Podcast · Learning

Learn Spanish with Stories

by Lingo Mastery Spanish · English · Learning

Learn Spanish with Stories is the number one podcast for upper beginner to intermediate Spanish learners. The main objective of this podcast is to give students fun and interesting stories from Latin America to help students with Spanish immersion. You can read while you listen if you head over to p

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 29 min
Latest: 13 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

13 Oct 2026 · 33 minNew

Selena, the Queen of Tex-Mex (Selena, La Reina Tex-Mex)

Latin America regularly produces some of the best and most globally acclaimed music artists in the world, but the story of Selena Quintanilla is quite singular. A musician who started her career extremely early — at 9 years old! — Selena was destined for greatness from the first moment she stepped on a stage. Accompanied initially by her siblings and father, she soon outgrew this little family band and became recognized first in her genre and region, before the whole world rapidly came to k...

Play episodeWhatsApp Download

Earlier episodes 29 most recent

S6 · E1 · 6 Oct 2026 · 29 min
2026 FIFA World Cup: The Biggest World Cup Ever (Copa Mundial FIFA 2026, El Mundial Más Grande)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was a massive one, don't you think? We're not just talking of the level of football or geographical extension (it was, after all, hosted across 3 countries) - we're talking of the 48 teams that participated, a massive increase of 16 more than the last edition, and Latin America was an important presence across all of its rounds. In this Season 6 debut episode, we're revisiting the world's largest sports event that took place this summer, analyzing the bigge...
S5 · E36 · 9 Jun 2026 · 31 min
How Can Latin America Be Fixed? (¿Cómo Se Arregla Latinoamérica?)
Honestly, we all love Latin America, but we're not blind to the fact that many things simply don't work or could be better. Whether it's at the political or social level, Latin America has the potential to be a much more developed region. But what is the cause behind all of it? Is it a problem of corruption or bad decisions? Could it even be... a cultural issue? In this special DUAL NARRATOR episode and SEASON FINALE, two friends meet up to discuss how they would address the many issues t...
S5 · E35 · 2 Jun 2026 · 29 min
Avándaro, The Day That Changed Mexican Rock (Avándaro, El Día que Cambió el Rock Mexicano)
Rock music has always been somewhat controversial in conservative societies, and Mexico (a highly religious and Catholic country) held great distrust and contempt towards this music which, according to some, was linked to the "Devil" and "bad behaviors". But then Avándaro happened... an improvised festival which, unexpectedly, blew up and attracted 10x the crowds they had initially expected, and marked the beginning of a new age for rock music in Mexico. In fact, if you've ever listened to ...
S5 · E34 · 26 May 2026 · 29 min
How the Internet Changed Spanish (Cómo Internet Cambió el Español)
The internet has shaped every language it has come in contact with, and Spanish is no different. It doesn't help that Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with 20 independent countries and one territory (Puerto Rico, if you're curious) speaking it in their own unique ways. But why did this happen, and how have social media and video platforms helped accelerate this shift? And why on Earth do people who have never set foot in Mexico actually say "wey"? Find out ...
S5 · E33 · 19 May 2026 · 30 min
Violence in Mexico, The Shadow of El Mencho (Violencia en México, La Sombra de El Mencho)
Mexico is no stranger to cartel-related violence, and early in 2026, we witnessed how the death of a cartel leader caused an explosion of terror across 12 states - businesses burned, roads blocked off, and even an airport being attacked. Flights were canceled, transport was paralyzed, and kids had to stay home, as the situation was not only unpredictable but also highly volatile, with the cartel presence embedded deeply in each and every local community in one way or another. But who was ...
S5 · E32 · 12 May 2026 · 29 min
Music Without Translation: The Bad Bunny Phenomenon (Música Sin Traducción, El Fenómeno Bad Bunny)
Bad Bunny. A name, a personality, a legend (maybe)? Everyone knows him, everybody feels something towards him, whether it's love, admiration, or pure rejection. He's the face for Latin American music right now, and he seems to be skyrocketing towards more and more success as the years pass. But what's the story behind this singer, this "Conejo Malo" whose real name is Benito Antonio? It's about time somebody told the story behind his nickname, his origins, the timeline that took h...
S5 · E31 · 5 May 2026 · 33 min
What if...? Latin America Under the British Flag (What if...? Latinoamérica Bajo la Bandera Británica)
