their semi-autobiographical comedy series “Feel Good,” or their popular “Handsome” podcast, which they co-host with Tig Notaro and Fortune Feimster. But what you might not know is that Mae is also a musician. Mae drops by our studio to talk to Tom Power about their debut album, “I’m A TV,” and how it feels to pivot from performing comedy to getting on stage with their guitar.

There are countless songs about romantic love, but when Georgia Harmer sat down to write her new single, “Can We Be Still,” she had platonic love on her mind. Georgia says the song is an ode to friendship that she wrote for an old friend as they began to drift apart. The Canadian singer-songwriter joins Tom Power to tell us more about “Can We Be Still” and what inspired her to write it.

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.