Q: The Podcast From Cbc Radio

In 2021, Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner got everything she’d ever wanted: her memoir “Crying in H Mart” became a surprise New York Times bestseller, and her band’s breakthrough album “Jubilee” received multiple Grammy nominations. But all of that success came at the cost of her mental and physical health, so she moved to Seoul to regroup. Now, Japanese Breakfast is back with a new album, “For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women),” which explores that time in Michelle’s life. She sits down with Tom Power to talk about the grief that shaped her, the moment she realized she needed to walk away from it all, and how moving to Seoul helped her find her voice again.

What do you do when the world around you is anything but calm? For the Juno-winning Indigenous blues artist Crystal Shawanda, the answer was to go inward. She joins Tom Power to talk about her powerful and deeply personal new track “This Peace,” which channels her family’s strength, her culture and her own journey of self-discovery to find calm in the midst of life’s storms.

When Yanic Truesdale was growing up in Quebec, he used to watch American TV with his grandmother — but he didn't speak any English, so she had to translate the whole show to him line by line. When he started getting cast in TV roles, no one was prouder of him than his grandmother. Since then, Yanic has become a beloved actor all over the world, particularly for his role as Stars Hollow’s passive aggressive hotel concierge, Michel, on the hit show “Gilmore Girls.” Yanic joins Tom Power to talk about his early days as an actor, his life-changing audition for the show that put him on the map, and why he didn't want to have a French accent for his new role in “Étoile” — the latest series from “Gilmore Girls” creator Amy Sherman-Palladino.

Canadian actor Noah Lamanna stars as Kat in the new season of the hit HBO show “The Last of Us.” Noah joins Tom Power to talk about the moment they found out they’d be on one of the biggest shows on TV, what it’s like working with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and how the film and TV industry has evolved for non-binary actors.

Comedian Benito Skinner grew up attending Catholic school in Idaho, where he didn’t feel safe being an out gay man. Instead, he concealed his sexuality and threw himself into football. Now, Benito is mining that awkward and uncomfortable time in his life for his art. He’s the creator and star of “Overcompensating,” a new comedy show from A24 and Amazon Prime that’s loosely based on his own life and experiences. Benito joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the show and his journey from closeted perfectionist to self-acceptance.

The Canadian indie pop band and filmmaking collective shy kids consists of three multi-hyphenate friends: Matthew Hornick, Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg. They’re musicians, but they’re also filmmakers, animators, writers, directors and technology advocates. Matthew, Walter and Patrick sit down with guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about their new album, “a gathering of batteries,” and why diving into OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora actually made them less afraid of the technology, despite receiving more than 40 death threats for their work. If you like this and you’re looking for more from shy kids, check out Tom Power’s conversation with Matthew from last year. 

For nearly 30 years, “The Lion King” musical has been captivating audiences, becoming the highest-grossing production of all time, in theatre or in film. But when creator Julie Taymor was approached to make the stage show, she had never seen the original animated Disney movie it's based on. Julie joins Tom Power to tell us the story behind the production, the one scene in the movie that seemed impossible to recreate on stage, and why she wanted to accept the challenge.

Bestselling Canadian writer Eliza Reid has written plenty of non-fiction, but she’s just released her first novel, “Death on the Island.” It’s a murder mystery involving diplomats in Iceland — a place that’s quite familiar to her, considering she served as the country’s first lady from 2016 to 2024. Eliza sits down with Tom Power to talk about her new book and the challenges she faced switching from writing fact to fiction.

After 26 years dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, Guillaume Côté will soon retire following his final performance on June 5. Last year, after announcing his decision to move on, the acclaimed Canadian dancer and choreographer sat down with Tom Power to talk about the physical demands of ballet, the “expiration date” that all professional dancers face, and what he’s looking forward to most in his next chapter.

When you were growing up, did you get along with your sibling? When Leela and Jay Gilday were growing up in Northwest Territories, their dad wanted them to sing together more, but it wasn’t until decades later that they did. Leela and Jay both have distinguished music careers on their own, but more recently, they’ve come together as the contemporary roots duo Sechile Sedare (“my younger brother, my older sister” in Dene). Earlier this year, they joined Tom Power to talk about their collaboration. Plus, they set up their new single, “Hold On.”

