Learn French by Podcast

This Advanced lesson (all in French) arises from a recent documentary relating to so-called 'superfoods'. Do humble foods like broccoli and quinoa deserve such an impressive label? Let's hear a conve…

Several listeners have asked about the expression 'quand même'. In fact, it is extremely common in French and has a wide variety of meanings. A minor change in intonation can sometimes alter its mean…

This Advanced lesson focuses on the plight of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, from North Africa to the European mainland, often with disastrous consequences.

"Still Alice", the story of a university professor afflicted with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, won an Oscar for Julianne Moore in the starring role. This film is the focus of our attention in thi…

The attacks on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters raised many questions. How far does freedom of speech go? Can we simply say whatever we like, whenever we wish? Let's hear a conversation, to start...

This second part of our two-part lesson focuses on other skiing activities including 'snowboarding' and, of course, the very important social aspect of a skiing trip. Let's listen.

One of our listeners asked for a lesson that would include skiing-related vocabulary. In this two-part lesson, Bertrand plays the role of an experienced skiier while I'm a beginner. I'll soon be join…

In this lesson, we take a look at some essential tourist vocabulary that just about everybody needs on a holiday to France. Our conversation is a typical one where a family arrives on the terrasse of…

Little did we know when we were preparing this lesson in recent days that the situation in Ukraine would become even more fragile with the shooting down of a civilian airliner. Bertrand gives his vie…

The focus of our lesson this time is something which could be described as a modern-day disorder, afflicting a huge number of people. We're not talking about a physical disorder, per se... more of a …

Our lesson this time focuses on a concert Béatrix attended, a classical concert. Bertrand wonders what makes the difference between a concerto on the one hand and a symphony on the other. Béatrix giv…

Our lesson this time centres around a film called "Dallas Buyers' Club", the story of a Texan cowboy who contracted AIDS at a time when most people had not yet heard of the disease. Let's listen. The…

If ever the term 'great statesman' were relevant, it could surely be attributed to Nelson Mandela. In our conversation this time, Bertrand puts some questions to Béatrix to discover why, exactly, Man…

Just recently, Edward Snowden was living a normal life. Now, however, he is a hunted man with a future that is very uncertain. Once he revealed that U.S. authorities were monitoring the daily communi…

Florida was home to a recent winner of the Powerball jackpot of around 400 million dollars. As always, there was a media frenzy. In this lesson, Lucien and Zara discuss lotteries in general. Zara thi…

Today, several hundred million people around the world are ‘tweeting’. In this lesson, let’s hear a conversation between Bertrand and Amandine. Bertrand is a regular Twitter user, but Amandine is not…

This lesson, which we recorded some time ago, focuses on the situation in Mali. In our role-play, Brendan asks Simone to shed some light on the military intervention of France in one of its former co…

One of our listeners, a doctor working in a French-speaking community in New York, suggested that we devote a lesson to a dialogue between a doctor and a patient. That's the subject of this lesson. T…

More than a few people seem to suffer from the modern-day 'affliction' of almost constant texting. That's the topic of conversation in this lesson. Alain and Thérèse are out for dinner but they have …