Author Cara Black is back on the podcast!

She is a friend of the show, and has been appearing on it since 2019! 

We chat about writing mysteries set in Paris (she has penned over 20 of them), we talk about her upcoming book (which you can pre-order below), and we talk about Paris, of course. 

Helpful links for Cara:

• Cara Black's official site: https://carablack.com/
• Cara Black's Susbtack: https://carablack.substack.com/
• Preorder her book Huguette here: https://www.amazon.fr/Huguette-Cara-Black/dp/1641294493

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The Earful Everywhere podcast (currently in Italy): https://theearfultower.com/2025/05/15/lets-explore-italy-with-the-earful-everywhere/
• Our walking tours of Paris: http://www.theearfultower.com/tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

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The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris. 

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent. 

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website 

Weekly newsletter 

This week on the podcast, it's The Earful's two new interns Thomas Farnham and Genevieve Victoria Gorain. They share their bucket lists for Paris for their two-month stay in Paris. 

I found it quite interesting to hear the perspectives of American university students on the City of Light, not least because my typical guests are a bit older. 

We'll check back in on them in a couple months to see how they fared. 

Here's the post with all ten ideas they mentioned in the episode. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The Earful Everywhere podcast (currently in Italy): https://theearfultower.substack.com/p/its-here-the-official-launch-of-the
• Our walking tours of Paris: http://www.theearfultower.com/tours

Music by Pres Maxson.

***********

The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris. 

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent. 

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website 

Weekly newsletter 

This week on the podcast, I invite my three-year-old son Otis to talk about language. He has been doing a stellar job learning English, French, and Swedish at the same time, and I was curious to pick his brain about it.

You'll hear him tell me how I'm no good at rolling my Rs in French, why he speaks Swedish with his mother, and what he thought about Italy. Well... I mean... he's three years old, so he doesn't really get too deep into anything, but it's still a fascinating conversation for anyone interested in language, the human brain, and international life for families with young children.

This episode is a follow-up to an episode from over a year ago in Season 15, Episode 9 called "How we're raising a trilingual child in Paris". That was my wife Lina and I discussing the same topic. But now it was Otis's chance to take the mic for the first time. 

Also mentioned in this episode:

• The Earful Everywhere podcast (currently in Italy): https://theearfultower.substack.com/p/its-here-the-official-launch-of-the
• Our walking tours of Paris: http://www.theearfultower.com/tours

Music by Pres Maxson, his take on Douce France.

***********

The Earful Tower exists thanks to support from its members. From $10 a month you can unlock almost endless extras including bonus podcast episodes, live video replays, special event invites, and our annually updated PDF guide to Paris. 

Membership takes only a minute to set up on Patreon, or Substack. Thank you for keeping this channel independent. 

For more from the Earful Tower, here are some handy links:

Website 

Weekly newsletter 

Let's go deep on the Notre Dame cathedral.

Our guest: Boris Petrovic, who has just published a series of historical essays on Notre Dame. 

His books are a series of seven, which you can buy one by one or in a heavyweight tome, all the information is here. 

You can also book Boris for a walking tour of Notre Dame here.  

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here or a Substack member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

Music: Pres Maxson.

For this season finale, we’re on a private boat on the Seine River with Marie and Bertrand from My Private Paris.

They explain how best to plan a visit to the big five, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Musee d’Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, and the Seine. 

My Private Paris is a local deluxe agency, crafting itineraries for tours in Paris and beyond. See what they offer here. They've been the sponsor for this podcast all season!

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

Music: Pres Maxson.

We're nearing the end of this podcast season, so here is a look behind the curtain at five exciting things that have happened... and that are about to happen. 

This whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

This week we talk about fun workshops in Paris that we've done recently, specifically stone carving and hat making. The guest: Lina Nordin Gee. 

The details: Stonemasonry classes are with last week's guest Grégory Philippe in his atelier in the Marais. If you want to find his studio and book one of his stone-carving sessions, you can find it online here (Address: 12 Rue du Prévôt, 75004).

For the hatmaking, seek out MiniMe Land (Address: 25 R. de Turbigo, 75002 Paris)

At the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris is in the studio discussing how best to visit Giverny and Auvers-sur-Oise, once home to Monet and Van Gogh, respectively.

In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

This week we chat to stonemason Grégory Philippe in his atelier in the Marais. He reveals the world of limestone, the most important stone in the city.

If you want to find his studio and book one of his stone-carving sessions, you can find it in the heart of the Marais or online here (Address: 12 Rue du Prévôt, 75004).

At the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris is in the studio discussing how best to visit her favourite Paris flea market, the Saint Ouen. 

In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

Let's take a closer look at the Père Lachaise cemetery of Paris, the most visited necropolis on earth. 

All kinds of famous and interesting people are buried here including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde… and about a million more. Some 3.5 million people check it out annually.

In this episode you'll hear from author Joe Start, who wrote a book on Père Lachaise called The Chairfather - a literal translation of the cemetery’s French name. This part of the episode is taken from the Earful archives.

Joe visited the tombstones countless times to research the book and interview the dead, and today on The Earful Tower he shares his tips on which graves to find, what to avoid, and how not to act if you’re a tourist there.

And if you like what you hear, you can find the Chairfather book here or on ebook here. 

At the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris talks more about the cemetery. 

In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.

After ten years in Paris, my wife Lina and I couldn't be happier. We have two little Parisian children, we have a small business, and we pinch ourselves to call Paris home. 

BUT...  we are also square pegs in rounds holes. Being a Swede and an Australian with a podcast company, while speaking questionable French, raises eyebrows. 

Here are a handful of things that have become frustrating for us as a result, so you can hopefully use it as a warning if you’re thinking to do the same, or perhaps as a cultural insight into the French mentality.

Featured: Language blunders, tips on where to focus your own language learning, how paper is on a pedestal, and being conflict averse in a "convince me" country. 

A fun extra the end of the episode, Marie Segura from My Private Paris tells us about a touring the Musée d'Orsay when it's not open to the public. 

In fact, this whole season of The Earful Tower is brought to you by My Private Paris, which is an award-winning travel company creating deluxe itineraries for Paris and beyond. See what they offer here and be sure to let them know that you came from The Earful Tower.

Enjoying what we’re doing here at The Earful Tower and keen to see more? Become a Patreon member here to support it and to discover our exciting extras.