In this article, I wanted to recommend five Italian podcasts for advanced learners. These podcasts are made by native speakers for native speakers, so they don’t have transcripts or exercises; in short, there are no extra aids for learners.
For this very reason, they feature authentic, natural Italian, even with different accents. I tried to select accents from different Italian regions in order to offer a more diverse overview.
These are also my favorite podcasts at the moment and are great for passive listening – i.e., when I listen to something while doing something else – but if you want to use them for active study, you have to do the preparation work yourself: look up new words, transcribe, try to extrapolate some grammar, and then put it all into practice by writing and speaking.
Let’s start with the recommendations.
1. Indagini by Stefano Nazzi
The first podcast I wanted to talk about is part of a genre that people really like, but perhaps also feel a little guilty about, we could call it a guilty pleasure: that is, true crime, which I have noticed is particularly popular with female audiences.
The podcast in question is Indagini by Stefano Nazzi. Every month, a story is released, divided into two episodes of about 50 minutes each, and each pair of episodes deals with a court case that is generally quite well known to the Italian public.
Nazzi is a journalist from Rome and speaks very clear and understandable Italian.
Why do I like this podcast? I have a somewhat peculiar relationship with true crime. On the one hand, I think that delving too deeply into crime stories has something morbid about it that I’m not crazy about. On the other hand, I think true crime confronts us with the darker sides of ourselves and human nature, and in my opinion, this is an interesting aspect, especially if we are passionate about psychology.
That said, there are various true crime podcasts in Italian. Why do I recommend this one in particular? First of all, because it doesn’t dwell too much on the more morbid details, but presents the investigations – hence the title – from a scientific and judicial point of view, much to the delight of my nerdy side.
And then I really like his way of telling stories and talking. I think Stefano Nazzi has excellent narrative skills and doesn’t overdo it with jingles and background sounds, but has created a product that is really enjoyable to listen to.
Another narrator I love is Pablo Trincia—in fact, I might even prefer him in terms of storytelling—but he has created shorter podcasts (each with just a few episodes) that tackle a single case and examine it in detail. If you love true crime, he is definitely an author I recommend, but if you want a podcast that tackles multiple cases and is released more regularly, then Indagini is perfect.
- You can listen to an episode here.
2. Inside Books by Ilenia Zodiaco
Let’s move on to the second podcast, which is completely different in genre. It’s called Inside Books by Ilenia Zodiaco. Ilenia is a content creator – mainly literary – from Sicily, but based in Milan, and she has a very clear and pleasant accent.
As you can guess from the title, it’s a podcast about literature.
I’ve been following Ilenia for several years, mainly on YouTube. Her channel is mainly about books and her love of literature, but not only that. What I particularly like is that you can always see that a lot of research and preparation goes into her content.
At the same time, however, she has a very spontaneous and light-hearted way of narrating. Compared to the YouTube channel, the podcast feels a little more reasoned and studied, but it is still very enjoyable.
Each episode of her podcast deals with a different book or literary topic. The great thing is that she talks about both classics and more modern and contemporary literature, both Italian and foreign.
In my opinion, it has just the right mix of preparation and in-depth content, and lightness, because it is never too pedantic or academic – which is something I generally don’t like very much.
For this reason, it is a podcast that I definitely recommend to those who love literature and perhaps want to give the classics a second chance.
- You can listen to an episode here.
3. AmericanA by Elisa Corsi
The third podcast tackles yet another topic. I have tried to group together quite varied genres in this article, to find something that everyone might enjoy.
This is a podcast that I discovered recently: it is a small independent project, in which you can really hear a strong personal passion for the subject matter.
The podcast is called AmericanA, by Elisa Corsi.
She is a psychiatrist, I believe from Tuscany, with a strong passion for the United States: her podcast is a road trip through the United States via characters, places, and flavors from American TV series and films, with cultural and historical insights. You can really feel her great love for that country.
And I must say that it’s a feeling I can really relate to because I also love American literature, American indie films, American music, and when I happened to travel to the United States – despite all the contradictions and problems it may have as a country – I still felt a kind of sense of belonging. There was something that spoke to me on a very deep level.
One aspect I really like about this podcast is the work that goes into it. You can tell that a lot of editing has gone into it: music, inserts,… in short, you can tell that a lot of care has gone into the production.
What’s more, her Italian is practically textbook perfect. She speaks very clearly, with almost no regionalisms. From a linguistic point of view, therefore, it’s an excellent podcast.
