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 ...
Mar 11, 2025•31 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast 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 unwar...
Mar 04, 2025•29 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 25, 2025•28 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast 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 neighbori...
Feb 18, 2025•30 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Feb 11, 2025•30 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast 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 actu...
Feb 04, 2025•31 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast 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, ...
Jan 28, 2025•28 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Jan 21, 2025•29 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Neighbors, rivals, and sometimes even enemies: Argentina and Chile have long shared the tall but thin mountain range of the Andes as their border, many times coming close to blows over territorial differences, and long eyeing each other with distrust over their neighbor's plans. But both sides have their points to make, their truths, and their reasons to be as they are - and today we'll hear from both sides as, in this special DUAL NARRATOR episode, Juan and Isabel get into a debate ab...
Jan 14, 2025•30 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast What happened at Jonestown, Guyana, is something that has spawned an immense number of books, movies, and even day-to-day phrases, but what it created the most were questions. The biggest of all: why were his followers so easily convinced to drink the Kool-Aid (literally)? And why didn't anyone see this coming? In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we travel to a country rarely featured in Latin American history, but which carries this dark stain to this day: the story ...
Jan 07, 2025•31 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Just over 10 years ago, on September 26, 2014, a tragedy occurred in Guerrero, Mexico. 43 students heading to a protest in the capital vanished off the face of the Earth — or actually, they were taken off the face of the Earth. But nobody knew where, and nobody seemed to know who had taken them. All there was, was a flimsy explanation that was quickly accepted as "the official truth" by many. However, the families wouldn't give up, and the country was soon to light on fire as ever...
Dec 31, 2024•29 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Climatology might seem like it's been around forever, but it's actually one of the newer sciences. One of the fathers of this science was Alexander von Humboldt, who traveled to South America and Mexico with one goal in mind—to demystify the New World and illuminate how the so-called "primitive" natives really lived there. In an extended journey across several nations with his companion, Aimé Bonpland, the scientists studied animals, mountains, the weather, people, settlement...
Dec 24, 2024•28 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast The U.S. has a shady history in Latin America - we all know this, as much as might love the United States. From the full-blown coups in Operation Condor to CIA involvement in protests, Latin America has often been relegated to becoming "the United States' back yard". But nothing is worse than what happened at the Bay of Pigs. You see, the invasion was planned and approved, and everything was ready for the removal of Fidel Castro... but at the last minute, JFK called most of it off...
Dec 17, 2024•30 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Mexico has been through its fair share of injustice when it comes to foreign powers, and I'm not even talking of that time when they signed away 55% of its territory to the United States of America, but of something much more ridiculous. You see, in the 1830s, a small dispute over a local bakery turned into an international geopolitical conflict between Mexico and France, with bombings, embargoes and tensions heightened to the maximum. It also led us to learn just how vulnerable Latin Ameri...
Dec 10, 2024•30 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Billionaires, whether you love them or hate them, have shaped a big part of the modern tech world, and are well-known for building some of the most impressive business ventures. Latin America, though not a Silicon Valley, has individuals who have amassed a large amount of their own wealth, whether through going big on a single startup or by patiently build their own empires. In this episode of the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, we'll discover just who these impressive fortunes belong t...
Dec 03, 2024•28 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast The Mayan Civilization has long been held in an air of mystery - we're familiar with how the infamous calendar made everybody think the world was ending in 2012, due to how accurately the Mayans had mapped out the cycles and astronomy in such a primitive time. But there is more to the Mayans than apocalyptical scenarios and astronomy. In fact, they were one of the most advanced early civilizations in the world, and advanced technology, medicine and culture in the region by centuries within ...
Nov 26, 2024•29 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Belize is a country you rarely hear about, but we can promise you: it is actually one of the most interesting in all of Latin America. With possibly one of the most interesting and diverse mix of ethnicities and cultures, Belize stands out from other nations as Spanish is *not* an official language here. So today, we will accompany our traveling friend, Eduardo, as he explores this amazing nation and goes to some of the most impressive natural reserves you'll ever discover in an episode of ...
Nov 19, 2024•28 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Simón Bolívar is known as the Liberator, and he rightly gained this title... but there is another, one who fought as hard as Bolivar but was nowhere near as recognized as the Venezuelan: José de San Martín. Born in Argentina and raised as a Spanish soldier who fought for the Spanish Empire, José de San Martín's eyes were opened to the human desire for freedom, and made it his personal goal not only to topple the Spanish colonizers in South America, but to do it in the humblest and most self...
Nov 12, 2024•27 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast One of the creepiest tales to come out of Venezuela was that of Dorancel Vargas. A homeless man with severe mental issues who lived outside the city of San Cristobal, Vargas had a fascination that no human should have... He enjoyed eating human meat. And the ugliest thing of it all isn't that he just feasted on the meat, but the fact that he hunted people down like game, taking special advantage of runners who came through his territory. In this special DUAL narrator episode, we go over a p...
