Feel Good French | Slow French Podcast & Stories

Déborah Pham van Xua
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  • Language Learning
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Feel Good French is a Slow French podcast for A2, B1 and B2 learners, francophiles, expats and future expats dreaming of a new chapter in France. Improve your French listening naturally through true stories, French culture, history, travel and real places in France. Discover extraordinary lives of people who reinvented themselves in France. Not a grammar lesson: French through stories. Free transcripts and companion PDFs: www.feelgoodfrench.com

  1. 3d ago

    Django Reinhardt: His Injured Hand, His Unmistakable Sound | Slow French

    After a fire injured his left hand, Django Reinhardt had to find another way to play guitar. Hear how the Manouche musician’s life near Paris, his discovery of jazz and his partnership with Stéphane Grappelli became part of a sound all his own. Extraordinary Lives in France · Season 2, Episode 13. Déborah tells this true story in slow French and explains a few useful expressions. The Spotify video version shows French and English subtitles together. Try listening to Minor Swing after the episode. Can you hear a smile, sadness or nostalgia in the guitar? Leave a comment and follow the show for the next story. Expressions: le bal bat son plein (the dance is in full swing); reprendre du poil de la bête (to get back on your feet); trouver chaussure à son pied (to find someone who suits you). For another jazz story set in France, find our episode on Miles Davis and Juliette Gréco. For the French conversation group waiting list: https://tally.so/r/0Q4DqZ CHAPTERS00:00 The fire and Django’s injured hand01:09 A Manouche childhood near Paris02:17 Learning to play again03:34 Discovering jazz04:46 Stéphane Grappelli06:38 Minor Swing07:09 The guitar as a voice08:11 Listen for yourself Music: “Cafe Regrette” by Asher Fulero; “Mother Rhythm” by Roy Edwin Williams, courtesy of Epidemic Sound. Photographs and period material: William P. Gottlieb / Library of Congress; Eugène Atget, Agence Rol / Bibliothèque nationale de France; Studio Harcourt; Freimut Bahlo; unknown author, Concert du 16 Novembre 1940. Stéphane Grappelli photograph by Roland Godefroy, Deauville, 1991, CC BY-SA 3.0; fitted/animated adaptation under the same licence: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StephaneGrappelli25.JPG and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ .

  2. Oct 21

    Sylvia Beach: The Paris Bookshop That Published Ulysses | Slow French

    In 1920s Paris, Sylvia Beach takes the risk of publishing James Joyce’s Ulysses. Discover Shakespeare and Company and its community of writers in slow French, with French and English subtitles displayed together in the Spotify video. Extraordinary Lives in France · Season 2, Episode 12 With Déborah from Feel Good French. How did Sylvia and Adrienne Monnier find the money and readers to bring Ulysses into print? Explore this English-language lending library and the freedom writers sought in Paris. Expressions: se serrer les coudes (support one another); ne pas avoir froid aux yeux (be bold); avoir du pain sur la planche (have a lot of work ahead); tomber à pic (arrive at the right time). Follow the show and leave an honest rating to support the series. Listen next: Ernest Hemingway and the lost suitcase. https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GIxVck63Ofnw13FtQ0StM CHAPTERS 00:00 A small bookshop takes a publishing risk 01:00 Meet Sylvia Beach in Paris 01:39 A lending library and a community 03:07 Why Paris attracted American artists 03:42 Adrienne Monnier, across the street 04:17 James Joyce and Ulysses 05:12 Finding the money to publish 06:04 A telegram and a birthday deadline 07:03 The bookshop closes; the lending continues 07:42 Hemingway and a question for you Music: “Cafe Regrette” by Asher Fulero. Image sources and credits (video version): Sylvia Beach (right) and James Joyce (left), doorway — photographer unknown; published in The Publishers Weekly, 12 Apr 1924, p.1261; scan Internet Archive Margaret Anderson, 1951 — Dick DeMarsico / New York World-Telegram & Sun 8 rue Dupuytren, 2013 — Jim Linwood; CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_first_Shakespeare_and_Company_Bookshop,_8_Rue_Dupuytren_-_Paris_2013.jpg Odéon bookstalls, 1917 — Charles Lansiaux / Paris Musées, Musée Carnavalet; CC0 Hemingway lending card — Sylvia Beach Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library. Courtesy of Princeton University Library; No Known Copyright https://shakespeareandco.princeton.edu/members/hemingway-ernest/cards/ Ernest Hemingway, Paris, c.1924 — photographer unspecified / JFK Library, EH 5738P; public-domain release, VRT 2011070410000468 Rue de Seine, 1924 — Eugène Atget / Paris Musées, Musée Carnavalet; CC0 La Rotonde, 1924 — Agence Rol / BnF 12 rue de l’Odéon, 2014 — David McSpadden; CC BY 2.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:12_Rue_Od%C3%A9on,_Paris_May_2014.jpg Adrienne Monnier in her shop, c.1925 — Henri Manuel; CC BY 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photographie_d%27Adrienne_Monnier_dans_sa_librairie_par_Henri_Manuel.jpg James Joyce, c.1918 — Camille Ruf Adrienne Monnier’s back room — Henri Manuel; CC BY 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adrienne_Monnier_dans_l%27arri%C3%A8re-boutique_de_sa_librairie_par_Henri_Manuel.jpg Ulysses, 1922 print-run page — James Joyce / Shakespeare and Company; scan Erakis Ulysses first edition — The Little Museum of Dublin; CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ulysses_by_James_Joyce_-_first_edition,_1922.jpg Rue de l’Odéon today — Ralf.treinen; CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_rue_de_l_odeon1.jpg Café Voltaire, place de l’Odéon — Eugène Atget / Paris Musées, Musée Carnavalet; CC0 Licences: CC0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ ; CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ ; CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ; CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ ; CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ . Photos fitted, cropped and animated; CC BY-SA image adaptations retain their respective licences.

