Shows
Garlic & PearlsToast: An ode to distinctly British crisp buttered deliciousness – with some true crime thrown inWe all dream of the perfect piece of hot toast dripping with butter, but is it ever to be had in this world? Suzanne gives Muriel 9-step instructions on how to make it and, by way of Shakespeare and The Wind in the Willows, tells the history of the British quest for perfect toast and the development of toasting forks, toast racks and the toaster. A Frenchman, the chef and inventor Alexis Soyer, is the surprising star of this British story, and 18th-century burglarious felony and a delirious Wikipedia hoax also feature. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...2025-05-091h 04Garlic & PearlsInto the Deep: What draws the French so powerfully to the briny depths?Muriel takes Suzanne on a downward journey into the French passion for diving and underwater life. Why was the film The Big Blue such a hit in France? What cult French TV programme about the sea lies beneath it? Why is the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau so revered in France? And deeper still, what iconic submarine novel and archetypal taciturn hero informed it all? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-05-021h 01Garlic & PearlsJigsaw Puzzles: The amazing British invention that went from geographical 'dissection' to universally popular form of meditationSuzanne tells Muriel the riveting story of an invention devised in London by one inspired man, in an 18th-century world of map-making, mezzotints and early industrial machinery, and explores what jigsaw puzzles do for us, what they mean, and why they are more popular than ever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-2555 minGarlic & PearlsThe Metric System: Born of a perfect storm of Enlightenment and RevolutionMuriel tells Suzanne how the French dream of the metric system became realised when the Enlightenment scientists' desire for reliable measurements met the French Revolutionaries' decision to remodel the nation according to Reason. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-1853 minGarlic & PearlsBluebells: Why does this enchanting native blue flower make the British giddy?Suzanne explores the complex botanical, mythical and poetic aspects of the British bluebell cult. Hope and death, secrecy and display and even asparagus all come into it, and Tilda Swinton, Diana, Princess of Wales and Margaret Thatcher all guest star. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-1151 minGarlic & PearlsGlamour: What – and who – do the French find so bewitching about Britain?Happy Entente Cordiale! It is, Muriel explains, when at their most conventional that the British are at their most glamorous to French eyes. And we reveal the British winner of the title of Full Cordiale Corker! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-0817 minGarlic & PearlsPanache: How a French king's white feather came to define a Gallic core valueSuzanne digs for the roots of French panache, encountering kingly pageantry, Cyrano de Bergerac and the emblem of the cockerel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-0715 minGarlic & PearlsEccentrics: Why do they grow in Britain and not in France?It's Muriel's turn to express admiration of the vivid anarchic creativity of British eccentrics, and to ask if there is something in the water. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-0616 minGarlic & PearlsInsouciance: What is it and can the British ever achieve it?Suzanne's first choice of French word du jour. Vanessa Paradis embodies it. A paradox: there is nothing harder to pull off than insouciance, the art of not caring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-0519 minGarlic & PearlsThe Theatre of Horrors: How the visceral Grand-Guignol thrilled Paris to the coreIn which Muriel tells Suzanne about the rise and fall of the once ultra-fashionable Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, where, not far from the Moulin-Rouge, the fears of the Belle-Epoque and interwar years – from crazed surgeons and escaped lunatics to the Modern Woman wielding sulphuric acid – were staged with an immersive, hallucinatory intensity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-04-041h 03Garlic & PearlsTrailer: Garlic & Pearls Cordiale CorkersGreat excitement at Garlic & Pearls HQ: the anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between France and Britain is near. To celebrate, Muriel and Suzanne tell each other what they find most intriguing about each other’s culture! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-03-2901 minGarlic & PearlsRescue Puppies: The whys and wherefores of Britain’s unparalleled devotion to animalsSuzanne reflects on British attitudes to animals, from the Reverend Humphrey Primatt’s ‘animal theology’ to the founding of the RSPCA 200 years ago and later eruptions of violent pro-animal activism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-03-281h 04Garlic & PearlsThe Map of Love: How a modern Frenchwoman from the 17th-century imagined courtship as a hike through an imaginary landscapeIn which Muriel introduces Suzanne to a group of brilliant women: the Précieuses, headed by Madeleine de Scudéry. Novelists, scholars and wits, they invented the salons, the art of conversation and a progressive idea of love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-03-211h 05Garlic & PearlsHarris Tweed: How sturdy wool woven in the outer Hebrides became the very fabric of BritishnessSuzanne gathers a fashionable cast - including Sherlock Holmes, Coco Chanel and Vivienne Westwood – to take Muriel through the warp and weft of Harris tweed's dramatic history. The only fabric still to have its own Act of Parliament, it was a battleground for Gaelic weavers, philanthropic aristocrats and punk fashionistas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-03-141h 03Garlic & PearlsThe Misfortunes of Sophie: A darkly vivid 1850s classic that still shapes and fascinates French children todayMuriel introduces Suzanne to the French equivalent of Alice in Wonderland, a memorably unsettling portrayal of childhood with enduring appeal, that shines a light on past and present ideas about French childrearing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-03-071h 01Garlic & PearlsSki Sunday: How the British fell in love with skiing and made it funSuzanne remedies Muriel’s ignorance of cult BBC2 programme Ski Sunday and in the process unpacks the British obsession with and transformation of skiing from conveyance into fun downhill-racing activity. Raclette and Arthur Conan Doyle also feature! