Meet Parisian woman Virginie Dubost. In 2018, she became a quadriplegic after a surfing accident.  Now, she is an accessibility advocate and has made headlines in Paris for drawing attention to accessibility issues in the city.  She joined us in the lovely Square Santiago-du-Chili in the 7th arrondissement to talk about Paris, its low level of accessibility, and how it can be improved. Here's the viral video she featured in, which we talked about in the show (4 million hits on Instagram!) ...

Meet Daniel Christensen, an avid boulderer in Paris. He talks of how the trend of climbing - aka bouldering - is captivating people's attention in Paris, and how the worldwide sport actually started near Paris in Fontainebleau.  Even if you're not a climber, this makes for an interesting chat about Paris and how sports/hobbies/pastimes are changing. There's even a climbing hall INSIDE a church! Find out more about Daniel on his Instagram page here. *********** The Earful Tower exists...

Meet Simon Kuper, a British (and naturalized French) journalist in Paris.  He talks of how the changing face of Paris and its suburbs - and his new book Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century. Find out more about Simon and his work on his Twitter profile here. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our...

If you've been to a Paris cemetery, you might have seen curious collections of unusual objects on certain gravestones (especially celebrities like Jim Morrisson and Oscar Wilde). You can find potatoes, chewing gum, Metro tickets, apples... and much more. In this episode, Ana Gimena from LivTours breaks down some of the main offerings you can find on gravestones at Pere Lachaise and Montparnasse cemetery. See our full blog post with all the addresses here.  Book a walking tour of Pere...

Meet Frank Adrian Barron, an American baker in Paris (better know as Cake Boy Paris). He talks of how he made it as a baker in the city, sharing his sweet treats on social media, and his book Sweet Paris. Find out more about Frank and his work via his Instagram page here, his website here, and his book here.  *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video...

Meet Scott Hillier, an Australian movie director in Paris, who runs the European Independant Film Festival (the ÉCU). He talks of the iconic light in the city of Paris, his film festival, and his exploits around the world as a director and war photographer.  Find out more about the annual Film Festival here, 2024 marks the 19th festival, and it runs on April 19th, 20th, and 21st in Montparnasse.   *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a...

Meet Allie Goodbun, a Canadian dancer at the iconic Moulin Rouge in Paris.  She talks of how she got the job, her life in Montmartre, and her love for the City of Light.  Want to join the fun on Allie's social media? You can find her on TikTok here and Instagram here - and here's the link to her new clothing brand for Ready Freddie dancewear. Here's a snippet of this very podcast episode on her Tik Tok channel.  *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon...

This week it's food critic and cookbook author Patricia Wells. Originally from the US, she moved to Paris in 1980 where she worked as a restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune and later the French weekly newspaper L’Express. Along the way she has published 15 books and made a home in Paris and Chanteduc, in Provence.  We also talk of how Patricia is selling her collection of antiques and furniture via antique's dealer Chez Pluie. You can find the collection: At Home with...

This week on the show we make mille-feuilles - the "thousand layer pastry" to celebrate 1,000 reviews of The Earful Tower podcast. Thanks to all who've left reviews over the years. You might know a mille-feuille as a Napoleon, a custard slice, or a vanilla slice. But we all know it as delicious, especially when it's freshly baked.  For this episode, you'll join our team as we prepare this iconic dessert at Cook’n With Class, complete with some pastry and chocolate tips from the chef.  ...

This week on the show we welcome back Diederick de Jongh, the owner of Flora Magnifica, which sells the finest faux flowers in France. He was last on the show in 2021, but since then he has changed locations of his shop to be further north in the Marais by a famous bistro. We chatted about business, Paris, and his new project supplying flowers to cultural heritage institutions around France. We also talk about what happens to a small shop in the Marais after it features on The Earful Tower...

Is Paris a safe city? The truth is, it's probably about as safe as any other big city.  In other words, you need to be smart when you're here. And this week on the podcast, American content creator in Paris Amanda Rollins shares her tips and tricks for being street smart in the City of Light.  Amanda has made a name for herself on her wildly popular social media accounts as American Fille, where she shares how to stay out of trouble in Paris (and many, many other things).  Find her on...

If the words "French Revolution" seem daunting to you, then you're not alone. It would take a whole series of podcast episodes to truly understand it all - and luckily for us - podcaster Mike Duncan has done exactly that. His Revolutions Podcast is world renowned. In this episode of The Earful Tower, he breaks down the French Revolution to its simplest essence. You could call it "The French Revolution For Idiots", where I, your humble host, play the part of the idiot and ask all the...

