Episodes

  • Carving Paris: How limestone built this city

    Carving Paris: How limestone built this city
    Mar 10 2025

    This week we chat to stonemason Grégory Philippe in his atelier in the Marais. He reveals the world of limestone, the most important stone in the city.

    If you want to find his studio and book one of his stone-carving sessions, you can find it in the heart of the Marais or online here (Address: 12 Rue du Prévôt, 75004).

    At the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris is in the studio discussing how best to visit her favourite Paris flea market, the Saint Ouen.

    In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

    Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.
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    26 mins
  • Père Lachaise: The most visited cemetery in the world

    Père Lachaise: The most visited cemetery in the world
    Mar 3 2025

    Let's take a closer look at the Père Lachaise cemetery of Paris, the most visited necropolis on earth.

    All kinds of famous and interesting people are buried here including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde… and about a million more. Some 3.5 million people check it out annually.

    In this episode you'll hear from author Joe Start, who wrote a book on Père Lachaise called The Chairfather - a literal translation of the cemetery’s French name. This part of the episode is taken from the Earful archives.

    Joe visited the tombstones countless times to research the book and interview the dead, and today on The Earful Tower he shares his tips on which graves to find, what to avoid, and how not to act if you’re a tourist there.

    And if you like what you hear, you can find the Chairfather book here or on ebook here.

    At the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris talks more about the cemetery.

    In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

    Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.
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    31 mins
  • French Frustrations: The pitfalls of being outsiders in Paris

    French Frustrations: The pitfalls of being outsiders in Paris
    Feb 24 2025

    After ten years in Paris, my wife Lina and I couldn't be happier. We have two little Parisian children, we have a small business, and we pinch ourselves to call Paris home.

    BUT... we are also square pegs in rounds holes. Being a Swede and an Australian with a podcast company, while speaking questionable French, raises eyebrows.

    Here are a handful of things that have become frustrating for us as a result, so you can hopefully use it as a warning if you’re thinking to do the same, or perhaps as a cultural insight into the French mentality.

    Featured: Language blunders, tips on where to focus your own language learning, how paper is on a pedestal, and being conflict averse in a "convince me" country.

    A fun extra the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris tells us about a touring the Musée d'Orsay when it's not open to the public.

    In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

    Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.
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    27 mins
  • Underrated or overrated? A Paris expert's top ten

    Underrated or overrated? A Paris expert's top ten
    Feb 17 2025

    Today we take a list of ten very popular things to do in Paris. And then Marie Segura, the co-founder of the My Private Paris tour agency, breaks them down into underrated or overrated. (And you can read it all here)

    Hope this helps you to plan your next trip. Enjoy!

    My Private Paris is a local deluxe agency, crafting itineraries for tours in Paris and beyond. See what they offer here.

    Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

    Music: Pres Maxson.

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    25 mins
  • A very deep dive into the Louvre museum