    Sylvia Beach: The Paris Bookshop That Published Ulysses | Slow French

  3. Oct 14

    Miles Davis & Juliette Gréco: An Impossible Love in Paris | Slow French

    They fall in love in Paris without speaking each other’s language. So why don’t Miles Davis and Juliette Gréco build a life together? In 1949, a concert at Salle Pleyel brings Miles and Juliette together. Follow their walks along the Seine, the contrast with a difficult dinner in New York, and his return to France to create the music for Ascenseur pour l’échafaud, starring Jeanne Moreau. A story about love, recognition and the barriers between two worlds, told in slow French with French and English subtitles by Déborah at Feel Good French. French conversation groupWould you like to discuss the episode in a small French conversation group? Join the waiting list here. Expressions explained de fil en aiguille — one thing leads to anotherse heurter à — to come up against an obstacleporter tort à quelqu’un — to cause someone harmIf you want to say “Déborah, continue this series!”, follow the show, leave an honest rating and share your thoughts in the comments. Chapters00:00 Miles & Juliette: love without a shared language01:00 Miles Davis arrives in Paris, 194901:40 A backstage encounter at Salle Pleyel02:26 Juliette’s circle: Sartre and a different welcome03:49 A difficult dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria05:04 Back in France: Ascenseur pour l’échafaud07:11 Sartre asks: why not marry?08:22 Nina Simone and a question for you09:22 Join the French conversation group Music: “Cafe Regrette” by Asher Fulero; “The Jazz Messenger” by Vendla / Epidemic Sound. Image attribution: “Parijs 1949” by René Defonseca / Family Defonseca; family archive Smiley Toerist. Cropped and animated; adapted image under CC BY-SA 4.0.Source photograph | License

  4. Oct 7

    Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald in France: Who Gets to Tell Their Story? | Slow French

    Learn French through the true story of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald on the French Riviera. In Saint-Raphaël in 1924, Scott works on The Great Gatsby while their marriage reaches a crisis. Years later, Zelda writes her own novel about their shared life—and Scott objects. How can two people live the same story and disagree over who may tell it? In this episode of Extraordinary Lives in France, Déborah tells their story in slow, clear French for intermediate learners and francophiles. Expressions to learn: • marcher sur les plates-bandes de quelqu’un — to enter territory someone considers theirs • avoir son mot à dire — to have a say Want to discuss the episode in a small French conversation group? Join the interest list: https://tally.so/r/0Q4DqZ #SlowFrench #LearnFrench #FrenchListeningPractice #FrenchPodcast #ScottFitzgerald #ZeldaFitzgerald #FrenchRiviera #movetofrance #FrenchStories