Award-winning composer Max Richter is arguably the most streamed classical artist in the world. His scores feature in acclaimed films like “Arrival”, “Ad Astra”, “Shutter Island,” and popular series such as “Black Mirror,” “Bridgerton” and “The Leftovers.” Currently on his first world tour, Max drops by our studio to talk with Tom Power about his acclaimed career and how he confronts today's polarized world through music that has no words.

In his latest series, “Southern Lights,” photographer Finn O'Hara shows how some of Canada’s most cherished and iconic natural landscapes are under threat of development. He sits down with guest host Gill Deacon to tell us what we risk losing as Canada’s wilderness disappears, why he used night club lasers to capture his photos, and how his connection with nature helped shape his passion for photography.

With viral hits like “Pretty Girl Era,” LU KALA has proven that she might just be the next big Canadian breakthrough artist à la Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Weeknd or Shawn Mendes. Her catchy songs about loving yourself and knowing your worth have amassed millions of streams all over the internet. On the heels of her brand new EP, “No Tears On This Ride,” LU sits down with Tom Power in our studio to tell us her story, how she became more confident after being bullied as a kid, and what it felt like to see Serena Williams and her daughter lip sync to her music.

For Mike Drucker, getting a Nintendo at three years old truly changed the course of his life. Since then, the Emmy-nominated writer and comedian has built an entire career influenced by video games. In his new memoir, “Good Game, No Rematch: A Life Made of Video Games,” Mike details how some of his most defining experiences were either accompanied or caused by video games. He joins Tom Power to share some of those stories, from showing the cast of “Saturday Night Live” how to play the Wii when he was an intern, to working at Nintendo, to bonding with Jimmy Fallon over video games before eventually joining the show as a writer

For more than 60 years, Canadian rock and roll legend Randy Bachman has been takin’ care of business and working overtime. He co-founded not one but two of the most successful rock bands to come out of this country: The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Randy sits down with Tom Power to look back on his incredible life in music, from leaving The Guess Who at the height of their success, to Neil Young helping him start his new band, all the way up to his new BTO single, which looks back at Winnipeg — the city that he says gave him everything.

Bria Salmena is a Canadian musician who originally rose to prominence as the frontwoman of the post-punk band FRIGS before joining Orville Peck's touring band. Now, she’s released her debut solo album, “Big Dog.” One of its most powerful tracks, “Rags,” is a raw anthem about rage, shame and shedding the need to accommodate others. Bria joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about the track and how it helped her reclaim her voice after moving to Los Angeles — a city that made her feel like she was in high school again.

Young punk upstarts PUP aren’t so young anymore. In fact, the band that singlehandedly brought punk rock back to Canada in a big way is probably getting too old to mosh. On their fifth and latest record, “Who Will Look After The Dogs?” lead singer Stefan Babcock reflects on his evolution as a songwriter and getting older. He joins Tom Power in our studio to discuss the new album, his writing process and why he can’t take a compliment. If you enjoy this conversation, check out Tom’s chat with Densil McFarlane of The OBGMs.

Tunde Adebimpe made a name for himself fronting the art rock band TV on the Radio. Now, he’s released his first solo album, “Thee Black Boltz.” Tunde joins Tom Power to talk about making music without his long-time band, the spirit of rebellion that runs through his new record, and how an album that’s born out of some pretty tough stuff ended up sounding so dancey. Plus, he shares a pretty deep philosophical take on what punk rock has in common with Calvin and Hobbes.

On her new album, “Forever Is a Feeling,” Lucy Dacus sets the record straight on what love is — and isn’t. The singer-songwriter sits down with Tom Power to tell us what she thinks is missing in modern love songs, what she’s learned about love (spoiler alert: she's still searching for answers), and how she feels about the end of her Grammy-winning supergroup boygenius. If you like this conversation, you’ll probably also enjoy Tom’s chat with Phoebe Bridgers.

A few years ago, Mustafa released his critically acclaimed EP, “When Smoke Rises,” which chronicled the deaths of loved ones from his community of Regent Park in Toronto. So when he sat down to write his debut album, “Dunya,” the Juno-winning musician and poet wanted to explore other things, like love, faith and his relationship with God. Then his older brother died. Mustafa sits down with Tom Power for a wide-ranging conversation about his latest album, the loss of his brother and why Toronto no longer feels like home to him.