Comedy with an Accent

“Your existence is an act of politics” Italian stand up comedian and playright Xhuliano Dule only knows it so well.

Our *third Italian-speaking guest is able to claim dual cultural heritage, as he originally comes from Albania across the Adriatic sea. He arrived in l’Italia as a small child on a speedboat with his parents, similar to many of his compatriots who searched for a better life in the 1990s.

Growing up as an immigrant in a rather consevative and not particularly culturally sensitive land, Xhuliano now jokes about the stereotypes that were once imposed on him. He is now the first immigrant comedian that was featured on major Italian comedy TV programme.

Ahead of his book launch and amidst his comedy tour, Xhuliano did this rare interview in English. This deeply political comedian talks about the curious mix in the eyes of Italian audience, that he is an immigrant background what an accent from the Veneto region - one that is considered the rudest and most racist.

He shares how his jokes and his takes on political satire triggered death threats in his DMs, and this intellectual performer explains his observation of the Italian society, how it reflects in the comedy scene and how he decides on his approach to jokes.

*in this episode, your host Kuan-wen Introduced Xhuliano as the second ever Italian speaker on this podcast. It was a mistake. Previous Italian guests include Luca Cupani and Tiziano la Bella

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Follow Xhuliano on Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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00:55 Intro - what kind of people learn Italian these days?

05:31 Growing up in Italy as an Albanian immigrant kid

06:29 An accent associated with the most racist Italian region

08:19 Albanian stereotypes and the film “Taken” (and some other stereotypes)

10:27 Linguistic diversity in Italy and how the Italian language was “chosen” and how almost no one speaks it

15:35 Not visible Albanian heritage

17:14 The Albanian “Invasion” in the 1990s according to Italian newspapers

20:57 Italy not having the same level of cultural sensitivity as the UK; how this is reflected in representation in stand up comedy and Xhuliano’s more aggressive approach addressing racism

27:05 Racist slang (“maranza”) used naming government legislations in Italy

27:44 What the Italian society really means with label “non-EU citizens” (“Extracomunitario”) to substitue “immigrants”

33:51 Context of a joke that that may seem crass (brave gay men during the AIDS crisis in the 80s)

36:19 In hot water for jokes going viral

40:32 When one’s existence is an act of politics

43:38 Conservatism and religion in Italy and the consequent censorship

46:51 Italian’s conjugation and the rhyming opportunities

48:32 Xhuliano’s social media and upcoming book/tour/comedy special (“Remuntada”)

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/comedywithanaccent/ or email [email protected]

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Our latest focus on distinct accents on the British isles turns to Northwest England. Our guest Kathryn Mather comes from Rochdale, historically part of Lancashire but now part of Greater Manchester. “Likkle girl down in hospical” - have you heard that one before?

Kathryn was crowned winner of Frog and Bucket World Series in 2017 (Manchester’s prestigious comedy club’s new act competition) and was placed third in Leicester Mercury Comedian of the year in 2019. She and your host Kuan-wen started comedy around the same time and did all those dreadful open mics together, as you can tell from their banters they have known each other for a long time. Kathryn shares why she chose to relocate to Southern England - for the weather! What a shocker - and how the same joke based on Northern stereotypes gets reactions for very different reasons in the south or the north of England.

People still mock her accent. When asked who does so? “The southerners!” The conversation ends on the class divide in the UK and how the comedy industry’s take on working class representation still fails to tackle the structural issues. Kathryn explains why she rarely mentions her working class background - for she feels fraudulent, based on the society’s twisted definition of a working class family. Kathryn also explains how the privilege works for performers from a more affluent background and candidly why she wished she’d never started doing comedy.

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Follow Kathryn on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/beforenowafterthen/

Kathryn’s Historical Hot or Not podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcast

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kuanwencomedy/

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00:49 Why can’t English people speak another language most of the time? Kathryn’s self-defence

08:24 Moving down south from northwest England and losing the accent

10:44 Southerners making fun of Kathryn’s accent

12:58 “Likkle Girl down in hospical”; examples of Lancastrian/Mancunian accents

15:36 Is mocking someone’s accent just (acceptable) banters (if between friends)? Are British bantz mean-spirited?

22:21 “It seems like I am the only act without any accent tonight!”

