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Finding a great Italian podcast won’t only help you improve your listening comprehension, but it will also bring Italy closer to you. And don’t worry about spending hours searching for that perfect fit—we’ve already done that for you.

Below are 23 podcasts to improve your Italian, organized by level. Most of them are 100% in Italian, and many have free transcripts. We’re sure you’ll find something that can accompany you in your Italian studies that will be both challenging and fun.

You may also want to check out our list of Italian YouTube channels, as some of them have recordings in podcast form. And don’t forget to check out our article “Best Way To Learn Italian – 11 Best Tips To Try Today” for more ideas beyond Podcasts.

All Levels

Podcast Italiano

Davide is an experienced online teacher and polyglot with a degree in translation and interpretation. His high-quality YouTube channel and podcast provide excellent Italian immersion for all levels of Italian learners.

With Davide’s podcast, you’ll get free transcripts, vocabulary notes, and translations for each episode. Plus, you can even listen to a series of unscripted conversations to take your comprehension to the next level. 

You can download the audio for all of the episodes on the Podcast Italiano website.

News in Slow Italian

Step into the excitement of Italian current events with News in Slow Italian. Though typically a paid resource, there is some free intermediate content available on Spotify.

The website publishes news at a level-appropriate speed, highlighting important grammar points and expressions in the transcripts.

Upper-level beginners can check out the “Get Up to Speed” course, which will cover the foundations needed to start the intermediate program. Read our full review for more information.

Italianpod101

Although ItalianPod101 requires a paid membership, it comes with some advantages. There are thousands of bite-sized podcast-style dialogues for beginner to advanced learners, plus lesson notes, quizzes, flashcards, and translations.

The site can be a bit confusing with all the available lesson paths and episodes, but once you find your lesson path it will probably be worth your while.

There’s a 7-day free trial when you sign up for a free account, and if you use the promo code “ALLLANGUAGERESOURCES”, you’ll save 25% on a subscription. Read our full review of ItalianPod101 here.

Beginner

Language Transfer

Language Transfer provides a series of introductory audio courses for several different languages — including Italian.

You won’t spend as much time immersed in the language, but you will go into depth about how the Italian language works. You’ll learn major grammar points and develop vocabulary and pronunciation. You’ll also hear the instructor, Mihalis, interact with a beginner student and correct their mistakes. The goal is to respond to prompts as if you yourself were the student.

Language Transfer can support anyone looking to understand the ins and outs of learning Italian. If you’d like to get a better sense of what it’s all about, you can read our full review.

Coffee Break Italian

The Coffee Break Languages series—available in French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Chinese, and Italian—gives you language lessons that last about the duration of a 30-minute coffee break.

Each Italian conversation has an English discussion and analysis, making it a great option if you prefer to have more context to your learning. You’ll get the most out of this series by responding to the prompts aloud. It’s also best to start at episode one if you have no background in Italian.

Extra lesson notes and video pronunciation practice are available in the Premium version. But, you’ll be fine listening to the podcasts on major streaming platforms. To learn more, check out our full review.

Intermediate

Oggi Parliamo

Join Andrea, a certified Italian teacher and CELI examiner, for a different Italian experience four days per week. Mondays you can explore the arts—opera, literature, music, history, and more. Or, tune in on Tuesdays to focus on grammar, follow current events in Italy on Wednesdays, and discuss common Italian expressions on Thursdays.

Supporting Andrea on Patreon will give you full access to the transcripts. You can also sign up for a free trial class with him on his website.

Simple Italian

In Simple Italian, Simone delivers authentic Italian immersion to your home. You’ll hear about some of his personal experiences, gain new perspectives from interviews with other Italian speakers, and get accurate, researched information about topics like sleep or the history of lesser known cities.

If you pay for a membership on his website, you’ll receive transcripts with vocabulary notes in English and German.

Italiano Bello

You might feel more like you’re listening to someone’s train of thought than a structured podcast, but Italiano Bello will give you bite-sized insights into daily life in Italy. Learn about Italian culture, language, and literature, and get some language learning tips along the way.

These 10-minute episodes provide excellent practice for intermediate learners to improve their listening comprehension.

Radio Arlecchino

Created by the University of Texas at Austin, Radio Arlecchino has 22 engaging dialogues to reinforce a series of grammar points: the subjunctive tense, past tense, imperative form, pronouns, and more.

Unfortunately there aren’t more episodes available, but the free PDF transcripts with cultural and grammar notes make this limited series an excellent resource to refer back to throughout your studies.

Keep in mind that, besides the dialogues, this podcast is mostly in English.

Italian Stories in Italian

This relatively new podcast focuses on learning Italian through natural language rather than extensive grammar explanations. Their 10- to 20-minute episodes use Italian at a slower than natural speed, but cover interesting topics like Dante Alighieri, multiple intelligences, carnivals, and festivals.

Each episode comes with a free transcript and vocabulary notes on the Online Italian Classes website.

