Podcast appearances and mentions of laura angela bagnetto

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about RFI English correspondent Victor Moturi. There's “On This Day”, the bonus question and the “Listeners Corner”, Ollia Horton's “Happy Moment”, and “Music from Erwan”. All that, and the new quiz question, too, so click on the “Audio” arrow 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 musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! 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 which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our 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” on the upper left-hand side 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 english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here. Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) 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! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club too. Just click on the link and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: On 29 October, I asked you a question about a journalism prize received by one of our correspondents for his report on Laura Angela Bagnetto's podcast Africa Calling. The Open Forum on Agriculture Biotechnology 2022 awarded second prize to Victor Moturi for his story on genetically modified cotton in Kenya.  My question to you was: where will Victor Moturi go for the next round in the competition? The answer is: Nigeria. Although originally it was Mozambique. Depending on when you read the article – which we updated when the event venue was changed - you could have correctly answered Mozambique, or later on, Nigeria.  No idea why they changed the country, but anyway, that's that. I accepted both answers. Victor Moturi's report is competing with 16 other reports from across the continent at the Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa. Go, Victor! We're all rooting for you! In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What was the bravest thing you did as a child?” – a question suggested by Karuna Kanta Pal from West Bengal, India. The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Radhakrishna Pillai from Kerala State, India, who is also this week's bonus question winner. The other winners are Saleem Akhtar Chadhar, the president of the RFI Seven Stars Radio Listeners Club in District Chiniot, Pakistan; Raihan Ali, who's a member of the Nilshagor RFI Fan Club in Nilphamari, Bangladesh, and two RFI English listeners: Bushra Nawaz from Muzaffargarh, Pakistan, and Milliam Murigi from Nairobi, Kenya. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Aquellos Ojos Verdes” by Adolfo Utrera and Nilo Menéndez, played by Bolivar “Pollo” Ortiz;  Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C minor, BWV 847, from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by András Schiff; “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 “Chango”, a traditional Cuban Santaria chant performed by the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, with Felipe Alfonso and Lazaro Ros. Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  This week's question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, re-read our article “France reboots coal-fired power plant to boost winter electricity supplies” to help you with the answer. You have until 9 January 2023 to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 14 January podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. 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, click here.  

As France's parliament passes a bill that would enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, a new film explores the time before it was legalised in 1975. The curator of Père Lachaise in Paris on life and biodiversity in France's most famous cemetery. And Walt Disney's 11th-century French roots. France might be on the way to becoming the first country to have abortion rights protected in the constitution, after a recent vote in the National Assembly passed with a large majority. Not everyone thinks it is necessary – legal scholar Gwenaele Calves says abortion rights are already well protected in France. Meanwhile a new film, Annie Colère (Angry Annie), tells the story of the MLAC (Movement for the freedom of abortion and contraception) whose work carrying out illegal abortions in the early 70s helped pave the way for the law legalising abortion in 1975. (Listen @0') Three million people flock to Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery every year, drawn to the tombs of Frederic Chopin, Jim Morrison and other famous people buried there. But it's also home to an increasing amount of wildlife, including foxes. Laura Angela Bagnetto spoke with cemetery curator Benoît Gallot (@benoit_gallot), author of La vie secrète d'un cimetière (The secret life of a cemetery) about living in the famed graveyard and its rich biodiversity. (Listen @16') Walt Disney was born on 5 December 1901 in the US, but his distant ancestors hailed from Normandy and gave him his name. (Listen @11'50'') Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

As France's parliament passes a bill that would enshrine the right to abortion in the constitution, a new film explores the time before it was legalised in 1975. The curator of Père Lachaise in Paris on life and biodiversity in France's most famous cemetery. And Walt Disney's 11th-century French roots. France might be on the way to becoming the first country to have abortion rights protected in the constitution, after a recent vote in the National Assembly passed with a large majority. Not everyone thinks it is necessary – legal scholar Gwenaele Calves says abortion rights are already well protected in France. Meanwhile a new film, Annie Colère (Angry Annie), tells the story of the MLAC (Movement for the freedom of abortion and contraception) whose work carrying out illegal abortions in the early 70s helped pave the way for the law legalising abortion in 1975. (Listen @0') Three million people flock to Paris' Père Lachaise cemetery every year, drawn to the tombs of Frederic Chopin, Jim Morrison and other famous people buried there. But it's also home to an increasing amount of wildlife, including foxes. Laura Angela Bagnetto spoke with cemetery curator Benoît Gallot (@benoit_gallot), author of La vie secrète d'un cimetière (The secret life of a cemetery) about living in the famed graveyard and its rich biodiversity. (Listen @16') Walt Disney was born on 5 December 1901 in the US, but his distant ancestors hailed from Normandy and gave him his name. (Listen @11'50'') Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

