Episodes

  • Interior design: How to add Paris flair to your home
    Oct 13 2025
    This week on the show it's Cléophée Poli - aka Cléo - a Parisienne interior designer. She talks about typical Paris apartments and what she likes about them, how you can make your home more Parisian, and the small touches to improve the feeling of any home. And of course, we talk about a lot more. Follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cleointeriordesign/ Explore her website here: https://www.cleointeriordesign.com

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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    33 mins
  • We're making a new children's book: Here's how we do it
    Sep 29 2025
    We're making our fifth children's book, and it's the most Parisian one yet. In fact, there are some major changes to this one, so we decided to open the curtain and show you how we do them. Lina talks about her illustrating process and I talk about how I wrote this one - and why I changed the whole style. You can find our other four children's books in all the Anglophone bookshops of Paris, but also in le Peloton cafe, the Ile Aux Fees boutique, the Bon Marché department store, and Messy Nessy's cabinet of curiosities. Also the Louvre museum and the musée d'Orsay.

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson, an original called Walk a Giraffe.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

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    26 mins
  • Bistros to boulevards: How Paris was shaped by its World Fairs
    Sep 22 2025

    Meet Charles Pappas - Mr World Fair. Charles likes nothing more in the world than a Universal Exhibition, especially if it's one of the seven that were hosted in Paris. In fact, he's written the book on the topic.

    I met him on a road-side terrace at Harvest cafe in the 11th arrondissement to talk Paris, Haussmann, coffee, and of course, World Fairs.

    His new book is: Nobody Sits Like the French: Exploring Paris Through Its World Expos, a historical guidebook on how these World Expos, held between 1855-1937, transformed the city of Paris forever.

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    33 mins
  • My love letter to the Parisian food markets
    Sep 15 2025

    After an eventful visit to the Aligre markets in the 12th arrondissement, I came home to share my love of the French food markets with my wife Lina.

    Here's an energetic, honest, and in-the-moment recount of what happened when I went shopping for dinner ingredients.

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson, his take on the classic Sous le ciel de Paris.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    20 mins
  • Meet the woman behind the top cooking classes in Paris
    Sep 2 2025

    Meet Jane Bertch, a Chicagoan who has called Paris home since 2005. She started her life here as a banker, but made the unusual pivot to running a cooking class (which is now the hugely popular La Cuisine Paris). And now, she has written a memoir about it all: The French Ingredient.

    She joined me in the studio to talk about the book, how to make a croissant, and even how to make a croissant class (plus a whole lot more).

    • Follow La Cuisine on Instagram and follow Jane herself here.

    • Book a cooking class at La Cuisine in Paris
    • And follow the La Cuisine newsletter

    • And of course, find the book: The French Ingredient

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson, his take on the classic Sous le ciel de Paris.

    ***********

    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    31 mins
  • New Paris museum to open in iconic setting
    Aug 25 2025

    This summer, the city of Paris announced plans to open a museum to showcase the work of architect Hector Guimard. He is the man behind the iconic Paris Metro entrances, several Art Nouveau buildings in Paris, and some very beautiful furniture and decorations in museum displays around the world.

    And better still: The museum will be housed in one of the very few buildings remaining in Paris that Guimard designed himself (The Hotel Mezzara in the 16th arrondissement).

    I've been a fan of Guimard and Art Nouveau for years, so let's take a deeper dive into the topic in general, with the help of this 2023 episode.

    What is Art Nouveau? Who was Guimard, really, and why was his work so important? Where can you find it in Paris? And what's his legacy?

    All those questions are answered in this episode, with help from tour guide Boris Petrovic from Paris in Person (find his Art Nouveau tour here) and from Paris head auctioneer Christophe Lucien.

    Do you like this podcast? Become a Patreon member of The Earful Tower here to support this show and get extras.

    The music in this episode is from Pres Maxson.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    27 mins
  • I swam in the Seine: Here's what happened
    Aug 18 2025

    I jumped in the Seine river - an activity that's legal again for the first time in 100 years. Here's what happened.

    Want to do it too? You have until August 31st, here's more info (in English).

    Music: Sunset on the Seine, an original by Pres Maxson.

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    17 mins
  • So THIS is the most popular street in Paris (Part Two)
    Aug 11 2025

    So what is the best-known street in Paris? And if that seems obvious, then what's number two? And three?

    After last week's pod with Parisians Abiola and Margaux sharing their take on popular Paris streets, we surveyed our audience for an official answer.

    Here it is, presented by Oliver and Lina. Thanks to all who participated. Read some more of the comments here on Substack.

    Fitting music this week, again, is from Pres Maxson.

    Thanks

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    The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its 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 takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent.

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

    Website

    Weekly newsletter

    Walking Tours

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    28 mins