The New Paris Podcast

If you were to walk the streets of Paris today, you’d see about 7,000 tons of garbage piling up on sidewalks. The stench after a week of no garbage collection is, you might say, ungodly. Some residents have seen an uptick in rat socialising. And according to reports, this could go on until at least next Monday March 20th. This trash assault is the result of strikes in response to the Macron government’s pension reform plans which lawmakers are debating and voting on this very week. In this short episode, I provide some context for the reforms, how the population at large perceives the proposed changes, and what the strikes have meant for residents (naturally, my opinion is thrown into the mix!). Links below for further reading:  City of ... Garbage? Paris, amid strikes, is drowning in trash.Macron's Pension Reform Passes the Senate. Now what? Video of the scene from my friend Jay Swanson The New Paris Dispatch newsletter Thanks to Matthew Jordan for technical production and editing on this episode!

If I think about some of the women that have defined Parisian and French history, I instantly think of Marie Antoinette. The long maligned figure of French royalty and one of many unfortunate symbols of the French Revolution, the former queen has rarely been painted in a positive light. But what if that is an incomplete story? What if new scholarship points to a more nuanced picture of Marie Antoinette and the empresses that followed in her footsteps? That’s part of what today’s guest uncovered in her new book "Marie Antoinette’s Legacy: The Politics of French Garden Patronage and Picturesque Design". Dr. Susan Taylor Leduc, an art historian, previous guest, fellow guide who runs Picturesque Voyages, joins me today to talk about the world’s obsession with Marie Antoinette, her role within the royal court, what pop culture has gotten wrong about her, and the parallels with depictions of Parisian women today. Mentioned in this episode: Susan Taylor Leduc and Picturesque Voyages Susan's book "Marie Antoinette's Legacy" Episode 83, a previous conversation with Susan Taylor LeducSofia Coppola's film "Marie Antoinette" The BBC series Marie Antoinette reviewed by The Guardian  Thanks to Matthew Jordan for technical production and editing on this episode!

If you were to scan a Parisian city block, you’ll land on at least one caviste or wine seller. But while there are a lot of them, they’re not all created equal. Alison Eastaway, an Australian who has lived in Paris for 12 years and today’s guest, saw an opportunity to offer something different. She left her last career in tech to start Cavewoman Wines, a wine store and tasting room in the 11th arrondissement which opened last July. On today’s show, We talk about nonlinear career paths, the impetus for opening Cavewoman wines and some of her favorite producers. Mentioned in this episode:  Cavewoman Wines La French Tech Domaine Bel Avenir: Cécile and Laura Dardenelli in Beaujolais Aurélie Tailless "La Fille des Vignes" in Côtes du Rhône Vins et Volailles and Justine Vigne (wine name is Self Love)

I wasn’t going to publish another episode this year but then the World Cup Final happened, and President Macron went cringe and inspired a whole new conversation I simply had to have before the new year. There’s no better person to discuss Macron with than Rym Momtaz, the former France Correspondent for Politico who spent years reporting on the Macron administration and currently a consulting research fellow on European Foreign Policy and Security with the IISS. We dig into what happened, whether sports are necessarily political, and what challenges lays ahead for the French president in the coming year. Mentioned in this Episode: Rym Momtaz  Macron's Cringe Behavior at the World Cup Final Rym’s work for Politico IISS organization 

Of all the incredible foods in Paris, which do you think gets consumed the most? If your instincts led you to say pizza you’d be correct. By some estimates, the French as a whole are the world’s second biggest consumers of pizza after the United States. As the capital, Paris is understandably swarming with pizza joints, some enjoyable and well done, but most of them forgettable. That is, until Dan Pearson, an American sourdough baker, came along and showed pizza lovers how good it really can be. Since the fall, he’s been leading the temporary pizza restaurant at Le Rigmarole, owned by the chefs Robert Compagnon and Jessica Yang, and becoming something of the culinary talk of the town. He joins me for this final episode of 2022 to talk about his journey into baking, what makes sourdough the perfect match for pizza, and how he feels about inspiring a new obsession among the most discerning diners in Paris. Mentioned in this episode:  Le Rigmarole Dan Pearson Mark Bittman's sourdough bread recipe and video  Panic bakery Madrid  Ten Belles Bread Population wheat