    A very deep dive into the Louvre museum
    Feb 10 2025
    Let's visit the Louvre with author Elaine Sciolino. Today, we chat about her upcoming book Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum. The book pulls back the curtain on a building many think they know, but which still contains endless secrets and untold stories. And if you think you recognise Elaine’s name and voice, perhaps you heard her on the pod before! Elaine, the former Paris bureau chief for The New York Times, has featured The Earful Tower in the past discussing her books about the Seine River and the Rue des Martyrs. In fact, she was the second-ever guest on the show, back in 2017. Elaine used her extensive experience as a reporter to influence how she wrote this book. She decided the best approach was to explain the Louvre museum “through the prism of someone who’s not an art historian and who’s not a tour guide. I decided to just report the Louvre and talk to everybody that I possibly could.” And, my goodness, the surprises Elaine uncovered will knock your socks off: spending the day with the museum’s permanent on-site fire fighters, a secret World War Two bunker and long-forgotten graffiti inscribed by the builders of the Philippe Auguste wall. For Louvre novices who are in danger of having an exhausting and frustrating experience trying to see and do everything, Elaine offers this advice “Find your Louvre identity, find what kind of a visitor you are… And once you decide that it makes it a lot easier, because you forgive yourself for not being perfect…You go each time with a different identity, like you go each time and discover a different work of art.” Elaine confesses that she wasn’t always the biggest fan of the museum, “the Louvre is a challenge, it’s too big…it’s too crowded, it’s an impossible museum. You have to find your way in. So that’s what I tried to do.” Having visited the building hundreds of times in the course of writing the book, I wondered if Elaine was all Louvre-d out or did she intend to go back? “Oh no, I have to go back. I have to keep going back.” Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum is released on 1 April 2025. You can pre-order it here. A fun extra the end of the episode, Bertrand d’Aleman from My Private Paris tells us about a current exhibition at the museum: The Louvre Couture. This is an exploration of how the vast breadth of decorative art contained within the walls of the museum has informed the world of high fashion. The Louvre Couture exhibition runs from 24 January - 21 July. Book your tickets here. Artwork mentioned in this episode: Mona Lisa (also known as La Joconde) by Leonardo da Vinci; Man with a glove by Titian, Portrait of a Man (also known as La Condottiere) by Antonello da Messina; The death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David. Thanks to Hannah Coyle for additional reporting. Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras. This season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.
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    37 mins
  • Stained-glass windows and France's gothic churches

    Stained-glass windows and France's gothic churches
    Feb 3 2025

    It's time for a day of stained glass windows and gothic churches, featuring a visit to three key churches and cathedrals.

    We begin this day trip with Chartres, a little town to the south west of Paris. Trusty tour guide Bertrand d’Aleman, from award-winning travel company My Private Paris, explains how we're in the midst of a gothic church (and stained glass window) revival.

    We took the train to Chartres, then spent half a day exploring the cathedral and the town. Then we headed back to Paris for a skip-the-line look at Sainte Chapelle and lastly Notre Dame.

    My Private Paris is a local deluxe agency, crafting itineraries for tours in Paris and beyond (including, of course, Champagne). See what they offer here. Here is their full-day trip to Chartres, though this particular excursion was unique to us.

    Music: Pres Maxson.

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    33 mins
  • Demystifying opera in Paris with a soprano superstar

    Demystifying opera in Paris with a soprano superstar
    Jan 27 2025

    This week The Earful Tower is going to the opera. To prepare, I talked to superstar Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg, who is in Paris to perform in Orlando at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

    She helped me to demystify the opera.

    Find Siobhan Stagg on Instagram to follow her artistic adventures - and find her on Spotify here.

    Want more from The Earful Tower? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to unlock extras.

    This season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by the award-winning travel company My Private Paris, which specializes in tours in Paris, day trips outside Paris, and travel itineraries. See what they offer here. This week's fun bonus included a chat with Bertrand about his favourite Paris view.

    Get more from The Earful Tower by becoming a Patreon member, or a Substack member, or exploring the official site here.
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    40 mins
  • Saying goodbye to the US ambassador to France

    Saying goodbye to the US ambassador to France
    Jan 20 2025

    We filmed a "viral" video with the US ambassador to France, Denise Bauer, in her official residence in Paris.

    This episode is a behind-the-scenes from the video, plus a general chat about what has been going on here at The Earful Tower.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    • Our YouTube video
    • The fascinating Pamela Harriman
    • Lina's "Scoop du jour" column (read it on Patreon here, Substack here)
    • Le Dali restaurant at Le Meurice

    This season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by the award-winning travel company My Private Paris, which specializes in tours in Paris, day trips outside Paris, and travel itineraries. See what they offer here. This week's fun bonus included a chat about a stunning church in central Paris that never has a queue out the front.

    Get more from The Earful Tower by becoming a Patreon member, or a Substack member, or exploring the official site here.
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    30 mins