Living in Latin America, you'll hear the following nostalgic phrase at least once in your lifetime (especially if somebody is complaining about laziness or bad habits): "If only we had been colonized by the Brits..." This belief, shared by a certain portion of the Latin American region and often used when looking north at the vastly superior technological development achieved in the United States, is an expression of the infamous frustrations toward everything that is wrong with Latin Ameri...
S5 · E30 · 28 Apr 2026 · 32 min
How Latin America Has Changed the World (Cómo América Latina Ha Cambiado el Mundo)
Let's do an exercise - since we've already explored how Latin America has been changed by Spanish colonization, by the influence of the United States, and other nations... why don't we spin it around for once, and ask how Latin America has influenced the rest of the world? After all, Italy wouldn't have its beloved tomatoes if not for the Aztecs and Andeans cultivating it; we would not be able to eat fried potatoes if not for Peru and Bolivia; and we have Mexico to thank for corn (which we ...
S5 · E29 · 21 Apr 2026 · 33 min
Venezuela and the Fall of a Dictatorship (Venezuela y la Caída de una Dictadura)
On January 3, 2026, Venezuela's dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was removed from power. Plenty of us already know this headline, and many are already aware of how this looked from the outside - Donald Trump's government prepared the attack meticulously before executing, and Maduro ended up in chains, headed to New York aboard the USS Iwo Jima. However, very few have wondered what it felt like for Venezuelans - who, either inside or outside the country, had to deal with the information blackout an...
S5 · E28 · 14 Apr 2026 · 30 min
Life in Latin America’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods (Cómo Se Vive en los Barrios Más Peligrosos de Latinoamérica)
We like to highlight the beauty and magic of Latin America in as many episodes as we can... but sometimes, there is "another" truth that is not as pretty: Latin America, for all its magic, can be a very dangerous place. In today's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we're heading to the region's most dangerous neighborhoods (places commonly known as barrios or favelas, depending on the country), where being alert is the default status, and life is typically shorter. These a...
S5 · E27 · 7 Apr 2026 · 29 min
The Names That Shaped Latin America (Los Nombres que Construyeron América Latina)
Where do names come from, and most importantly, where do country names come from? Usually, they have some sort of historic link with tribes who already lived there, with a great historic figure, or simply as a description of something that explorers saw. But in Latin America, quite a few names were given due to transcription or translation errors, such as "Costa Rica" being literally from the explorers noting "this coast looks rich, let's come back and plunder it". Yes, country names can ca...
S5 · E26 · 31 Mar 2026 · 31 min
Latin American Lullabies (Historias de Cuna Latinoamericanas)
Do you remember the first lullabies that were sung to you as a baby? Probably not, but there definitely is a song in your mind that brings you back to your earliest, most innocent days. Latin America, a cultural mix, has plenty of lullabies with interesting origins. Some came to arrive all the way from Africa, with the slaves that crossed the oceans and worked tirelessly under colonial rule; others were passed down from the ancestral peoples who called Latin America their home (and certainl...
S5 · E25 · 24 Mar 2026 · 31 min
María Corina Machado, The Woman Who Stole Donald Trump's Nobel Prize (María Corina Machado, La Mujer que le Quitó el Nobel a Donald Trump)
Unless you've missed a lot of the recent news, you'll probably have heard about María Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize award, and how US President Donald Trump soon became the recipient of her winning medal... but what is the backstory behind all of this? Too much has been spoken about Venezuela from sides that are extremely politically driven (on both sides of the spectrum), but who really is María Corina Machado? And what did she do to earn her Nobel Prize? In this week's ep...
S5 · E24 · 17 Mar 2026 · 29 min
San Basilio de Palenque, The First Free Town in America (San Basilio de Palenque, El Primer Pueblo Libre de América)
There are some really amazing stories regarding independence and freedom in Latin America, but what if I told you that the episode you're about to listen to is about the first settlement to gain freedom in ALL of the Americas (North AND South America): San Basilio de Palenque. Located on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Cartagena was one of the main slave hubs of the continent, and a place where thousands of African men and women disembarked every year to be sold to colonists that needed ma...
