The Thing About France
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Pamela Druckerman
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Eight years ago, an American writer named Pamela Druckerman emerged on the national and international scene wearing a beret –– somewhat ironically...
Graydon Carter
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Hearing from Graydon reminded me of the good old days of New York publishing and magazine life—his decadent parties at the Puck building were absol...
William Middleton
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
I knew about William Middleton from the biography—or double biography, rather—he wrote of the great French-Texan art collectors, Dominique and ...
Lauren Collins
11 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
I first met Lauren Collins about fifteen years ago, when we were both working at The New Yorker. I noticed her immediately—The New Yorker can be a q...
Thomas Chatterton Williams
28 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Chatterton Williams, the extraordinary expat writer, cultural critic, and James Baldwin scholar, has lived in Paris for a decade. Thomas grew u...
John von Sothen
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
John von Sothen is an American magazine writer based in Paris, where he's lived since 2002. He dabbles a little in French TV and comedy, too. When I s...
Bob Wilson
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
One steaming hot July morning, our team piled into a car to the Hamptons, in Long Island. No, we weren't going to the beach, or to someone's luxurious...
Rick Moody
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At the French Embassy we have an award called the Arts and Letters Award, where we effectively "Knight" people for their contributions to French cultu...
Katherine Fleming
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Katherine Fleming, provost of NYU, is living proof of the merits of international exchange. She's one of the leaders of the academic world in the Unit...
Joe Melillo
10 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has hosted some of the most amazing French performances on both sides of the Atlantic, from Les Fêtes Vénitienne...
Gloria Steinem
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Gloria Steinem is a household name in the United States, yet she is less known in France. Some might even call her the Simone de Beauvoir of America. ...
Daniel Rose
11 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
All of New York seems to be talking about the new restaurant, Le Coucou, by chef Daniel Rose. Fortunately, Daniel's son and Bénédicte's daughter att...
Darren Walker
24 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We first collaborated with Darren Walker, the passionate and articulate President of the Ford Foundation, on a groundbreaking exhibition entitled Po...
Adam Gopnik
02 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The amazing thing about Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker, is that he knows more about France than many French people. It's as if this pod...
Mickalene Thomas and Racquel Chevremont
21 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Visual artist Mickalene Thomas seems to have artwork everywhere, from the Moody Arts Center in Houston to the Brooklyn Museum and Paris. One mornin...
Jonathan Galassi
12 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jonathan Galassi has been at the helm of the legendary publishing house Farrar, Straus & Giroux—one of the most literary publishers in the U.S.—...
Adam Weinberg
29 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Adam Weinberg is the Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art—one of the most important museums in the United States. I met him when I first...
Claire Messud
15 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When I started as Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy, everyone told me that I had to meet Claire Messud—that she was quintessential Francophi...
Liesl Schillinger
03 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I met Liesl Schillinger, the literary critic and translator, 11 years ago. I had just been appointed as a negotiator for France at the UN Security Co...
David Sedaris
29 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
David Sedaris––one of the best-known American humor writers and radio personalities––has written extensively about his time in France. No one...
Dee Dee Bridgewater
28 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dee Dee Bridgewater is a star in France. With three Grammys and a Tony Award under her belt, she represents the quintessential American jazz singer in...
Trailer
12 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Thing About France is a podcast that takes you inside the minds of American cultural figures who stepped outside their country and came back wise...