French, One Curiosity at a Time
There's no shortage of podcasts about France, but the smaller details rarely get their own spotlight. French, One Curiosity at a Time looks at French culture and language through the eyes of someone discovering it from the outside, exploring the little stories that make it so distinctive. Each episode follows a single question, idea, or cultural detail, from films and food to language, history, and everyday life, one curiosity at a time.
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A Small Curiosity About Red Nails
My French coworker basically never did her nails. Then she came back from a trip to France with red ones, and I quietly decided this meant something about France.It probably didn't mean anything. I got curious about the red anyway... and one of the first things I found was a 1929 French newspaper explaining that red fingernails look like amputated fingers.
Trop Camus: How a Dead Philosopher Became an Adjective
In a French novel, a nervous guy rehearses excuses for cancelling a date. He rejects one for being "trop Camus"... too Camus. Too Camus? I had to find out what a dead philosopher sounds like.
How French Is Montreal, Really?
Midnight, Montreal airport. I ask the guy at the INFO booth a simple question in English... and the conversation just quietly dies in the air between us. Everyone in this city speaks English, so what exactly happened? That little silence turned out to have a couple of centuries of history packed inside it.
No AC, Just Open the Windows
When I asked French people why nobody has AC, I got shrugs, a lecture about shutters, and one theory involving the entire month of August. I never got a straight answer, so this summer I dug up the real one. Turns out some of the rumors were true... just much, much weirder than the versions I'd heard.Got a topic idea or just want to say hi? Leave a comment.
The Four-Course French School Lunch
Four courses. For a seven-year-old. At a public school. I'd heard French kids eat lunches that sound more like a sit-down meal than a cafeteria tray, so I went to find out what's actually on it, who decides, and whether the fennel really gets eaten.Got a topic idea or just want to say hi? Leave a comment down below.