Lina and I discuss how circumstance has led to us raising our nearly three-year-old son in French, Swedish, and English.  This episode was brought to you by Cook'n With Class, click here to book a class with them. I did the sauce-making class and LOVED it. Their English-speaking cooking classes are a delightful blend of fun, education, and gastronomy. Designed for culinary enthusiasts of all levels, they offer a unique opportunity to explore French cuisine through hands-on experiences in a...

Buying property in Paris (and France, in general) isn't easy.  Aside from the dreaded French admin, there is a whole world of traps and tricks to consider. Omissions in the property listing, negotiating prices, and why you shouldn't share a notary with the seller.... This week, lawyer and buyer's agent Christine Bacoup-Tidas explains some of the key pitfalls to avoid in the process. She also chats about property in Paris in general, and her previous life as a ballet dancer and then lawter...

There's a lot of talk right now about the iconic booksellers by the Seine, aka the bouquinistes.  In recent months, the Paris Town Hall officials threatened to remove the stalls to make way for the Olympic Games, but President Macron overturned the decision this week. The book stalls are here to stay.  I figured many Earful Tower listeners might want to know more about these mysterious bouquinistes, so let's revisit my chat with Sydney Zekley, who ran one of the stalls not too far from the...

Chef David Lebovitz is back on the show to talk about the Aligre Market (le marché d'Aligre) in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. Follow David here for his newsletter on Substack.  Music in this episode is from Pres Maxson. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to...

Author Samuel Lopez-Barrantes is on the show talking about being a writer in Paris. Perhaps it's not as romantic and lovely as it might sound. Or perhaps it is!  Sam has just published his new book, The Requisitions, which you can find here. Follow Sam on Substack here for his page "If Not, Paris" which offers "fiction, essays & music from Paris". Music in this episode is from Pres Maxson. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members....

This week, Australian Sam Davies is on the show talking about bars in Paris. He has grown an online following by asking bartenders in Paris (and around the world) to recommend other bars. He talks about the Paris bar scene and how it is evolving, and also lists ten bars worth visiting. In the list is everything from places to get fancy to places to bring your mates. There's something for everyone here. Click here to read the full list, with all the addresses. As for Sam Davies, find his...

I love the French language. I feel like I could make an episode like this every year. The ten words and words like I like, that make me smile, or that have some kind of a fun story to them. You can hear me describing them and pronouncing them in greater detail in this week's podcast episode, or click here to read the blog and see the spelling.  Music in this episode is from Pres Maxson. *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month...

This week I recap my recent three-hour checkup at the Parisian doctors.  Whether you've been to the doctor in France a million times or never before, I'm sure you'll learn something from my experiences and observations :) *********** The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its Patreon members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris.  Membership...

IT'S BACK AGAIN!  Every year we make a bucket list of things we want to try for the first time in Paris. In this episode, you'll hear Oliver and Lina sharing their top five things they want to do this year in Paris - and we also share the lists of everyone on the Earful Tower team. Why not write your own list and join us? The full list will be on our official website very soon: www.theearfultower.com 

The season is over, the year is over. It's time for a little reflection. In this episode I answer 15 audience questions about our epic ABCson. All the questions come from the Patreon members. Join them here. https://www.patreon.com/theearfultower The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson, find his Substack here.  Click here for our walking tours of Paris.

Z is for Zinc. In this season finale episode, we tackle the topic of zinc, which is used to make 75 percent of the Paris rooftops.  I chat with Constance Allard, who runs the zinc workshop Les toits Parisiens. I also climbed onto a zinc roofing construction site in the 1st arrondissement, and chatted with roofer Frederic Cordier from the roofing company La Louisane.  You can see some amazing pictures from our rooftop escapades here on the official website. Do you like this podcast?...

Y is for Yesteryear. In this episode, I chat with two long-time Paris residents about their first impressions of the city.  First, you'll hear from American music journalist Valli about life in Paris in the early 1980s. (Valli was first on the Earful Tower in 2019: "Famous in France: Meet American singer Valli") Then it's Englishman Jim Bane who first came to Paris in 1963. (Jim was first on the Earful Tower in 2017: "Paris expat for 50 years".) Do you like this podcast? Become a Patreon...

X is for Xmas, obviously. In this episode, we share what happened on our eXciting and eXhausting and eXhilarating Christmas walk around the Pantheon.  This is, more specifically, a recap of our 2023 Christmas party, when I took 35 people on an evening stroll, while bumping into five famous characters from the past 1500 years of French history. For the full experience, listen to the interactive version of the show as a Patreon member. You can hear the audio from the big night and even...