The Sound Kitchen

This week on The Sound Kitchen it’s a doubleheader: you’ll hear the answers to TWO quiz questions, as well as TWO “Listener's Corner" with Paul Myers, and of course, Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. So sit down, relax, and join the banquet! Just click the “play” button above to join the feast. Hello everyone! As noted on the show, I am retiring on 1 October. Unfortunately, The Sound Kitchen is retiring too – I will not be replaced. We’ve had a great time together all these years, haven’t we? Click here to listen to past Sound Kitchen podcasts.   I know you will all stay loyal to RFI English – our service has so much to offer. We’re small, but my colleagues are firebrands! For example, we have wonderful podcasts: Spotlight on France, with journalists Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas; Melissa Chemam’s insightful Spotlight on Africa, and our International Report, usually sent to us by one of our foreign correspondents. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) – to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our team of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. And don’t forget, in addition to our audio bilingual series, you can also learn French through our website “Le Français facile avec rfi”. In addition to online lessons, there are news broadcasts in slow, simple French, with exercises to practice what you’ve heard. Go to their website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be advised on the best-suited activities for your level, according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of the “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour,” and now she heads this key international award-winning RFI department – so stick with it! For the quiz on 24 January: I asked you a question about the Africa Cup of Nations, and an article sent to us by Paul Myers, who was there. You were to re-read his article “Senegal outwit Morocco to claim 2025 Africa Cup of Nations”, and send in the answer to this question: At the 2026 World Cup, which took place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada in June, in which group did Morocco play, and in which group did Senegal play? The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “Morocco will play in Group C against Brazil, Scotland and Haiti. Senegal will feature in Group I with France, Norway, and the team that emerges from the intercontinental play-off in March.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite day of the year? Why? What is it about that day that makes it your favorite?” The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Dipita is also the bonus question winner. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Muhammed Naved, a member of the International DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Muhammad Abdullah, a member of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; RFI Listeners Club member Rodrigo Hunrichse from Bio-Bio, Chile, and last but not least, RFI English listener Sakila Musarrt from Chapainawabganj in Bangladesh.  Congratulations winners! For the quiz on 31 January: You were to listen to our podcast “Spotlight on France”, the brainchild of my colleagues Alison Hird and Sarah Elzas. I hope you listen to it regularly, it’s really quite good. On their programme number 138, Alison reported on La Ménardière, an alternative living arrangement for seniors in the village of Bérat, close to the southern French town of Toulouse. The aim of the project is for seniors to live and grow old together, contributing to society for as long as possible, and to delay – or avoid – the moment when people are forced into institutional care. The answers you were to send in were: How many residents can live at La Ménardière, and what is the selection process? The answer is, to quote Alison: “La Ménardière can house up to 20 residents. The selection process to become one is rigorous. Candidates stay for trial weekends and, if they decide to join, they must then complete a six-month probation period.” The bonus question you answered that week – suggested by Murshida Parvin Lata, the co-chairman of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, Bangladesh – was: “Which daytime temperature do you prefer: cold or hot? Why?” The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Father Steven Wara, who lives and serves in the Cistercian Abbey in Bamenda, Cameroon. Father Steve is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. There’s long-standing RFI Listeners Club member Zenon Teles, who is also the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist – Maoist Association of Listening DX-ERs in Goa, India, as well as another faithful Sound Kitchen listener – and club member – Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, also in India. Moving over to Bangladesh, Anjana Parvin – she’s the secretary of the very active Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon. And last but not the least, club member and my fellow dinosaur, Alan Holder, from England’s Isle of Wight. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; the “AFCON 2025 Official Intro Theme – Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025” by Othmane Laaouina; “What a Wonderful World” by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, sung by Louis Armstrong; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Étincelles”, Op. 36, No. 6 by Moritz Moszkowski, played by Alexander Zhou. I’ll talk to you next week, 26 September, for our final Sound Kitchen together. You’ll hear the answers to the questions about the Grammy Awards Lifetime Achievement Awards and the Benin Bronzes, as well as your responses to the bonus questions on "The Listener’s Corner" with Paul Myers, so be sure and tune in. Until then, fare thee well!

This week on The Sound Kitchen, a special treat: RFI English listener’s musical requests. Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy! Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Nasyr Muhammad, Hossen Abed Ali, and Alan Holder.   Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at [email protected] Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “The Cup of Life” by Luis Gómez Escolar, Desmond Child, and Draco Rosa, sung by Ricky Martin; “Englishman in New York”, written and performed by Sting, and “Mona Lisa” by Raymond B Evans and Jay Livingston, sung by Nat King Cole.