  5. Sep 30

    Jackie Kennedy Wanted the Mona Lisa. France Resisted. | Slow French

    Jackie Kennedy wants to bring the Mona Lisa to the United States. Louvre curators fear the journey could damage it. How does a former student of French, with no elected office, help turn a dinner promise into a national art loan? In this episode of Extraordinary Lives in France, follow Jackie from her year in Paris to her work at the White House, her friendship with André Malraux and the painting’s journey in 1962–63. Listen in clear, slow French, with useful expressions explained as the story unfolds and French and English subtitles in the video version. Would you like to discuss this story in a small French conversation group? Join the interest list here: https://tally.so/r/0Q4DqZ Expressions in this episode: - la soif de connaissances — a thirst for knowledge - le patrimoine — cultural heritage - un prêt — a loan If you enjoyed this episode, listen next to Julia Child’s story about the French meal that changed her life. Photo credit: Mona Lisa photograph by Fred Romero, cropped for video, CC BY 2.0: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Mona_Lisa_(31319341901).jpg | License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Other archival images: Wikimedia Commons, JFK Presidential Library and Museum, and Bibliothèque nationale de France. Music: “Cafe Regrette” by Asher Fulero. #JackieKennedy #SlowFrench #LearnFrench #FrenchListeningPractice

  6. Sep 23

    Anthony Bourdain in France: The Oyster He Never Forgot | Slow French

    At La Pyramide in Vienne, young Anthony Bourdain waits in the car with his brother while their parents enjoy a French meal. Later, on an oyster farmer’s boat in Arcachon Bay, he gets his own chance to impress them. Why did tasting one raw oyster stay with him long after he became a chef, writer and traveler? Listen in clear, slow French, with useful expressions explained as the story unfolds. Would you like to talk about this story in French? I’m forming a small conversation group for listeners of Extraordinary Lives in France. Tell me about your French and availability to join the interest list; I’ll let you know when enrolment opens: https://tally.so/r/0Q4DqZ Expressions in this episode: • avoir du caractère — to be strong-willed • prendre goût à quelque chose — to grow to like something • les coulisses — behind the scenes • savourer — to take time to enjoy • les mois en « r » — the traditional oyster season, September to April #SlowFrench #LearnFrench #FrenchListeningPractice #AnthonyBourdain

  7. Sep 2

    James Baldwin Left America at 24. Why France? | Slow French Story

    At 24, James Baldwin left America for Paris. He had little money, spoke little French, and had not yet published a novel. So why did he leave everything behind?In this episode of Extraordinary Lives in France, discover how France changed James Baldwin’s life and writing, from his difficult early years in Paris to Go Tell It on the Mountain and Giovanni’s Room, and finally to the beautiful village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where he made his home.Along the way, we’ll discover some surprising details: the restaurant incident that helped push Baldwin to leave America, the famous writers and musicians who visited his home in Provence, and the little room he jokingly called his “torture chamber.”This story is told in clear, natural Slow French for intermediate learners. Turn on the French or English subtitles if you need them, slow down the playback speed, and simply enjoy the story.🇫🇷 Feel Good French: discover extraordinary lives, places and stories in France while naturally improving your French.💌 Stay ConnectedNewsletter: https://shorturl.at/379V0Facebook Group – Retiring in France: / feelgoodfrench Website: https://feelgoodfrench.comWho should I tell you about next? Anyone in minde? Tell me in the comments.#FrenchPodcast #StoriesinFrench #JamesBaldwin #SlowFrench #LearnFrench #FrenchListening #FrenchCulture

  8. Aug 27

    Slow French Story George | George Orwell: The Young Englishman Who Went Broke in Paris

    Before he became the author of Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell was a struggling young man living in Paris. His dream was to become a writer. Instead, he found himself broke, hungry, and working as a dishwasher in the hidden kitchens of Paris. In this Slow French story, discover the little-known years that shaped one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century while naturally improving your French. You’ll also learn authentic French expressions such as: • être dans la dèche• être fauché• ne plus avoir un rond• toucher le fond• métro, boulot, dodo Level: A2–B1 Come for the story.Leave with better French.

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Feel Good French is a Slow French podcast for A2, B1 and B2 learners, francophiles, expats and future expats dreaming of a new chapter in France. Improve your French listening naturally through true stories, French culture, history, travel and real places in France. Discover extraordinary lives of people who reinvented themselves in France. Not a grammar lesson: French through stories. Free transcripts and companion PDFs: www.feelgoodfrench.com

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