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-02-281h 03Garlic & PearlsAbsinthe: Was the iconic drink of the Belle Epoque enchanting or poisonous?Over a glass of the legendary green aperitif, Muriel presents Suzanne with the history and myths of absinthe – its rise from local Alpine speciality to the metropolitan tipple of artists and boulevardiers, followed by its dramatic downfall, against a background of social anxiety about degeneracy and violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-02-2159 minGarlic & PearlsValentine’s Day: How French amour courtois turned into Victorian enterpriseOn this special day for swains and sweethearts Suzanne leads Muriel down surprising heritage pathways: tracking the relic of St Valentine’s head, wondering why French-style love poetry flourished after Agincourt, and revealing who adorned Victorian Valentine’s cards with dead birds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-02-1455 minGarlic & PearlsJohnny Hallyday: The French Elvis?Where Muriel introduces Suzanne to a colossal French star who was the ambassador of American rock in France and became both a national monument and the incarnation of French masculinity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-02-071h 00Garlic & PearlsThe Orsini Bomb: Made in Britain and designed to kill the French Emperor!Suzanne untangles an astonishing plot to do away with Napoleon III in 1858 Paris. Unfolding in the coffee houses of London and the industrial workshops of Birmingham, it is a riveting tale of Italian nationalists backed by British radicals, all dreaming of the Revolution! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-01-311h 01Garlic & PearlsThe Black Polo Neck: French national dress, political uniform, or philosophical flag?In which Muriel unpacks for Suzanne the various hidden meanings taken on in France by the black polo neck. From Hollywood to the Left Bank, the humble polo neck acts as rallying sign for the counterculture as well as the Establishment, and no Existentialist would be seen without it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-01-2457 minGarlic & PearlsWheelie Bins: Blessing or curse?Alegedly invented by accident in Slough, the army of wheelie bins now lining our streets is the latest iteration of British society’s attempts to manage waste. Suzanne ploughs heroically through centuries of ashpits, dustbins and cesspools, recounting many convulsions of public-spiritedness as she tries to get Muriel to think pragmatically about rubbish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-01-1755 minGarlic & PearlsThe Concierge: The pantomime villain that the French love to hate?In which Muriel tells Suzanne the story of French concierges – the guardians of French buildings – involving systematic and distinctive urban planning begun in the 1830s, the proliferation of concierge imagery and mythology throughout literature, satirical cartons and vaudeville, and the real-life hardships faced by concierges in the past and in contemporary France. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-01-101h 05Garlic & PearlsMarmalade: Who invented it and how did it become a shortcut for Britishness?James Bond spread it on his breakfast toast; Paddington and Queen Elizabeth II kept marmalade sandwiches ‘for emergencies’; Scott of the Antarctic took some to the South Pole. Suzanne peels away layers of the history of marmalade as it evolved from dark quince paste to translucent bitter orange jelly and grew into a ubiquitous British export throughout the world, with Dundee as its capital city. And Muriel reveals her own surprising marmalade journey of enlightenment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2025-01-031h 02Garlic & PearlsGalette Des Rois: Let them eat cake - for the Epiphany!Where does the almond-filled ‘galette des rois’ come from? And why have the French clung so tenaciously to it through the centuries? Muriel unveils a seasonal French cake with ancient roots reaching back to Antiquity and many connections to royalty and power. And – not a moment too soon – Suzanne becomes Queen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-271h 03Garlic & PearlsThe Christmas Pudding Sandwich: Perfect for Boxing Day!Suzanne dives into a 1920s compendium of sandwiches by Mary Woodman, retraces sandwich history and ponders the art of Successful Sandwich Making. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2612 minGarlic & PearlsFlaming Boar’s Head Feast: All hail ‘the rarest dish in all the land’!Suzanne digs up an almost entirely forgotten British Christmas medieval tradition full of pomp and circumstance, including a special carol! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2513 minGarlic & PearlsThe Discreet Charm of Presents on Christmas Eve: Scrap the suspense! Presents now!Muriel tells Suzanne about France’s uncanny parallel universe, where Christmas happens the day before Christmas. But are the French missing out on the art of waiting? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2414 minGarlic & PearlsCrackers: Bang bang! It’s Christmas!Suzanne dissects the gloriously noisy tradition of the British Christmas cracker. There is a Victorian inventor, also some French bonbons, a diamond ring and plenty of explosions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2311 minGarlic & PearlsOysters: It’s Christmas –: bring on the piles of ice-cold raw shellfish!How did oysters (les huîtres) become enshrined in France as a traditional Christmas food? Muriel investigates. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2212 minGarlic & PearlsFrance’s Ultimate Christmas Film: Father Christmas is a Git!Muriel explains the appeal of the ferocious, dark and crude madcap comedy that encapsulates Christmas for the French. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2112 minGarlic & PearlsPanto!: Oh no it isn’t! Oh yes it is!Where Suzanne opens Muriel’s Continental mind to the summit of British stagecraft – the rich and frivolous tradition of Christmas panto, an exhilarating hodgepodge of mumming, commedia dell’arte, post-Restoration theatre and up-to-the-minute satire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-2057 minGarlic & PearlsTrailer - Garlic & Pearls Christmas Corkers Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-1701 minGarlic & PearlsThe Cockerel’s Cologne: Did the French invent perfume or did perfume invent the French?Taking as a starting point a highly symbolic empty bottle of Eau de Cologne discovered by Suzanne in Denmark, Muriel explores the ways in which the French took possession of perfume – climate, savoir-faire, aristocratic patronage and the culture of display and seductiveness that developed in the 19th century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-131h 06Garlic & PearlsBleakness: A dark poetic paradise in the heartland of the Industrial RevolutionBy way of Ted Hughes’s Remains of Elmet, Suzanne explores a scarred ancient landscape and brings back to life the ghosts of warring kings, Tudor wool weavers, brigands and Victorian dam builders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-12-0655 minGarlic & PearlsLe Comic Strip: Girl fights pterodactyl in Belle Epoque Paris!The French adore comic book series – or bandes dessinées – featuring Asterix and Tintin. But Muriel tells Suzanne about another famous French character, a plucky heroine called Adèle Blanc-Sec, whose surreal fantastical adventures unfurl in 1900 Paris and involve encounters with pre-historic creatures, Babylonian demons and Egyptian mummies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-11-2949 minGarlic & PearlsMy Favourite A Road: Driving by numbersIn which Suzanne explains another British obsession: the decision tree of how to get from A to B by way of A roads. A kinetic tale of Romans, speed, resourcefulness and British modernism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-11-221h 04Garlic & PearlsMarseille Soap: France’s cleanest national treasureMuriel examines every facet of Marseille soap from the practical to the mythological, and takes Suzanne on a journey from the boiling vats of the soap factories to the havens of French pharmacies and the heady hinterland of Provence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-11-1555 minGarlic & PearlsHassocks: English folk art and cultural identity in stitchesIn which Suzanne unfurls a panoramic history of Anglican church kneelers, showing the little embroidered cushions to be an extraordinarily expressive artistic flourishing of the Second Elizabethan Era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-11-0859 minGarlic & PearlsDonkey Skin: Catherine Deneuve in the weirdest fairy tale you’ve never heard ofIn which Muriel tells Suzanne about a favourite children’s film involving dead donkeys, incest and psychedelia, and Suzanne wonders a little at the wisdom of French parents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-11-0156 minGarlic & PearlsHalloween: Turnips and chisels at the ready – we’re carving a path to the celebration's spooky roots! As we transition from harvest to winter, Suzanne leads Muriel back into the mists of time and elicits the origins of Halloween: the mumming and guising of Celtic Samhain, a host of Catholic saints, queens and kings, and, of course, witches and witchfinders... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-10-251h 01Garlic & PearlsPlaying Cards: The French never miss a trick!In which Suzanne gives Muriel carte blanche to reveal the French origins of the ‘jeu de cartes’, and Muriel lays all her cards on the table and wonders: were playing cards devised by a French knight as a tribute to his lady? How best to cheat at piquet? Why is it impossible for the ace of spades to look chic? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-10-1856 minGarlic & PearlsHedgerows: A tale of British countryside, folklore and riots!Why does Britain have such a staggering amount of hedgerows? Suzanne leads Muriel through a hedge backwards and finds a dazzle of biodiversity and a tormented cast of barons, peasants, Diggers and sheep! Hedgerows: are they a Good Thing or a Bad Thing? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-10-1154 minGarlic & PearlsLa Cantine: How does the French Republic create petits gastronomes?Time for lunch! Muriel takes Suzanne through the workings of French school canteens. What’s on the menu? How does the French Republic make petits gastronomes? And, most importantly, how old does your tumbler say you are? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-10-0449 minGarlic & PearlsSir Nigel Gresley: All aboard! Full steam ahead with a very British passion!What drives the British obsession with trains great and small? Suzanne takes Muriel on an epic journey, following the tracks of Sir Nigel Gresley, visionary engineer and duck breeder extraordinaire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-09-271h 05
Garlic & PearlsThe Four-Colour Bic Pen: What goes “click” and is mightier than the sword?The four-colour Bic pen was a revolutionary invention. It’s also an emblem of optimistic Frenchness. Find out why as Muriel unpacks the pen’s origin story and takes Suzanne back to school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-09-2048 min
Garlic & PearlsPickled Onions: Crossing a culinary chasmSome might say that the pickled onion is a jewel in the crown of British gastronomy. But where does it come from? Suzanne explains all, including the use of a distinctive piece of British cutlery, and Muriel gets a baptism of fire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-09-061h 02
Garlic & PearlsGarlic & Pearls: What makes the British so British and the French so French? What makes the British so British and the French so French? Suzanne Raine and Muriel Zagha astonish and entertain each other with a wide array of examples - from everyday objects to eccentric oddities - all in pursuit of the essence of Britishness and Frenchness.ehlZIyB7nZIaFbyXqXqI Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.2024-09-0600 min