English podcasts

Learn English with podcasts: the right podcast for your level

You want to understand English podcasts and don't know where to start? Here are the podcasts in Wordspoiler's catalog, from A2 to C2. Pick one you can follow without effort, and move up only when it gets too easy.

By Michael Schreier · Updated

Illustration: a person walks along a riverside promenade in the evening, listening to a podcast with earbuds, while the lights of the city come on across the water.

Planned for launch. These are the podcasts Wordspoiler is meant to start with. The selection may still change before launch.

Free during the beta. You can also add podcasts you listen to yourself.

Where to start

The podcasts range from A2 to C2. The app itself is made for everyone who learns English from about A2 (you understand simple sentences). From A2, BBC Learning Easy English and All Ears English fit; from B1, The English We Speak and 6 Minute English join in. At the other end are No Such Thing As A Fish and The Allusionist (C1–C2).

The overview is sorted by topic, and within a topic from the shortest to the longest. Take the first podcast you can follow without effort, and move on only when you follow it completely.

English podcasts from easy to hard

A2: BBC Learning Easy English (A2–B1, 6.2 min), All Ears English (A2–B2, 19.9 min). B1: The English We Speak (B1–B2, 2.7 min), 6 Minute English (B1–B2, 6.6 min), Luke’s English Podcast (B1+–C1, 124.5 min). B2: BBC Witness History (B2–C1, 10.7 min), NPR Short Wave (B2–C1, 13.7 min), TED Talks Daily (B2, 15.0 min), Song Exploder (B2–C1, 24.4 min), The Daily (B2–C1, 30.9 min), Twenty Thousand Hertz (B2–C1, 31.4 min), Planet Money (B2–C1, 33.0 min), 99% Invisible (B2, 37.5 min), The Infinite Monkey Cage (B2–C1, 42.4 min), Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! (B2–C1, 47.3 min), This American Life (B2–C1, 61.3 min), Darknet Diaries (B2–C1, 68.0 min), The Rest Is History (B2+–C1, 73.8 min). C1: The Allusionist (C1–C2, 37.3 min), No Such Thing As A Fish (C1–C2, 55.9 min).

A2simple sentences
  • BBC Learning Easy EnglishA2–B1 · 6.2 min
  • All Ears EnglishA2–B2 · 19.9 min
B1intermediate
  • The English We SpeakB1–B2 · 2.7 min
  • 6 Minute EnglishB1–B2 · 6.6 min
  • Luke’s English PodcastB1+–C1 · 124.5 min
B2upper intermediate
  • BBC Witness HistoryB2–C1 · 10.7 min
  • NPR Short WaveB2–C1 · 13.7 min
  • TED Talks DailyB2 · 15.0 min
  • Song ExploderB2–C1 · 24.4 min
  • The DailyB2–C1 · 30.9 min
  • Twenty Thousand HertzB2–C1 · 31.4 min
  • Planet MoneyB2–C1 · 33.0 min
  • 99% InvisibleB2 · 37.5 min
  • The Infinite Monkey CageB2–C1 · 42.4 min
  • Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!B2–C1 · 47.3 min
  • This American LifeB2–C1 · 61.3 min
  • Darknet DiariesB2–C1 · 68.0 min
  • The Rest Is HistoryB2+–C1 · 73.8 min
C1advanced
  • The AllusionistC1–C2 · 37.3 min
  • No Such Thing As A FishC1–C2 · 55.9 min
Our estimate of the level (A2 to C2). The length is what a typical episode lasts.

All podcasts by topic

Learning English

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
The English We SpeakB1–B22.7 minExpressions
BBC Learning Easy EnglishA2–B16.2 minEveryday life
6 Minute EnglishB1–B26.6 minEveryday topics
All Ears EnglishA2–B219.9 minEveryday English
Luke’s English PodcastB1+–C1124.5 minLearning and conversation

News and business

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
The DailyB2–C130.9 minNews
Planet MoneyB2–C133.0 minBusiness and economics

Science and tech

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
NPR Short WaveB2–C113.7 minScience
Darknet DiariesB2–C168.0 minTech and security

History

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
BBC Witness HistoryB2–C110.7 minHistory
The Rest Is HistoryB2+–C173.8 minHistory

