Best of World Radio Paris (WRP)

You believe physical media is useless in 2026? Think again! In this World Radio Paris Presents episode, host Tarek Diouri–Adequin visits JM Video, a video store located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris that attests to the importance of DVDs in our current day and age. Tarek catches up with Theo Bancilhon, manager of the JM Video store to talk about the importance of having a place to connect people worldwide to their passion: movies. Theo also shares some of his favorite anecdotes from working in this old-school shop which often welcomes iconic movie directors and actors!

In this episode of Turning Points, Patricia Killeen welcomes Lieutenant Colonel Dan Harvey,

Commandant Leo Quinlan and well-known podcaster Marty O’Connor to World Radio Paris.

Dan Harvey, a Cork native, retired from the Irish Defence Forces in 2017 after 40 years of

service, including operations in Ireland during ‘the Troubles’ and numerous overseas

peacekeeping missions. He lived in Paris between 2007 and 2009 while working at the Mont

Valérien military site in Suresnes. He also enjoyed a long-term residency at the Centre

Culturel Irlandais, Paris, between September 2018 and September 2020, during which time

he wrote five books.

Jadotville: Benchmark for Bravery is his seventeenth book.

Joining the conversation, Leo Quinlan, son of Colonel Pat Quinlan, who commanded the

Irish troops during the 1961 Siege of Jadotville. A retired Irish Army Commandant, Leo was

just 16 at the time of the siege and has since become a dedicated advocate for the

recognition of his father's men.

Marty O’Connor, son of Jadotville veteran Corporal Tom O’Connor, also joined the

conversation. A podcaster, writer and advocate for those affected by ‘moral injury’, Marty is

the author of the forthcoming They Sent the Wrong Man Home.

Together, these three men share a common mission: to ensure that the courage, sacrifice

and extraordinary story of the Jadotville soldiers is recognized and that their bravery be

known and never forgotten.

Reblochon: The Cheese Born From Tax Evasion. Reblochon is a soft, washed-rind cheese from the French Alps with a nutty, hazelnut character and a bark bolder than its bite — but its real story starts with a medieval tax dodge. In the fourteenth century, farmers in the Thônes valley deliberately under-milked their cows when the landlord's rent collector came to measure the yield, then finished milking in secret once he'd left. That richer, hidden "second milking" — reblocher in the local dialect — became the cheese we know today.

This episode traces Reblochon from that act of quiet rebellion through its life as fromage de dévotion, given to Carthusian monks in exchange for blessings, to its 1958 AOC and the ongoing fight to protect it — including a 2023 acquisition by France's largest dairy group that has smaller producers watching closely. We break down the two legally protected types, fermier and laitier, why the green dot matters, and why the American market has been almost entirely cut off from real Reblochon since 2004.

We also get into the practical side: the three alpine cow breeds behind it, why the summer alpage cheese is considered the finest expression of the style, and how to serve, store, and eat it properly — including why cold Reblochon is a shadow of what it should be. And yes, we talk tartiflette, including the inconvenient truth about when it was actually invented.

In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, host Cecile Liconnet is joined by Melanie Morcom, a corporate event planner from London turned owner of a health and wellness coaching studio in the South of France.

Mel tells Cecile about the situations that led to her move to France, the difficulties that came with establishing her studio in a foreign country and a moment that marked her relocating journey.

For more than two centuries, a rumour has clung to this monument that inside the body of Henri IV, sealed in the hollow of the bronze, there’s something that doesn’t belong to him at all. A secret hidden during the Restoration, a political joke, or maybe an act of quiet revenge. Find out once and for all in this episode.

The episode explores Jade Genin's path to carving out her own identity separately from her famous father, Jacques Genin. They discuss what she does differently at her shop on Avenue de l'Opéra, how she sources her beans, flavor selections, the challenges of running a boutique, and ethical questions surrounding the production and pricing of craft chocolate.

Life on the French Riviera is often seen as the ultimate dream. But behind the sunshine and glamour lies the challenge of building a sustainable life. The Living the Dream podcast, hosted by Cecile Liconnet, shares the bold and authentic stories of women who have made the move, navigating work, reinvention, and cultural shifts while creating new lives by the sea and sun.

Here are few of the cultural recommendations broadcast this month on WRP. Hope you find them useful !

In this episode of Turning Points, Patricia Killeen welcomed Franco-Irish soprano Fiona

Fauchois. Fiona began her musical training as a pianist in Paris while studying art history at

the École du Louvre, before studying voice with Frédéric Gindraux at the Haute École de

Musique de Lausanne.

Her repertoire ranges from early music to contemporary works, including Stravinsky,

Schoenberg and Gérard Pesson. In 2024, she sang Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene

Onegin. That year she was also awarded ‘Best Contemporary Performance’ at the

Kattenburg Competition.

Fiona often creates performances combining different art forms. Her production Sorelle,

inspired by the paintings of Artemisia Gentileschi and music by pioneering female

composers, won first prize in the Osez! creation competition.

She regularly performs with pianist Nataliya Nikolskaya, with whom she explores twentieth-

century art songs for voice and piano.

Having recently completed her voice studies in Lausanne, Fiona has returned to Paris and

will also go to Dublin in November to perform in Carmen with the Irish National Opera.

On 21 September, Fiona and Nataliya will perform Uisce – A Tale of Salt and Wood at the

Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI), Paris 75005, at an event organised by the Cercle Littéraire

Irlandais.

Created by Fiona, the performance combines songs by Samuel Barber and Benjamin Britten

with spoken words from writer Kathleen Handrick’s fictional piece, Michael Rogers,

Seanchaí: Monologue. Rogers was a seanchaí (storyteller) interned at Frongoch in 1916.

As a musical prelude, flautist Ilona Csibi-Lockhart, formerly of the Royal Irish Academy of

Music and Trinity College Dublin, will play a very innovative rendition of The Foggy Dew,

bringing us back to the Easter Rising.

Uisce – A Tale of Salt and Wood, 21 September at 19:00 in the Chapelle Saint-Patrick, (CCI)

is a free event. Register on this link to attend:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/uisce-a-tale-of-salt-and-wood-tickets-

1999165844858?aff=oddtdtcreator

Photo credit : Romane Carbonnel

This week on Where to Go Out in Paris, Ma! Le Bouillon Chic Italien takes the spotlight: A stylish Italian twist on the traditional Parisian bouillon, serving generous and comforting Italian dishes in a lively yet elegant atmosphere. Perfect for relaxed dinners, sharing plates with friends, or enjoying classic flavours with a modern Parisian touch — just steps from Richelieu–Drouot.