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear your fellow listeners from around the world offering their World Radio greetings. There’s the answer to the question about France’s voluntary military service, The Sound Kitchen Mailbag, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tribute to our Magic Mixer Erwan Rome on “Music FOR Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 17 January, I asked you a question about our article “France launches recruitment for 10-month voluntary national military service”. You were to send in the answer to these two questions: How many volunteers will be accepted into the 2026 program, and what will their jobs be?  The answer is, to quote our article: “From September, around 3,000 volunteers will join the army, navy, or air and space force for missions carried out exclusively on French soil. Tasks will range from helping out during natural disasters and providing support for counter-terrorism surveillance, to more specialized jobs such as drone operation, mechanics, electrical work, baking, or medical support.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is the most romantic thing that has ever been said to you? Or the most romantic action? Or the most romantic gift? Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Murshida Parveen Lata, who is the Co-Chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Murshida is also the winner of this week’s bonus question Congratulations on your double win, Murshida. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ashraf Ali, a member of the International RFI DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Sumara Sabri, a member of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan; Sameen Riaz – also from Pakistan, this time from Sheikupura city – Sameen is a member of the RFI Listeners Club in that fair city, and last but not least, RFI Listeners Club member Sami Mossad from Giza, Egypt. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Fast Bob” by Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg, played by the Rosenberg Ensemble; “La Marseillaise” by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, arranged by Claude Bolling and performed by the Claude Bolling Big Band; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “You’re the Top” by Cole Porter, sung by Ella Fitzgerald.   Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Cambridge University Museum set to return Benin bronzes to Nigeria”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 9 March to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 March podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the knockout tie in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. There’s the Sound Kitchen Mailbag, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 13 December, I asked you a question about Paul Myers’ article “Nigeria power past Mozambique into quarterfinals at Africa Cup of Nations”. Nigeria had just beaten Mozambique 4 to 0. Paul noted in his article that the win was the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since the Africa Cup in 2010. And that was one of your questions: you were to tell me which countries played in the Africa Cup semi-finals in 2010, and who won that knockout tie by 4 to 0. The second question was: In the Nigeria/Mozambique match, what is the name of the Nigerian player who scored the fourth goal? The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “Akor Adams, fed by Lookman, thrashed in Nigeria's fourth goal 15 minutes from time to notch up the biggest winning margin in a Cup of Nations knockout tie since Egypt battered Algeria 4-0 in the semi-finals at the 2010 tournament in Angola.” So, Egypt/Algeria, and Akor Adams are the correct answers. In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from West Bengal, India: “How do you deal with jealousy when your friend achieves something you secretly wished for?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: Amir Jameel, the president of the RFI Online Visitors Club in Sahiwal, Pakistan.  Amir is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Amir. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sharifun Islam Nitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Faheem Noor, the president of the WULO RFI Club in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan. There are also two RFI Listeners Club members: Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene, Denmark, and S. J. Agboola from Ekiti State, Nigeria. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Heer on Sarangi”, traditional music from Pakistan performed by Ustad Sultan Khan; “Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti, performed by Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and the traditional Andalucian “La Saeta del Larios”, sung by Diana Navarro. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “French DJ wins Grammy for Lady Gaga remix”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 2 March to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 March podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the difference in “freedom of expression” between the US and the EU. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. World Radio Day is just around the corner, so it’s time for you to record your greetings for our annual World Radio Day programme! WRD is on 13 February; we'll have our celebration the day after, on the 14 February show. The deadline for your recordings is Monday 2 February, which is not far off! Try to keep your greeting to under a minute. You can record on your phone and send it to me as an attachment in an e-mail to [email protected] Be sure to record your greeting from underneath a blanket. Then the sound will be truly radiophonic – I mean, you want everyone to understand you, right? Don’t miss out on the fun. 2 February is just around the corner, so to your recorders! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 13 December, I asked you a question about the then-new US security strategy, which presented Europe as lacking in "self-confidence" and facing "civilizational erasure" due to immigration. You were to re-read our article “EU Council president rejects political influence in US security plan”, and send in the answer to this question: What did the EU Council president, Antonio Costa, say about the difference in the idea of “free speech” between Europe and the United States? The answer is, to quote our article: "The United States cannot replace Europe in what its vision is of freedom of expression,” Costa said. "There is no freedom of speech if citizens' freedom of information is sacrificed to defend the techno oligarchs in the United States." In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Jayanta’s question was: “What inspiring act have you witnessed that could motivate a nation or society?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Khizar Hayat Shah from Punjab, Pakistan. Khizar is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Khizar. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Faheem Noor, the president of the World United RFI Listeners Organization in Nankana Sahib, Pakistan, and RFI Listeners Club members Solomon Fessahazion from Asmara, Eritrea, as well as Deekay Dimple from Assam, India. Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Liton Hossain Khan from Naogaon in Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Scherzo” from the Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57, by Dmitri Shostakovich, performed by the Quintetto Chigiano; “What’s Going On?” by Marvin Gaye, Al Cleveland, and Reynaldo Benson, performed by Marvin Gaye; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “ Pithecanthropus Erectus” by Charles Mingus, performed by Mingus and his ensemble. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, tune into Alison Hird’s report on alternative retirement living on the “Spotlight on France” podcast number 138 (Reinventing retirement, saving a Paris cinema, counting the French), which will help you with the answer. You have until 23 February to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 28 February podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about Romanian defence strategy. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. World Radio Day is just around the corner, so it’s time for you to record your greetings for our annual World Radio Day programme! WRD is on 13 February; we'll have our celebration the day after, on the 14 February show. The deadline for your recordings is Monday 2 February, which is not far off! Try to keep your greeting to under a minute. You can record on your phone and send it to me as an attachment in an e-mail to [email protected] Be sure to record your greeting from underneath a blanket. Then the sound will be truly radiophonic – I mean, you want everyone to understand you, right? Don’t miss out on the fun. 2 February is just around the corner, so to your recorders! