Paris Unlocked Newsletter

A typical pastry made in Austria and Eastern Europe, the kipferl is widely thought to be the ancestor of the French butter croissant. How did it become the steam-baked, buttery thing of beauty that the French have successfully exported? Image: meiliabstespeis.at. It’s well known that many bakeries and patisseries around France close up shop for much of August: a fact that miserably coincides with the height of summer tourist season.

Edith Piaf in 1946, photographed by Harcourt. Public domain image This week, I’m offering a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Episode 4 of The French Culture Podcast: the second installment in our two-part look at Edith Piaf. If you haven’t listened to Part I, I suggest you go back and do so now before lending your ear to the current episode.

In this bonus episode for The French Culture Podcast, I tackle a common myth about Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso: were they really “frenemies”, or is the truth more complicated? I also offer a behind-the-scenes looks at my research process for the full episode (Ep. 2) on Matisse, and share some glimpses into Matisse’s physical presence and other personality quirks, courtesy of one of his contemporaries. At left: Henri Matisse, “Self Portrait in a Striped T-Shirt, 1906”.

A hearty French southwestern- style dish from Chez Gladines, one of the more casual Latin Quarter restaurants recommended by Rachel in her new piece. Image: Chez Gladines/Facebook page I’ve often mused on the surprising problem of terrible food and restaurants in Paris, and noted just how widespread it is in the capital.

This week I dropped my four full episodes of The French Culture Podcast to players including Apple, Spotify and RSS: something that felt momentous after almost a year of feverish work on this project. If you didn’t get or read last week’s issue, I shared Episode 2, on the life and legacy of the painter Henri Matisse, as an exclusive for Substack subscribers.

French History & Culture Exclusive: The Radically Colorful World of Henri Matisse (S1E2) 1× 0:00 Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -1:01:54 -1:01:54 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Exclusive: The Radically Colorful World of Henri Matisse (S1E2) An early release from my new podcast, and a warm thanks to my subscribers Henri Matisse, “Open Window at Collioure”, 1905. Oil on canvas.

(You can also listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.) It’s been a long few months in the making, but production is well underway on the first season of the French Culture Podcast (by Paris Unlocked)— and today I’m thrilled to be able to introduce it properly with a preview episode. The podcast is a sister project for Paris Unlocked and this newsletter, and my intention is for the three to “talk” to one another in various ways, thematically and content-wise.

by Rachel Naismith, Guest Contributor {Note from Courtney: This month I’m giving the floor to Rachel Naismith, a Paris-based writer and food critic who’s contributed some amazing features to Paris Unlocked over the past few years. Since I’m currently devoting most of my time to the French Culture podcast, due to launch in June, Rachel is offering her occasional perspectives on life (and food) in Paris here at the Paris Unlocked Newsletter.

A scene from “Nouvelle Vague”, starring Zoey Deutch as Jean Seberg and Aubry Dullin as Jean-Paul Belmondo/Press image from Netflix I’m a longstanding fan of the Texas-born filmmaker Richard Linklater. “Slacker” (1990) didn’t really resonate with me— or maybe I was just a touch too young. But as a late-stage Gen-Xer, I was, like almost everyone else in my age cohort, predictably swept up in the romance of “Before Sunrise” (1995). I mean, the all-night philosophical conversations.

A dish from Juveniles, a reliable place for lunch or dinner in the city center/Image by Rachel Naismith/Used with permission Well, it’s once again been a bit of a stretch between posts, mainly because I took a long break for the winter holidays, and have been working at full throttle to launch the podcast I mentioned in my last issue. I hope y’all have been enduring the cruel rigors of January as best as you can.