Music and sound

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
Song ExploderB2–C124.4 minMusic
Twenty Thousand HertzB2–C131.4 minSound and culture

Stories and people

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
TED Talks DailyB215.0 minTalks
This American LifeB2–C161.3 minStories

Culture, design and humour

PodcastLevelLengthTopic
The AllusionistC1–C237.3 minLanguage
99% InvisibleB237.5 minDesign and everyday things
The Infinite Monkey CageB2–C142.4 minHumour and science
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!B2–C147.3 minQuiz and humour
No Such Thing As A FishC1–C255.9 minFacts and humour

The length is that of a typical episode, measured over the 20 newest episodes (September 30, 2026). The level is our estimate, a rule of thumb (A2 to C2).

Why learner podcasts stop being enough

Learner podcasts are built for you. Someone wrote the script, the speakers talk clearly, and every hard word is explained right away. In podcasts for native speakers, that is gone. Four people laugh at a joke you did not get, and nobody explains the word it hung on.

From about B2, you know the common words. A learner podcast then teaches you a few words per episode. What you lack in a real episode, it does not practice: normal speed, people talking over each other, allusions and rare words.

A study by van Zeeland and Schmitt (2013) shows how much a few missing words matter. Most participants were fine with about 90% known words, and at 95% they understood relatively well. Even then, every twentieth word is unfamiliar, and while you think about it, the speaker is already two sentences on.

How to listen to an episode that is too hard

Moving up means listening to episodes that are still a little too hard. This is how it stops being guesswork:

  1. Clear up the words before you listen. Pick out the words and phrases you would get stuck on, and look at them before the episode starts. For 6 Minute English they are on the episode page, for some episodes of Luke’s in a PDF. For the others, you have to look yourself. Whether preparing helps is not settled: in a small study with 93 learners, only the group that learned vocabulary beforehand improved (Aldukhayel 2023). An older study with 160 students found that vocabulary work helped least (Chang & Read 2006). What the research says and which words are worth it is in the guide Words before you listen.
  2. Listen in your podcast app. Listen to the episode once, without stopping. If a sentence gets past you, let it go and listen to the next one. The transcript comes later. Why native speakers sound so fast, and what helps, is in the guide Understanding fast English.
  3. Practice afterwards. You forget new words quickly if they don’t come back. In the days after the episode, go over the words that were new two or three more times.

Wordspoiler takes over steps 1 and 3: the words beforehand, the practice afterwards. How it works

Frequently asked questions

Which English podcast is good for B2?

The Daily and The Rest Is History, if you pick an episode on a topic you already know. Gentler is Luke’s English Podcast: real English, but a teacher explains the hard words. At B2, 6 Minute English is more vocabulary training than listening practice.

Do I have to understand everything when I listen?

No. According to studies on listening, about 90 to 95% known words are enough for adequate understanding (van Zeeland and Schmitt 2013). What matters is that you keep the thread. If you lose it every few minutes, the episode is still too hard, or you need the words first.

Why do I understand learner podcasts but not real podcasts?

Because learner podcasts are written for you: slower, with no talking over each other, and every hard word is explained. In podcasts for native speakers, that help is gone. Instead you get allusions and rare words, and sometimes a whole sentence hangs on one of them.

Should I listen with or without a transcript?

Without on the first pass, otherwise you read instead of listening. Afterwards the transcript helps with the parts you missed. 6 Minute English has one on every episode page, and for The Daily, the New York Times says it publishes one on nytimes.com. Apple Podcasts has shown automatically generated transcripts since March 2024. Whether there is one for a specific episode, you see in the app.

Sources

  1. Lexical coverage in L1 and L2 listening comprehension: The same or different from reading comprehension? (van Zeeland & Schmitt 2013), Applied Linguistics 34 (4)
  2. The impact of vocabulary preteaching and content previewing on the listening comprehension of Arabic-speaking EFL learners (Aldukhayel 2023), Informing Science 26
  3. The effects of listening support on the listening performance of EFL learners (Chang & Read 2006), TESOL Quarterly 40 (2), entry at ERIC
  4. Apple introduces transcripts for Apple Podcasts, Apple Newsroom, March 5, 2024