1. Bastille Day

Black and white portrait of Marie Bonaparte

71. Marie Bonaparte, Part I

70. Fifth Anniversary! Listener Q&A

69. The Boy Who Solved Vanilla

68. Antoine Parmentier & The History of the Potato

Black and white portrait of Marcel Proust writing in bed

67. Marcel & Celeste, Part II

66. Marcel & Celeste, Part I

65. A Trip to the Spa

64. Louis Pasteur and The History of the Vaccine

63. Jeanne de Clisson and the Black Fleet

Surya Bonaly performing a backflip in competition during the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games

62. Surya Bonaly

Mickey and friends standing in front of the castle at Euro Disney

61. Euro Disney

A tin of madeleines dusted with powdered sugar

60. The History of Madeleines

Rose Valland poses next to a stack of canvases

59. Women At War BONUS: The Witness (Rose Valland)

A young Marie-José Wilborts, schoolgirl Résistante

58. Women At War 5: The Survivor II (Marie-José Wilborts)

57. Women At War 5: The Survivor I (Marie-José Wilborts)

56. Women At War 4: The Résistante (Jacqueline Marié)

55. Women At War 3: The Collaborator (Coco Chanel)

54. Women At War 2: The Schoolteacher (Berthe Auroy)

Watercolor of the Exodus from Paris by Elisabeth Kaufmann

53. Women At War 1: The Exile (Elisabeth Kaufmann)

52. Luncheon of the Boating Party

51. Our Third Anniversary! Listener Q&A

Nuns at the Hotel Dieu care for Black Death patients

50. Notre Dame, Part 3: The Black Death

49. Notre Dame, Part 2

48. Notre Dame, Part 1

Doling out bánh mì on the streets of Saigon

47. The History of the Bánh Mì

46. Choupette, The Most Glamorous Cat In The World

45. The Mysterious Life of Jeanne Calment

44. Napoleon’s Tiniest Campaign, Part 2

43. Napoleon’s Tiniest Campaign

42. The History of Champagne

Julia Child at home in her Cambridge, MA kitchen

41. Julia Child, Part 3

40. Julia Child, Part 2

39. Julia Child, Part 1

38. A Tour de France – Brittany

37. A Tour de France – Bordeaux

Sooooo hungry for cassoulet now. Field trip to Toulouse, anyone?

36. A Tour de France – Toulouse

Fish market at the Vieux Port of Marseille

35. A Tour de France – Marseille

It's a hard knock life for peasants in Lyon.

34. A Tour de France – Lyon

33. A Tour de France – Montgeron

32. Le Code du Travail

Le Train Bleu - Promotional poster, 1930s.

31. Le Train Bleu

A jaunty picnic with James Tissot. "Holyday"

30. The History Of The Picnic

29. The Caves of Lascaux

28. Bon Anniversaire!

27. We’ll Always Have Paris – Paris Syndrome

26. We’ll Always Have Paris – A Visit from Hitler

The Bar Hemingway at the Ritz Paris hotel.

25. We’ll Always Have Paris – The Ritz Paris Bar

Love locks on the Pont des Arts bridge, October 2015 (close up)

24. We’ll Always Have Paris – Love Locks

23. Four’s Company – The Scandalous House of Claude Monet

22. The Sweet Life of French Bees

21. The Road To Hell – Entering the Catacombs

20. The Three Alexandres, Part 4 – The Playwright

19. The Three Alexandres, Part 3 – The Author

Alexandre Dumas, grand-pére, father of the author and real life national hero

18. The Three Alexandres, Part 2 – The General, continued.

17. The Three Alexandres, Part 1 – The General

Le Nain, "Three Men and a Boy," ca. 1640–1645. Oil on canvas, 21 ¼ x 25 3/8 in. National Gallery, London, NG 4857. © National Gallery, London

16. The Noblemen Who Dressed In Rags

15. Bûche de Noël (The Yule Log)

14. 100,000!

13. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 6

Alfred Dreyfus on trial at Rennes, Vanity Fair, 1899.

12. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 5

The signature rallying cry of the Dreyfus Affair.

11. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 4

Zola aux outrages - Henry de Groux, 1898.

10. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 3

9. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 2

8. The Dreyfus Affair, Part 1

okay technically not a brasserie but there's beer

7. A Long Way To Escargot

Berthe Morisot with Violets, Edouard Manet, 1872.

6. Manet & Morisot & Manet

BONUS – 10,000!

Valtesse de la Bigne, the most famous prostitute of golden age Paris

5. Belles of the Belle Epoque

4. A Tale of Two Cities (No, Not That One)

3. The Olympics

2. We Ate A Zoo

Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! Welcome to The Land of Desire, a French history podcast dedicated to exploring all the weird adventures, mysteries and surprising backstories behind French cultural icons. We’re kicking things off with a bang! Today, France celebrates itself with parades, picnics, and of course, the traditional fireworks. July 14th – “Bastille Day” to Americans – is

The Episodes

0. The Land of Desire Teaser

Uncategorized

Bienvenue!

Welcome to The Land of Desire, a podcast on French history and culture. You’re a bit early – I’m planning to debut the first episode on July 14th, covering what else but Bastille Day! In the meantime, drop me a line if you have questions and I’ll look forward to sharing with everyone soon!