Q with Tom Power

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June Clark: Unrequited Love, her relationship with the American flag, and the artistic appeal of rust Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

In the late ‘60s, the visual artist June Clark fled the United States to Canada so her husband could escape the Vietnam draft. She wasn’t an artist when she settled in Toronto, but that huge change in her life kind of put her on the path to art. Since then, she’s used her work to reflect on her relationship with her homeland and what she left behind. The Art Gallery of Ontario and Toronto's Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery are now reshowing June’s striking exhibit “Unrequited Love” this year. It’s a collection of nine pieces, made over a period of decades, that incorporate the Stars and Stripes. June sits down with Tom to talk about her work and her path to becoming an artist.

Sleater-Kinney: Little Rope, coping with grief, and the 30th anniversary of the band Jan 22, 2024

Show notes

The feminist punk band Sleater-Kinney was a huge part of the post-riot grrrl movement. After the sudden death of one of the member’s parents turned their lives upside down, the duo used music to get through it. Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney join Tom to talk about grief, getting by, and their new album “Little Rope.”

Green Day: Dookie, American Idiot, and why their new album Saviors is the best they’ve ever recorded Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

When a band kicks off their career with a hit single about getting stoned and watching TV, it might be surprising to see them 30 years later as one of the biggest bands on the planet. Green Day has beat those long odds. All three members — Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool — talk to Tom about the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough record “Dookie,” how they wanted to create a monumental record when writing “American Idiot,” and why they think their brand new album “Saviors” could be that next era of Green Day.

Venus: The first Indigenous winner of Canada’s Drag Race Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

Fresh off her win of Season 4 of “Canada’s Drag Race,” Venus tells Tom about the surreal moment she won, what it means to her as a Metis person, and why she wanted to give her mom “her flowers” on the show.

Nikki Giovanni: Poetry, influencing the birth of hip-hop, and why being talented means being lonely Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

Considered one of the world’s greatest living poets, Nikki Giovanni carved out a revolutionary legacy during the civil rights era with poems that uplifted the experiences of Black Americans. Decades later, Nikki’s writing and interviews have grown increasingly personal – offering insight into her childhood, health struggles and thoughts on growing older. She shares her story in the new documentary, “Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” Nikki tells Tom about being involved in the birth of hip-hop, why artists should go to space, and how she packed a club of 100 people, including guests like Morgan Freeman and Nina Simone.

Matty Matheson: The Bear, his passionate Emmys speech, and bringing his kitchen experience to the show Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

This week, Matty Matheson made a memorable acceptance speech at the 75th Emmys where “The Bear” swept up several awards, including best comedy series. Matty joins Tom to talk about bringing authenticity to the kitchen environment in the series, what it was like kissing his co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach on stage, and why he thanked the hospitality industry in his speech.

Jasmeet Raina: Overnight internet fame, misunderstandings about his Sikh faith, and his new show Late Bloomer Jan 17, 2024

Show notes

From 2009 to 2018, Jasmeet Raina was known online as Jus Reign. His viral videos about being a first generation Indo-Canadian millennial amassed more than 160 million views on YouTube and more than a million fans on Facebook. But one day, with no explanation, Jasmeet decided to walk away from the spotlight. Now, he’s back with a comedy series on Crave called “Late Bloomer.” Jasmeet talks to Tom about his hiatus, representing his Punjabi Sikh culture and faith on screen, and what his relationship with the internet is like now.

Hayley Williams: Getting Paramore back together, being a woman in the pop-punk scene, and why she’s “addicted to a survival narrative” Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

If you grew up in the mid-to-late 2000s, there's a good chance you know the band Paramore. Hayley Williams has fronted the pop-punk band for 20 years. She tells Tom about the band's history, the advice she’d give her younger self and what inspired Paramore’s latest album, “This Is Why.”

Ibrahim Maalouf: Pushing the boundaries of the trumpet, his father’s influence, and how music became a refuge to him Jan 16, 2024

Show notes

Ibrahim Maalouf is no stranger to defying genre. The acclaimed trumpeter’s latest album, “Capacity to Love,” blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, classical and Arabic music to create a unique record that sees him collaborate with the likes of Gregory Porter, De La Soul and even Sharon Stone. Ibrahim talks to Tom about his life in music, escaping war-torn Lebanon, and how music became a refuge for him as a child. Plus, he opens up about why he’s so interested in pushing the boundaries of the trumpet and why he doesn’t feel bound to the traditions he was schooled in.

R.L. Stine: Goosebumps, writing advice, and how he stumbled into writing horror for kids Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

R.L. Stine is one of the best-selling children's authors in history, made famous by his “Goosebumps” and “Fear Street” books. For decades, he’s kept a strict writing schedule, pumping out around 2,000 words (roughly 10 pages) each morning. More than 350 books later, he’s sharing what he knows with a new book of writing advice called “There’s Something Strange About My Brain: Writing Horror for Kids.” R.L. Stine joins Tom to talk about how growing up feeling like a fearful outsider inspired him to retreat in his room and write, how he accidentally ended up writing horror books for kids, and what his best advice is for young writers.

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