Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'french'

A Life Dedicated To Michelin 3-Star Restaurants

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:00:00 EST

London IT executive Andy Hayler has dined at every three-star restaurant in the French food guide. His travels have taken him all across the world to 60-plus elite restaurants. He speaks with us about his favorite meals, how he can afford this pricy hobby and his blog.

Cognac Enjoying A Revival

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 06:00:00 EST

Cognac used to have a reputation as an old man's drink, but the French brandy is enjoying a revival. It's become popular with young African Americans. Producers with centuries-old traditions in the Cognac region of France are developing hip new product lines.

California Winemakers Press A Family Vintage

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:11:00 EST

Chateau Montelena winery is famous for besting French competitors at a 1976 competition in Paris. The Napa Valley winery is also a family business, one that has passed through two generations and could make it to a third. But working together wasn't always smooth.

After 8 Years Of Bush-Bashing, What's Next...

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

For our series of conversation on how America is perceived overseas, Renee Montagne talks to Nicole Bacharan, a well known journalist and political analyst in France. She is often solicited by the French media to discuss American current events.

In Search Of Pirates Off The Coast Of Somalia

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST

Pirates have commandeered tankers full of oil and even boarded cruise ships to make a buck. But international police forces are hot in pursuit. Corey Flintoff gives us the view of the hunt for pirates in the Gulf of Aden from aboard a French frigate. (3:30)

Threats On The Sea: A View From A French Warship

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:55:00 EST

For a week, NPR joined the French warship Premier Maitre L'Her, which has been protecting merchant ships on the vast seas of the Gulf of Aden. The ship has been searching for suspicious vessels, part of an effort to stem a piracy epidemic.

In 'The Class, A Struggle Toward Knowledge

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:40:00 EST

French cinema is known for characters who play, whether at love, crime or thought. Filmmaker Laurent Cantet, however, is more interested in work — here, the work of knowledge, and of knowing. (Recommended)

Taste Test: Obama Soda A Hit With French Teens

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:13:00 EST

The election of Barack Obama has inspired one French entrepreneur to create a new soft drink. The maker of Obama Soda says he hopes his beverage, and its namesake, will inspire young people living in some of France's grimmest housing projects by giving them a little taste of the American dream.

Measure Would Allow French Stores To Open Sunday

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

By law, retail stores in France are not allowed to open on Sundays, unless they are located in tourist zones and cater to sporting, recreational or cultural activities. A proposed law would give all businesses the right to open Sunday in the four largest French cities. But unions and small storeowners are opposed.

Django Reinhardt Festival: Hot Club Music

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:59:00 EST

Exhilarated and a little homesick at the end of a three-week U.S. tour, Dorado Schmitt and his band swings hard and play loose. The air dances at this Django Reinhardt Festival at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club featuring two French guitarists, a violinist, a squeeze box man and a bassist.

Soccer Match Reopens Ethnic Tension Wounds

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

At an October soccer match between France and Tunisia in Paris, the crowd booed when the French national anthem was sung. Many of those booing were French citizens, the descendents of North African immigrants. The incident coincided with the anniversary of the 2005 riots, and again raised questions about the state of ethnic relations in France.

'Tis The Season For Hollywood Blockbusters

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:48:00 EST

Between now and the end of the year, more than 50 movies — many hoping for Oscar consideration — will hit movie screens. Moviegoers can look forward to everything from animated French mice to Nazis to visitors from other galaxies. NPR's Bob Mondello previews the offerings such as "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "Valkyrie" and "Frost/Nixon."

Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss Turns 100

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

This week in Paris, one of the last icons of 20th century French intellectual life turns 100. Claude Levi-Strauss, a painter's son, not only reshaped the nature of how anthropologists do their work: He changed the world's perception of so-called "primitive" tribes in Asia, Africa and America.

French Mass Of Remembrance For Sausage Makers

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST

Liane Hansen speaks with Saveur magazine contributor Christopher Hall about the Messe du Souvenir de la Charcuterie Francaise — the French Mass of Remembrance for Sausage Makers. Today marks the 200th celebration of the event at St. Eustache Church in Paris.

How A-Bomb Testing Changed Our Trees

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 13:54:00 EST

British, American, Russian and French nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s and '60s left permanent records in trees around the globe. Scientists have found chemical signatures of the explosions in the wood of old trees in many countries.

Bond, 'Slumdog' Or 'Christmas'...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Mark Jordan Legan takes us through reviews of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace starring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, Slumdog Millionaire about a Mumbai orphan who wins on on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Christmas Tale a French film about mental illness starring Catherine Deneuve.

Like U.S. Firms, French Automaker Stalls

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:33:00 EST

The slowing economy is hitting Renault and other European automakers, forcing them to slash production. In the French car racing town of Le Mans, the temporary shutdown at the Renault factory has many worried about the future.

Saddam Hussein's Yacht 'Ocean Breeze' For Sale

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:51:00 EST

Iraq is putting Sadaam Hussein's luxury yacht up for sale. The Ocean Breeze has gold faucets, swimming pools and rocket launching system. It could fetch up to $35 million. French authorities seized the boat on Jan. 31 after it docked in Nice on the Mediterranean coast. The yacht remained there while courts settled a dispute over the ship's ownership.

Author Puts The Left On Trial

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:29:00 EDT

French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy challenges American notions of the left in his new book, Left in Dark Times: A Stand Against the New Barbarism."

William Parker Quartet's 'Petit' New Album

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:22:00 EDT

The third album from the William Parker Quartet is named Petit Oiseau, after a character in a poem written by Parker. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead assesses whether the album — whose French title translates to "Little Bird" — takes flight.

French Novelist Awarded Nobel Literature Prize

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:00:00 EDT

French novelist Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio has been awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature. Antoine Compagnon, a professor of French Literature at Columbia University, offers his insight about the writer and his work.

French Novelist Wins Nobel Prize In Literature

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 08:29:00 EDT

The Swedish Academy announced Thursday that Jean-Maria Gustave Le Clezio won the 2008 Nobel Prize in literature. The acadmy praised Le Clezio for his adventurous novels, essays and children's literature.

King Of Kitsch Takes Over Versailles

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:00:00 EDT

The first retrospective exhibit of controversial artist Jeff Koons is on display at Versailles, just outside Paris. In recent years, only a few select works of contemporary artists have been displayed there. Now, Koon's giant red aluminum lobster, vacuum cleaners and floor polishers display and giant balloon dog adorn the palace. Critics are calling it a sullying of French culture and identity.

Nobel Panel Decides Against U.S. HIV Discovery

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:57:00 EDT

The 2008 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine went in part to two French researchers for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. The award was not shared by American Robert Gallo, who has also claimed a role in the discovery of HIV. Additionally, a German scientist got the prize for establishing the cause of most cervical cancers.

2008 Nobel Prize In Medicine

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:39:00 EDT

One German and two French scientists won the 2008 Nobel prize for medicine Monday for their discoveries of two viruses that cause severe human diseases. NPR's Richard Knox talks with Steve Inskeep about the prize winners' research.