24:05 London centrism and the North (of England) ignored: how accent hierarchy reflects structural regional disparities in the UK

27:40 How Kathryn accounts for her Northern identity when gigging in different parts of the UK

31:32 The bad press Rochdale is somehow known for

33:41 Why Kathryn chooses not to mention her working-class background often? How she sees the portrayal of being Northern and working class on the comedy scene

42:49 Case in question: In what ways is it tougher for a comedian to make it when they don’t have much money or born with certain privileges

47:30 Some more upbeat final message

50:12 Kathryn’s social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

A year end review based on 2025 Spotify Unwrapped and the podcast platform statistics, released on the penultimate day of 2025!

In case you are not a stats nerd on where the podcast is consumed, this monologue episode also includes a brief discussion on the Bennet scale, also called the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. The framework was developed to analyse how people react to cultural differences and can be a useful tool when someone experiences cultural shocks. Your host came across this framework listening to an *international career coaching podcast (in Mandarin) and interprets this framework as a stand up comedian.

Wrapping up this monologue episodes, your host Kuan-wen shares his observations on changes to comedy rooms after a far-right rally in London.

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Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/kuanwencomedy/

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00:32 Intro

03:11 2025 Spotify Unwrapped

07:50 2025 statistics (July to December) from the podcast platform

11:55 Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennet Scale)

14:37 Six intercultural sensitivity stages

20:09 What if the audience is at a different of intercultural sensitivity for a foreign stand up comedian?

22:50 A non comedy example of mutual cultural understandings when it comes to toasting

25:45 Accents v.s. speaking English “wrong”

30:40 Changing political climate/Impact of Tommy Robinson rally in the UK on comedy shows

37:49 Some final encouraging words

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/comedywithanaccent/ or email [email protected]

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Language itself should be a neutral issue; but it never is in the real world. Dimitri Bakanov is a London-based Ukrainian comedian. He is also a native Russian speaker, having lost the full fluency of his Ukrainian when he moved away with his family at the age of 11. When languages are tangled with identity, life throws in a big warfare on top of the existing nationalist tensions, things get complicated.

Dimitri talks about his accent (when he speaks English) that can fool other foreigners but remains nonetheless foreign in the ears of the Brits. Having come to the UK as a young child, he is no longer able to “do” an East European accent naturally. But he would not have even if he could, as explained in this episode.

The fairly anglicised accent of Dimitri’s also reflects a more westernised life style/value system, as he remarks on certain cultural differences between him and some other immigrants from Ukraine. The use of language becomes a more evident issue after the second Russian invasion of in 2022, as his native tongue is considered the language of the aggressor, the use of which is deemed unpatriotic by many of his compatriots.

Dimitri explains in this episode his curious and complex relationship with the land he was born in and left as a child and shares his thoughts why as a comedian, he does not mind having an irreverent persona on stage when talking about the war in Ukraine.

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Follow Dimitri in Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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01:07 Intro

02:39 Anglicised pronunciation of Dimitri’s name

03:50 A Russian-speaking Ukrainian

05:28 An accent that non-native English speakers believe to be British but actual British people know it’s foreign

08:29 Incapable of doing “an East European” accent; timing of learning English

11:07 When native English speakers not knowing their language (eg your vs you’re) and foreign English learners getting too pedantic

14:57 Wouldn’t do a great East European accent even if he could

17:54 How comfortable Dimitri feels claiming the “Ukrainian comedian in the UK” label?

19:04 Cultural differences/clashes with some other Ukrainian immigrants

21:26 Do comedians “have to” explain their accents? Dimitri’s take

26:28 Strong Ukrainian accent when Dimitri speaks Russian

29:16 Impacts of Russian invasion on Dimitri’s comedy career and choices he made on stage

31:26 Not wishing to lecture the western audience the war support

36:15 Divided reactions from Ukrainian audience with the irreverent jokes

37:47 How Media fishes for someone to be on TV in the case of an invasion

39:02 Dimitri’s complex relationship with Ukraine

44:17 Dimitri’s complex relationship with the Ukrainian language

49:55 How the timeline of the Russian invasion is defined in western Media

50:42 Summary and caveats

53:39 Life goes on in Ukraine despite the war

55:52 Dimitri’s social media

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram or email [email protected]

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Is it possible to perform stand up in yet another language (aka not English, not your mother tongue, also less fluent) but relying solely on translating whatever existing materials in English you have? Technically - yes. Though some jokes are simply not translatable. Some can be translated but it would not make sense or would not work. Some might still work but the effect could be heavily discounted. There are your host Kuan-wen own experiences.

