Duolingo Spanish Podcast

Duolingo took the massive reach of their language app and did something smart with it -- they created a narrative podcast that tells true stories in slow, clear Spanish with English narration woven in. Hosted by Martina Castro, co-founder of NPR's Radio Ambulante, the show has that public-radio production quality you'd expect from someone with her background. Each episode presents a real person telling their own story, and the Spanish is deliberately paced for intermediate learners. You get the immersion of hearing authentic stories without the frustration of getting completely lost. The format works because you're actually invested in what happens to these people -- it's not a grammar exercise dressed up as content. With 170 episodes and a staggering 12,900+ ratings at a 4.5-star average, this is one of the most popular language-learning podcasts ever made. It's worth noting that the show has recently evolved into Duo's Film Club, analyzing Spanish-language cinema, so the original narrative format is shifting. But the back catalog alone is worth hundreds of hours of quality listening practice. If you're somewhere between beginner and intermediate Spanish and want to train your ear on real stories told by real people, this is probably the single best resource available in podcast form.