As the French National Assembly gets younger and more female, some lawmakers say it's time MPs on maternity leave were replaced. Opera singers bring love, tragedy and dialogue to French city streets with free concerts in unexpected places. And the man behind Paris' Wallace fountains, which turn 150 this year. France has a reputation for supporting new parents, with fully-paid maternity leave and a month of paternal leave, but it does not apply to everyone. Because they are appointed, and not employed, members of the National Assembly can stop and start work when they want, but they are not replaced. So when they are absent  – whether it is for giving birth or long-term illness – they lose their vote. MP Mathilde Hignet (@mathildehignet), who is pregnant with her first child, has introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to be replaced by their deputies when they are on maternity leave. Will anyone oppose such a proposal? (Listen @2'40'') Opera singers and musicians from the Calms collective are shaking up opera's image – taking it back to its roots in popular culture by performing in the streets. Conceived in Marseille in the wake of the Covid lockdown of 2020, the Opéra Déconfiné project has now spread to other cities. For eight weeks each summer, professional singers give free weekly mini-concerts in working class areas in a number of French towns, drawing in new audiences.  (Listen @14'40'') For 150 years 'Wallace' fountains have provided Parisians with clean, free drinking water. Laura Angela Bagnetto talks about Sir Richard Wallace, who generously supported Parisians during the Franco-Prussian war and donated the first 50 fountains to the city in 1872. (Listen @8'45'') Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

As the French National Assembly gets younger and more female, some lawmakers say it's time MPs on maternity leave were replaced. Opera singers bring love, tragedy and dialogue to French city streets with free concerts in unexpected places. And the man behind Paris' Wallace fountains, which turn 150 this year. France has a reputation for supporting new parents, with fully-paid maternity leave and a month of paternal leave, but it does not apply to everyone. Because they are appointed, and not employed, members of the National Assembly can stop and start work when they want, but they are not replaced. So when they are absent  – whether it is for giving birth or long-term illness – they lose their vote. MP Mathilde Hignet (@mathildehignet), who is pregnant with her first child, has introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to be replaced by their deputies when they are on maternity leave. Will anyone oppose such a proposal? (Listen @2'40'') Opera singers and musicians from the Calms collective are shaking up opera's image – taking it back to its roots in popular culture by performing in the streets. Conceived in Marseille in the wake of the Covid lockdown of 2020, the Opéra Déconfiné project has now spread to other cities. For eight weeks each summer, professional singers give free weekly mini-concerts in working class areas in a number of French towns, drawing in new audiences.  (Listen @14'40'') For 150 years 'Wallace' fountains have provided Parisians with clean, free drinking water. Laura Angela Bagnetto talks about Sir Richard Wallace, who generously supported Parisians during the Franco-Prussian war and donated the first 50 fountains to the city in 1872. (Listen @8'45'') Episode mixed by Vincent Pora. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Spotify (link here), Google podcasts (link here), or your favourite podcast app (pod.link/1573769878).

This week on The Sound Kitchen, you'll hear a replay of a show aired on 20 August 2020, featuring musical favourites from RFI English journalists Rosslyn Hyams and Laura Angela Bagnetto. Just click on the “Audio” button above and enjoy! Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday. 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. Send me your music requests! I'll make programs of your favorite music when I can't be in the kitchen to cook up something new for you … write to me at thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's quiz: The quiz will be back next week, 27 August. Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Life on Mars” by David Bowie; “Weeping Willow” by Alton Ellis, and “Hang on Little Tomato” by Patrick Abbey, China Forbes, and Thomas Lauderdale, performed by Pink Martini.

