Learn Spanish with podcasts
Podcasts teach you Spanish when you understand most of what you hear and can check the rest right away. Pick a show a little above your level, follow it sentence by sentence with the Spanish and an English translation, replay the lines you miss, and take the translation away as you improve. Here's how, and twelve Spanish podcasts to start with, sorted by level.
How to learn Spanish from a podcast
- 01
Pick a show you understand about 70–80% of. Too easy and you coast; too hard and you stop listening. The level labels below are a starting point. Your ears decide.
- 02
Start bilingual. Read each Spanish sentence with its English translation, so you can follow the story from the very first episode.
- 03
Replay what you missed. Loop the sentence, slow it down, tap the word you didn't know. One line heard five times teaches more than five minutes you only half followed.
- 04
Take the translation away. When a show starts to feel easy, switch to Spanish only, then try it with the text hidden and peek only when you're lost.
- 05
Keep the words that matter. Save the ones you'll need again and review them with the sentence you heard them in. Twenty minutes a day beats two hours once a week.
Spanish podcasts to start with, by level
Levels follow the CEFR scale (A1 beginner to C2 native speed) and are the ones Lingoreel uses in the app.
Beginner (A1–A2)
Coffee Break Spanish
Coffee Break LanguagesA2Spain
A teacher and a learner work through short lessons explained in English. The easiest way in if you're starting from zero.
Dreaming Spanish Podcast – Chats in Beginner Spanish
Dreaming SpanishA2
Relaxed conversations about everyday topics, all in slow, easy Spanish.
Simple Stories in Spanish
Small Town Spanish TeacherA2Latin America
Short, easy stories read by one narrator. Good for getting used to listening without English.
Intermediate (B1)
Intermediate Spanish Podcast – Español Intermedio
Spanish Language CoachB1
Stories and topics written for intermediate learners, told in clear Spanish.
Español con Juan
B1Spain
A teacher from Spain talks about the language and his life, all in Spanish and with plenty of humour.
Easy Spanish
Pau and the Easy Spanish teamB1Mexico
Hosts chat about language and culture and explain the expressions people really use.
Upper intermediate (B2)
No Hay Tos
Roberto Andrade & Héctor LibrerosB2Mexico
Real conversations at normal speed, made for English speakers who want to train their ears.
Entiende Tu Mente
Molo CebriánB2Spain
A popular psychology show: natural conversation about everyday worries and habits.
Advanced (C1–C2)
Hoy en EL PAÍS
EL PAÍSC1Spain
The weekday news podcast of Spain's biggest newspaper: one story a day, explained by its reporters.
A vivir que son dos días
Cadena SERC1Spain
Spain's weekend radio magazine: interviews, columns and culture.
Nadie Sabe Nada
Cadena SERC1Spain
Two comedians improvise around listeners' questions. Fast, playful, very native.
Coffee Break: Señal y Ruido
C2Spain
A weekly science round table, half serious and half joking, at full native speed.
Spain or Latin America? Listen to both. Accents differ less than you'd think, and hearing several early makes every one of them easier.
Listening with Lingoreel
Lingoreel is an iPhone app that turns any of these shows, or one you already follow, into a transcript you can follow line by line.
- Any podcast. Find these shows in the catalog, or paste a share link from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts or any RSS feed. (Spotify exclusives can't be imported.)
- Spanish and English, sentence by sentence, in sync with the audio. Three modes: bilingual, Spanish only, and blind listening.
- Loop a sentence, change the speed, tap any word for its meaning in context.
- Ask while you listen. Squeeze your AirPods and ask "What did she just say?". Lingoreel answers in English, based on the lines you just heard.
- Save words and review them with spaced repetition, together with the clip you heard them in.
- Free to start. Subtitles that already exist are free for everyone. A free account adds 3 new episodes with subtitles each month; Pro adds 20, unlimited questions and offline listening.
Frequently asked questions
Can you learn Spanish just by listening to podcasts?
Listening builds understanding, as long as you follow most of what you hear. Pure background listening teaches little; listening while you check what you missed teaches a lot. Speaking needs its own practice. Repeating sentences after the speaker (shadowing) is a good bridge.
What's the best Spanish podcast for beginners?
If you're starting from zero, a lesson podcast explained in English, such as Coffee Break Spanish. Once you can follow simple sentences, move to all-Spanish shows made for learners, such as Dreaming Spanish or Simple Stories in Spanish.
Should I listen with subtitles?
Yes, at first. Reading along shows you where one word ends and the next begins, which is the hardest part of listening to fast Spanish. Take the subtitles away once a show feels comfortable.
Can I use a podcast that isn't on this list?
Yes. Lingoreel works with any podcast that has a public feed. Search for it in the app or paste its link. Only Spotify exclusives can't be imported.
Is Lingoreel free?
Yes, to download and to listen. Subtitles that already exist are free, and a free account gets 3 new episodes with subtitles a month. Lingoreel Pro (monthly or yearly) gives you 20 a month and unlimited questions. Extra subtitle credits are one-off purchases.
I don't want to study. I just want to understand a Spanish show.
That works too. Keep it on bilingual, follow the story in English, and skip the word lists.