Garage Monologues: Season 4, A Season of Transition
Episode 1: Creating a Comedy Show in French (ft. Tamer Kattan)

Welcome back to Season 4 of Garage Monologues. After a brief hiatus, the podcast returns, and we're trying something new: instead of standalone episodes, this entire season follows three friends through major life transitions in real time.

All of it takes place in Paris, tracking the parallel journeys of three people making bold changes: Tamer, an established American comedian starting over from scratch to build an entirely new stand-up show in French; Paul, a comedian who just wrapped his world comedy tour and is now taking on a very different kind of tour: training to run all six World Marathon Majors in the year he turns 40; and Jane, a former banker turned cooking school founder, now launching a new tech venture at Station F. Of course, we'll be following Jay's journey as he continues to embark on his new projects. 

In this premiere episode (the last one recorded in Jay's current apartment setup) Tamer Kattan joins Jay Swanson to talk about his path from New York to Berlin to Paris.

Where to Listen, Follow, and Subscribe:

• Listen & Subscribe: Hit follow/subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you don't miss an episode as we follow these transitions across the season.
• Find Garage Monologues:
  • Instagram: @garagemonologues
  • TikTok:@garage.monologues
  • Facebook: @GarageMonologues
  • YouTube: @garagemonologues
  • Website: www.garagemonologues.com
• Find Jay Swanson:
  • Instagram: @jayswanson
  • TikTok: @jay.swanson
  • YouTube: @jayswanson
  • Facebook: @jay.swanson.paris
  • Website: www.jayswanson.me
• Find Tamer Kattan:
  • Instagram: @tamerkat and @tamerkattanenfrancais
  • Website: www.tamerkattan.com

Paris in My Pocket: Planning a trip to Paris? Check out our travel recommendations at www.parismypocket.com.

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• Upgrade to Guide Plus for curated itineraries, including routes for book lovers and single-day walks through Le Marais and Montmartre.

Host: Jay Swanson
Production assistance: Mollie Laylin and Emily Guernsey
Editing: Joshua Guernsey

I may have given a TEDx Talk last weekend, and it might never see the light of day...

Although we CAN fix that.

Thanks for all your support in making this show! To support my creative projects of all stripes (but mostly YouTube videos) be sure to jump in with us over at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

In this long-overdue episode, my dad has to try mystery cheese from the grocery store because no one has the missing cheeses from my list (and the rest are closed). It's been one of those weeks 😂

Thanks for all your support in making this show! To support my creative projects of all stripes (but mostly YouTube videos) be sure to jump in with us over at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

Sunshine on Cooper is definitely high on this list, but in this episode I talk about a handful of practical things I've been doing to affect my mood, improve my days, and help me get out of the rut that I fell into for a few weeks there. I hope they're helpful =)

Thanks for all your support in making this show! To support my creative projects of all stripes (but mostly YouTube videos) be sure to jump in with us over at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

They can't all be highs, but what do you do when your best weeks somehow feel like the worst? I hit some real walls this last month, especially in the last couple of weeks, and I haven't had a good chance to share about why. At the same time, there are so many great things happening and so much to be grateful for. Life is downright confusing sometimes.

For me it serves as a good reminder that life is hard, no matter who you are. If nothing else, I hope that it sharpens my empathy for those around me. AND, spoiler alert, as usual, Garage Monologuing about it all helped feel me quite a bit better. So thanks for listening!

Thanks for all your support in making this show! To support my creative projects of all stripes (but mostly YouTube videos) be sure to jump in with us over at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

I've known Mark Shrime for almost 13 years. He's a surgeon, author, and American Ninja Warrior. Grab a copy of his book here: https://amzn.to/3n5Ijn3 And enjoy our conversation as we dive into the struggles of impostor syndrome, living abroad, and doing our best to share what we love with the people we love.

The cheese list, for those who'd like to try and follow along:

• Brie de Melun
• Cancoillotte
• Chabichou du Poitou
• Emmental français est-central
• Gruyère
• Mâconnais
• Pélardon
• Picodon
• Raclette de Savoie
• Rocamadour
• Tome des Bauges [fr]
• Trou du Cru

Thanks for all your support in making this show! To support my creative projects of all stripes (but mostly YouTube videos) be sure to jump in with us over at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

Puxan sits down to try some delicious cheese with me, wax lyrical on what it means to be French, and discuss our place in the world. Enjoy!
https://instagram.com/puxanphoto for all his photographic skills
And thank you so much for listening! You can support the show and get future episodes in real time at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

I've got good news! Fresh off the presses (or out of the post, rather). The Road to Citizenship continues, as do updates around the 2023 guide and coming of the app. Thanks for listening! You can support the show and all my work by becoming a Patron at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

Matt Jordan is a great friend I've had the pleasure of knowing for the last few years, with whom I just returned from a five day trip to Lapland (Finland) with a group of ten friends to celebrate his birthday. We had a blast, and our conversation about Matt's road to French citizenship led us to the importance of friendship, the challenges of making them (particularly in France), and the ways in which we might suggest anyone struggling to make friends abroad go about it.

Check out Matt's latest project and get your trivia on with Learn to Quiz over on Instagram: https://instagram.com/learntoquiz and be sure to let him know who sent ya ;D

Thanks as always for listening! You can support my channel and be a part of this journey towards Frenchness by becoming a Patron at https://patreon.com/jayswanson

Here are the cheeses we tried and the order we tried them in. Emily got them from a seasonal shop, so there was no goat cheese (apparently goat is highly seasonal?) but there are a lot of classics in here. Enjoy!

• Beaufort d'Ete
• Emmental de Savoie
• Cantal fermier affine
• Bleu du Vercours-Sassenage
• Morbier
• Lagulole reserve
• Livarot
• Reblouchon fermier
• Chaource
• Fourme d'Ambert
• Saint-Nectaire fermier
• Munster

This is the week I get my citizenship application in, if all goes well, and there's a lot of momentum building behind the Paris app too! Keep your eyes and ears peeled for early access to the app, hopefully in the next few months (Spring 2023) and cross your fingers that my application is accepted by the French government without too much hassle =D

Support the show and all my work at https://patreon.com/jayswanson