What are some of your favorite ways to learn Spanish?
Personally, I love speaking Spanish with natives and hearing the language being spoken.
That implies watching Spanish TV shows or movies and listening to Spanish Podcasts.
Over time, you can pick up how the pronunciation is spoken and the different phrases that only native speakers use.
Listening to Podcasts in Spanish can be a very passive experience, but also can be one of the most rewarding and simple ways to learn the language, if done right.
Podcasts are a great way to maximize your learning when you are doing simple, thoughtless tasks.
What is a simple, thoughtless task? I put folding the laundry, driving to work (while still being attentive), or taking your dog for a walk in the thoughtless task category.
Heck, sometimes even office work that you do in a cubicle can be thoughtless at times.
Below I am going to lay out the top Spanish Podcasts to listen to whether you are an early beginner or high advanced (near native) speaker.
We have just the Podcast for you not matter what your language level.
Best Spanish Podcasts for Beginners
Please keep in mind, the 2 recommendations below speak a lot of English in them as they are primarily beginner level Spanish Podcasts.
If you are looking for one of the best intermediate Spanish Podcasts that is spoken almost completely in Spanish, make sure to scroll down a bit to the intermedaite section.
1) Coffee Break Spanish
Even after all these years, it is hard to argue against the quality of the Coffee Break Spanish Podcast. These guys were one of the first ones to get started in the language podcasting space in 2008 and truly do a fantastic job teaching the Spanish language to all learning levels.
I still remember listening to Coffee Break early on in my Spanish journey 3 plus years ago. The main person behind Coffee Break Spanish is a guy named Mark from the UK.
He has a charming voice (is that ok to say?) and does a great job teaching the language with his cohosts.
They walk through all the elements of the Spanish language in detail through teaching, dialogues, and interesting stories.
If you are just starting out, my recommendation is to start on the very first episode. Yes, that is a lot of scrolling down on the Podcast app as there are quite a few episodes!
When I first started, I lazily clicked on a more recent episode and found myself very confused.
Thankfully, this Podcast slowly works its way up and gets more and more advanced over time. As you are improving in the language you can steadily improve with it as they provide more advanced teaching.
You will also notice we have recommended them for intermediate learners.
2) Spanish Pod 101
Spanish Pod 101 is another extraordinary Podcast with some fantastic teaching. I have used them a little bit in the past and have found their resources very helpful. They are especially good for beginners and early intermediates.
I like how they implement some video lessons and dialogues into their teaching. This makes the material easy and more enjoyable to digest.
In all their lessons, the dialogues sound natural and really make you feel like you are right there with the native speakers.
They also break down the conversations in a slower, easier to understand way which helps beginner students understand the jist of what is being said.
They offer audio lessons, video lessons, Spanish words of the day, and interesting dialogues on their podcast episodes.
Most of their lessons are quite short, ranging from a few minutes long to about 15 minutes or so. The shows are always well put together and notably high quality.
Want to make sure you are learning Spanish the right way?
We created a simpled cheat sheet with the 11 Best Ways to Learn Spanish. Download it below.
Best Spanish Podcasts for Intermediate & Advanced Students
The three recommendations below are the the three best Spanish learning Podcasts in Spanish.
The great thing about them is they are primarily spoken in Spanish so it's a real test to your listening comprehension.
1) Españolistos (Intermediates and Advanced - Latin American Dialect)
I couldn’t recommend a Podcast without mentioning our very own, could I?
Españolistos is a Podcast hosted by Andrea (Colombian Spanish teacher) and myself (gringo) spoken in Spanish with a Latin American (and gringo) dialect. Each weekly episode runs for about 30 minutes long.
We created this Podcast as we found that there were some great Spanish Podcasts, but not many with Spanish conversations on interesting topics.
It's also unique in that it's completely spoken in Spanish from the beginning to the end. Thankfully, Andrea corrects my pronunciation and mistakes at times.
That said, we interweave the episodes in a fun way where you can participate and follow along with us as we go.
It’s fun and engaging with lots of interesting topics like the 10 best places to go in Argentina or the 7 best Spanish movies to improve your Spanish.
We talk about interesting things going on in the world today, share cultural differences, and of course, share some useful tips and exercises for improving your Spanish.
The point is to hear the language spoken and slowly pick up on new words and phrases as we get deeper into the vocabulary.
Since it is spoken completely in Spanish, we can’t recommend it for just the everyday casual listeners.
2) Notes In Spanish (Intermediates and Advanced - Spain Dialect)
When I achieved a higher intermediate fluency, I quickly latched on to Ben and Marinas wonderful Spanish Podcast, Notes in Spanish.
Indeed, they offer both an Intermediate level podcast and an Advanced Level Podcast to check out.
Ben is from the UK and also speaks a very clear Spanish dialect from Spain. He and his wife Marina, who is from Spain, speak on various topics through their engaging conversations.
The podcast episodes are short, about 15–30 min long, and are just about all spoken in Spanish.
The material has aged itself over the years, but as mentioned earlier, the speaking and topics are timeless. I love this Podcast as it is mostly in Spanish and they discuss interesting topics like “El Sistema Educativo” or “Inmigracion.”
They keep the conversation lively and the topics are quite interesting to listen to.