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the Rangelands Initiative Africa. You'll hear about the ePOP competition from RFI's Planète Radio, there's lots of good music, and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the “Audio” arrow 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 musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! 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 which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. 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 and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you've got ‘em ! 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 english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) 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! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: RFI English journalist Laura Angela Bagnetto was in Côte d'Ivoire in May, at the United Nations' 15th “Conference of the Parties”. The theme for the conference was “Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity”, and is, as the UN wrote, “a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.”  ​ In Laura Angela's article, “COP15: Securing land rights is crucial to land restoration in Africa”, she talks about a pan-African pastoralist movement that's being created by the Rangelands Initiative Africa. All examples show, as Laura Angela points out, that when the community is involved – in this case, the pastoralists – they themselves will achieve what is needed. This new grassroots group of pastoralists planned to meet again in late May, to agree on the way forward, and on 21 May, I asked you to tell me where that meeting would take place. The answer is: In Jordan, at the International Land Coalition (ILC) forum. The ILC is a global alliance of civil society and farmers' organizations, NGOs, and United Nations agencies. The winners are: Sharifun Islam Nitu from the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and RFI Listener Club members Father Stephen Wara from Bamenda, Cameroon; Razia Hosen Iti from Netrokona, Bangladesh; Rachid Dahmani from M'sila, Algeria, and Hans Verner Lollike from Hedehusene in Denmark, who included this thoughtful comment with his quiz entry: “God has created enough for everyone's needs, but not enough for everyone's greed!” Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; Traditional Fulani music for flutes, performed by Bailo Bah and Sylvain Leroux; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and the Clarinet Concerto by Aaron Copland, performed by Richard Stoltzman with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Ollia's article “Gastronomy gong given to Fulani chef supporting women in West Africa” to help you with the answer. You have until 22 August to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 27 August podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. 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 to form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the Paris Marathon. There are musings on doing nothing and the happiness it can bring, plenty of good music, and of course, the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow 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 musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! 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 which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. 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 and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you've got ‘em ! 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 english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) 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! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: On 9 April, I asked you a question about the Paris Marathon. You were to send me the name of the man and the woman who won, as well as their nationalities and their run times.  The answer is: Ethiopia's Deso Gelmisa won the men's title, and Kenya's Judith Jeptum secured the women's title. Gelmisa finished in two hours, five minutes, and seven seconds - 14 seconds outside his personal best. Kenya's Judith Jeptum won the women's race by beating the course record in two hours, 19 minutes, and 48 seconds. The winners are: Nuraiz bin Zaman, a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh; Asif Ahemmed, a member of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club in Murshidabad, India; RFI Listeners Club member Muhammad Nasyr from Katsina State, Nigeria; RFI English listeners Tapsi Bain from the Pariwar Bandhu SWL Club in Chhattisgarh, India, and Bidhan Chandra Tikader, the president of the Gopalganj International Radio Club in Gopalganj, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: The allegretto from David Diamond's Symphony No. 4, performed by the Seattle Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz; a traditional Batacuda written by Rafa Navarro and played by PercuFest; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and “O Namorado Da Viúva” by Jorge Ben, performed by the composer and his ensemble. Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Laura Angela Bagnetto's article “COP15: Securing land rights is crucial to land restoration in Africa” to help you find the answer. You have until 6 July to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 9 July podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. 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 to form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the Hilder Nursery and Primary School. You'll take a tour of a "GreenLab" house in Dallas, Texas, hear "Ollia's Happy Moment” and “Music from Erwan” -  and of course, there's the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow 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 musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! 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 which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  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 and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you've got ‘em ! 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 english.service@rfi.fr  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) 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! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: On 26 March, I asked you a question about an article written by my colleague Laura Angela Bagnetto, which also was a feature on her excellent bi-monthly podcast Africa Calling – which I know you all listen to regularly. Laura Angela's story was about a marvelously dedicated teacher in Uganda, Irene Ocwee Trends, who during the pandemic lockdown took into her very own family home 30 children. The boys and girls – from 13 to 17 years old - were in the final year of her primary school, and Trends wanted them to be able to continue their schooling uninterrupted. And the hard work paid off … all her students passed Uganda's national exams and will go on to secondary school. Teachers. What heroes! Uganda ranks schools on how well students at any particular school do on their national exams. My question to you was: after Ocwee Trends' students took their national exams and passed with flying colors, where did Uganda rank the Hilder Nursery and Primary School in their list of schools? The answer is, as Laura Angela wrote: “Her final year students took their national exams, and Hilder Nursery and Primary school was named the 20th top school in the whole country after the results were announced.” The winners are: M. N. Sentu, who's a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Ms. Fatematuj Zahra, who serves as the co-secretary of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Also on the list this week are RFI Club members Jean-Maurice Devault from Montreal, Canada and Ms. Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Last but not least, RFI English listener Aiman Shad from Bogura, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; “Dance of the Nursemaids” from the ballet Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky, performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Agondé” from Os Tincoãs.   Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to David Coffey's article“EU fines against Poland's 'rule of law' dispute surpass €160m” to help you find the answers. You have until 30 May to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 4 June podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. 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 to form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the specific effects on France due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There's an Eiffel Tower mini-history lesson, The Sound Kitchen mailbag, "Music from Erwan", and of course, the new quiz question. Just click on the “Audio” arrow 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. RFI Planète Radio is sponsoring a video contest, and we want you to enter! Planète Radio is an RFI department that gives voices to remote populations around the world. For the fourth consecutive year, Planète Radio is holding a video competition on environmental issues. The theme of this year's competition is “Show how they feel”: You are to create a 3-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution - told by the people it affects. Here's what Planète Radio says about the competition: “Environmental deterioration, climate change, pollution, everybody's talking about it. But amid articles, figures, and expert reports, what do we really know about the feelings of the people already impacted? The video clips produced by the ePOP community in more than 50 countries allow us to hear from those who never ask for anything yet have seen it all - those who are already living with these changes that deteriorate their quality of life." Your project can be intergenerational: Get together with your grandfather, your aunt, someone older in your community and ask them how they feel about what is happening where they live, maybe in the place where they grew up. Or your project can be about how you feel, or your contemporaries, whose future will be affected by climate change. Gather the words of those around you who are confronting the environmental crisis in their daily lives, investing, researching, and questioning the urgency of deploying solutions to face it.  Prizes for this year's competition include equipment grants from 1000 to 4500 euros, as well as ePOP promotion kits and other goodies. For competition guidelines and more information about the four different categories you can enter, click here. You can also write to us at english.service@rfi.fr if you need more help. We're very proud that the winner in the ePOP 2020 RFI Club category went to an English language club – Adita Prithika's RFI Agnichiragu Phoenix Club in Tamil Nadu, India. Here's Adita's award-winning video. Please note that you do not have to be a member of an RFI English Club to enter. Everyone is welcome! The deadline for entries is 1 May, so get to work! Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all! 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 which will leave you hungry for more. There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too. As you see, sound is still quite present from the RFI English service.  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 and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you've got ‘em ! 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 english.service@rfi.fr   If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.  Another idea for your students: my beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Br Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here.  Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni (audrey.iattoni@rfi.fr) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me (thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr) 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! And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”). There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do! This week's quiz: On 26 February, I asked you a question about Russia and the effect on France from its invasion of Ukraine. You were to re-read my colleague David Coffey's article “French finance minister downplays impact of Ukraine crisis on economy, energy”, and send in the answer to this question: What is the percentage of gas that France receives from Russia? The answer is: 20 percent. The winners are: Mrs. Nafisa Khatun, the president of the RFI Mahila Shrota Sangha Club in West Bengal, India, and Miss Jharna Khatun, who's a member of the RFI International DX Radio Listeners Club, also in West Bengal.  From Naogaon, Bangladesh, there's Mr. Alomgir Hossen from the Shetu RFI Listeners Club, and from Nilphamari, Bangladesh, RFI Listener Club member Tahtiha Saleh. Last but not least, RFI English listener Mokles Mollah from Naogaon, Bangladesh. Congratulations winners! Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Schottische in d” by Jean Sibelius, performed by the Academy Folk Big Band; “Something's Coming” from the musical West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, performed by Cécile McLorin Salvant and her ensemble. Do you have a musical request? Send it to thesoundkitchen@rfi.fr This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to Laura Angela Bagnetto's article to help you with the answer. You have until 2 May to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 7 May podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. Send your answers to: english.service@rfi.fr or Susan Owensby RFI – The Sound Kitchen 80, rue Camille Desmoulins 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux France or By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number. 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 to form your own official RFI Club, click here. 

