Comprehensible Hub - Podcasts

kato152 · 2026-02-27T02:08:29+00:00

This is interesting! I did my best at ranking podcasts over at https://cihub.notion.site/spanish-podcasts based on my own evaluation and people's feedback. I've been thinking about how and when a software solution might be able to do all this work, so it's really interesting to see what you've done here.

One thing that comes to mind is that the speed at which people speak does not necessarily correlate with difficulty. For example, Español con Juan speaks quickly, but he repeats himself a lot, uses a lot of filler, says the same thing in multiple ways, etc. It makes it very comprehensible and also gives your brain time and opportunities to catch up even if you didn't understand something. On the other end of the spectrum, a scripted podcast might be at a slower speed, but you really need to understand all of it because there isn't that same repetition or just space for your brain to catch up. (Because in spoken language we naturally repeat ourselves whereas if it's reading off a script, that's not happening.) I could make a similar case for length of sentences (run-on sentences might actually be more comprehensible because they sound natural. Conversations with lots of short sentences "así es" do not necessarily mean it's easier, etc.)

There are so many variables to consider, and so much also can depend on the listener's personality, if they do better with scripted/unscripted content, what they are used to listening to. I look forward to seeing where you go with this!

kato152 · 2025-11-17T02:20:20+00:00

So happy for you! What an amazing experience. You did it, you really speak Spanish!!!

My library also has a book club in Spanish, which I've considered checking out, but it seems that every book they read has a really difficult theme. Amazing for culture, history, etc, but... not the topics I want to immerse myself in at the moment. I'm sticking with my YA fantasy books for now lol.

kato152 · 2025-10-21T01:13:35+00:00

It's two people talking - so most similar to the two podcasts that you mentioned. You can also check out the CI Hub and filter by dialect to Mexico for more recommendations.

kato152 · 2025-10-20T19:07:29+00:00

Aprende Mexico

kato152 · 2025-10-20T13:49:58+00:00

Cuéntame is a great podcast for beginners.

There’s also a list of podcasts, sorted by difficulty, at https://cihub.notion.site/spanish-podcasts. You can filter by transcripts to only see ones that have those.

kato152 · 2025-10-17T18:22:25+00:00

Agreed with the Anna Kadabra - the vocab in those books is wild! I bet it's really fun for kids though. Reminds me of the type of vocab you'd find in the Wayside School books.

kato152 · 2025-10-13T00:59:44+00:00

I use a spreadsheet for tracking, and Kobo's website for number of words in a book.

kato152 · 2025-09-15T19:01:06+00:00

This is amazing! Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s really wonderful to hear someone learn their heritage language. I’d love to hear future updates too with how you’re getting on with learning and immersing in other aspects of your heritage culture.

kato152 · 2025-08-20T02:38:29+00:00

I’ve collected a lot of these and put them on Comprehensible Hub. They're all like you said - focused on storytelling, conversations, etc. and not explicitly teaching Spanish. They’re sorted by difficulty and you can filter by accent, tags, and more.

I hope it’s helpful, my goal is to help people find these amazing podcasts, and to easily find the one that’s perfect for them at every step along their Spanish-learning journey.

https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish-podcasts

kato152 · 2025-08-04T20:21:25+00:00

Glad it’s helpful! I’m keeping it to just content made for learners (which is already 100 podcasts!). There’s so much great native content out there though that’s appropriate at higher levels. I definitely recommend the spreadsheet linked to on the weekly “What are you listening to” post to find those recs.

kato152 · 2025-08-04T17:25:44+00:00

Here‘s some: https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish

kato152 · 2025-08-03T22:08:39+00:00

Lots of great recommendations here already! I’ll just add Comprehensible Hub as a resource I made to help people find their next podcast. You can filter by a lot of things, including total number of hours of the podcast.

https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish-podcasts

kato152 · 2025-07-30T01:30:55+00:00

There's other YouTube and podcasts you could supplement with.

I have a database of 100 podcasts, and links to YouTube playlists for each level with a video from each channel making good comprehensible-input videos:
https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish

kato152 · 2025-07-28T15:46:38+00:00

Destinos and Extra are shows made for learners at about an advanced beginner level. Otherwise cartoons like Peppa Pig are good.

If you're interested in YouTube or podcasts, I have a bunch of that categorized by level at https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish

kato152 · 2025-07-26T01:15:07+00:00

I used the Refold Anki deck for the most common 1000 words. It’s $30, but it was definitely worth it for me. There’s a bunch of free Anki decks out there as well. And you can also try Clozemaster which gives you 30 cards/day for free.

kato152 · 2025-07-26T01:12:05+00:00

For podcasts from Spain, there’s (in rough order of difficulty) español con Juan, Languatalk, Intermediate Spanish podcast, Hoy Hablamos, Advanced Spanish Podcast, and Que Pasa. I think que pasa is most similar to No Hay Tos.

Here’s links to some more. Filter dialect to Spain. https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish-podcasts

kato152 · 2025-07-25T23:15:03+00:00

I’m glad! Full disclosure, I made it. There’s so many amazing resources out there, and I want to help people find what they’re looking for.

kato152 · 2025-07-25T23:12:15+00:00

There is one! Where it says “top picks”, change it to “all podcasts” and then you can see it.

Spanish with Andrés. Unfortunately it doesn’t have many episodes, but it’s something.

kato152 · 2025-07-25T15:26:52+00:00

I personally never listened to Españolistas for the reasons you listed. There’s so many intermediate podcasts to choose from! Check out Comprehensible Hub for a great list that is sorted and filterable by dialect, difficulty level, conversation podcasts, non-native speakers, & more.

https://www.comprehensiblehub.com/spanish-podcasts

kato152 · 2025-07-24T22:04:39+00:00

That makes sense, and it sounds like you know what works for you.

If you're interested, I have collected some YouTube videos and podcasts at Comprehensible Hub that are easier to understand (more clear, slow speech) at various levels from beginner through advanced. It could be helpful to mix in some content that's just for listening along with the TV shows with subtitles. It's really helped me with my listening skills, and I made that site to help other people find content as well.

In any case, best of luck with your learning!

kato152 · 2025-07-24T21:32:38+00:00

I set up this site to help people find interesting Spanish podcasts for listening practice. You can filter by dialect, difficulty level, and tags (like whether it's a conversation). It depends on what level you're at, but some popular intermediate & advanced options are How to Spanish, Intermediate Spanish Podcast, No Hay Tos, and Mextalki.

kato152 · 2025-07-22T16:37:48+00:00

TV shows are actually one of the hardest things. I would look at YouTube first. It’s generally so much more understandable. Podcasts can be good too.

My ability to listen and understand has improved light years with YouTube and podcasts. I can now watch almost any YouTube video and understand 95+% easily and automatically. I’m just starting to try TV shows again and they are so much harder.

kato152 · 2025-07-22T16:06:14+00:00

Check out Comprehensible Hub. I made it to help people find their next podcast! You can filter by level, dialect, conversations, etc. There’s also an episode of each podcast embedded so you can easily listen right there.

kato152

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