The third instalment of your host’s monologue geeks out on foreign languages and comedy again. He summarised a few thoughts from performing at French It Up Comedy Club by accident (Season 2 Episode 26) and dabbling in a few sentences in Italiano at another night called Italian-ish.

The podcast will have a short summer break as your host is bringing another solo show to Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We will be back in autumn and have a nice summer break!

*The mix-up of languages and feeling unsure about the fluency level became even more evident through editing this episode. Your host said “the habitants of London” when in hindsight, it probably would have been more natural to say “the inhabitants of London’. Then he realised it’s because he was jumping back and forth between English and French. In French, they are more used to saying “les habitants”

Also, he is still not sure if it should be “J’ai l’air de lesbienne”, “J’ai l’air lesbienne’ or “J’ai l’air dune lesbienne”?? Any French speaker that can shed some light on this?

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Kuan-wen’s 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show Andrews Are The Worst

(This will be performed in Scotland, where their Patron Saint is St Andrew 😆)

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/kuan-wen-andrews-are-the-worst

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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00:32 Intro - summary of what this monologue episode is about

02:10 Why another monologue episode?

04:19 Discussion on comedy and translation in prior episodes

05:09 English being the comedy language for most guests on this podcast

07:25 Performing in a second foreign language - Your host Kuan-wen’s experience of performing at French It Up Comedy Club

09:39 Kuan-wen’s estimate of his fluency in either language

13:56 Some joke types are not cut out for translation (eg puns)

17:51 Different social norms for the speakers of another language

19:45 Unsure about whether the exact words are used

24:42 A phonetically sounding word may not sound funny anymore in another language

29:00 Less capable of riffing in French on stage

29:57 Jokes written specifically in French

31:55 What would a French native speaker fluent in English prefer?

33:55 Cross-language puns

37:18 Conclusion

41:28 How multiple languages co-exist in one’s brain? Kuan’wen’s own example - the distance between some languages seems to be wider

45:02 Cities where comedy shows in different languages are available

46:45 Latest podcast statistics

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Mike Rice is probably THE guest this podcast has had so far who proved to be the best at impersonations and accent mimicry. During the course of this interview alone, he improvised a South London, a posh West London, a stereotypical Essex woman and a generic American accent. In his comedy routines and comedy special on Youtube, Mike has done a German accent in the context of WWIII jokes and he has also done an Indian accent. Did the last one cross the line? Between Mike’s inclination for dark jokes, there’s a lengthy discussion why it may not have and Mike’s intention with his jokes.

Mike explains the catholic hangover in the Irish parlance and how he went from semi-consciously ditching his Irish accent to pick up an American twang in the USA to embrace his Irishness and appreciate the beauty of how his father talks and what growing on a farm means.

Slightly further from the usual focus on accents, identity of this podcast, Mike accounts for his rebellious teenage years and the depression in his twenties, how he changed his outlook in life and how he balances a creative soul that isn’t afraid of showing vulnerability with an upbringing where he was expected to toughen up.

Mike’s podcast: Mike and Vittorio’s Guide to Parenting

Mike’s special on Youtube: An Irish Disgrace & Nasty Character

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Follow Mike on Instagram

Mike’s 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show

Mike is going on tour starting from November 2025. See his Instagram for tickets

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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01:00 Intro

04:37 People making remarks about the Irish accent

05:23 An accent from rural Ireland and the catholic hangover

09:24 Mike’s family dynamics

11:24 Mike trouble-making teenage years and the school trip to Andorra (Part 1)

13:36 A discussion on using “That’s gay” as a punchline to a joke

17:09 When does a joke go too far? The intention and the context of a joke

19:22 Personality developed to deal with the environment

20:45 On doing accents

25:05 The school trip to Andorra (Part 2)

28:00 Rebellious teenager but also a sensitive soul

31:24 Pain and unhappiness in his 20s

34:50 Mike’s podcast output

35:42 Mike not seen as an outsider despite his accent

38:09 From disliking his Irishness to embracing it; an inferiority complex from not being able to wash away the farm smells

43:54 An advantage to be an Irish act in metropolitan England

45:37 Gigging in continental European cities

46:19 Irish descendants

47:38 Mike’s use of the English language and the books he read

51:19 Mike’s online following and his consistent stage/podcast/real-life persona

53:53 Mike’s social media

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram or email [email protected]

Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language so hard, that it influences and moulds your speech pattern in your native tongue? That you moved to a foreign land to learn that foreign language, consequently your English vocabulary becomes restricted to the more common words, just so people around you could understand?