How France is dragging its feet in returning African art and artefacts housed in its museums. An 77-year-old activist talks about fighting for the right to die when and how she wants. And Georges Brassens, the "French Woodie Guthrie", continues to thrill with his free-spirited songs, full of word play, 100 years after his birth. The France-Africa summit, held regularly since the early 1970s, has long been seen as continuing 'Franceafrique' – the networks of influence France has in its former African colonies. This year's event, held in Montpellier, was different. Instead of African leaders, hundreds young people from across the continent interacted with President Macron. A key subject was the restitution of art and objects looted during the colonial wars. Laura Angela Bagnetto, host of the Africa Calling podcast, talks about France's commitment to returning objects, which many at the summit consider is going too slowly. She speaks with Nigerian cultural historian Oluwatoyin Sogbesan (@digiculture4art), who says all objects, no matter how ordinary, are important for African countries to connect to their history. (Listen @0') The issue of assisted dying, or euthanasia, has long been debated in France. It remains illegal here, despite recent efforts to pass laws to the contrary. Some people who want to end their lives, and have the financial means, go to neighbouring countries like Switzerland or Belgium, where assisted suicide is legal, though highly regulated. Jacqueline Jencquel, 77, a member of the French Association for the right to die with dignity (ADMD), talks about setting a date for her own death, counselling and advising others and why the law in France needs to change. Listen @15'10'') France is marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of singer-poet Georges Brassens, whose free sprit and way with words make him as popular as ever. (Listen @10'10'') This episode was mixed by Cecile Pompeani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Google podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here), or your favourite podcast app.

