Life, Work, And Everything In Between! Special Reissue

Life, Work, And Everything In Between! Special Reissue

Author: Oops, Your Culture's Showing! ©2018: Dean Foster, Tom Peterson, and Torin Peterson May 28, 2026 Duration: 43:54

As we rapidly approach the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, many school schedules are preparing to slow down or take a break in the warmer months, as some work schedules do too. With this in mind, please enjoy this special reissue of our 35th episode on work-life balance in cultures around the globe, “‘Work to live’ cultures, and ‘live to work’ cultures”, from October 2022. We here at ‘Oops, Your Culture’s Showing!’ will also be taking a break from releasing episodes over the coming months, as we soak up some sun (hopefully on a beach with a cold drink in one or both hands), travel, and time with family and friends. We’ll see you out there on the beach, dear listeners – and while getting those rays, it’s a perfect time to visit/revisit our entire back catalogue of episodes!

Listening to this while eating lunch in the workplace? Fais attention (be careful!) because if you’re in France, that’s illegal. In this episode, Dean and Tom get to work contrasting how countries from France to Japan to the US value, and even legislate, work-life balance – and, bien sûr (of course!), how it’s all grounded in culture. Plus, a Grammar Time segment somehow sneaks up on all of us…est-ce possible?

(Here are the referenced NPR articles on the French lunch law and the Portuguese ‘right to disconnect’ law, from June 2022.)

***Dean’s book, “Business Beyond Borders: Stories, Tales, and Lessons Learned from Working in 100 Cultures Around the World”, IS OUT NOW – order it today! And: Subscribe to Dean’s Substack to find all of Dean’s “Culture’s Consequences” articles, CultureQuizzes, and much more!***

Have a cultural question or episode idea? Reach out on X/Twitter & Facebook (@OopsCultureShow) or by email at oopscultureshow@gmail.com.

Hosts: Dean Foster & Tom Peterson

Audio Production: Tom Peterson & Torin Peterson

Music: “Little Idea” – Bensound.com


Ever find yourself in a situation where a simple gesture or comment lands completely wrong, all because of an unspoken cultural rule you never knew existed? That’s the territory explored in Oops, Your Culture's Showing! Hosted by Dean Foster alongside Tom and Torin Peterson, this podcast digs into the hilarious and often awkward moments where cultural differences come to light. Each episode feels like a conversation with well-traveled friends who’ve been there, analyzing real-life stories of social faux pas, misunderstood traditions, and the subtle norms that govern behavior around the globe. The tone is light and comedic, rooted in personal experience rather than dry academic lecture, making the exploration of societies and places genuinely engaging. You’ll hear the hosts dissect why certain actions are perfectly polite in one context and a major blunder in another, all while laughing at their own misadventures. It’s a blend of comedy and genuine education, perfect for anyone curious about the world or preparing to navigate it. Tune in to this podcast for a reminder that we’re all constantly revealing our cultural backgrounds, often at the most unexpected moments.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 88

Oops, Your Culture's Showing!
Podcast Episodes
Winter Warmth! Special Reissue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:52
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30: Joy To The World! (Part 2 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:22
In the finale of their two-part gleeful gabfest, Dean and Tom continue to delight in the complexities of humor, language, and culture. Then, they elatedly explore similarities and differences in how joy is expressed comm…
29: Joy To The World! (Part 1 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:03
What’s so funny? In this jolly episode, Dean and Tom gleefully gab about what is, and is not, considered funny across cultures – and how laughter can also be interpreted differently depending on where you are. Plus, Gram…
Celebrating The Great Beyond! Special Reissue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:43
With All Hallows’ Eve & Día de los Muertos rapidly approaching, it’s a frighteningly perfect time to reissue our episode on death celebrations and festivals across cultures, “Who Died?”, from July 2019. The episode descr…
28: US Norms. Weird. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:14
In this episode, Dean and Tom dig into the cultural origins of US norms & practices that can come off as a bit odd to our global neighbors – from the beach, to the restaurant, to the bathroom (not necessarily in that ord…
27: France. Mais Oui. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:28
Bonjour mes amis! In this episode, Dean and Tom promenade along the riverbanks of French culture, from Descartes and Cartesian Logic to French cheese, wine, champagne, fashion, and art, to bringing dogs inside of restaur…
British Invasion! Special Reissue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:43
Oi! With the U.K. being in the news a lot lately – from the G7 summit to Wimbledon to England’s heartbreaking loss in the Euro 2020 final – we feel it’s bloody high time that we reissue our U.K. (and U.S.) focused episod…
26: Pets Around The World! Meow. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:29
While remembering pets both old and new, Dean and Tom take the op-purr-tunity to discuss which animals do and don’t constitute pets across dif-fur-rent cultures. (Without any pet puns in the actual episode, we just had t…
25: Change (or Lack Thereof) in the Pandemic. Do-dodo-doo! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:28
Fully vaccinated, Dean and Tom jump into a discussion of changes, as well as the lack of changes, in behaviors and cultures resulting from the pandemic this past year (and thankfully, they also decline to bungee-jump nak…
24: Baltics, Balkans, and Shrooms? Yum! (Part 2 of 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:51
In the grand finale of their two-part shroom-inations, Dean and Tom return to the Balkans, where they find literal dividing lines in Sarajevo as well as cultural similarities & differences between Serbia and Croatia, plu…