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 6 December, I asked you a question from Jan van der Made’s article and interview with Claudiu Nasui, a former Romanian economy minister and a current member of parliament in the pro-European Save Romania Union party. You were to re-listen to, or re-read, Jan’s “On NATO’s eastern flank, Romania finds itself at the crux of European security”, and send in the answer to this question: What does Nasui think is the core issue for defence spending? What does he think the EU needs to do? The answer is, to quote Jan’s article: “It’s also about spending efficiency. We should buy more European – like the SAM-T and other weapon systems – to achieve economies of scale. For cheap, efficient weapon systems, you need economies of scale, which we won’t get if we don’t buy European. So it’s about more than just investing money – how you invest matters.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India. Debashis asked: “What is the most precious thing in life?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Khondaker Rafiq ul Islam from Naogaon, Bangladesh. Khondakar is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Khondakar. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Najimuddin, the president of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club in West Bengal, India; Bithi Begum, a member of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club member Debashish Gope from West Bengal, India. Last but not least, there’s RFI English listener Abdul Mannan from Chapainawabganj, Bangladesh.  Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Vavavoum” by Romane and Stocchelo Rosenberg, performed by the Rosenberg Ensemble; the Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 op. 11 by George Enescu, performed by the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Măcelaru; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Doktharake Julideh” by Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Sa’di, performed by Mohammad Reza Shajarian and the Aref Ensemble. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myers’ article “Senegal outwit Morocco to claim 2025 Africa Cup of Nations”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 16 February to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 21 February podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the pandas in the Beauval Zoo. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. World Radio Day is just around the corner, so it’s time for you to record your greetings for our annual World Radio Day programme! WRD is on 13 February; we'll have our celebration the day after, on the 14 February show. The deadline for your recordings is Monday 2 February, which is not far off! Try to keep your greeting to under a minute. You can record on your phone and send it to me as an attachment in an e-mail to [email protected] Be sure to record your greeting from underneath a blanket. Then the sound will be truly radiophonic – I mean, you want everyone to understand you, right? Don’t miss out on the fun. 2 February is just around the corner, so to your recorders! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 29 November, I asked you a question about two Chinese pandas – Huan Huan and Yuan Zi – who were in the Beauval Zoo here in France, and had just gone back to China. You were to re-read our article “France says goodbye to star pandas going back to China” and send in the answer to this question: How many cubs did Huan Huan give birth to while here in France? The answer is, to quote our article: “Huan Huan gave birth to three cubs – the first to be born in France. The eldest, Yuan Ming, a male, was sent back to China two years ago, but twins born in August 2021 will remain at Beauval at least until 2027.” The twins’ names are Hunalili and Yuandudu.    In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI English listener Sadequl Bari Liton from Naogaon, Bangladesh, “How do you spend your weekly holiday?”  Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India. Nafisa is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Nafisa. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are A. K. M. Nuruzzaman, the president of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club members Samir Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, India; Kanwar Sandhu from British Columbia in Canada, and last but not least, Habib Ur Rehman Sehla, the president of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan.   Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt by Edvard Grieg, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicolò Foron; the traditional Chinese “Sun Quan the Emperor”; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “L'auzel ques sul bouyssou” (“Bird sitting in the Bush”) by Estienne Moulinié, sung by Claire Lefilliâtre with Le Poème Harmonique conducted by Vincent Dumestre. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myers' article “France launches recruitment for 10-month voluntary national military service”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 9 February to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 February podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, it’s the answer to the question about the recently closed gallery in the Louvre Museum. You’ll hear about my recent trip to Copenhagen, where I met listener Hans Verner Lollike, there are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and it’s all topped off with a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. World Radio Day is just around the corner, so it’s time for you to record your greetings for our annual World Radio Day program! WRD is on 13 February;  we'll have our celebration the day after, on the 14 February show. The deadline for your recordings is Monday 2 February, which is not far off! Try to keep your greeting to under a minute. You can record on your phone and send it to me as an attachment in an e-mail to [email protected] Be sure to record your greeting from underneath a blanket. Then the sound will be truly radiophonic - I mean, you want everyone to understand you, right? Don’t miss out on the fun. 2 February is just around the corner, so to your recorders! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 22 November, I asked you a question about the world’s most visited museum – the Louvre here in Paris. The museum was back in the news, due to an architectural audit that turned up structural weaknesses in some of the beams in the building.  You were to re-read our article “Louvre Museum in Paris shuts gallery over structural safety fears”, and send in the answer to these two questions: What is the name of the gallery that has been closed, and what artworks are in that gallery? The answer is: The Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms dedicated to ancient Greek ceramics.  In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What are your unique relationship rules?   Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Kashif Khalil from Faisalabad, Pakistan. Kashif is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Kashif. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Nuraiz Bin Zaman, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listeners Club member Nasyr Muhammad from Katsina State, Nigeria. Last but not least, RFI English listeners Murshida Akhter Lata, the co-chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Miss Shuno, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Barkley’s Bug” by David Grishman, performed by the David Grishman Quintet; Traditional Greek music produced by Visual Melodies; the “Rondo” from Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto no. 1, performed by Krystian Zimmerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Guinnevere” by David Crosby, arranged and performed by Miles Davis and his ensemble. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myers' article “Nigeria power past Mozambique into quarterfinals at Africa Cup of Nations”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 2 February to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 February podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear our annual listener New Year’s Resolution show, co-hosted by my daughter Mathilde (as always!) There’s plenty of good music, too, to keep you in the holiday mood. Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz and bonus questions, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. There’s no quiz this week – check in next week, 10 January, for the answer to the question about the gallery in the Louvre Museum that had to be closed. Thanks to everyone who sent in their Resolutions – may you make good progress in keeping them! And many thanks to this week’s co-host, my daughter Mathilde Daguzan-Owensby, and for the contributions to the show from Olivia Morrow and Evan Coffey. And of course, hats off to the Magic Mixer Erwan Rome, who made this show sing!  Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Be Our Guest” by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman; the traditional “Auld Lang Syne” performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra; “A House with Love in It” by Sid Lippman and Sylvia Dee, sung by Nat King Cole; “Winter Wonderland” by Felix Smith, performed by the Chet Baker Quartet; “Let it Snow” by Sammy Cahn, sung by Leon Redbone; “Sleigh Ride” by Leroy Anderson, performed by the Sam Bush Ensemble, and “We Wish you the Merriest” by Les Brown, sung by June Christie. From the entire RFI English service, we wish you a Happy 2026!

