Spanish Group

[NoManches]

Chmury just asked me in my log about the podcasts I listen to. He recommended to me the following podcasts:

Nómadas, Radio Ambulante, Travesías, y El Podcast del Búho

This might be a cool place to share what podcasts we like to listen to in Spanish. I am subscribed to a bunch (a lot of them I want to listen to but never get around to). Here are the ones that I listen to on a regular basis or a somewhat regular basis:

Radio Ambulante - Mainly Latin America
Por el Placer de Vivir (con César Lozano) - MX
El Explicador - MX
Chilango Podcast - Ciudad de México
Historia del Mundo según Diana Uribe - Colombia
the Managers Podcast (nombre es en inglés pero es 100% en español) - MX
Transformando tu Mente - Colombia
El Tlacuache - MX
Buenos Dias America (Voice of America) - United States (various Spanish accents are heard)
Martha Debayle - MX
Horror a la Media Noche - MX
Gente de Confianza - MX
Testigos de Crimen - MX

Te Invito Un Café - The Dominican Republic (but with a slow, VERY easy to understand Spanish. I reccomend this for beginners and intermediates!)


My Spanish in High School and most of college focused on very little input from listening, an "okay" amount of Spanish from reading, and a ton of grammar. In total, I would say that we focused more on speaking than listening, something that has made me good at talking but bad at listening. For the last year or more I have been adding a lot more listening to my schedule, and these podcasts have helped tremendously.

So, what podcasts do you like? And if you can, share what country they come from! That might help people who are looking for certain materials.

In the future I think I (or whoever else wants to) should create a post on movies and then TV shows.

Maybe at the end we can edit them as we go? Perhaps have a running list of podcasts based on level/country. movies and TV shows based on country? Just an idea.

[Systematiker]

Great idea! Here's what I listen to regularly, though like you I'm subscribed to more that I don't always get to. Some of them I don't quite remember the origin of. The three marked with * are from an expressly religious viewpoint.

Algarabía Radio (MX, I think) http://algarabia.com/category/radio-2/: a culture program that looks at words, books, movies, music, history, or whatever else strikes them. They even say themselve that it is, in part, datos inútiles, but it's a lot of fun.

*Ayer, Hoy y Siempre (US-based, I think, so "standardized") http://www.paraelcamino.com/ayerarchivo.asp: a short drama, usually with a faith-based point. Same narrator, parts are voice-acted. Usually about 12 minutes long.

Biblioteca básica (ES) http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/audios/biblioteca-basica/: A short review of books modern and classic which are supposed to be the foundation of a common culture of readers. Usually 8-10 minutes long.

A la aventura - Libros y lectura http://alaaventura.net/ A weekly book discussion, taken from contemporary and classic works. A discussion of plot followed by a "why you might like this book" and "why you might not like this book" section. Spoilers included, of necessity.

*Converso Verso a Verso (Latin America, not sure precisely where)

*En la palabra de Dios MX

LD Libros ES http://esradio.libertaddigital.com/ld-libros/ A weekly podcast discussing new books, usually accompanied by another episode that's an interview with an author. Mario Noya has a bad habit of mumbling away from the microphone, though. Usually about an hour, I think.

Libros de arena ES

Sacro y profano (MX, I think)

Edits: slowly finding and adding links to the podcasts

[iguanamon]

Of course listing podcasts is a great idea... what is even more helpful is telling us where you found them so that others can find them more easily. Not everyone uses iTunes or a podcast service,if you do, please tell us which one. Then, I'll be happy to copy and paste them into one of my reserved posts on the first page for everyone, but I don't have time to look up all the links myself. Also, a brief description of the content of the podcasts is helpful. This is along the lines of what what I'm talking about:

Democracy Now en Español US and international news translated from English with a left of center/progressive slant. It has an accurate transcript for listening while reading. Parallel texts can be made by going to the English site. Available on weekdays (updated US afternoons) 15 minutes with 30 minute week in review on Saturdays and special topic podcasts too- all with accurate transcripts.

Amnistía Internacional Podcast. Weekly podcast from Spain- varies in length from as little as 3 minutes to as long as 20 minutes, with an accurate transcript- again, left of center.

