The best French podcasts for learners
Here are 21 podcasts for learning French by listening, sorted by level: from slow, clear shows for beginners to podcasts made for native speakers.
Beginner
Slow, clear speech. A good first step after beginner videos.
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Causette en chaussettes
Mona (French Station) · France
- Episode length
- ~11 min
- Transcripts
- Free
Short episodes about everyday life in France, each told twice: first slowly, then at natural speed.
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Le français c’est facile ! avec Adrien. Pour débutants
Adrien · France
- Episode length
- ~5 min
Five-minute episodes on everyday topics, in short sentences spoken clearly. Adrien’s main show, Le français c’est facile !, is the next step up.
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LanguaTalk Slow French
Gaëlle (LanguaTalk) · France
- Episode length
- ~26 min
- Transcripts
- Free
A teacher talks slowly about French culture, history and society, almost entirely in French. Free interactive transcripts on LanguaTalk’s site.
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Coffee Break French
Mark and Anna (Coffee Break Languages)
- Episode length
- ~19 min
A structured course taught mostly in English, with a teacher and a learner working through the basics lesson by lesson. Best for complete beginners, before moving on to the French-only shows here.
Intermediate
Natural-ish pace on everyday topics. Most learners spend the longest here.
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innerFrench
Hugo and Ingrid · France
- Episode length
- ~34 min
Clear, thoughtful episodes on ideas, society and culture. The show ended in 2026, but all 200 episodes are still up, and the early ones are the easiest, so start from episode 1.
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Easy French
Hélène and Judith · France
- Episode length
- ~25 min
- Transcripts
- With a paid plan
Relaxed chats about everyday life and culture in France, plus answers to listeners’ questions and voice messages.
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Français Authentique
Johan Tekfak · France
- Episode length
- ~14 min
Short talks on everyday life, motivation and learning French, entirely in French.
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Quebec French Podcast
Frederic Patenaude · Quebec
- Episode length
- ~9 min
- Transcripts
- Free
Short episodes in Quebec French about life, language and culture in Quebec, from a teacher who grew up there.
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French With Panache
Violaine and Nathan · France
- Episode length
- ~59 min
- Transcripts
- With a paid plan
Two journalists and French teachers chat about everyday life, culture and society in France at a natural pace.
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impolyglot
Lionel Junior · France
- Episode length
- ~10 min
Lionel talks about getting past the intermediate plateau, and his short Flashcard Friday episodes each explain one everyday expression.
Upper intermediate
Faster conversation and more varied vocabulary.
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One Thing in a French Day
Laetitia Perraut · France
- Episode length
- ~5 min
Short stories from daily life in Paris, told at natural speed and aimed at B2 to C1 listeners.
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French Baratin
Cécile, Rafael and Sibylle · France
- Episode length
- ~48 min
- Transcripts
- With a paid plan
Three friends discuss French society at a normal pace, without talking over each other. One long episode a month, with short ones in between.
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Journal en français facile
RFI · France
- Episode length
- ~10 min
- Transcripts
- Free
World news every weekday in simpler French than a normal bulletin, with a free transcript of each one on RFI’s learner site.
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French Mornings with Elisa
Elisa · France
- Episode length
- ~25 min
- Transcripts
- Free
Conversations about French culture and society, often with a guest. A free PDF transcript of each episode comes by email.
Advanced
Made for native speakers.
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Transfert
Slate.fr · France
- Episode length
- ~37 min
A true story every week about a turning point in someone’s life. Made for native speakers, with a back catalogue going back to 2016.
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Affaires sensibles
Fabrice Drouelle (France Inter) · France
- Episode length
- ~34 min
French public radio tells the story of a famous trial, scandal or adventure, often followed by a talk with a guest who knows it well.
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Choses à Savoir – Culture générale
Choses à Savoir · France
- Episode length
- ~2 min
Two-minute answers to general-knowledge questions, with new ones every day. Made for native speakers, but short enough to replay until you catch every word.
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Le Point J
RTS · Switzerland
- Episode length
- ~14 min
Swiss public radio answers one news question, Monday to Thursday, usually with an expert guest.
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Les Belges du bout du monde
Adrien Joveneau (RTBF) · Belgium
- Episode length
- ~43 min
Belgian radio’s long-running travel show: conversations with Belgians living abroad and people who have settled in Belgium.
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Le débat africain
Namouri Dosso (RFI) · Africa
- Episode length
- ~39 min
African journalists and commentators debate the week’s news as seen from the continent, so you hear a range of African French accents.
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Aujourd’hui l’histoire
Maxime Coutié (Radio-Canada) · Quebec
- Episode length
- ~23 min
Each episode looks at one person, event or idea from history with a guest, often from Quebec’s own past.
No transcripts? Make your own.
PolyPod Pro transcribes any episode on your iPhone, so you can read along with every show on this list, including the ones without transcripts.
How I picked these
These are popular shows with French learners, chosen to cover every level and accents from France, Quebec, Switzerland, Belgium and Africa. Each one is checked against its own feed and website for its hosts, typical episode length and whether it has transcripts.
Levels come from each show’s own description where it gives one, and from where learners usually place it where it doesn’t.
If anything here is out of date, email support@polypod.app.
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