Duolingo Spanish Podcast

In May 2019, twenty Paraguayan soccer players traveled from their hometown to Asunción, the nation’s capital, to play the most important game of their lives. Led by their captain, José Elías Argaña, they were the first indigenous team to qualify to Paraguay’s national soccer league. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

In 1970, in a country polarized by cold-war politics, Jorge Gómez organized an outdoor music festival. But what he expected to be a peaceful gathering turned into a life-defining moment that would become an enduring myth in his country. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Mexican tenor Javier Camarena discovered he wanted to sing Opera the first time he heard it. His passion for singing Opera lead him to test his strengths and determination over and over. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

All her life, Cirle Tatis Ariza had been taught to think her curly hair was something to hide. But after years of harsh chemical treatments, Cirle learned to love her hair, and taught other women to do the same. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Ever since she was a little girl, Carmen Félix knew she wanted to work on something related to space. So she defied cultural expectations, became one of the first Mexican scientists to work for NASA, and helped create and participate in some of the first simulations of missions to Mars. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Fernando Laposse is a Mexican designer with a particular obsession: corn. It’s an obsession that began in his childhood and would lead him to create a project that would not only help save the diversity of native corn in Mexico, but also revive a small farming town that was about to disappear. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Tatiana Calderón is the only female driver in Formula 2 racing, and she’s poised to make it to the top: Formula 1. In her career, she’s had to overcome many obstacles of a sport built by and for men–but now, she’s leading a revolution to go even further, and  adapt racing cars’ design to the female body. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Trailer Season 5

Since he was a kid, Tito Vargas has dreamt of having his own coffee plantation. It’s a dream his parents tried very hard to dissuade him from pursuing because they knew first-hand the uncertainty and hardship of the coffee trade. But Tito persisted, and he too would learn of the ups and downs of life as a coffee farmer, until he found a solution that had been right under his nose that whole time.  Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

When Danilo Manzano came out to his family, they didn't accept his sexuality and asked him to hide it from the world. But a key friendship would inspire Danilo to not only embrace his identity publicly, but to become an outspoken activist for LGBTQ rights in Ecuador. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Andrés Ruzo grew up listening to his grandfather tell a story about a river with boiling waters in the Amazon. When he later became a scientist specializing in geothermal energy, he set a goal for himself: to go deep into the jungle and find that river. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Carlos Marroquín has always been an inventor. But he wasn’t putting that talent to much use in his native Guatemala until he saw a rare sight  on the road that stopped him in his tracks: bicycles. That turning point led Carlos to transform the lives of many farmers and towns through his bicycle-inspired inventions, or as he calls them, bicimáquinas. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Héctor Vergara escaped dictatorship in Chile in the 1970s and fled to Europe, where he landed in the restaurant industry. There he discovered a passion and talent for wine that led him to become the first Master Sommelier from Latin America. But his biggest impact on the world wouldn’t take place until he found his way back home, where no one even knew what a sommelier was. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

The giant Galápagos tortoise is one of the most endangered animals in the world, and Lonesome George was the last of his particular species when he met conservationist Washington Tapia. They would go on to develop a bond that would inspire Washington to dedicate his life to protecting the tortoises of the Galápagos. Study materials and a transcript of this episode are available at https://podcast.duolingo.com.

Laura Ortiz thought she could change the lives of children in Colombia’s most remote region by giving them books. But a trip there teaches her that she was the one who had much to learn from those communities.