It started with gâteau and continues with, well, more cake. And pastry, and Chocolate! For part two of my focus on sweets, I’m joined once again but an old friend of the show whose first book, Sweet Paris, was released earlier this year. My conversation with Frank Adrian Barron took place in my apartment so you’ll have to excuse any wood-floor echos and cat meows. Mentioned in this episode:  Cakeboy Paris Instagram Cakeboy Paris website  "Sweet Paris" the book Maxime Frédéric at Cheval Blanc Paris  Mori Yoshida Cédric Grolet Pierre Hermé Alain Ducasse chocolateMagnolia Bakery  The Hood Paris (for Kaya and Pandan cake)

t’s that time of year: gift giving, baking, holiday planning. Which means it couldn’t hurt to draw your attention to France for some inspiration. This will be a two-part episode all about sweets featuring two authors whose books you absolutely should be picking up for yourself or offering as gifts. To start, I’m joined today by Aleksandra Crapanzano a James Beard–winning writer and longtime dessert columnist for The Wall Street Journal and most recently the author of Gâteau, The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes. The book includes more than 100 recipes of classic and regional cakes fit for the home baker. Our discussion tackles her enduring connection to France, the baked goods she tried in Paris most recently, and why there’s no reason to feel intimidated when baking the French way. Mentioned in this episode: Gâteau: buy the book! Aleksandra's WSJ dessert column Christophe Michalak pastry Ritz Paris Le Comptoir // François Perret Cédric Grolet pastry 

Turn on the nightly news, listen to the radio, or speak with most Europeans these days and the topic on heavy rotation is the energy crisis. This is partly an outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war as Moscow has suspended natural gas supplies in response to economic sanctions imposed by the West. As reported by Fortune magazine recently, the invasion of Ukraine started just after European nations decided to rapidly shift to clean energy and shutter nuclear power plants, which left them vulnerable to an inflationary shock when Russia cut off gas supplies this year. European governments are trying to diversify supplies and introduce measures to reduce demand and save energy. In France, we’ve experienced fuel shortages and high gas prices across France since September and have been told by government leaders to do what we can to reduce our own energy consumption.  To go deeper on the crisis, how the EU is handling the situation and what needs to happen to prevent further trouble for citizens, I am joined by Laurent Schmitt. Laurent is the head of utilities and European Developments for Dcbel, a renewable energy technology company and has also spent years working for the association of European Transmission System Operators and on grid innovation.  Mentioned in this story: Decibel Laurent Schmitt A winter of pain ahead for Europe France sends Germany gas for first time amid Russia energy crisis Turtle necks are the solution, says France France threw money at its energy crisis, but people are still angry

One of the incredible aspects of living in Europe is the access to rich bread and baking traditions. They may vary between France, Poland, Germany, and Portugal, let’s say, but what they share is the ongoing movement to protect them. It’s also the theme of the new cookbook by my fellow American friend based in Berlin, Laurel Krotochvila, owner of Fine Bagels. The book, New European Baking, was the subject of our conversation that took place at The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore on October 6th. This episode is therefore the recording of that interview. It also features a discussion with Xavier Netry, the head bread baker at the beloved Parisian bakery Utopie, who is profiled in Laurel’s book. That conversation was in French but I summarize the message at the end of the episode. Enjoy! Thank you to Jay Swanson for facilitating the recording of this episode. Mentioned in this episode: Buy the book  Fine Bagels Shakespeare & Sons (not & Co!) bookstore Le Balto Bar Utopie Paris 

2022 will be forever be etched in my mind as the year travel and tourism rebounded from the pandemic in a massive way. Essentially, since June 1 or whenever the remaining travel restrictions lifted,  visitors haven’t stopped trickling into the city. I also know this from experiencing a major uptick in requests for my own tour. Now that we’re into the fall and peak travel season is behind us, I wanted to sit down with someone who has spent the last decade of his career in tourism and has built something new during the pandemic. A year ago, Simon Burke launched Txango Tours, a business that takes visitors through Paris and beyond on a sidecar. I’m all for seeing the city in unique and unexpected ways so let’s hear from Simon!  Mentioned in this episode:  Txango Tours Fat Tire Bike Tours Video of Txango Tours in action Americans flocking to Europe