Feast your ears on listener Rasheed Naz’s “My Ordinary Hero” essay. All it takes is a little click on the “Play” button above! Hello everyone! This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear a “My Ordinary Hero” essay by listener Rasheed Naz from Faisal Abad, Pakistan.  I hope you’ll be inspired to write an essay for us, too! If your essay goes on the air, you’ll find a package in the mail from The Sound Kitchen. Write in about your “ordinary” heroes – the people in your community who are doing extraordinarily good work, quietly working to make the world a better place, in whatever way they can. As listener Pramod Maheshwari said: “Just as small drops of water can fill a pitcher, small drops of kindness can change the world.” I am still looking for your “This I Believe” essays, too. Tell us about the principles that guide your life … what you have found to be true from your very own personal experience. Or write about a book that changed your perspective on life, a person who you admire, festivals in your community, your most memorable moment, and/or your proudest achievement. If your essay is chosen to go on-the-air – read by you – you’ll win a special prize! Send your essays to [email protected] Or by postal mail, to: Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France I look forward to hearing from you soon! Here's Rashid Naz’s essay: Heroes are not always found in stories or movies. Sometimes they live among us, quietly working to make our world a better place. My “ordinary” hero is a community leader in our town, someone who has taught me that real heroism comes from serving others with kindness and courage. Our community leader, Mr. Ahmed, is not rich or powerful, but he has a heart full of compassion. He organizes clean up drives, helps poor families, and encourages young people to stay in school. Whenever there is a problem - a sick neighbor, a broken road, or a family in need - he is the first to step forward. His actions remind us that small efforts can bring big changes. What I admire most about him is his humility. He never seeks fame or reward. When people thank him, he simply says, “We are all responsible for our community.” Those words inspire me. He believes that leadership means service, not authority, and he proves it every day through his actions. To many people, he might seem like an ordinary man. But to me, he is a true hero - a symbol of dedication, honesty, and hope. Because of him, I’ve learned that anyone can be a hero, not by wearing a cape, but by using their heart to make a difference. That is why my “ordinary” hero is our community leader Mr Ahmed, a man whose quiet strength and selfless service continue to inspire us all.     Be sure and tune in next week for our annual New Year’s Resolutions program! Talk to you then!

This week on The Sound Kitchen, there’s a special Christmas programme from us to you.  Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy! Hello everyone! Merry Christmas! This is Alberto Rios’ poem, which you heard him read on the programme. Christmas on the Border, 1929 1929, the early days of the Great Depression. The desert air was biting, but the spirit of the season was alive. Despite hard times, the town of Nogales, Arizona, determined They would host a grand Christmas party For the children in the area—a celebration that would defy The gloom of the year, the headlines in the paper, and winter itself. In the heart of town, a towering Christmas tree stood, A pine in the desert. Its branches, they promised, would be adorned With over 3,000 gifts. 3,000. The thought at first was to illuminate the tree like at home, With candles, but it was already a little dry. Needles were beginning to contemplate jumping. A finger along a branch made them all fall off. People brought candles anyway. The church sent over Some used ones, too. The grocery store sent Some paper bags, which settled things. Everyone knew what to do. They filled the bags with sand from the fire station, Put the candles in them, making a big pool of lighted luminarias. From a distance the tree was floating in a lake of light— Fire so normally a terror in the desert, but here so close to miracle. For the tree itself, people brought garlands from home, garlands Made of everything, walnuts and small gourds and flowers, Chilies, too—the chilies themselves looking A little like flames. The townspeople strung them all over the beast— It kept getting bigger, after all, with each new addition, This curious donkey whose burden was joy. At the end, the final touch was tinsel, tinsel everywhere, more tinsel. Children from nearby communities were invited, and so were those From across the border, in Nogales, Sonora, a stone’s throw away. But there was a problem. The border. As the festive day approached, it became painfully clear— The children in Nogales, Sonora, would not be able to cross over. They were, quite literally, on the wrong side of Christmas. Determined to find a solution, the people of Nogales, Arizona, Collaborated with Mexican authorities on the other side. In a gesture as generous as it was bold, as happy as it was cold: On Christmas Eve, 1929, For a few transcendent hours, The border moved. Officials shifted it north, past city hall, in this way bringing The Christmas tree within reach of children from both towns. On Christmas Day, thousands of children— American and Mexican, Indigenous and orphaned— Gathered around the tree, hands outstretched, Eyes wide, with shouting and singing both. Gifts were passed out, candy canes were licked, And for one day, there was no border. When the last present had been handed out, When the last child returned home, The border resumed its usual place, Separating the two towns once again. For those few hours, however, the line in the sand disappeared. The only thing that mattered was Christmas. Newspapers reported no incidents that day, nothing beyond The running of children, their pockets stuffed with candy and toys, Milling people on both sides, The music of so many peppermint candies being unwrapped. On that chilly December day, the people of Nogales Gathered and did what seemed impossible: However quietly regarding the outside world, They simply redrew the border. In doing so, they brought a little more warmth to the desert winter. On the border, on this day, they had a problem and they solved it.   Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The traditional “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” sung by the Gracias Choir conducted by Eunsook Park, and “Santa Claus Llego A La Ciudad” by J.Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie, sung by Luis Miguel. Be sure and tune in next week, 27 December, for a “My Ordinary Hero” essay by your fellow listener Rasheed Naz.     