S5 · E23 · 10 Mar 2026 · 29 min
The Kidnapped Truth, The Mystery of Jesús de Galíndez (La Verdad Secuestrada, El Misterio de Jesús de Galíndez)
Latin America has suffered under fascism throughout its history, and right-wing dictators have made a strong negative impact on the region throughout several decades of the region's existence. These, perhaps, have been the more bloodthirsty of past and present dictators, willing to harm citizens to effectively further their goals. One of the most terrible dictators Latin America ever had was Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, who we featured in a past season of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast...
S5 · E22 · 3 Mar 2026 · 29 min
The Flags That Changed Latin America (Las Banderas que Cambiaron América Latina)
Some of the most interesting and curious flags in the world are those in Latin America; after all, aren't some, like, almost identical to each other? And why would that be? Besides, what's with Paraguay having a two-sided flag (the ONLY one in the world to have this characteristic)? Or Brazil having "Ordem e Progresso" stamped across the center of its flag? And why do Uruguay and Argentina both have tributes to the Sun? Well, all of these mysteries, the history of these flags, and why the...
S5 · E21 · 24 Feb 2026 · 28 min
Manuela Sáenz, The Liberator of the Liberator (Manuela Sáenz, La Libertadora del Libertador)
History tells too many tales of great men, but what about the incredible women that liberated countries and fought valiantly in wars where they were overpowered and outnumbered? Manuela Sáenz was such a woman who, despite being seen at the time as little more than "Simón Bolívar's love interest" was actually a political and military mastermind in freeing the colonies from Spanish rule. A courageous woman who was not afraid of putting herself at risk to cooperate and coordinate the independe...
S5 · E20 · 17 Feb 2026 · 27 min
Daniel's Journey, A Road Trip Through Latin America (El Viaje de Daniel, Un Camino por Toda América Latina)
One of the most exciting plans you can have for traveling across Latin America is by road trip. After all, it is one of the most biologically, climatologically, and socially diverse regions in the world, with over 670 million people spread across 20+ countries, and there is so much to see. In today's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, our protagonist Daniel finally embarks on the trip of a lifetime: going from the east of Mexico all around Latin America, and returning to the...
S5 · E19 · 10 Feb 2026 · 29 min
Rubén Blades, From the Barrio to Harvard (Rubén Blades, Del Barrio a Harvard)
Latin America has produced some of the most amazing artists, and today's star of our podcast is no exception. Rubén Blades, born to two musicians in a humble neighborhood, grew rapidly to become one of the world's household names when it comes to salsa and other tropical music. However, he didn't stay limited to being recognized as a world-class "salsero", oh no... he studied at Harvard, also became a movie and series star, featuring in massive Hollywood hits (Predator 2, Fear the Walking D...
S5 · E18 · 3 Feb 2026 · 30 min
The American Footprint in Latin America (La Huella Estadounidense en América Latina)
The United States and Latin America are connected in a massive amount of ways, and it's not just a matter of geography: generations have grown up listening to American music, watching American TV and Hollywood productions, and receiving a heavy inflow of cultural influences in every aspect. But it hasn't just been culture - it's been technology, politics, worldviews, and so much more. The truth is that United States and Latin America are not just two separate entities but an ecosystem that,...
S5 · E17 · 27 Jan 2026 · 28 min
Spanglish, Portuñol, and Llanito: How These Hybrid Languages Came About (Spanglish, Portuñol y Llanito, Cómo Nacen Estos Híbridos)
Hybrid languages - have you ever heard of them? Spanish has at least two main hybrid languages: Spanglish (which you've probably come in contact with at some point) and Portuñol, which features heavily in the border areas between Brazil and other South American nations. But I'm sure you've never heard of Llanito, and other variations of the Spanish language. In this fun episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we go back to our roots, which is language learning, and explore Spangl...
S5 · E16 · 20 Jan 2026 · 31 min
Guantánamo From the Inside (Guantánamo Desde Adentro)
One of the scariest and most controversial places on the planet is located in Cuba, in a city of the same name: Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Established by President George W. Bush in 2002, following the Islamist attacks of September 11, it was created to house terrorism suspects and "illegal enemy combatants". However, the reality is that this prison has held many an innocent, those simply falsely accused of belonging to a terrorist organization by others who decided to 'sell' them in ex...