Such is the story of Spring Day (Comedian, not the weather), a fluent Japanese speaker who lived in Japan for over 16 years and who started learning this language at the age of 13. Spring tells the random nature of her life story how she ended up in Japan, how she became a comedy performer in both Japanese and English in Tokyo, and why she decided to leave after she realised her identity would always be an outsider （外人, gaijin） in Japan

Spring now happily calls London and the UK home. She was featured on Live at the Apollo on TV, one of the highest achievements comedians in the UK can have. In this episode, Spring recounts the tales in Midwestern America where she used to call home and left behind, becoming the minority American who has a passport and travel abroad, and her long and complex, entangled history with the land of Nihon (and all the obscure observations of this island nation that are no longer her comedy materials)

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Follow Spring on Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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01:12 Intro

03:28 Leaving behind her identity as an outsider （外人, gaijin）in Japan

05:14 “Just the right level of passive-aggressiveness” in the UK - compared to Japan and the US

07:58 Do American comedians have an “accent” for British audiences?

09:08 Spring’s aversion to American centralism

12:22 Immigrants? Expats?

14:02 How fluent is Spring in Japanese now?

16:05 A mid-western American accent influenced by Japanese and British expats

18:56 Why Spring moved to Japan and started performing comedy in Tokyo?

21:18 Spring’s accent when speaking Japanese

23:39 The foreign loaned words in Japanese making it harder for English speakers

26:56 Performing stand up in Japanese and why some of Spring’s jokes couldn’t translate

29:50 How Spring’s time in Japan shaped her stand up and her speech pattern

31:41 Onomatopoeia （オノマトペ） in Japanese

34:24 All the dark sadness and tragedy in Japanese Rakugo（落語, “fallen words”）, folk music and literature

35:58 The tales of two Kansas Cities in Kansas and in Missouri

37:49 Spring’s Mid-western accent

39:36 A stage character of a rural American?

41:57 Living on the same street with serial killers

43:59 Caricatures/characters of rural Americans

47:06 Some of Spring’d weird experiences in Japan that became her comedy materials

50:47 Transition to the UK and finding out who she is outside Japan

53:10 London is now home

55:04 Spring’s social media

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram or email [email protected]

Martin Durchov has never done any podcast interview - not until this episode popped his podcast cherry. You can find his Instagram profile, but be warned there’s not a single comedy-related content on it.

The Bulgarian native is one giggly and happy chap, described by your host Kuan-wen as a very “settled” immigrant in the UK. Even his accent mellowed over the years he stays in the UK - a fun fact your host found out when he checked Martin’s stand up clips in preparation of the interview and noticed the accent shift pre- and post- Covid.

Martin talks about the wider “East European” brand, how Bulgaria often gets lumped together with its neighbour Romania, what national stereotypes he incorporated into his comedy routines and how he gradually edit down the percentage of jokes based on his nationality. He learned early on that it is better as a performer to address the obvious, for him that is the accent and the hairs on his arms.

For listeners who are gigging comedians, Martin also shares why he Is not set on pursuing the comedy career progression even though he had a very promising start pre-pandemic (winning the Comedy Store gong show, getting into the final of So You Think You Are Funny and getting paid work within a year or two)

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You can find Martin on Instagram, but there might not be any comedy-related content there….