How France is dragging its feet in returning African art and artefacts housed in its museums. An 77-year-old activist talks about fighting for the right to die when and how she wants. And Georges Brassens, the "French Woodie Guthrie", continues to thrill with his free-spirited songs, full of word play, 100 years after his birth. The France-Africa summit, held regularly since the early 1970s, has long been seen as continuing 'Franceafrique' – the networks of influence France has in its former African colonies. This year's event, held in Montpellier, was different. Instead of African leaders, hundreds young people from across the continent interacted with President Macron. A key subject was the restitution of art and objects looted during the colonial wars. Laura Angela Bagnetto, host of the Africa Calling podcast, talks about France's commitment to returning objects, which many at the summit consider is going too slowly. She speaks with Nigerian cultural historian Oluwatoyin Sogbesan (@digiculture4art), who says all objects, no matter how ordinary, are important for African countries to connect to their history. (Listen @0') The issue of assisted dying, or euthanasia, has long been debated in France. It remains illegal here, despite recent efforts to pass laws to the contrary. Some people who want to end their lives, and have the financial means, go to neighbouring countries like Switzerland or Belgium, where assisted suicide is legal, though highly regulated. Jacqueline Jencquel, 77, a member of the French Association for the right to die with dignity (ADMD), talks about setting a date for her own death, counselling and advising others and why the law in France needs to change. Listen @15'10'') France is marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of singer-poet Georges Brassens, whose free sprit and way with words make him as popular as ever. (Listen @10'10'') This episode was mixed by Cecile Pompeani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Google podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here), or your favourite podcast app.

How France is helping Sudan unearth its ancient kingdoms; the changing face of philanthropy in France; and Sophie la girafe, the iconic rubber teething companion, turns 60. For more than 50 years now, French archaeologists have been working with the Sudanese antiquities division to help excavate and preserve remarkable sites like the city of Meroe: the capital of one of the earliest and most developed states on the African continent. As in ancient Egypt, the Merotic kings and queens were buried in pyramids and more than 200 of them remain, some in ruins. Laura Angela Bagnetto recently visited the pyramids and met the head of the French section Marc Maillot. He talks about the latest fascinating dig in Meroe and France's role in helping keep Sudanese patrimony alive. (Listen @2'59'') When Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris went up in flames in 2019, more than €800 million in donations were pledged in just a few days; hundreds of millions from a handful of super-rich French magnates. Unlike the US, France is unaccustomed to such obvious displays of personal wealth and many people were surprised, even shocked. Anne Monier, researcher at the ESSEC Philanthropy Chair, talks about how philanthropy is indeed developing in France but in a different way from the US. Americans meanwhile are providing considerable donations to France in return for 'social capital' which for the happy few can mean a Legion of Honour. (Listen @17'43'') The first 'Sophie la girafe' rubber toy came out of the mould on 25 May 1961. 60 years later, she continues to be made the same artisanal way, and is coveted in France and abroad. (Listen @12'15'') This episode was mixed by Cecile Pompeani. Spotlight on France is a podcast from Radio France International. Find us on rfienglish.com, iTunes (link here), Google podcasts (link here), Spotify (link here), or your favourite podcast app.