Upper Intermediate

Quattro Stagioni

Though you can’t see her, Laura’s voice is so dynamic that you may find yourself imagining her facial expressions. She has three different series in her podcast, Quattro Stagioni:

In the main Quattro Stagioni series, you can learn about Italian culture and things that spark curiosity in Laura’s everyday life. If you’re more of a foodie, join Laura as she talks about Italian cuisine in In cucina, or travel around Italy in In viaggio. Every episode is a bite-sized piece of Italian immersion with Laura as your guide.

You can pay for a subscription to receive transcripts of every episode to help you follow along.

Pensieri & Parole

What makes this podcast stand out is the thoughtfulness that Linda puts into every episode, and the skill she demonstrates in her storytelling. She covers a wide variety of topics, from big ideas—like culture, literature, and language—to seemingly simple but important topics—like salt and hand gestures.

If you enjoy these episodes, you can buy study packages for the episodes on the Piccolo Mondo Italiano website.

Italy Made Easy Podcast

Italy Made Easy’s creator, Manu, delivers one of our highest rated Italian courses—and you can get a ton of free material from his free podcast. His lively and engaging personality will make your journey to fluency fun and easy.

Listen to these 100% Italian episodes on major streaming platforms, or sign up on his website for free access to transcripts, transcript translations, and comprehension questions. You can even download the podcast audio onto your computer or phone.

Beginners can check out his YouTube channel for more content in English.

Learn Italian with Lucrezi‪a‬

You may already know Lucrezia through her YouTube channel, but her podcast can keep you company when you need your eyes free. This channel doesn’t focus so much on grammar as it does on interesting information about the Italian language, customs, and festivals. There are also some interviews with inspiring Italian learners and polyglots to give you a boost of motivation.

Make sure to keep an eye out for the images and articles that Lucrezia provides in the description of her podcast episodes.

Ila Zed

If you like well-organized information in audio form, Ilaria has dozens of podcast episodes for you. Besides talking about grammar and culture, she also motivates you with conversations about learning Italian. Get tips about reading articles, watching movies, or creating a daily routine while immersing yourself in the language. Ilaria also shares free transcripts for each episode on her website.

Be Italiano

Stefano has over 5 years’ experience teaching Italian and now produces courses, YouTube videos and podcast episodes to take Italian students closer to fluency.

He invites a variety of guests onto his show—his friends, students, and even his mom—to discuss topics like cooking, distance learning, and what it’s like to get Italian citizenship. With these episodes you can train your ear to different Italian accents, or you can join him for his solo episodes to learn about Italian culture and holidays.

L’Italiano Vero

Inspired by All Ears English, Massimo and his team produce this podcast to make Italian simple and fun. Their entertaining, natural dialogues discuss all sorts of topics: television quiz shows, the hosts’ everyday lives, or advertisements whose influence created popular catchphrases.

They have several interactive transcripts available for free on their website, but for $1 per month you can access all of them—plus download the audio and PDF transcripts to your computer.

Arkos Academy

Arkos Academy reinforces your listening comprehension by recording the same script at a fast and a slow speed. They even provide free transcripts and comprehension questions on their website. Learn about major historical events, or listen to stories about famous people throughout history with these carefully written episodes.

Advanced

Con Parole Nostre

If you want to listen to content for native speakers but you still feel like you’re missing something, Con Parole Nostre wil bridge the gap. This trio of friends speaks in authentic, fast Italian—and they don’t speak with you in mind.

You’ll feel like you’re listening to a conversation on the streets of Italy, but there’s a difference: with Con Parole Nostre, you can follow along with a full transcript of the audio, so even if it’s challenging, you won’t get lost.

You’ll have to sign up for the newsletter to receive a free transcript with each new episode, or you can purchase past ones from the website.

Senza Rossett‪o‬

This feminist podcast dedicates each season to women of different time periods from a literary perspective: season one discusses the challenges women faced in the past; season two identifies prejudices and stereotypes that women experience today; and season three looks to the future for answers on how to establish gender equality.

Advanced learners can listen to the two hosts and authors discuss a variety of subtopics—and maybe get some ideas for their reading list.

Daily Cogito

Rick Dufer is an accomplished writer, performer, and philosopher. Even if you don’t speak a word of Italian, you’ll be impressed by the energy he brings to your ears. Listen to his podcast and improve your Italian through philosophical topics, critical thinking, literature, and pop culture. He often conducts interviews with influencers or professionals in various fields.

Scientificast

Scientificast has over 250 episodes with topics on physics, biology, and medicine. With a group of experts as your hosts—including but not limited to particle physicists, biotechnologists, and astrophysicists—you can explore hypothetical particles like axions or understand why octopuses punch other fish.

It won the Best Italian Podcast in 2016 at the Macchianera Italian Awards.

Rai Radio

From sports to music to news and more, Rai has endless content for advanced Italian learners to immerse themselves in the Italian language and culture. There are also multiple stations for kids so your family can enjoy Italian immersion together.

Final Thoughts

We hope you found something (or many things) to enjoy on this list. If you’re looking for more structure in your Italian studies, you can explore our favorite online Italian courses. Or, you can check out our list of Italian YouTube channels.

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