If you are at a more advanced Spanish level, and are learning Spanish from Spain, my recommendation is you check out their 100+ podcast episodes.
3) Radio Ambulante (High Intermediates and Advanced)
Radio Ambulante is the newest of the few mentioned above and is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
The show features fantastic journalism from NPR and the people that brought you the wildly renown This American Life Podcast.
Episodes average around 30 minutes long and feature interesting stories from Latin America and around the world.
It features profound, emotional topics like diversity and the struggle that many Latinos face around the world.
It is truly well told storytelling and spoken in clear, easy to understand Spanish. I love how the Podcast weaves in interesting and personal stories.
Our brains learn through stories and they do a great job telling them.
If you are an advanced language learner, I recommend you checking this one out soon.
Best Spanish News Podcasts
1) News In Slow Spanish (Intermediates and Advanced)
Maybe by this point, you want to hear the news in Spanish.
That’s what I like so much about News in Slow Spanish. They deliver the news, but in a slow and easy to understand speaking.
What I like most is that they have the Spain dialect and the Latin American dialect.
If you are trying to catch up on the news and improve your Spanish, this is a very good Podcast to start with.
As far as news Podcast series go, I would put this more in the intermediate category.
Since it is for Spanish language learners it is not spoken at the same speed and intensity of a normal native speaker. For that, I would recommend the below Podcast.
2) CNN en Español (Advanced Students)
How often do you watch CNN?
These days, I often stay away from the news due to all the negativity out there. However, when I do watch or read up on the news, I often stumble upon CNN.
Thankfully, much of their material is also in Spanish on the interwebs and in audio and video.
If you are at an advanced level and are a news junkie, why not try and listen to CNN en Español?
These Spanish Podcasts news episodes are short and walk through a variety of topics just as any news station would.
You can pick your favorites and get caught up on the worlds happenings all on your drive to work. If you are having a hard time giving up your news talk radio in the morning, why not try out CNN en Español.
The episodes are regularly updated to keep you updated on only the latest events going on around the world.
What’s the Best Spanish Podcast to Listen to?
We tried to lay out some great Spanish Podcasts to listen to regardless of your language level. I have tried all these Podcasts to some extent and have enjoyed them all.
Just about every Podcast on the list offers paid programs for those that really latch on to the teaching.
I have never paid for any Spanish transcripts or for the paid material, but find all the free Spanish Podcasts fun to learn from and easy to listen to.
My encouragement to you is to find a Podcast that you enjoy and understand and start listening to it during the time your brain is normally sitting on the sidelines.
Next time you are heading to work, turn off the latest pop song and put on the latest and greatest Spanish Podcast!
Thanks for this useful information! My only comment is that you shouldn’t label driving as a “simple thoughtless task”. Too many people have the same attitude which why there are over 3000 folks killed on Texas highways each year.
Good point, Tom! I added a comment in parenthesis now as I completely agree driving is not something you can take for granted and certainly have to be attentive at all times. 🙂
The word “training’s” should be replaced with the word lessons. In addition, the word “training’s” is plural, not possessive, so no apostrophe is needed. Same for the word “lessons.” Now for my Spanish grammar lesson of the day… 🙂 Art
Thanks Art! I have corrected it now. 🙂
I just got out of a final for Spanish 1102 and I’m realizing I need to take a semester off to work on my mental health and be the student I want to be. For example of where spanish 1102 ends, we dealt with the Imperfect tense and indirect object pronouns on the last unit but also explored reflexive verbs, preterite, etc.
I was wondering what level this puts me in if I have a basic knowledge of all this but really just want a review on what I have learned. What is probably the best podcast for me trying to do remedial review while I take a semester break?
Hi Brad – We really like the early episode of Coffee Break Spanish for more beginner level Spanish. If you are looking for more intermediate than check ours out at http://www.espanolistos.com. 🙂
Hoyhablamos.com – mi podcast favorito. Lo recomiendo
Gracias, Marta!
Thank you! I have been learning Spanish off and on for YEARS! My dream is to be fluent and comfortable communicating! Now I have 3 children, a full time job…blah blah blah..But I do want to achieve this dream. Due to time and budget constraints, I cannot go back for my formal degree in Spanish. My first thought was to start listening to podcast and maybe get an app? Any advice??
Yes, definitely start listening to Spanish Podcasts and find a Spanish tutor to meet with online an hour or two a week. Then work on the grammar.
Thanks for putting this together! I had no idea where to start with coffee break Spanish, so I appreciate your recommendations.
Also, I just wanted to point out that you repeatedly spelled “their “ incorrectly as “there.”
Awesome, thank you Mary. I went through and (hopefully) corrected the “there” mistakes. Can’t make any promises though. 🙂
Thanks, Nate! I have been learning Spanish for 2 years. I am a big fan of Radio Ambulante, it was cool to listen to accents from the different Spanish-speaking countries. I also like https://www.fluentinspanish.org/podcasts/ because it is a bilingual side by side podcast.
Do you know others side by side podcasts?
Thanks so much for writing in, Melita. Unfortunately, I don’t know of another, but maybe someone in the comments section does?
Oh! You should definitely add Fluent Spanish Express Podcast. One of the best podcasts for Spanish learners!
Thanks for the recommendation, Barry!