Olga "Olgha" Nkweti is a singer-songwriter from the English-speaking part of Cameroon. She began singing professionally aged just 17 and has made a name crafting covers of popular songs into Pigdin English, but also writes her own soulful afro-pop compositions. She talks to RFI about composing the song Cold to draw attention to the innocent victims caught up in the Anglophone conflict. "I decided to write Cold to create an awareness about what has been going on in the English speaking zones of Cameroon," she tells RFI's Laura-Angela Bagnetto when the two women meet in Douala. "We've had a crisis for the last three years or so, and it doesn't seem to be letting up. "I realised there was a lot of pointing of fingers and everybody was trying to blame the other party for starting it. But there was not enough information about the victims. So I wanted a song which was going to focus on the fact that we are losing on both sides: we are losing family, we're losing friends, we are losing children and old people and helpless people. So Cold is a story about that kind of loss." Listen to the podcast to hear how Olgha used her own experience of conflict to bring the video for Cold alive, and how the crew came face to face with the trauma so many families are facing on a daily basis.  Olgha Nk is signed to Bimmac Sounds, a Cameroonian label based in the U.S. whose aim is to discover and develop young talent.  Follow her on facebook and instagram  

In April's Stories from the 55 podcast, Laura Angela Bagnetto speaks to Nnamdi Ehirin from Nigeria about a coming-of-age story called The Prince of Monkeys. The author also reads an extract from his work. The Prince of Monkeys unites politics and religion through a first-person narration. It's a story weaving in and out of the bonds between four old friends. It contains hints of autobiographical writing, embodied in close observations of Nnamdi Ehirin's own culture at the end of the 20th Century. Of his main character, he says, "The narrator is passive and deliberately so. It's not particularly autobiographical though. When I was growing up I was not the most vocal and I always open to ideas from other people in the group, open to trying out new things. It's not being passive, as being weak. He's open to others' ideas." Also, one of Laura Angela Bagnetto's guests in 2018, Sulaiman Addonia who wrote Silence of My Mother Tongue, shares his favourite novel in the Heinneman African Book series called Season of Migration to the North by Sudanese writer Tayeb Salih. He says, "It taught me that for a writer there shouldn't be any forbidden place ... Tayeb Salih taught me about the freedom of writing."

Adam Barka University in Abéché, the fourth largest city in Chad, is teeming with students, including a few non-Chadian undergraduates. These are refugees from Darfur, Sudan, and from the Central African Republic, who have been given scholarships by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, with contributions by the German government. RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto sat down with three students to find out about their lives as refugees, and university students. "My father said, 'you have to study because things are bad in this country, the Central African Republic, you can't stay here. We can't all die together.'" -- MKader Sihannasou, third year university student, studying economics, refugee from Bangui, CAR "The most difficult challenge we face is that the communities we are living in are not the same as the communities we were raised in. We don't have family and relatives if we are in need, so because of this there is great difficulty in renting a house...and sometimes the community will not accept you."-- Mohamat Usman Ali, student and president of refugee students association "My ultimate ambition since I was seven years old is that I want to be a president of Sudan. As people say, 'I have a dream'. Before that, I have to work hard so as to achieve my goal."-- Rahman Mohamed Yebet, law student  

Voters are getting ready for the upcoming elections in Sierra Leone on 7 March, as 16 presidential hopefuls for the country’s top job. Musa Tarawally of the Citizens Democratic party wants to bring back values through education and investment. One of the frontrunners is Samuel Sam-Sumana of the Coalition for Change party. The two-time former vice president under President Ernest Bai Koroma was unceremoniously fired from his post in 2015. RFI’s Laura Angela Bagnetto is in Freetown. She spoke to presidential hopeful Samuel Sam-Sumana at his residence in the hills of the capital to find out if he is looking for political revenge.

Sixteen presidential candidates are campaigning in Sierra Leone for the country's top position as President Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People's Congress Party steps down after two terms. Voters will go to the polls on March seventh to pick their next leader. RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto speaks to Lans Gberie, a Sierra Leone political analyst with Martello Risk group, who outlines the top candidates and the issues voters want them to tackle.

Although the aftermath of the US elections and the rise of 'fake' news on American social media and the press have caused a stir around the world, African news consumers have had to deal with 'fake' news for some time. RFI's Laura Angela Bagnetto speaks to three media experts on the continent-- Jimmy Kainja, Zumba, Malawi-based media expert and co-editor of Africablogging.org, William Bird, the executive director of Media Monitoring Africa, and Anim Van Wyk, the editor of Africa Check South Africa to find out how readers and listeners can protect themselves.