Spain Explained : I Have a Podcast Now!
After fifteen years of living in Spain and writing about it, I've finally started a podcast.
It's called Spain Explained, and it's basically me talking through all the things about Spanish culture. Every episode focuses on one single topic, something cultural, a food item, whatever…something indispensable to understanding Spain. The daily rhythms, the unspoken social rules, the regional differences that actually matter.
New episodes launch on Tuesdays. They cover topics I get asked about constantly: sobremesa, tortilla española, jamón ibérico, vermouth culture. But for the first episode, I wanted to tackle the most fundamental question about Spain.
Episode 1: What Is Spain?
It sounds basic, but it's not. Spain is a collection of regions with their own languages, histories, and identities. Someone from Galicia will have a different answer to "what is Spain?" than someone from Andalucía or Cataluña. Understanding what Spain actually is requires looking at how these regions fit together, and more importantly, how they don't.
The episode digs into Spain's regional diversity, the linguistic landscape beyond Castilian Spanish, and why the country's relationship with its own identity is so complicated. I talk about the autonomous communities, the Franco legacy that still shapes politics and culture today, and why understanding this fragmentation is key to understanding everything else, from food to social customs to why certain cities feel worlds apart from each other. Also a little tiny bit about myself.
If you've ever wondered why Barcelona feels nothing like Seville, or why some people here bristle at certain labels, this gives you the context. Spain isn't one monolithic culture. It's seventeen autonomous communities, multiple languages (Catalan, Basque, Galician), and centuries of regional identity that predates the modern Spanish state. That complexity shows up everywhere, from the pintxos bars of San Sebastián to the tapas culture of Madrid to the Mediterranean lifestyle of Valencia.
Spanish Food Culture, Sobremesa, and What's Next
I'm ridiculously excited about the upcoming episodes. We're talking sobremesa and why lingering at the table after a meal is basically a sacred act here. The Spanish obsession with jamón ibérico and what all those labels actually mean when you're standing in front of the counter. The great tortilla española debate and why the onion question forces you to pick sides. Vermouth culture and how this fortified wine became the Sunday drink of choice.
Each episode gives you the context you need to actually understand Spain, not just visit it but get what makes it tick. The podcast is available on all the major platforms. I'll be sharing more about upcoming episodes as they drop, but I'd also love to hear what Spanish culture topics you want me to tackle next.
You can find Spain Explained wherever you listen to podcasts. Let me know what you think. Thanks for tuning in!