Are you trying to learn French or retain your knowledge of it? I find that one of the most helpful ways to keep my brain working in French (especially when I’m out of the country) is to listen to podcasts or live radio.
If you type in ‘French’ in Apple podcasts, for example, you’ll find a gazillion of them. I wanted to simplify it a little for you by offering my suggestions.
BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE FRENCH
Radio France International, or RFI, is a great resource for anyone who wants to improve their French. They take daily top stories from their news bulletin and slow down the reading pace. This is ideal for intermediate speakers or ambitious beginners.
TV5 Monde is a publicly funded television channel specializing in culture. They do shows and documentaries, and if you watch the channel on live TV, they show films, too. This is an excellent way to learn or improve your French FOR FREE. You can take a test to see what level you are (A1 for absolute beginners up to B2 for intermediate) and watch various video clips according to your level.
INTERMEDIATE FRENCH
Passerelles: a French podcast for intermediate listeners
This podcast is hosted by Emilie, who has a gentle voice. It’s very good for listening in a quiet space. She takes around 20 minutes to discuss her topics, which have a ‘question of the day’ that she reflects on. She also offers new phrases to learn, which are listed in the ‘about’ section of her podcast.
This podcast focuses on topics of interest involving France, whether domestically or internationally. It’s usually hosted by Hugo, who speaks at a pace that won’t get you lost, but you do need a decent intermediate vocabulary. One episode I particularly loved was where he discussed Belgian vs France French with a Belgian guest.
NEWS PROGRAMMING
A few years ago, I met a woman who recommended this podcast to me. It’s from one of France’s radio networks, Radio Classique, which normally plays classical music. But this podcast is cut from a daily news show where the hosts and guests discuss anything affecting France (or the world) today.
RFI Monde and RFI Afrique
As a semi-retired, recovering news journalist, I still like the news and enjoy listening to it in French (two birds/one stone). I mentioned RFI above, but you can also just stream its stations live. I like RFI Monde, which covers world news, and RFI Afrique, which focuses largely on issues affecting francophone Africa.
TRUE CRIME
The true crime wave has spread far and wide beyond the US. If this is a genre you like, you can use it to improve your French, too (again: two birds/one stone).
This is a podcast created by a news magazine called Le Nouvel Obs. They take past criminal cases in France and discuss them with lawyers, judges, witnesses, police officers, and journalists who have worked on or closely followed the cases.
This podcast is similar to the one above and is broadcast by the private French TV network RTL. They often interweave clips from old news reports about a case and recount what happened in the crime that was committed.
MORE FRENCH TELEVISION
When I left Russia in 2006 to take a job in Washington, DC, my friends went to work for France24, a channel that was set up by the French government. It broadcasts in French, English, Spanish and Arabic and offers international news from a French perspective.
RADIO STATION APPS
Radio France - podcast, direct (direct = live broadcasting)
France *loves* radio and this is a collection of radio programming from across the major networks: France Inter, France Culture, France Musique, Mouv’ (rap and hip hop), Fip (music from across different genres), Franceinfo (news), and France Bleu (talk radio and programming with local flavor).
France Radio
This app has dozens of radio stations in France, from talk radio to 80s music. The stations I listen to the most are BFM Radio (24/7 talk, not for the faint of heart if you struggle with listening comprehension), Radio Classique (classical music), TSF Jazz (guess which genre?), and RFI Monde.
Radio Garden
This is a really cool app. It’s not specific to France, but you can pin any location on a global map and it will pull up the radio station(s) from that town or city. It’s really fun if you want to hear what people are listening to in France or Senegal or Azerbaijan.