Nov 05, 2024•29 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Latin America is beautiful, but it's also dangerous, and I'm not talking about the wildlife here... Holding 6 spots in the top 10 crimes rates worldwide, this region has unfortunately been one of the most deadly in recent decades, and its people have lived in fear of violent crime and terrorism for too long. And with organizations such as the FARC and ELN, FMLN, the US-backed Contras, Sendero Luminoso, and more, it's no surprise that there's plenty of content for today's...
Oct 29, 2024•32 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast We've given Mexico some love in recent times, after Season 3's finale "Te Amo, México" - and today is no exception. In fact, today we'll talk about how Mexico's modern political structure came to exist. The nation wasn't always a stable democracy (well, depending on who you ask these days). It has had its up and downs, and its downs have been preeetty low. With multiple authoritarians coming and going, it was inevitable that the people would rise up, and with i...
Oct 22, 2024•30 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Do you love chocolate as much as we do (and if you don't, WHY)? Well, in that case, you might be curious as to how we ended up having this delicious sweet all across the world, on every continent. And yes, that includes Antarctica. Born in the heart of Mesoamerica and originally consumed by the Olmecs, Mayas and Aztecs, cacao (the precursor of chocolate) was discovered by Spanish conquistadors, who decided to take this curious fruit back home with them, which soon led to an explosion of del...
Oct 15, 2024•30 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever seen flowers in the desert? One of the most curious climate phenomena worldwide is El Niño, which is the irregular warming of sea surface temperatures, which leads to a cascade of effects on weather patterns and ecosystems. In this episode, we talk about what it involves, how it affects the lives of animals and human beings in Latin America, and what is being done to lessen its effects on people and nature. Oh, and you'll also learn more about how and why this phenomenon occur...
Oct 08, 2024•29 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Welcome back to the Learn Spanish with Stories podcast, this time for a fourth season! We've returned with a pretty interesting episode about something that isn't talked about enough... Latin America's Space Race! I bet you know the U.S., the EU, China, India and the Soviet Union (back in the day) had all built amazing missions to space, but Latin America doesn't often come to mind when discussing satellites and spaceflight. That changes today. In this episode, we will tell y...
Oct 01, 2024•30 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast It's the final episode of Season 3, so let's admit it: we haven't been fair with Mexico during our podcast's lifetime. Yes, we've talked about the Aztecs, but we've also talked a lot about the border issues, El Chapo, and other negative circumstances in the beautiful country of "El Águila Real" (the Royal Eagle). But it's time to redeem ourselves. In this special DUAL NARRATOR season finale, we meet Ana and Oliver, who join forces to discover the beau...
Jun 04, 2024•30 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Do you like tea? Sure, maybe. But have you ever tried (or seen someone else try) yerba mate? Mate goes beyond just a drink. It goes beyond the English tea time or that of other cultures. It's something which is almost... spiritual, you know? Having started as a tradition among the Guarani people and then adopted by Spanish colonizers, this drink has spread across the world and is now seen consumed by European athletes, Hollywood artists, and even... U.S. presidents?! The story behind mate i...
May 28, 2024•27 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast You know of the Panama Canal (we already talked about it in Season 1 if you didn't), but you probably had no idea that a second canal has been in plans for a very, very long time now - one that passes through Nicaragua (that's north of Panama). But the delays haven't just been a problem of bureaucracy and budget... the canal would actually have to pass through a delicate natural reserve, where both humans and animals coexist, as well as a lake that certain endangered species call ...
May 21, 2024•29 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast The Jesuits were a Catholic order that was founded in Europe, but which soon expanded to South America to spread the word of God - mainly to Paraguay. However, they had a different way of evangelizing, which made them as interesting as it did controversial... hated, even. You see, the Jesuits didn't believe in forcing their beliefs on the local indigenous tribes or forcing conversion. Instead, they integrated themselves into the indigenous beliefs and allowed the natives to express themselv...
May 14, 2024•28 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast While not a country we hear about often these days, Nicaragua has gone through quite a turbulent history that has left it with long-lasting economic, political and social scars. And leaving aside the subject of Daniel Ortega, current dictator of Nicaragua and one of the longest-lasting presidential terms in the world (with 26 interrupted years in power), Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution, in particular, brought massive transformation to the country, although with great controversy attached ...
May 07, 2024•30 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast If you want to see historic sights everywhere you go, you go to Europe. But if you want to have fun, Latin America is the place to be. Known as the land of dance, music, and smiles, Latin America just has "something else" that makes it a spicy and sweet combination of great food, fantastic nightlife, and quick friendships unlike any other. It's in the culture. It might even be in the genes, if we dug deeper (hmmm...) But that's still too vague, right? How exactly is this cult...
Apr 30, 2024•28 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast 
