The Earful Tower: Paris

Hello everyone! Meet George Eddy, a man who has been the voice of basketball in France for 34 years.  He's only really known in France. Back home in the States, he can walk the streets uninterrupted. Fancy that! I met him on the outskirts of Paris to discuss basketball, smiling in Paris, and how he considers France to be the ideal country. Support the Earful on Patreon here . And to get that addit...

Hello everyone! I've just been to Giverny, where the famed Impressionist Claude Monet had his house and gardens.  With my wife, Lina, by my side, I went to check out these gardens and I took my recorder with me. This episode is the whole day summed up in 30 minutes.  There's picnics, cheese shops, walking, cycling, and exploring, all recorded on the scene. Now, I left a little bit of French in the...

Hello everyone! Meet Valli, a woman who sang in France's first ever rap song in 1982. The song - Chacun fait (c'qui lui plaît) - went on to sell 2.5 million copies and made Valli so popular that she still gets stopped on the street to this day. But she's only really known in France. Back home in the States, she can walk the streets uninterrupted. Fancy that! I met her in her home in the 12th arron...

Hello everyone! Today we have Emma Jacobs in the studio talking about her brand new book "The Little(r) Museums in Paris". She lists six smaller museums you should check out in this city, while also discussing her lovely illustrated book.  Now, I'll write all this up in a blog post very soon, but if you're looking for the spelling of these six museums, voila: Musée de la chasse et de la Nature Add...

Hi everyone! France has a fascinating history and there aren't many people who appreciate it as much as today's guest, Diana from The Land of Desire Podcast.  She shares some of her favourite stories, tips, and hidden Paris treasures that she has picked up while making her amazing show. And, as promised, here's a link with more information about the "undercover restorers" who fixed a landmark cloc...

This week's episode features Janet Hulstrand, an American in France who has just written a book called Demystifying the French.  Of course, we talk about a lot more than just rudeness, but it kinda all boils down to one big question: Are the French rude - or is it the Americans?  Have a listen and let me know what you think.  Here is Janet's home page to find out more  about her work. Her book is...

Bonus episode! It's Camille from French Today talking about how to learn French quickly and efficiently. One of the big takeaways is that everyone is different: Some want to learn French simply to pass an exam, others want to move to France, while some are just learning for the pleasure of being able to read a book or order a coffee. If you're interested in learning French via her method and her a...

Hello!  This week it's Cara Black, author of the Murder in Paris series - 19 books about fictional detective Aimee Leduc. Her newest one is out June 4th, Murder in Bel Air, and her first one, Murder in the Marais has been the subject of the Book Club this month. Here we chat about her books, how Cara would dispose of my body if she were to murder me in the studio, and a little about Paris in gener...

Hello! This week I was off gallivanting around Stockholm and I was very intrigued to see some serious links between France and Sweden. Whether it's the French general who became a Swedish king, the Swedish count who was perhaps the lover of Marie Antoinette, or the ways the Vikings changed the scope of the French language forever.... that's what today's episode is about.  As promised in the episod...

This week's podcast guest is American Matt Kepnes from the hit travel website Nomadic Matt. And believe it or not, he's recently moved to Paris. I invited him into the studio to discuss some of the things he has struggled with in his first few months in the French capital. We discuss the difficulties of joining gyms, making French friends, and much more. Find out more about Matt and his work on hi...

Hello everyone,  It's an episode with Camille, the voice behind French Today, and we're talking about the different registers people use when speaking French.  A register is a level of formality - you don't speak the same way in a job interview and a barbecue with friends, do you? In English, the register you use is reflected in the vocabulary. But in French, sure, the vocab changes, but it also a...

The Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire on Monday and one week on continues to make international headlines.  So what now? Today's guest Philippe Hertzberg runs a tour company called Secret Journeys that does very close work with the cathedral. In fact, he was at the cathedral when it caught fire.  Philippe talks about the fire, the history of the cathedral, and its future - explaining how renovation...

