Like all lists, this one may be unfinished, however, it seeks to offer you some of the best podcasts in Spanish, and there is plenty of material to cut from! Some of the topics covered by these productions range from humor to psychology, including journalism, current affairs, feminism, film, and lifestyle. From now on, play these contents and let yourself be caught by their stories that touch the whole Spanish-speaking community.
Se regalan dudas [Doubts for free] (Lifestyle)
In each episode, Lety Sahagún and Ashley Frangie have invited experts on different topics, as well as people they admire, to address “doubts” on various issues, from what family constellations are to why it is necessary to make fatherhood visible.
These Mexicans’ project was born in mid-2018 and soon became a success throughout Latin America. Exclusively for Spotify, each episode of Se regalan dudas (Doubts for free) lasts about 50 minutes.
Las Raras [The weirdos] (Journalism)
Led by Chileans Catalina May, a journalist, and Martin Cruz, a sound engineer, Las Raras (The Weirdos) is an independent product that tells “non-fiction stories that we call Freedom Stories” and gives space to voices that are not covered in the traditional media. Thus, feminism, environment, art, education, love, migration, and human rights are some of the topics it addresses.
Each of the chapters lasts about 20 minutes, and what stands out, besides the sound design, is the presence of testimonies of the different protagonists.
Leyendas Legendarias [Legendary Legends] (humor)
This production has become not only one of the most listened to in Mexico, but internationally. Its intention is clear: “A comedy podcast in which every week we explore cases of real crime, paranormal phenomena or historical events as peculiar, as notorious and fantastic”.
Hosted by José Antonio Badía and his partner Eduardo Espinosa, and directly from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, each “legend” deserves episodes of more than 60 minutes.
Nada que ver [Nothing to watch] (movies)
Especially for Latin American users, Netflix has its first Spanish-language podcast since April 2019, which offers weekly recommendations of content of all kinds so that its subscribers always have something to look forward to. It is produced by the Así como suena team.
Each episode lasts about 45 minutes and is hosted by Mexicans Luis Pablo Beauregard, Mariana Linares Cruz, and Trino Camacho, who also provide a space for “the stars” of the original Netflix series and movies to tell their stories.
Nadie sabe nada [Nobody knows anything] (humor)
From Cadena SER, comes this show of “analysis of current affairs” and humor, hosted by Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero, two renowned Spanish humorists who talk about everything, without necessarily having any idea of anything, in episodes of about 50 minutes.
The title of the podcast predicts what the user will find in this space, where improvisation is as relevant as not taking things too seriously.
Entiende tu mente [Understand Your Mind] (Psychology)
This popular Spanish psychology podcast invites you to understand your mind. To do so, you need about 20 minutes, which is the length of each weekly delivery. Some of its topics are pleasure and guilt, finding one’s vocation, mood and illness, and coming out of the closet.
Through its messages, the audience themselves propose new approaches to Molo Cebrián, podcaster and student of psychology; Luis Muiño, psychologist and one of the best-known disseminators of the subject in Spain; and Mónica González, coach, and university professor.
Radio ambulante [Mobile Radio] (Journalism)
How do you bring the impact of a good written public interest story to the radio? A more than interesting answer is offered by Radio Ambulante (Mobile Radio), which defines itself as “a narrative podcast that tells the stories of Latin America in Spanish”.
With episodes of different lengths, depending on the story, this project began in 2011 and, since 2016, is distributed by NPR, the National Public Radio of the United States. A multidisciplinary team from various parts of Latin America collaborates.
El Cine de LoQueYoTeDiga [The Movies of WhatITellYou] (Movies)
If we’re talking about continuity, we have to look at this project about the Spanish film industry that has been in action for over 30 years (it started in 1989 at Cadena SER). According to the data it provides, it has been broadcasting the official podcast since the end of 2009 on its website (and of course, it is on all the main platforms).
Lovers of the seventh art will find here everything from film premieres to series, through regular sections, thematic reports, and debates. All this in episodes ranging from 15 to 90 minutes.
Concha Podcast [Pussy Podcast](Feminism)
“A space for dialogue for feminism,” this is how this independent Argentine podcast, self-managed by Laura Passalacqua, Dalia Férnandez Walker, and Jimena Outeiro, is defined. It arises from the weekly fun talks held by the three friends.
With episodes that exceed 60 minutes, but not 120, the creators declared to El País that they tried to make the name of the program without the term “concha” (pussy): “Nowadays, the word does no longer generates so much controversy. It has become a word that contains us, brings us together, that we associate with desire and pleasure.”
Así como suena [Just as It Sounds] (News)
In addition to producing Netflix’s first Spanish-language sound product, this Mexican project contains other interesting podcasts, which is why it is included in this list. In this podcast, it is possible to find stories of people who help us understand how to deal with confinement and the pandemic but it is also possible to find the funny show led by the moneros (cartoonists) Jis and Trino, just to mention two examples.
“In Así como suena (Just as it sounds), we tell stories: stories of love, of hate, of crime, of politics, of corruption, of everyday life. We talk about people, about characters. Our team of reporters does not stay on the surface; it digs deep,” we read in the description of this initiative.
Tomás va a morir [Tomás is going to die] (Humor)
Under the premise that Tomás will eventually die, his friends Edo and “Buffy” join him to talk about the most absurd topics, with delirious humor, which is encapsulated in episodes of about 120 minutes.
In January 2020, it was announced that Spotify was the only platform authorized to stream this podcast by comedian Edo Caroe and his friends Tomás Leiva and Alejandro “Buffy” Barros. It was the first Chilean audible to get a deal of this kind.