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the water hyacinths in Ghana. There’s The Sound Kitchen mailbag, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 8 November, I asked you a question about an article sent to us by RFI English correspondent Michael Sarpong Mfum, who reports for us from Ghana. His article, “Invasive water hyacinths choke wildlife and livelihoods in southern Ghana”, is about the water hyacinth, a free-floating aquatic plant native to the Amazon River basin in South America. It’s also one of the world’s most invasive species. The water hyacinth has found its way to Ghana, notably Lake Volta, a vast reservoir behind a hydroelectric dam that generates much of the country's power. Your question was: What are the consequences for Ghana’s Eastern and Volta regions from this hyacinth invasion? What did Jewel Kudjawu, the director of the EPA's Intersectoral Network Department, warn about? The answer is, to quote Michael’s article: “Jewel Kudjawu, director of the EPA's Intersectoral Network Department, warned that the weed's uncontrolled growth has dire consequences for aquatic life, fishing communities and hydropower production.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What was the best week of your life? Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, India. Radhakrishna is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Radhakrishna. Be sure and look at The Sound Kitchen and the RFI English Listeners Forum Facebook pages to see the stamps from Bhutan with Radhakrishna’s picture! Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Debjani Biswas, a member of the RFI Pariwar Bandhu SWL Club in Chhattisgarh, India, and RFI Listeners Club member Mahfuzur Rahman from Cumilla, Bangladesh. Rounding out the list are RFI English listeners Shihabur Rahaman Sadman from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Bashir Ahmad, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: Music for the Royal Fireworks by George Frederick Handel, performed by Le Concert des Nations conducted by Jordi Savall; “Igbo Highlife”, produced by Mr. Zion; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Lança Perfume” by Roberto de Carvalho and Rita Lee, sung by Rita Lee. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Jan van der Made’s article “EU Council president rejects political influence in US security plan”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 26 January to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 31 January podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about women’s concerns in Côte d’Ivoire. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 1 November, I asked you to listen to RFI English journalist Melissa Chemam’s podcast Spotlight on Africa: “Inside Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal election: voices of hope and uncertainty”. Melissa had traveled to Côte d’Ivoire to cover their presidential election and talked to a wide variety of people about their hopes, their fears, and their desires for their country. Near the beginning of the show, Melissa talks about women who, she says, were very involved in the campaigns – as event organizers, supporters, and mothers. Melissa enumerates the main concerns of the Ivorian women – and that was your question. What are the four main concerns the women of Côte d’Ivoire voiced during the presidential campaign? The answers are, as Melissa noted in her podcast, work, school for kids, childcare, and healthcare. In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: How do you make friends as an adult? Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Father Stephen Wara. Father Stephen is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Father Steve! Also on the list of lucky winners this week are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist - Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India; Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State in India; Helmut Matt from Herzbolheim, Germany, and last but not least, Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: “Tapez fort” produced by DJ Tevecinq; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams;  “Little Toot” by Allie Wrubel, sung by the Andrews Sisters, and “Little Rootie Tootie” by Thelonious Monk, performed by Monk and the Thelonius Monk Trio.  Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Jan van der Made’s article “On NATO’s eastern flank, Romania finds itself at the crux of European security”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 19 January to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 24 January podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the OTHER famous theft from the Louvre Museum. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, and a tasty musical dessert on Erwan Rome’s “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. You must get your resolutions to me by 15 December to be included in the show. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counselled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 25 October, just days after the famous theft of the French crown jewels from the Louvre, I asked you a question about another famous theft from the Louvre. You were to re-read our article “Paris police hunt Louvre thieves after priceless jewels vanish in daring heist”, and send in the answers to these three questions: Which artwork was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, and by whom? How did he do it? The answers are, to quote our article: “In 1911, the Mona Lisa famously vanished from its frame, spirited away by Vincenzo Peruggia, a former museum employee who hid overnight in a broom cupboard and simply walked out with the painting under his coat.” Interesting fun fact, also in our article: The Mona Lisa at that time was not a famous painting at all. Because the theft made global headlines, when it was recovered two years later in Florence, it had become the most famous painting in the world. In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What “Instant Karma” incident have you been involved in?   Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Jayanta Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Jayanta is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Jayanta. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Naved Rayan, the president of the RFI Fan Club in Murshidibad, India. There are RFI Listeners Club members Sahadot Hossain from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh and Karobi Hazarika from Assam, India, and last but not least, RFI English listener Khizar Hayat Shah, the president of the Sadat Listeners Club in Punjab, Pakistan. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s programme: The “Hunting Song” from Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words Op.19 No.3, performed by Daniel Barenboim; the theme from To Catch a Thief by Armando Trovajoli; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “The Harder They Come” by Jimmy Cliff, performed by Jimmy Cliff and his ensemble.   Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “France says goodbye to star pandas going back to China”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 12 January to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 17 January podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the Gen Z demonstrations in Morocco. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tasty musical dessert to wrap it all up.  All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 18 October, I asked you a question about Morocco, where the young people are demanding reforms on education and health care, as well as tackling corruption and a cost-of-living crisis. You were to re-read our article “Morocco Gen Z protesters call for 'peaceful sit-ins' to demand reforms”, and send in the answers to these two questions: What happened in the city of Agadir that lit the flame of the protests in September? And what is the combined cost the kingdom spent on renovating or building the stadiums for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup? The answers are, to quote our article: “The protests erupted in late September, after the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir, in southern Morocco, sparked anger over conditions at public health facilities.”  And for the second question: “Economist Najib Akesbi says there is a fundamental problem in how resources are allocated. ‘The needs of the majority of the population are clearly not being prioritised,’ he told RFI. ‘Instead, ostentatious, prestige-driven spending is favoured. That’s the great imbalance.’ The country’s large-scale sports infrastructure – the stadiums built or renovated for the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA World Cup, with a combined budget of nearly €2 billion – are the most striking examples, Akesbi argued. ‘The big problem in Morocco is that we invest massively, but often in projects that are not profitable, that generate neither sufficient growth nor enough jobs,’ he says.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What is your favorite memory of your grandparents?   Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim in Germany. Helmut is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Helmut. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Reepa Bain, a member of the RFI Pariwer Bandhu SWL Club in Chhattisgarh, India, and Rubi Saikia, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, also in India. Last but not least, there are RFI English listeners Zeeshan, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khanewal, Pakistan, and Zhum Zhum Sultana Eva, from Naogaon, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: Polonaise op 2, no 2 by Dionisio Aguado, performed by Julian Bream; “Raqsa cha'abya”  by Abderrahman el Hadri, performed by el Hadri and his ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Tune for T” by Laurent de Wilde, performed by de Wilde and the New Monk Trio. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Louvre Museum in Paris shuts gallery over structural safety fears”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 15 December to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 20 December podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear an interview with Lisa Waller Rogers about her new book When People Were Things: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Historian Lisa Waller Rogers, whom you'll hear from today, has just published a book about the long fight to end slavery in the United States. Called When People Were Things: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abraham Lincoln and The Emancipation Proclamation, it is published by Barrel Cactus Press. I hope you can find it where you live. You might also look for Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the novel that put the spotlight on what slavery really was.  It sounds early, but it’s not. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now, and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!   Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, and a tasty musical dessert from Erwan Rome on “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. It sounds early, but it’s not. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now, and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 11 October, I asked you to send in the answer to these two questions: Who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, and why was she chosen? The answers are: The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize went to the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, because she is, as Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said, “One of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times." In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Jocelyne D’Errico, who lives in New Zealand. Her question was: “What is the hardest problem you had to resolve in your work or school life?”  Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Shahanoaz Parvin Ripa, the chairwoman of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, Bangladesh. Shahanoaz is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Shahanoaz. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, the president of the Kemogemba RFI Club in Tarime, Mara, Tanzania. There’s Rubi Saikia, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India; RFI Listeners Club member Helmut Matt from Herbolzheim, Germany, and last but not least, RFI English listener H. M. Tarek from Narayanganj, Bangladesh.  Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Le matin d´un jour de féte” from Claude Debussy’s Iberia, performed by the Czech Philhamonic conducted by Jean Fournet; “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon, performed by John Lennon & Friends; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Nine Over Reggae” by Jack DeJohnette, performed by DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, and Herbie Hancock. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Michael Sarpong Mfum’s article  “Invasive water hyacinths choke wildlife and livelihoods in southern Ghana”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 1 December to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 6 December podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about Moldova’s political players. There are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner” with Paul Myers, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and a tasty musical dessert from Erwan Rome on “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. It sounds early, but it’s not. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now, and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 4 October, I asked you a question about Moldova’s legislative elections. The pro-EU ruling party, the Party of Action and Solidarity – the PAS - won the elections with more than 50 percent of the vote. You were to re-read our article “Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party wins majority in parliamentary elections”, and send in the answer to these three questions: What is the name of the head of the PAS, what is the name of the party that is pro-Russian, and what was the voter turnout? The answers are: Maia Sandu is the name of the head of the PAS. The name of the party that is pro-Russian is the Patriotic Electoral Bloc. Voter turnout was around 52 percent, similar to that of the last parliamentary elections in 2021. And just so you know, the population of Moldova is 2.4 million. In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: What do you do when one of your best friends falls in love with someone you dislike? Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Alan Holder from the Isle of Wight, Britain. Alan is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations on your double win, Alan. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Sakirun Islam Mitu, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; Muhammad Muneeb Khan, a member of the RFI Listeners Club in Sheikhupura, Pakistan; RFI Listeners Club member Babby Noor al Haya Hussen from Odisha, India, and RFI English listener Ripa Binte Rafiq from Naogaon, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: The “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, performed by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan; the traditional Moldovian “Hora Boierească” performed by the Orchestra Fraților Advahov; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich, performed by the Steve Reich Ensemble. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-listen to Melissa Chemam’s Spotlight on Africa podcast “Inside Côte d’Ivoire’s pivotal election: voices of hope and uncertainty”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 24 November to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 29 November podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the French Ballon d’Or Awards. There’s a story from listener Jayanta Chakrabarty, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listeners Corner”, and a tasty musical dessert from today’s mixer, Vincent Pora. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. It sounds early, but it’s not. 2026 is right around the corner, and I know you want to be a part of our annual New Year celebration, where, with special guests, we read your New Year’s resolutions. So start thinking now, and get your resolutions to me by 15 December. You don’t want to miss out! Send your New Year’s resolutions to [email protected] Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 27 September, I asked you a question about Paul Myers’ article “Dembélé and Bonmati win Ballon d'Or as PSG take team and coach prizes”. The French Ballon d’Or award is awarded every year to the top football players in Europe, both men and women. You were to send in the answer to these three questions: What is the name of the football prize for strikers, who won the men's, and for which teams does he play? The answer is, to quote Paul’s article: “In other awards, Viktor Gyokeres received the Gerd Müller Trophy to honour the striker of the year. Playing for Sporting Lisbon and Sweden, he netted 54 goals in 52 matches to top the scoring charts across the continent.