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About This Podcast
This is the podcast we never had and probably the reason why one of us still doesn’t speak German and the other one never really learned French. We’re a German–French duo who spend a lot of time talking about words. Not to teach vocabulary, but to understand what’s actually going on underneath.
This is not a language course.
And definitely not a “how to behave” guide.
It’s about:
- why things feel different in Germany and France
- what we secretly admire (and don’t understand) about each others culture
- work culture, daily life, and unspoken rules
- and laughing at ourselves instead of taking everything too seriously
If you’re living between cultures, working in Germany, curious about France, or just enjoy honest conversations with a bit of humor and self-irony — you’re in the right place.
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Recent Episodes
S1E20 #20 - The One Where We Have Zero Structure (But A Lot Of Fun)
Recording from a sweltering 26-degree podcast studio in Berlin, Alex’s brain is officially melting. 🥵Welcome to Episode 20! After an awkward pause and some complaints about the heat, we dive into the…
S1E19 #19 - The One Where We Record Live From Paris
Recording live from the 4th arrondissement in Paris! (Video Podcast available on Spotify!) 🥐Welcome to Episode 19. Alex and Coline are officially in the same room (and the same country). After…
S1E18 #18 - The One Where We Talk About Dating
Navigating the international dating scene is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅Welcome to Episode 18! After a short break, Coline is back from the…
S1E17 #17 - The One Where We Debunk The French Paradox
Believing that red wine magically cancels out a heavy cheese diet is one of those cultural myths we all desperately want to be true. 😅Welcome to Episode 17! We kick things off with Coline’s recent…
S1E16 #16 - The One Where We Discover the Art of French Gastronomy
This week, Coline takes Alex into the very serious world of French food culture, table manners, and the sacred rules of eating together. Alex starts with the very German assumption that “gastronomie”…
S1E15 #15 - The One Where Germans Wait At A Red Light At 3 AM
Happy Monday, and welcome to Episode 15! We kick things off with a massive thank you to our listener Anja, who finally solved the mystery of the German Fettnäpfchen (the bowl of fat). Then, we dive…
S1E14 #14 - The One Where We Expose The Weirdest German Habits
After roasting the French in our last episode, it is officially payback time. This week, Coline brings a list of the most confusing, weird, and highly specific German habits that leave foreigners…
S1E13 #13 - The One Where We Learn How To Behave In France
This week, thanks to a DM from our listener Mark, we are reacting live to a German article titled "Benehmen wie Gott in Frankreich" (How to behave in France).If you want to avoid embarrassing…
S1E12 #12 - The One Where We Judge German Fashion (And Creepy Ice Clowns)
Happy Monday! This week, Colline reports back from her trip to Heringsdorf on the Baltic Sea, where she experienced "peak German culture": beautiful nature, 90s-style hotels, and the deeply…
S1E11 #11 - The One Where We Realise That France And Germany Live In Different Time Zones
This week, we tackle Coline’s absolute biggest culture shock in Germany: why on earth are Germans eating dinner at 5:30 PM?We dive into the completely different daily clocks of France and Germany.…
S1E10 #10 - The One Where You Learn Why This Week Dancing Is Illegal In Germany (*on one day)
Celebrating holidays is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅Happy 10th episode to us! (And a massive shoutout to our listeners in Honduras for putting…
S1E9 #9 - The One Where We Find Out If French People Are Actually Rude
Being corrected by a stranger is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅In this episode, Alex is recording remotely with absolutely zero preparation…
S1E8 #8 - The One Where We Talk About Baguettes (And How To "Sauce" Someone)
In this episode, we tackle the most stereotypical French topic of all time: La Baguette. We explore its surprising history (did Napoleon really invent the shape for his soldiers' backpacks?) and why…
S1E7 #7 - The One Where We Argue About German vs. French Food Culture
Eating is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅In this episode, we dive into the delicious (and highly debatable) world of German vs. French food…
S1E6 #6 - The one where we talk about the French art of saying the exact opposite
Being polite is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅In this episode, we finally address the comments and explain why Colline is always "so mean" to…
S1E5 #5 - The one where we talk about the German voices of your favourite actors
Watching a movie is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast. 😅In this episode, we dive into German vs. French movie-watching culture. From Germany's absolute…
S1E4 #4 – The one where we talk about school and French “vacation tribes”
Ever heard of people identifying as July vacationers vs August vacationers? France has names for that 😅 This episode dives into vacation culture and school life and Macron wanting to shorten summer…
S1E3 #3 – The one where we talk about cars and driving in Germany vs. France
Driving is one of those everyday things where cultural differences show up surprisingly fast.😅In this episode, we compare German vs French driving culture. From the Autobahn (yes, 254 km/h makes an…
S1E2 #2 – Why “Ça va?” might be the most stressful small talk question for a German
What sounds like a harmless “how are you?” in France can feel like an existential questionnaire in Germany. In this episode, we unpack why Germans freeze, why French people don’t expect a real…
S1E1 #1 – A German–French conversation that somehow turned into a podcast
Five months ago, we started filming random videos during our lunch breaks mostly making fun of each other’s language skills.The funny part:One of us has been living in Germany for years.The other one…
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Zero Effort has published 20 episodes since January 2026.
Zero Effort is currently highly active with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 38m.
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