I was listening to a different podcast altogether when I first heard about “Jules & James”. The premise is as simple as it is intriguing: following a call to a wrong number, two strangers begin a relationship.
They reveal themselves through conversation and get closer and closer, all the time skirting around labelling their relationship or even meeting in person. It’s the perfect setting for an unlikely love story, which is, of course, the best kind.
I have been hooked on the conversation between Jules, a filmmaker living in London, and James, an MBA graduate-turned painter living in Paris, for days now. It’s just so… charming. The similarity between listening to their phone calls and eavesdropping on an intimate date between a couple of strangers is clear to me, of course.
And normally I would never normally sit around listening to two people share details of their lives with each other. But they can’t see me, so it’s okay.
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| Jules & James |
The idea of two people spending time talking to each other on the phone is what fascinates me. I hate talking on the phone: I never call anyone unless it is an extreme emergency, and whenever I am talking on the phone I just can’t wait for it to end. I can’t concentrate on having a conversation of any quality because I’m too anxious about how I sound or I am terrified about running out of things to say to the other person.
Please, if you want to have any kind of conversation with me, write to me. WhatsApp or email is best.
Jules and James don’t have this problem: not only do they not hate talking on the phone, they are also completely fine carrying on lengthy conversations with complete strangers using the medium. It is incredible.
The special intimacy of talking to someone on the phone is something you can feel each time you listen to Jules & James. They give of their time freely and talk to each other without fear of judgment.
I find myself remembering details from their previous conversations and therefore enjoying it when the same stories come up later and new developments are shared.
I’m getting to know them as they become friends, as they try to define the boundaries of their relationship (if either of them were to start dating someone, would the weekly phone calls have to stop?) and they share their lives with each other.
There are 21 episodes of the series in total and I am currently on the 15th. I want to know how the story ends but I also don’t want to leave Jules and James behind.
The writing of the series is so beautiful. I admire anyone who knows how to write intelligent, honest, witty and vulnerable dialogue. I love reading about or listening to people falling in love. It makes me feel a little bit better about how far, far away in some imagined future that is for me…
I love Jules and James. Eavesdropping has never been so much fun.
Nkhensani Manabe 