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?”, which was suggested by Rafiq Khondaker, the chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Rafiq Khondaker, the chairman of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Rafiq is also the winner of this week’s bonus question – and the listener who asked the question! Congratulations on your double win, Rafiq, and thanks for all the bonus question ideas you regularly send to us.   Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India, and Ras Franz Manko Ngogo, the president of the Kemogemba RFI Club in Tarime, Mara, Tanzania. There are RFI Listeners Club members Zenon Teles, who’s also the president of the Christian – Marxist – Leninist - Maoist Association of Listening DX-ers in Goa, India, and last but assuredly not least, Shaira Hosen Mo from Kishoreganj in Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Mathar”, mixed by Brendan Lynch and performed by the Indian Vibes Ensemble; “Carnival De Paris” by Dario G, performed by the Dario G Ensemble; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Hurt” by Trent Reznor, sung by Johnny Cash. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Paris police hunt Louvre thieves after priceless jewels vanish in daring heist”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 17 November to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 22 November podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about France’s budget deficit. There’s a lovely French poem, your answers to the bonus question on “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers, and a perfect musical dessert from Erwan Rome on “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 30 August, I asked you a question about France’s budget problems … since I asked that question, two governments have been dissolved: that of François Bayrou, and that of the next in line, Sébastien Lecornu, who quit after just a few days, but now he’s back. It’s a high-level game of musical chairs, and we still are not anywhere near coming up with a budget. You were to read our article “French PM puts government on line with call for confidence vote” and send in the answers to these two questions: What is France’s budget deficit, and what is the official European Union limit for a country’s budget deficit?   The answer is, to quote our article: “After years of overspending, France is on notice to tame a budget deficit that hit 5.8 percent of gross domestic product last year, nearly double the official EU limit of 3 percent.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What is your favorite memory of your mother?” The question was suggested by Liton Rahaman Mia from Naogaon, Bangladesh. Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India. Debashis is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Debashis. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Paresh Hazarika, a member of the United RFI Listeners Club in Assam, India, and RFI Listeners Club members Shadman Hosen Ayon from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, as well as Arne Timm from Harjumaa in Estonia. Last but certainly not least, RFI English listener Rowshan Ara Labone from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Les Feuilles Mortes” by Jacques Prévert, set to music by Joseph Kosma and sung by Yves Montand; “Twelfth Street Rag” by Euday L. Bowman; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Serenade to a Cuckoo” by Roland Kirk, performed by Kirk and the Roland Kirk Quartet. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Morocco Gen Z protesters call for 'peaceful sit-ins' to demand reforms”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 10 November to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 15 November podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the UN conference in July about a Palestine/Israel two-state solution. You’ll hear from the eminent primatologist Jane Goodall, there are your answers to the bonus question on “The Listener’s Corner”, and a lovely musical dessert from Erwan Rome on “Music from Erwan”. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 24 July, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would formally recognize a State of Palestine at the UN General Assembly, which was in September. Following Macron’s announcement, there was a two-day conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. Co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, ministers from across the world discussed fostering the Israeli and Palestinian states living peacefully side-by-side. You were to re-read our article: “UN gathers to advance two-state solution to Israel-Palestine conflict”, and send in the answer to this question: Aside from recognizing Palestinian statehood, what other three issues were discussed at the conference? The answer is, to quote our article: “Beyond facilitating conditions for the recognition of a Palestinian state, the meeting will focus on three other issues – reform of the Palestinian Authority, disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from Palestinian public life, and normalisation of relations with Israel by Arab states.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by Rafiq Khondaker, the president of the Source of Knowledge Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Rafiq’s question was: “What is your favorite historical site in your country? Why?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: Fatematuj Zahra, the co-secretary of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Fatematuj is also this week’s bonus question winner. Congratulations on your double win, Fatematuj. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Naved Raiyan, the president of the RFI Fan Club in Murshidibad, India, along with a fellow Murshidabadite, Asif Ahemmed, a member of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club. There are RFI Listeners Club members Rodrigo Hunrichse from Ciudad de Concepción in Chile, and last but not least, RFI English listener Miss Kausar, a member of the International Radio Fan and Youth Club in Khānewāl, Pakistan. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Ständchen” by Franz Schubert, arranged by Franz Liszt and performed by Vladimir Viardo; the traditional “Longa Alla”, performed by the Ensemble musical de Palestine; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and the selections from the anonymous L'amour de moy, performed by Doulce Mémoire conducted by recorder player Denis Raisin Dadre with singer Jean François-Olivier. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article about the winner, which will help you with the answer. You have until 3 November to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 8 November podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about the Duplomb law. There’s “On This Day”, “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers, Ollia Horton’s “Happy Moment”, and a lovely musical dessert to finish it all off. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 26 July, I asked you a question about Paul Myers' article “Petition seeking repeal of new French farming law passes one million signatures”. It was about the Duplomb law, which was passed by the French parliament on 8 July. The law would allow the pesticide acetamiprid to be used, after a ban since 2018. French farmers protested the ban because it is allowed at the European level; they say it puts them at a disadvantage with their European counterparts. But two weeks after the bill passed, Eléonore Pattery, a young student from Bordeaux, launched a petition calling for a recall. And that was your question: you were to write in with the number of signatures on that petition as of 20 July, and also how many signatures French law requires before the lower house of Parliament, the Assemblée Nationale, has the right to hold a public debate on the contents of the petition. The answer is, to quote Paul's article: “Late on Sunday, the 20th of July, the number of signatures had risen to 1,159,000. Under French rules, once a petition crosses that threshold and has verified signatures from throughout the country, the Assemblée Nationale has the right to hold a public debate on the contents of the petition. The regulations also state that even if a petition gathers 500,000 names, it does not mean that the legislation will be reviewed or repealed.” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question, suggested by RFI Listeners Club member Jocelyne D'Errico from New Zealand. She wanted to know how you feel and what you think about soulmates. Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI English listener Kalyani Basak from West Bengal, India. Kalyani is also the winner of this week’s bonus quiz. Congratulations, Kalyani, on your double win. Also on the list of lucky winners this week are Akbar Waseem, a member of the RFI Seven Stars Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan; RFI Listeners Club member Rasel Sikder from Madaripur, Bangladesh, and RFI English listeners Sadman Shihab Khondaker from Naogaon and Momo Jahan Moumita, the co-secretary of the Sonali Badhan Female Listeners Club in Bogura, both in Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: España by Emmanuel Chabrier, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ataúlfo Argenta; “Hoe-Down” from the ballet Rodeo by Aaron Copland, performed by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Mama Used to Say” by Junior Giscomb and Bob Carter, sung by Junior Giscomb. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article "Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party wins majority in parliamentary elections", which will help you with the answer. You have until 27 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 4 November podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you’ll hear the answer to the question about exoplanets.  There’s “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers,  the new quiz and bonus questions, and a lovely musical dessert to finish it all off, so click the “Play” button above and enjoy!  Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week. Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [email protected] More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos. Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you! Our website “Le Français facile avec rfi” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bilingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard. Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”, and you’ll be counseled on the best-suited activities for your level according to your score. Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service, told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it”. She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it! Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts! In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more. There’s Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, the International Report, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We also have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. Remember, podcasts are radio, too! As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Please keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with! To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone. To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.   Teachers take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload! This week’s quiz: On 19 July, I asked you a question about RFI English journalist Dhananjay Khadilkar’s video and article about the study of exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, which are planets outside of our solar system. As you read in Dhananjay’s article “Swiss exoplanet pioneer reflects on Earth’s place in the cosmos”, Didier Queloz, along with Michel Mayor, discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star in 1995, which ushered in, as Dhananjay wrote, a new era in astronomy and planetary science. The two scientists won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work. Dhananjay met with Didier Queloz, who told him, and I quote: “Looking for exoplanets is essentially looking for us.” What did Professor Queloz mean by that? You were to send in the answer to this question: According to Queloz, what is the essential reason for studying other planets? The answer is, to quote Dhananjay Khadilkar’s article: “In essence, by studying other planetary systems, scientists are holding up a mirror to our own. Are the conditions that led to Earth’s habitability common or exceedingly rare? Is our solar system an outlier, or just one example among countless others?” In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “Is it up to the State, the government, to decide what is fair, or what is just?” Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us! The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Dipita is also the winner of this week’s bonus quiz. Congratulations, Dipita, on your double win. Also on the list of lucky winners is RFI Listeners Club member Pradip Basak from Kerala, India, and RFI English listeners Debashis Gope from West Bengal, India; Liton Rahaman Khan from Naogaon, Bangladesh, and Rashidul Bin Somor, the General Secretary of the Source of Knowledge Club, also in Naogaon. Congratulations winners! Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: The allegro di molto from the Symphony No 38 in C Major (the “Echo” symphony) by Franz Joseph Haydn, performed by the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer; “Space Ambient” produced by Space Relax; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Young at Heart” by Johnny Richards and Carolyn Leigh, sung by Connie Francis. Do you have a music request? Send it to [email protected] This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read Paul Myers’ article “Dembélé and Bonmati win Ballon d'Or as PSG take team and coach prizes”, which will help you with the answer. You have until 20 October to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 25 October podcast. When you enter, be sure to send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: [email protected] or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France Click here to find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize. Click here to find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, a special treat: Musical choices from The Sound Kitchen team!  Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy. Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from Erwan, Paul, and me. Be sure you send in your music requests. Write to me at [email protected] Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Picadillo de Soya” by José Luis Cortés, performed by José Luis Cortés and NG La Banda; “Electricity” by Paul Humphreys and Andrew McCluskey, performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and “One Life to Live” from Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, performed by Teresa Stratas with the Y Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz. The quiz will be back next Saturday, the 27th of September. Be sure and tune in! 

This week on The Sound Kitchen, a special treat: RFI English listener’s musical requests. Just click on the “Play” button above and enjoy! Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. This week, you’ll hear musical requests from your fellow listeners Ali Shahzad, Jocelyne D’Errico, and a composition by B. Trappy.   Be sure you send in your music requests! Write to me at [email protected] Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: “Love is Stronger”, written and performed by B. Trappy; “Coups et Blessures” written by Adrien Gallo and performed by BB Brunes, and “Misty”, by Erroll Garner and Johnny Burke, performed by Sarah Vaughan with Quincy Jones and His Orchestra. The ePOP video competition is open! The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. The ePOP contest is your space to ensure these voices are heard. How do you do it? With a three-minute ePOP video. It should be pure testimony, captured by your lens: the spoken word reigns supreme. No tricks, no music, no text on the screen. Just the raw authenticity of an encounter, in horizontal format (16:9). An ePOP film is a razor-sharp look at humanity that challenges, moves, and enlightens. From June 12 to September 12, 2025, ePOP invites you to reach out, open your eyes, and create a unique bridge between a person and the world. Join the ePOP community and make reality vibrate! Click here for all the information you need. We expect to be overwhelmed with entries from the English speakers!