This week's guest is Rebecca Plotnick from the hit website Everyday Parisian. We chat all about how to capture the beautiful city of Paris on your camera (or indeed your smartphone). We also talk about life in Paris (and abroad), the mysterious blue hour, where to position yourself to get the best shot of the Seine River at sunrise, and much more.  Find out more about Rebecca's Everyday Parisian ...

Hello everyone! Meet Felix and Joris, two young Frenchmen who've created what I think is the most fun immersive experience in Paris. These two guys spent two years writing the creepiest detective story they could imagine, then they turned it into a two-hour immersive experience in the north of Paris. It's called Live Thriller and will see you running around Paris while getting the heck scared out...

Hello everyone! This week it's Caroline de Maigret, the author of How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, the model, the music producer - and the ultimate Parisienne, if you ask me.  I saw her walking down the street in central Paris and I stopped her to ask if she would like to be on my show. She said "Yes, let's do it right now".  So we recorded the episode on my phone in a cafe in the ninth arrond...

Hello everyone, What is it about Paris that makes it so synonymous with a good walk? A historian might suggest that the city was built for walking – ever since the Pont Neuf rolled out some of Europe's first pedestrian sidewalks 400 years ago. A resident might say that walking is more practical than the Metro in what is a (relatively) small world city. A  flaneur  (or  flaneuse ) – someone who lik...

Hello everyone,  It's a bonus episode from Camille, the voice behind French Today , answering the age old question: How should I learn French? More specifically, I asked her about the order to do it in, how to be efficient in learning the language, and what the other teachers are doing incorrectly.  I share some tales of woe in my own French learning, and pose a few day-to-day questions that I've...

We've come full circle! The very first guests on this podcast, two years ago, were the Paris band Slim & the Beast. They're the guys who wrote the original jingle, the honeymoon theme, and they've done several live videos with me before.  Now, they're back in the studio and they're armed with a few new songs and a particularly good cover of a Neil Young classic.  They also talk about how to find g...

Paris offers the creme-de-la-creme when it comes to museums but it can be quite daunting to decide which ones to see. It's even daunting for Parisians. I've lived here for years now and I still don't know where to go. But the city offers what it calls "The Museum Pass" where you buy a ticket that gives you access to 60 museums - and you can often skip the queue. Full disclosure: I got my passes fo...

This week's guest is podcasting titan Annie Sargent from the popular Join us in France show.  She explains why, of course, there is a lot more to France than just Paris. And who better to showcase the country than the woman who's released over 200 podcast episodes promoting it? Check out Annie's show here .  Join me on Patreon here for the book club otherwise just find it on Facebook for free here...

This week's guest is Annabel Simms, a British woman who has explored the surrounds of Paris perhaps more than anyone! She has written two books on the subject: An Hour From Paris and Half an Hour From Paris, both of which you can find on her site here . We also discuss the trail sign posts that you'll find while walking around France, here is her blog post on the topic .  Wanna join my book club?...

This week it's Antoine Litaise from Voulez Vous Diner, a French company that's kind of like Airbnb but for dinner. You find a chef online, book a dinner at their home, then go and eat it.  These guys are in 120 countries, but it started in France, so the head of the company, an avid cook named Antoine, joined me in the studio to help me out with French etiquette tips before I went and tried the co...

This week it's my favourite language teacher, Camille from French Today . And seeming it's Valentine's Day we took the opportunity to discuss all the French language you'll need to impress someone when it comes to matters of love.  We cover: Love nicknames, how to tell someone you love them (and how to get it wrong), and exactly how to pronounce La Tour Eiffel in French, which I very clearly canno...

"Paris is a city made for spending money, there's temptation around every corner." That's a quote from Leah Walker, this week's guest, a luxury travel writer who knows Paris inside out. She joins me in the studio to explain how to have an extravagant trip in Paris. But, even if you're not in a position to go all in (join the club), then there are still a few good tips in there for how to splurge w...

This week's guest is Bryan Pirolli, an author, marathon runner, and a tour guide around Gay Paris. He explains a little about the city's gay history, its present and its future. He also shares his thoughts on just how gay friendly the city is. And of course, we have a good old chat about Paris and tour guiding in general. And he ends with a few tips for good gay bars to check out. Oh yes, and here...