Steph Tolev wants to make farts less shameful for women

Toronto-born comedian Steph Tolev has been described as "gross,” "dirty” and "painfully real.” She’s built an entire career on raunchy jokes about everything from bad dates to bathroom humour. Now, she’s releasing her first Netflix special, "Filth Queen.” Steph joins guest host Talia Schlanger to tell us how she developed her niche, why she had to leave Canada to get her big break, and why she wants women to feel comfortable farting in front of people.

Deantha Edmunds is Canada’s first Inuk professional opera singer. Last year, she was appointed to the Order of Canada, and earlier this month, she was honoured at the Canada Day ceremony in Ottawa. In this conversation with Tom Power from 2024, Deantha talks about the forgotten classical music tradition of the Labrador Inuit, as well as her own journey in music. 

Award-winning Irish Canadian novelist, screenwriter and playwright Emma Donoghue (Room, The Wonder) is back with her first musical, “The Wind Coming Over The Sea.” It’s based on the true story of Henry and Jane Johnson, a young married couple who left Ireland in the 1840s in search of a better life in Canada. Emma joins Tom Power to talk about what inspired the production, the traditional Irish folk music she used to tell the tale, and why this historical story about the immigrant experience still resonates today.

Twenty years ago, Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter wrote the song “Bad Day,” which quickly became one of the biggest hits of 2005. It earned him a Grammy nomination, sold millions of copies and launched his career as an artist. But when “Bad Day” got bigger than anyone could have ever imagined, Daniel’s mental health started to decline, leading to addiction and substance abuse. On the song’s 20th anniversary, Daniel joins Tom Power to share the dark side of writing a life-changing hit, and what his relationship to making music is like today.

At age 12, Canadian actor Finn Wolfhard shot to fame after landing the role of a lifetime on “Stranger Things.” But growing up in the spotlight wasn’t always easy. Finn often felt like he didn’t have control over his public identity or his artistic life. Now, as his tenure on “Stranger Things” comes to a close, he’s launched a music career with the release of his debut solo album, “Happy Birthday.” Tom Power sat down with Finn in his hometown of Vancouver to talk about the record, how he found his voice in music, and how “Stranger Things” changed his life. If you enjoy this conversation, check out Tom’s interview with Finn’s “Stranger Things” co-star Joe Keery (a.k.a. Djo) on his viral hit “End of Beginning.”

When actor and comedian Jason Mantzoukas (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Recreation) finally got the chance to appear on his favourite TV show — the weird and hilarious British game show “Taskmaster” — he didn’t want to play along normally. He wanted to be the ugly American villain who creates chaos. Jason joins Tom Power to tell us what actually happened when he stepped onto set, what it was like going from superfan to contestant, and why he thinks that beloved British shows like “Taskmaster” have never fully taken off in North America.

When Evan Redsky sat down to write a song about his culture, he thought about three things: the movie “Interstellar,” the movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster, and the Ojibwe word that essentially means "see you later" (because there is no word for goodbye in Ojibwe). In this chat with guest host Talia Schlanger, Evan tells us how these elements make up his new single, “Cosmic Carousel.”

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka is able to make the most difficult life experiences seem funny. In her new stand-up special, “Father,” she takes a look at her complex childhood growing up undocumented in the U.S. (she was technically kidnapped by her own grandma, though she doesn’t see it that way). Atsuko joins guest host Talia Schlanger to talk about turning those early experiences into comedy, and how she dives into her past with empathy and humour.

The longest poem ever written is a 4,000-year-old Sanskrit epic called the “Mahabharata,” which clocks in at roughly 1.8 million words. But the poem’s daunting length didn’t stop Toronto’s Why Not Theatre from adapting it into a large-scale play of the same name. A few months ago, Miriam Fernandes, the co-creator and star of the show, joined Tom Power to tell us exactly what it took to bring this ancient Sanskrit epic to the stage, and why the story still feels urgent and deeply relevant today.

Canadian actor Tonya Williams spent two decades playing Dr. Olivia Winters on “The Young and the Restless,” which made her one of the first Black actors to star on a soap opera. In 2001, she founded the Reelworld Film Festival, which champions diverse Canadian talent in the TV and film industry. Now, she’s been named an Officer of the Order of Canada. We revisit Tonya’s conversation with Tom Power about her groundbreaking career and how her soap opera character actually helped increase the number of Black women doctors in the U.S.