The Earful Tower: Paris

Latest Episodes:

Are the French really rude? Or is the problem with the Americans? May 27, 2019

Show notes

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 called Demystifying the French, How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You.

Support the Earful on Patreon here.

And to get that additional ten percent off from French Today, go via this link.

Language hacks for learning French quicker May 23, 2019

Show notes

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 audiobooks, here is a link to get you a further ten percent off your audiobook purchase. Click here.

PS: The YouTube video of Eddie Izzard that Camille mentioned is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1sQkEfAdfY

How to get away with a murder in Paris (with Cara Black) May 19, 2019

Show notes

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 general.

She also shares a few writing tips and we planned our afternoon walk in the Marais, finding some scenes from her first book.

If you were a Patreon member of this show you could have watched it live - but hey, sign up now and you can see the replay.

More on Cara and her books here on her official website.

Support the Earful on Patreon here.

And to get that additional ten percent off from French Today, go via this link.

Stockholm: The Paris of the north? May 13, 2019

Show notes

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 episode, here's a link to read more about that Swedish king.

And to get that additional ten percent off from French Today, go via this link.

The struggles of moving to Paris as an expat May 06, 2019

Show notes

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 his official site here.

And lastly, if you're a Patreon supporter, be ready on Saturday afternoon for a walk through one of the most beautiful parts of Stockholm. Click here to get more information.

See you then, I hope.

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Membership takes only a minute to set up. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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Which French should you learn? Apr 29, 2019

Show notes

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 affects the sentence structure and pronunciation. Camille explains it all in this episode.

We also talk about the importance of leaving your comfort zone, how to efficiently expand your long-term vocabulary, and how learning French in France can actually be trickier than learning it abroad.

Also, Camille has written in great detail about two of the things we talked about in this episode.

Learning French While Living In France Is Easy. Wrong!

French Language Registers – Street, Slang, Modern, Literary…

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Membership takes only a minute to set up. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

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Instagram - Facebook - TikTok

Find our books

Book a walking tour

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Notre Dame Fire Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

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, restoration, and rebirth have long been themes of this iconic Parisian landmark.

Find out more about Secret Journeys here (they do tours of a lot more than just Notre Dame, of course, including Versailles very soon).

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Membership takes only a minute to set up. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Instagram - Facebook - TikTok

Find our books

Book a walking tour

Patreon membership

How to photograph Paris Apr 15, 2019

Show notes

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 site here and more on her photography here.

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Membership takes only a minute to set up. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website

Weekly newsletter

Instagram - Facebook - TikTok

Find our books

Book a walking tour

Patreon membership

How to be a detective in Paris Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

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 of you.

This isn't the typical Earful episode, nor is it the typical Paris experience, but I highly recommend it to you if you're looking for a fun and frightful experience to remember.

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