French Podcasts

March 14, 2006 7:33 PM

Where are the intelligent and engaging french podcasts?

Or french internet radio? I'm not looking for music, although I wouldn't turn it down. What I want is something entertaining or informative, something like NPR in french. Does it exist?

posted by blue_beetle to writing & language (7 answers total)

and by french I mean french-language, not specifically things from France.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:33 PM on March 14, 2006

Tell me what you think of CELA
posted by ParisParamus at 7:46 PM on March 14, 2006

All kinds of news and music at radio-canada-baladodiffusion.

"Baladofiffusion" is the French name for podcasting.
posted by bru at 8:12 PM on March 14, 2006

France Culture and France Inter are fine for me. I believe France Inter has 'podcasts' (which they call podcasts, not "baladofiffusion" [sic]) but I rarely fail to find anything boring when I tune in at random. All the French state stations are good (ok, maybe not France Bleue).

On the private side of things, Radio Ici & Maintenant, also in Paris, is fairly intelligent, but prone to interviewing UFO nuts & conspriracy theories. At night they play word games, though. The anarchist Radio Libertaire has plenty of interesting political shows. If you're looking for NPR-style though, you may prefer something more middle-of-the-road than both these (maybe all of these, actually)...
posted by baklavabaklava at 8:51 PM on March 14, 2006

The debate show (actually, any talk show) on Beur FM is usually interesting and engaging. You will have to make an appointment to listen to it, though...

Off the topic somewhat- it's not radio, it's television, but if you close your eyes it's similar- are C dans l'air and Ripostes on le 5. Since you say 'not specifically from France' you may not be interested since both are fairly intelligent debate shows but by and large centred on French society and French politics (the current episode of Ripostes is Villepin & the CPE; C dans l'air is daily & thus a bit more varied: right now I see Iraq, immigration in Europe, Milosevic, etc).

RFI is usually interesting though sometimes a bit more pressed for time than the domestic stations. They do have podcasts, though, and good coverage of things African / DOM-TOM.
posted by baklavabaklava at 9:02 PM on March 14, 2006

RMC is one of my favorites. Talk 24/7, apparently. They take a lot of calls on air. No pod casts, just net radio (don't know exactly what kind offhand).
posted by devilsbrigade at 9:33 PM on March 14, 2006

Correction: RMCInfo is one of my favorites.
posted by devilsbrigade at 9:37 PM on March 14, 2006