Learn Spanish with Stories

If you think only North American politics get crazy around, before or after election season, then you're very mistaken: Latin America has a serious problem with political polarization. And the worst part, frankly (as a Latin American myself), is that both sides are very poor at doing their job.


Because sadly, both the left and the right wing of politics have failed to follow through with their promises, and have let their voters down, every single time. Whether it's the left giving away money until nations plummet into crisis and dictatorships like Maduro and Ortega come into power...

Or the right wing actually going out and hunting people because they supported the other side - committing atrocities that we also covered extensively in the Operation Condor episode - Latin America's politics need a real fix. If you want to learn more, then listen to this  week's special DUAL NARRATOR episode, where two friends decide to debate on which side is worse:

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2690

"Spain should ask for forgiveness" - these were the words of Mexico's new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, shortly after being elected. She took it a step further and decided not to invite Spain's King Felipe VI after he failed to respond, and this initiated a grand debate: should Spain apologize for what their ancestors did 500 years ago?


Some claim it is a fair demand by a number of Latin American groups, while others believe it to be excessive - after all, who from today was alive back then? - but everybody has their own opinion.

In this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we follow a young man named Armando, as he explores this subject and digs deep into what Latin Americans and Spaniards really think about colonization and the consequences it has had until this day. Enjoy the episode!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2591

Donald Trump is back in power, and he is already taking action to bring mass migration into the US from the south to a screeching halt (understandable based on the numbers we were witnessing, but not a popular decision).


But he's also affecting Latin America in many other ways, several of which are extremely harmful for local economies. You see: Donald Trump is "America First", through and through, and though Latin America has been a geographical and philosophical ally for a long time, it seems that this may be about to change.

Still, how is Trump going head to head with the Latin American region, and how will this affect every country south of el Río Bravo? Find out in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2460

If you think about a psychiatrist, you usually associate this with someone of very high social standing, and if it's somebody who even served the president, then there's no way they could be a wrongdoer, right? Right...?

Wrong. Edmundo Chirinos, despite even being President Hugo Chavez's psychiatrist at one point, led a despicable double life in which he sedated and abused his female patients, committing terrible acts to hundreds of women, the enormous majority of which were unware of what he was doing.

But when things got out of control with one particular patient and he ended up taking her life, a countdown began for this horrible individual, and a significant amount of things were about to change in his life and in the lives of those around him. Find out more in this week's chilling episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast:

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/2327

Fine, right off the bat I'm cheating - Equatorial Guinea is NOT a Latin American country, I know... but it's also incredibly linked to the Spanish-speaking culture, and is a case study in itself of how colonization has entirely derailed the future of a nation in good ways and in bad.

Equatorial Guinea has a curious story behind it. Unlike with Christopher Columbus's "serendipitous" discovery of Latin America, the European powers were very aware of this African territory long before it was even a nation, and both Spain and Portugal made a deal to "claim" it and the lands around it. Thus, Spain became the "owner" of EG.

But today, we're going to find out much more than just the origin story - I'll share with you exactly what happened once Spain colonized the country, why Spanish spread so fast, and what has happened since then. So get ready to enjoy another episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast - all while getting closer to complete Spanish fluency!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1931

Have you heard of the "War of the Pacific" before? Your mind will inevitably go to WWII, where the American soldiers fought the Japanese in an endless, bloody battle that culminated in the two atomic bombs being launched on Japan, but... 


That's certainly NOT what this was. What I'm talking about today is the war that occurred between Chile and the alliance of Bolivia and Peru, when some trade disagreements turned into a full-blown clash that ended up with very angry neighboring nations facing off, and at least one of them occupied by foreign forces.


But how exactly did things get as bad as having countries attack each other and start a war? Was it justifiable, or was it another case of human stupidity? And what consequences did this leave for the three nations? Find out in this week's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1832

On April 22, 1997, at 15:23, one of the world's most incredible military operations occurred on the planet, and you've probably never heard of it...


Operation Chavín de Huántar was a surgical military operation that took place after the MRTA (a far left-wing guerrilla movement) took close to 800 hostages at the Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru. It was not just any operation, however, but one that required an extreme amount of preparation, patience, and care.

But after hearing more about its final results, you'll understand why I'm hyping it up so much and why, despite the noise-making from human rights campaigners that followed (who were nowhere to be seen when the victims were taken hostage by the armed men to begin with!), it was considered an astounding military success.


Find out more about exactly what happened that day (and everything that led up to it) in this week's incredible episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1270

Few names of Venezuelan gangs and cartels have made as many headlines as El Tren de Aragua, especially in recent months. Named a terrorist organization by President Trump's administration and called "the most disruptive criminal organization operating nowadays in Latin America" by an esteemed Colombian former vice-president, this gang is among the most dangerous in the world.

And the worst part is that they're not confined to Venezuelan borders, either - no, they're actually spread across South, Central and North America, having caused pain and suffering to migrants and natives all across the American continent, and they only seem to be gathering more and more power.

But how can they be stopped, and will there be a way for new measures to put an end to their terror? Find out in the latest episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast!

Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1799

A wealthy and respected family... hiding dark secrets of kidnapping and murder behind the scenes. Nope, it's not your newest documentary on a streaming platform - this actually happened in Argentina in the 1980s, just after the right-wing state terrorism of Operation Condor, when a wide range of corrupt cops and torturers were left unemployed, and had to find another way to use their "talents".


Arquímedes Puccio was one such individual - previously a military intelligence member, he knew how to pick someone up and keep them imprisoned, but these skills were now useless in a more peaceful, stable Argentina. Or were they?


Let's find out in this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, in which we discover how exactly Arquímedes found a new way to use his skills, and even involved his entire family in what would become one of Argentina's most famous cases of crime.


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1766

Whenever you think of the Cuban Revolution, the first names that come to mind are Fidel and Raul Castro, and Che Guevara - right?


But the amazing thing is that there is a name that should always equally appear alongside them, as one of the nicest and kind of the Cuban revolutionaries, who acted as a pacifying presence and kept everyone level-headed: Camilo Cienfuegos.


And the most incredible part of Cienfuegos's story was not his life, but his death - you see, one day he simply disappeared and was never seen again. The mystery behind this and the story of Camilo's life is something we'll cover in today's episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast. Enjoy!


Transcript of this episode is available at: https://podcast.lingomastery.com/listen/1733