NHK World Noticias en Español Daily newscast 12-15 minutes long with accurate transcript from Japan (Native speakers, varied accents). Transcript can only be read by clicking each individual story and opening the audio in a new tab. Straight-up news from a Japanese perspective- dry but useful due to the transcript.

RFI (France) Noticias International news with a focus on France, Latin America and Europe. More of a magazine with a short 5 minute straight-up news followed by a press review and features including music, culture, the environment, science, etc. Enjoyable and varied format with varied, native-speaker accents from Latin America and Spain. 30 minutes in length.

Radio Ambulante Features of topical interest from all over Latin America and the Spanish-speaking US. It has accurate transcripts, most with an English translation- about 18 minutes in length.

Nómadas (RTVE- Spain) Travel, with an audio visit to a country or city exploring interesting facets of life, culture and tourism there. A vast archive is available. Podcast is almost an hour long and quite enjoyable if you're interested in travel and other cultures.

Radio Nacional de España A la carta All of Spanish National Radio- everything under the sun- politics, culture, music, books, film, sports.

La Tremenda Corte "La Tremenda Corte" was a pre-revolutionary Cuban radio show (comedy) with a regular cast. The situation is that of a trial where José Candelario "Tres Patines" is always being accused of something, una estafa generalmente/usually a scam. The plaintiffs are always Rudesindo Caldeiro Escobiña and Luz María Nananina. El Señor Juez y su Secretario open the show with El Señor Juez usually talking about his health. Tres Patines regularly mangles the Spanish language to great comedic effect. Each episode is from 10-15 minutes long. Only a limited few come with a transcript (look for "leer guión" in the episode list). It's between 60-70 years old but is still broadcast over the air today in many parts of the US and Latin America. I can hear it everyday, broadcast over the air at 2:00 pm on my car radio from WPAB Ponce, Puerto Rico (which can be streamed online). Despite its age, it is still funny and relevant- timeless comedy and a great way to get used to Cuban Spanish. If you can understand Tres Patines, you can listen to anything in Spanish! Click "episodios" to listen/download.

ivoox The mother lode of Spanish language audio! It includes every topic you can imagine plus some audiobooks once broadcast on Spanish radio. I listened to El Cartero de Neruda by Antonio Skármeta a few years ago from here, which was the book the film "Il Postino" was based upon. It was a bit odd at first hearing it with a Castillian accent, but... you get used to it. If you're interested in anything, odds are pretty good you'll find something to listen to here- including the aforementioned "La Tremenda Corte". If it's been broadcast on Spanish radio- it's here. There's even a mobile app available.

The Poor Man's Bluetooth- Bluetooth Wireless Audio Player FM Transmitters. Almost all newer cars come with built in bluetooth, but even if you drive an over ten year old island beater like mine, you can still take advantage of bluetooth technology for very little money. I bought one of these a couple of years ago from China via ebay for $6.00 USD. It plugs into the cigarette lighter/auxiliary port in the car. The device syncs with a smartphone via bluetooth and transmits the audio to a designated clear fm frequency on your car radio, meaning you can listen to anything on your phone through your car radio speakers. It's the best value for money I've ever had! I use it all the time. This is a no-brainer. Prices range from around $8.00 USD to around $20.00 USD. Some have the option of using a mini-sd card, so you don't even need a smart phone- just download and save to a mini-sd card, plug and play.

[Cavesa]

Thanks for all these ideas! Finally I can see a clearer path to getting used to the LA variants.

[Hundetier]

A mi aire is a podcast with transcripts and vocabulary help for intermediate learners (A2/B1). Alicia, a reporter from Madrid, talks about her life in Zurich, cultural habits and differences, her sister moving to Cuba and ongoing topics. Easy to follow.
length: 10 to 20 minutes, only castillian spanish, no english

SpanishPodcast.net also comes twice a week with transcripts and a diversity of topics, and sometimes episodes on grammar and/or vocabulary but is more advanced.
length: 8 to 26 minutes, only castillian spanish, no english

Another Spanish Podcast with transcripts which aims to help you to improve your spanish. Mercedes, a teacher from Barcelona, speaks about life in Spain, grammar, vocabulary and other topics.
length: 5 to 40 minutes, castillian spanish with english intro