S5 · E15 · 13 Jan 2026 · 32 min
Occult Rituals, From Pachamama to Caribbean Voodoo (Rituales Ocultos, de la Pachamama al Vudú Caribeño)
Latin America is a melting pot of cultures, as you'll already know - Spanish culture mixing with Amerindian tradition, and with African rituals combining with Aztec, Mayan, British and... Dutch(?) influences, somehow - so you already know that there's going to be very bold and unique ways of perceiving life, death, religion and belief systems in general. So, it comes as no surprise that the occult features so heavily in Latin American culture, especially in the daily lives of cert...
S5 · E14 · 6 Jan 2026 · 29 min
Juana Azurduy, A Forgotten Heroine (Juana Azurduy, Una Heroína Olvidada)
They say that crisis and pain create great men and women, but life really went a bit too far with Juana Azurduy - first, she lost her parents, and then she would go on to lose her children... but it's what happened in the middle of these things that would mark her remarkable story as a heroine in the fight for Bolivia's independence. A curious girl during her infancy, she developed a courageous and free-spirited personality that would lead her to great things and make her challenge the preco...
S5 · E13 · 30 Dec 2025 · 29 min
Trained for War, Used for Crime (Entrenados para la Guerra, Usados por el Crimen)
As a soldier in Latin America, what happens when you retire? One could think that each state would have a great retirement plan for each soldier who has risked their life for their nation: a decent home, a dignified compensation, health benefits... but this couldn't be further from reality. The reality is that soldiers are practically discarded - thrown aside, left to fend for themselves in a job market that has no interest in hiring men and women who were trained for violence... and t...
S5 · E12 · 23 Dec 2025 · 29 min
Pepe Mujica, The President Who Was Just Another Neighbor (Pepe Mujica, El Presidente que Era un Vecino Más)
Despite the traditionally sketchy leaders we've had in Latin America in the past century, one of the most memorable and internationally loved Latin American presidents in recent times has been José Alberto "Pepe" Mujica. Even though he was quite unconventional in his origins, the way he spoke, and especially the fact that he was jailed for his participation as a guerrilla fighter (among the ranks of the Tupamaros), Pepe Mujica managed to convince even some of the most conservative citizens t...
S5 · E11 · 16 Dec 2025 · 28 min
One Español and a Thousand Accents, A Trip Without a Dictionary (Un Español y Mil Acentos, Un Viaje Sin Diccionario)
Spanish is just like English - everyone speaks it in the same way. I'm kidding: we know that English has tons of dialects, and Spanish is just the same in this aspect. Even more complicated is the fact that Spanish is an official language in 21 countries and is spoken widely across 6 continents (with Oceania, not Antarctica being the one where it isn't). So, what I'm getting at here is that there's bound to be confusion at some point when a Spaniard speaks with a Chilean, or a Mexican t...
S5 · E10 · 9 Dec 2025 · 31 min
La Pola, The Young Woman Who Defied an Empire (La Pola, La Joven que Desafió a un Imperio)
There have been some wonderful female heroes throughout history, and South America is no exception. Policarpa Salavarrieta (La Pola) is one of the most famous cases of them all: a woman who defied a massive colonizing force to wake the people of Colombia to the desire for freedom and independence, and whose story ended in an ambiguous (positive) way. In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we are going to explore the life of La Pola, what drove her to fight the Spanish col...
S5 · E9 · 2 Dec 2025 · 31 min
When Central America Said Enough Is Enough, The Fall of William Walker (Cuando Centroamérica Dijo Basta, La Caída de William Walker)
The US and other international powers have been meddling in Latin America for as long as we can remember, but one of the worst cases of foreign intervention (ever) occurred in Nicaragua, in the mid-19th Century (and may explain Nicaragua's strong apprehension towards the US today). William Walker. Manifest Destiny. Have you ever heard of these terms? William Walker was a military man with ambitions to rule, who took advantage of a civil war in Nicaragua to offer his help and show up as the h...

About Learn Spanish with Stories

Learn Spanish with Stories is a English learning podcast from Lingo Mastery Spanish. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Lingo Mastery Spanish
Language: English
Category: Learning
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 29 min
Latest episode: 13 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1590978173

RSS feed Apple Podcasts

More English learning

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.