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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01:10 Intro

04:14 Citing his accent and foreignness as the opening joke but unaware of the accent at the start

08:19 “It’s good to mention obvious things”

11:43 Bulgarian stereotypes as an East European country and why it tends to be bundled with Romania

19:45 Bulgaria Searches For Talent

23:29 Getting requests to do certain jokes

24:42 Between jokes and portraying your own country’s image

27:00 A gentler and silly stage persona

30:58 Martin’s accent mellowed over the years

32:22 Not pursuing comedy career progression and not into the social media game

37:14 On being the face of one’s own small country

41:36 Foreignness does not weigh much on Martin’s mind

44:04 Without hearing Martin accent, others not able to work out where he’s from

45:28 Not having too many connections with Bulgaria in the UK

49:06 Martin’s (non-)used social media

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If you like the episode, please share it and leave a review. For any comments or suggestions, please contact us on Instagram or email [email protected]

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

Shalaka is a self-proclaimed nerd with a PHD in trains whilst loading herself with Millennial angst. Those are supposed to be the most interesting and unique things about her. However, just because she’s from India, the audiences in the UK expect her to talk about being Indian or South Asian.

In this episode, Shalaka eloquently explains her own code switching, detailing her accent automatically adjusts based on the people she talks. This is the result of a racist “friend” at Uni constantly mocking her accent for years. As a first generation immigrant, she is also surprised by the gap between how the British Indians’ idea of India and the India she knows from growing up in Bangalore.

Her ethnicity becomes an easy target for the sometimes lazy opponents during Comedy Roast Battles, which only serves Shalaka as she excels in this specific format of comedy shows (UK Roast Battle Champion and International Roast Battle MVP).

You can catch Shalaka at the following work-in-progress shows:

May 24th - The Boathouse, Cambridge Fringe (tickets)

June 6th - Canal Café, Chichester Fringe (tickets)

*Your host Kuan-wen referenced Ronny Chieng's bit on The Daily Show, the idea being "Indians are not Asians (in America)" It was a topical line when Rishi Sunak became the UK's first Prime Minister of Indian heritage. See the clip here.

Another reference is to Russell Peters. We cannot find the exact clip but there is a similar clip of crowd interaction from Russell Peters mocking a Taiwanese American (or maybe Canadian) for having an Anglicised name. See the clip here.

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Follow Shalaka on Instagram

Follow your host Kuan-wen on Instagram

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01:00 Intro

03:25 Not insisting on the correct pronunciation for her name

04:30 Hilarious caption typo in Shabaka’s Comedy Central clip

05:55 Code switching - Shabaka’s accent changes depending on who she talks to

09:48 What do people (in the UK) mean when they say “Asian”?

11:29 Shalaka’s different way of speaking at South Asian gigs

12:46 An idea of India frozen in time

17:03 Attitude towards women also frozen in time

21:28 People’s view on India from British Indians vs from Indians

25:30 Clownery of your own culture in front of audience that are not South Asian

27:33 Shalaka’s light Indian accent is the result of befriending someone racist to her

32:05 More self-reflection on her accent

34:18 Minority comedians mimicking an accent that is not genuinely theirs

39:58 How Schlaka’s ethnicity is used as attack lines during Roast Battle matches

42:04 White racism not as hurtful as Indian to Indian racism

45:34 Not focusing on being the Indian comic; not pandering

50:33 Shalaka’s own memory of India also has a gap with India today

55:31 Shalaka’s social media

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Podcast intro music by @Taigenkawabe

This bonus episode (90% in French and the remainder in English) was recorded as part of the conversation with French It Up Comedy Club founder Jeff Vitale, the majority of which was released as season 2 episode 26 in the previous week.

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Cet épisode bonus est un extrait de l’entretien publié la semaine dernière avec Jeff Vitale, fondateur de “French It Up” comedy club, où les spectacles se font en français même si le club se trouve à Londres. Pendant un quart d’heure, votre animateur et son invité Jeff ont discuté la dynamique entre les langues, la géopolitique et les identities culturelles lorsqu'une langue est partagée par plusieurs pays. Ils ont aussi parlé de faire la thérapie en anglais au lieu de français.

L’entretien original a été mené principalement en anglais (l’épisode précédent) sauf un quart d'heure vers la fin. Cet épisode bonus permet aux auditeurs francophones de mieux comprendre notre invité dans sa langue maternelle (malgré la maîtrise limitée de la langue française de l’animateur).

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A proper separate episode in French was originally planned, but your host had to concede he's just not that fluent in French to conduct a whole interview. 😅. The short segment in French is therefore released as a bijou bonus episode for the French speaking listeners (which we are not even sure there are that many!)

Regular English episodes will resume next Tuesday on May 6th, 2025.