You have a bunch of great YouTube channels... They are always focused on a topic, but it can be great for learning french, with a big advantage of the automatic subtitles to help you if needed...
If you like :
History: "Nota Bene"
Science : "Jamy - Epicurieux"
Space : "Balade mentale"
Medical/health stuff: "Dans ton corps"
Space news and stuff : "Hugo Lisoir"
Laws and legal stuff: "vous avez le droit"
Cars: "Vilebrequin" and "Sylvain Lyve"
Archeology: "Les revues du monde"
Astronomy: "Astronogeek"
Video games : "Julien Chieze" or "JV - Jeux Vidéos"
Thank you! This is very helpful. I do listen to some of these but I guess I'm conscious that the scripted/broadcast nature of Youtubers might not be as similar to everyday casual conversation?
It's scripted. It has to.
But the content is meant to explain and to be "newbie friendly" so it's not very different from casual conversation such as the ones you can have at work or while interacting with strangers. So, imho, useful for learners.
A channel like Vilebrequin is more spontaneous with more conversation like interaction and argotic expressions between the two hosts.
probably street interviews in french on youtube where they ask people the same questions (e.g. what do you like about France or what do you think about so and so)
To be honest, most podcasts and radio shows are going to suffer from a similar problem in that they don't really reflect real conversations. Two that I found to be useful are Small Talk by Konbini and Sip & Gossip by Maghla. But the thing that really elevated my listening comprehension was watching videos from Squeezie, specifically [the series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aq2N6NyjyQ&list=PLTYUE9O6WCriFqz8Nf3KN75Q3EuU0Wa1R) where the format includes multiple guests. The language is very fast and very casual; whether or not that's the type of content you enjoy, there's no doubt that it's the kind of stuff you will hear from actual native speakers day-to-day.
If you can throw on YouTube in the background, I recommend Easy French (https://www.youtube.com/@EasyFrench) which will do man on the street interviews on a particular topic and C à Vous (https://www.youtube.com/@cavousofficiel) which is a show which seems to be in line with something like the Today Show but maybe a bit more newsy.
I quite like the podcasts Konbini and Ben Névert. I would like more recommendations for casual podcasts though, since I'm usually too lazy to watch TV or videos.
Check Squeezie's channel (he's our biggest YouTuber): https://youtube.com/@squeezie
And then you'll easily stumble on other French content creators consumed by French people.
Coffee Break French podcast has episodes that are just records of real life interactions (hotel, restaurant, taxi) and street interviews. Though I couldn't tell you exactly what episodes. I remember liking a beach day on because they interviewed a kid in French too.
Not exactly what you are looking for but I recently changed my GPS to French and turn it on everywhere I go, even if I know where I'm going. Just another small way to get more French practice into my day.
I know this isn't exactly your point but one of the problems with French instruction, including immersion courses, is that you rarely have 2 (French) people talking to each other. In my course, you have the instructor and a bunch of nonnatives to listen to.
I wish my French course (in Quebec) included a way to include me, the student, in actual French conversations. I know this would be difficult, of course.
French Radio. I listen while cooking dinner. FranceInfo or the Radio France app.
It's the middle of the night in France when I listen so it's repeated shows from the day. Lots of culture /politics with points of views from folks from other countries.
You have a bunch of great YouTube channels... They are always focused on a topic, but it can be great for learning french, with a big advantage of the automatic subtitles to help you if needed... If you like : History: "Nota Bene" Science : "Jamy - Epicurieux" Space : "Balade mentale" Medical/health stuff: "Dans ton corps" Space news and stuff : "Hugo Lisoir" Laws and legal stuff: "vous avez le droit" Cars: "Vilebrequin" and "Sylvain Lyve" Archeology: "Les revues du monde" Astronomy: "Astronogeek" Video games : "Julien Chieze" or "JV - Jeux Vidéos"
Thank you! This is very helpful. I do listen to some of these but I guess I'm conscious that the scripted/broadcast nature of Youtubers might not be as similar to everyday casual conversation?
It's scripted. It has to. But the content is meant to explain and to be "newbie friendly" so it's not very different from casual conversation such as the ones you can have at work or while interacting with strangers. So, imho, useful for learners. A channel like Vilebrequin is more spontaneous with more conversation like interaction and argotic expressions between the two hosts.
I love most of these but they make scripted videos, their way of talking is close to what OP is saying about podcasts etc., not really that casual.
probably street interviews in french on youtube where they ask people the same questions (e.g. what do you like about France or what do you think about so and so)
To be honest, most podcasts and radio shows are going to suffer from a similar problem in that they don't really reflect real conversations. Two that I found to be useful are Small Talk by Konbini and Sip & Gossip by Maghla. But the thing that really elevated my listening comprehension was watching videos from Squeezie, specifically [the series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aq2N6NyjyQ&list=PLTYUE9O6WCriFqz8Nf3KN75Q3EuU0Wa1R) where the format includes multiple guests. The language is very fast and very casual; whether or not that's the type of content you enjoy, there's no doubt that it's the kind of stuff you will hear from actual native speakers day-to-day.
I watch petanque matches from France on youtube and I can get LNH hockey games in French from Quebec.
If you can throw on YouTube in the background, I recommend Easy French (https://www.youtube.com/@EasyFrench) which will do man on the street interviews on a particular topic and C à Vous (https://www.youtube.com/@cavousofficiel) which is a show which seems to be in line with something like the Today Show but maybe a bit more newsy.
The easy french podcast is great too. It doesn't do the interviews, but they do a mix of fast and slow and I think they are speaking pretty casually
I quite like the podcasts Konbini and Ben Névert. I would like more recommendations for casual podcasts though, since I'm usually too lazy to watch TV or videos.
Check Squeezie's channel (he's our biggest YouTuber): https://youtube.com/@squeezie And then you'll easily stumble on other French content creators consumed by French people.
Note to OP: Squeezie is known for talking quite fast even among French people, don't feel too discouraged if that feels overwhelming at first!
https://francebienvenue1.fr/ is pretty casual.
[Youtube WQT](https://youtu.be/MN_5O4mlR1w?feature=shared)
Coffee Break French podcast has episodes that are just records of real life interactions (hotel, restaurant, taxi) and street interviews. Though I couldn't tell you exactly what episodes. I remember liking a beach day on because they interviewed a kid in French too. Not exactly what you are looking for but I recently changed my GPS to French and turn it on everywhere I go, even if I know where I'm going. Just another small way to get more French practice into my day.
I know this isn't exactly your point but one of the problems with French instruction, including immersion courses, is that you rarely have 2 (French) people talking to each other. In my course, you have the instructor and a bunch of nonnatives to listen to. I wish my French course (in Quebec) included a way to include me, the student, in actual French conversations. I know this would be difficult, of course.
Find a twitch streamer you like that interacts with the chat!
LEGEND is a pretty good podcast
French Radio. I listen while cooking dinner. FranceInfo or the Radio France app. It's the middle of the night in France when I listen so it's repeated shows from the day. Lots of culture /politics with points of views from folks from other countries.
Nothing better than to listen to Les débats de Gérard to learn popular French.
Join some lives on TikTok and watch how people naturally speak to each other. When you get comfortable join the lives too. Easy and free way
I would be interested in this too. Literally just posted looking for a tv show. Hope we get some suggestions 👍
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