Science, Tech & Environment
Living on Earth
October 16, 2016
Paris is famous for many things: fashion, art, cafes — and revolution. Now the City of Light is attempting a new kind of revolution: it now bans cars built before 1997 from the city’s streets during the busy part of weekdays.
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Lifestyle & Belief
The French want to make society safe for religion by banning so-called cults
PRI's The World
July 12, 2014
In France, government-funded agencies help people save their loved ones from so-called cults. But that list includes groups like the Jehovah's Witnesses and, not too long ago, Baptists. Some of them are now fighting back in courts.
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Arts, Culture & Media
How did English become the language of science?
The World in Words
October 06, 2014
It's Nobel Prize season. While scientists throughout the world will be awarded this prestigious prize, there's a good chance all of their research was written up in English. Michael Gordin, a professor of the history of science at Princeton, wrote a new book, "Scientific Babel" that explores the intersection of the history of language and science.
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Health & Medicine
No matter where in the world you are, opting out of childhood vaccines can be a catastrophic choice
PRI's The World
September 10, 2014
The new NOVA special, "Vaccines: Calling the Shots," explores the lingering global resistance to vaccination campaigns. Case studies from around the world explain just how bad the impact can be when groups opt out of childhood shots.
The First Ever 2014 Cadillac ELR: Poolside
Lifestyle & Belief
Cadillac's viral ad glorifies America's crazy work ethic — but my French in-laws don't buy it
PRI's The World
March 10, 2014
There's nothing like a little American exceptionalism to roil some feelings in Europe. Perhaps you've seen the latest Cadillac ad — a tour de force in American pride. But it's engendering a pretty cold reaction from reporter Gerry Hadden's French in-laws.
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Arts, Culture & Media
Cajuns are fiercely proud of their culture, but they're divided over the word 'coonass'
The World in Words
October 01, 2014
Because the word's origins are murky, it's difficult to know just how insulting calling someone a "coonass" used to be. Today, some Cajuns view the word as an ethnic slur, while others have embraced it as a badge of honor.
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Lifestyle & Belief
I never knew how differently France and America value religion
PRI's The World
January 21, 2015
In the United States, we speak easily of different ethnic and religious communities. But the reality is far different in France, where the Charlie Hebdo attacks have brought religion and its place in French society back to the top of the agenda.
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Lifestyle & Belief
No Speedo? Then don't try to go swimming in France — seriously
PRI's The World
September 01, 2014
Public pool rules in France say your swimsuit can't be something you could be found wearing outside the pool. That means no trunks, Bermuda shorts, T-shirts or anything that is not strictly meant for swimming. But bust out all the Speedos you want.
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Business, Finance & Economics
The new regulars at this French café are migrants living in a nearby camp
PRI's The World
January 26, 2016
There are frequent protests in Calais, where the largest camp in France for migrants is located. But is was the appalling living conditions at Grande-Synthe, 30 miles away, that got the attention of Doctors Without Borders. Migrants there try to find the best ways to cope — for many men, that means becoming regulars in a local café. Some in the town even call it 'the Migrants' Café.'
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Conflict & Justice
D-Day veterans make what may be their last trip to Normandy
PRI's The World
June 05, 2014
D-Day veterans in their 80s and 90s are back in Normandy for the 70th anniversary of their landing — for many, most probably — it will be the last major milestone anniversary of the historic invasions they'll spend there.
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Lifestyle & Belief
Does France's 'burqa ban' protect — or persecute?
America Abroad
May 30, 2015
In 2004, France banned the wearing of all conspicuous religious symbols in grade schools. Then, in 2010, France enacted the so-called "burqa ban," making it illegal for Muslim women to wear the traditional face and body covering in public. These rules, based in France’s extreme separation of church and state, have stirred debate over whether France is protecting secularism or stifling religious freedom.