Episodes

  • Back of the Net! It's leather, it's round, it's Britain's gift to the world!

    Back of the Net! It's leather, it's round, it's Britain's gift to the world!
    Jan 23 2026
    Suzanne moves the goalposts and gives football the Garlic & Pearls treatment: it's a story where passions run high, from obsessive devotion to dogged attempts to ban the sport, whether because of its riotous violence of because it's deemed unsuitable for ladies. A cast of colourful characters keep the ball moving: Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, the five-foot-tall Lady Florence Dixie and her husband Lord ABCD, Nettie Honeyball and legendary scorer Lily Parr ... But how did quicksilver come into it? And where was the world's oldest extant football discovered, hinting at protection from witchcraft?

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    52 mins
  • French Brothels of the Golden Age: Sex, theatricality, escapism!

    French Brothels of the Golden Age: Sex, theatricality, escapism!
    Jan 16 2026

    Oh là là! From the Belle Epoque to the Jazz Age rose famous French brothels such as Le Chabanais, the One Two Two or the Sphynx. This vanished world, its outlandish themed rooms and enigmatic army of female denizens, live on in the iconography that they inspired and that remains forever wedded to French identity. The future Edward VII guest stars as a designer of unusual furniture.


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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • A Study in Silver: The cryptic British world of precious metals, their hallmarks, assays, and guilds

    A Study in Silver: The cryptic British world of precious metals, their hallmarks, assays, and guilds
    Jan 9 2026
    Suzanne illuminates the origins and meaning of hallmarking, which began in the 13th century under Edward I – aka Edward Longshanks – as part of his wider effort to stabilise the kingdom by means of statutes. Though the French king Louis IX appears as a guest star, this is a case of Britain being far more systematic and precise than France while, in typical British fashion, devising a resilient system capable of evolving through the centuries. Where were the native silver and gold mines of Britain? And did you know that you could have your own hallmark made?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    47 mins
  • La dictée: How did a school spelling test become a French obsession and symbol of Frenchness?

    La dictée: How did a school spelling test become a French obsession and symbol of Frenchness?
    Jan 2 2026
    Muriel goes back to school to explore how in France the spelling test called la dictée became the backbone of French education. Who introduced it and why? Is it fascistic or democratic? And how did a school exercise become a beloved popular cultural event shared by the nation? It's a very Gallic tale of Republican alphabetisation, unification and nation-building, and Muriel joins in by pitting herself against Emperor Napoleon III in taking on a famously exacting dictée!

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    57 mins
  • The Christmas Tale Face-Off: A Christmas Carol or Les Misérables?

    The Christmas Tale Face-Off: A Christmas Carol or Les Misérables?
    Dec 25 2025
    In our last episode of 2025, Suzanne and Muriel consider soberly which is more atmospheric and replete with the spirit of Christmas - is it Dickens with Michael Caine and a cast of Muppets, or is it a pivotal bit of melodrama in Victor Hugo's social saga?

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    36 mins
  • The Christmas Drink Face-Off: Indulgent Irish Cream or astringent coupe de champagne?

    The Christmas Drink Face-Off: Indulgent Irish Cream or astringent coupe de champagne?
    Dec 24 2025

    Cheers! Santé! Suzanne retraces the history of a 1970s Soho brainwave of deliciousness and Muriel obeys the traditional Pavlovian call of Champenois fizz


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    42 mins
  • The Christmas Telly Face-Off: Reithian British Monument or Gallic social satire?

    The Christmas Telly Face-Off: Reithian British Monument or Gallic social satire?
    Dec 23 2025

    Suzanne brings a whole lotta Christmas to the table and parses the delights of the double issue of the Radio Times; Muriel unpacks a cult French sitcom about two contrasting lifestyles of the bourgeoisie


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    51 mins
  • The Christmas Carol Face-Off: Pre-Raphaelite Poetry or Socialist Manifesto?

    The Christmas Carol Face-Off: Pre-Raphaelite Poetry or Socialist Manifesto?
    Dec 19 2025

    Suzanne makes a compelling case for the evocative beauty of In the Bleak Midwinter and its landscape imagery infused with spirituality; Muriel wonders how Minuit, Chrétiens, a rousing carol authored by a Socialist firebrand and a stage composer, made it into the French Catholic choral canon.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    28 mins