Español automático de Kara Martinez is for advanced students, who have a good passive knowledge and want to get fluent. For me (A2/B1 in listening) it is still too demanding.
lenght: 10 to 40 minutes

[iguanamon]

Thank you for providing a description along with your links, Hundetier. When I post these links on the first page, as group leader and thread starter, I do not want to list just names of podcasts, so please provide a description of the podcast.. A brief synopsis of what the podcast is about and where it's from is helpful to everybody. A description doesn't have to be like what I've written, but it should be enough for people to see what it's about, how long it is, where it's from and perhaps why you like it. Also, please do not assume that everyone has iTunes or uses a podcast service. I don't. I will still post the names, even if links aren't provided. People can find links by searching the names + the word "podcast" or "audio" in google or bing or any other search engine.

The podcasts will be posted on the first page so they can be found easily. Please don't post anything you haven't listened to or aren't listening to as that defeats the purpose of what we're doing with this thread. I'll list your username along with your recommendations as well as well. If you are a second language speaker of English, I may correct spellings and grammar in your descriptions at a minimal extent, to aid comprehension.

Please keep the recommendations coming but also tell us a little bit about the podcast- what is it about?, where is it from?, how long is it?, why do you like it?- in a few sentences. Thanks. Links are helpful but not critical- the description is critical.

[NoManches]

I'm out of town now but when I get back to a computer I will add descriptions and hopefully links to all of the podcasts I mentioned.

I stopped using podcasts from iTunes a while ago. All of the ones I posted can be found on iVoox

Until then, happy listening everyone!

[Systematiker]

I'm also slowly in the process of editing the list I gave to provide links, and soon, descriptions. I also do not use iTunes (but rather another podcatching service), so I have to google them to find the links.

[iguanamon]

NoManches, knowing where they can be found is good enough. The description as I've described above is what I'm mainly interested in seeing.

Systematiker, again, links are not crucial, a description is- including what, where, length, and perhaps why and when.

[klvik]

A mi aire is a podcast with transcripts and vocabulary help for intermediate learners (A2/B1). Alicia, a reporter from Madrid, talks about her life in Zurich, cultural habits and differences, her sister moving to Cuba and ongoing topics. Easy to follow.
length: 10 to 20 minutes, only castillian spanish, no english

SpanishPodcast.net also comes twice a week with transcripts and a diversity of topics, and sometimes episodes on grammar and/or vocabulary but is more advanced.
length: 8 to 26 minutes, only castillian spanish, no english

Nice selection! When I was actively listening to these podcasts, I thought that Spanishpodcast.net was easier than A mi Aire and I find it interesting that you find it more difficult. I think that at the A2-B1 level our perceptions of difficulty is strongly influenced by the vocabulary used. Perhaps, my vocabulary at the time was better represented by Spanishpodcast.net. Feel free to incorporate my descriptions of these podcasts (below) into your post.


Podcasts for learners:

A mi aire (http://www.podclub.ch/sendungen/a-mi-aire-sp). This podcast for learners (A2-B1) in radio diary format discusses culture and travel from the perspective of the broadcaster. New episodes of 10-15 minutes appear every 2 weeks and accurate transcripts are available on the website. Peninsular Spanish.

Spanish podcast.net (https://www.spanishpodcast.net/). 15-20 minute podcasts on a variety of topics, including idioms, suitable for learners (A2-B1). It is worth a look just for its episodes about common idioms. Accurate transcripts are available on its website. Peninsular Spanish.

Multimedia content for learners:

Veinte Mundos (http://www.veintemundos.com/) is an online cultural magazine (B1-B2) that produces ~10 minute episodes with accompanying transcriptions, grammatical highlights and videos. Most, but not all, of the content is from Latin America. Primarily Latin American Spanish.

VideoELE (http://www.videoele.com/en/Curso_en.html). This small collection of videos (3-6 minutes) with transcripts and subtitles is a good resource for beginners (A1-A2) looking for material to supplement their coursework. Videos are classified by level (A1-B2) and grammatical structure. Peninsular and Latin American Spanish.