Some might ask: why listen to a podcast about America if I want to learn Italian?
In my opinion, the answer is very simple. Learning a language doesn’t mean talking exclusively about the culture of that country, especially if done in a stereotypical way. Otherwise, it becomes a cliché. Italian courses often end up talking about the same things: Italian food, Italian coffee, Italians gesturing, the family, etc.
Of course, these things are also part of Italian culture. But Italy is not just that. And above all, in a language, I need to be able to talk about everything, not just cultural stereotypes.
What’s more, if you are American and are learning Italian, it could be very interesting to hear an Italian’s point of view on your country. Especially if it comes from someone who knows the United States in depth, not the classic view where the US is just New York, California Dreamin’, and hamburgers. For example, I have always found the content of foreigners who talk about Italy after living there for some time to be very interesting.
Sometimes we see ourselves better when we are looked at from the outside. Not when we talk to ourselves about who we are, or repeat a somewhat stereotypical image of ourselves.
That’s why I think it’s also very interesting to see why foreigners love our country. Sometimes they show us things we had never noticed before.
Often it’s not the big stereotypes, but small details of everyday life. Things that are completely normal for us and that we take for granted, but that become special in the eyes of someone else.
- You can listen to an episode here
5. Facciamolo by Livio Ricciardi
The fourth podcast I want to recommend is probably my favorite at the moment because it’s really entertaining.
It’s called Facciamolo (let’s do it), by Livio Ricciardi.
He’s Roman, so he has a very distinct Roman accent. And in my opinion, it’s great for advanced students to hear different accents, not just standard Italian.
Livio Ricciardi is a psychologist and sexologist, and in his podcast he talks about relationships and sexuality. And what I like most is the way he does it: with a truly disarming lightness.
In my opinion, there are two opposing trends when it comes to love and sex.
On the one hand, there is still a certain prejudice: as if these topics were not really worthy of serious discussion. We talk about history, philosophy, mathematics… but love seems almost a minor topic. When, in fact, it is probably one of the most important topics in a human being’s life. Perhaps the most important.
Or the opposite happens: in recent years, with sex positivity, the return of non-monogamous relationships, etc., on the one hand, a space has opened up for these topics, but on the other, people have started to talk about them in an extremely cerebral, analytical, almost brainy way.
Sometimes – in my opinion – this need to define everything, to split hairs, becomes burdensome.
It’s a complex topic, and I don’t want to go into too much detail right now. However, I think that, in this landscape that oscillates between censorship and intellectual hyper-analysis, Livio Ricciardi’s podcast is truly a breath of fresh air.
This is because he tackles these issues in depth, but at the same time in a light-hearted way.
In addition, many episodes are conversations. This means that different points of view are also heard. And in my opinion, this is very important because, especially when it comes to relationships, it is often through dialogue that the most interesting reflections emerge.
Another thing I really appreciate is that this podcast is hosted by a man. These topics are often discussed mainly among women – and that’s fine – but personally, as a woman, I find it very interesting to hear the male point of view as well.
The episodes are often long, even an hour, and there are both monologues and dialogues.
- You can listen to an episode here.
5. My podcast – Messaggi Vocali
The last podcast I want to recommend, of course, is my own.
It’s a podcast that I designed specifically for advanced students. I speak at a normal speed, and the conversations are often spontaneous. It’s not too educational, and Italians could easily listen to it too, because I talk about topics that I’m passionate about: identity, languages, language learning, books, life. I wanted a podcast that was as authentic as possible and offered an interesting point of view.
I don’t want to talk only about Italy and grammar, although there will obviously be some insights into Italian culture, but intertwined with a more international perspective. My goal was to use the language in a lively and authentic way to offer a personal point of view that I hope will be interesting to someone.
However, being a language teacher, there is still an educational angle behind it.
So I maintain the authenticity of the content, i.e., I speak as I would to a friend or to myself, but then I try to transform it into useful material for learners.
Each episode contains:
- the complete transcript
- the glossary
- grammar pills that emerge naturally
- and exercises to put what you have learned into practice.
You can also apply the strategy I use to any other authentic podcast.
But all this takes time. It takes me a long time to create the transcripts and exercises.
So one of the advantages of my podcast is that I’ve already done this rather tedious part of the work for you.
You can focus directly on listening, understanding, and putting it into practice. I hope you enjoy it.
- You can listen to an episode here.
These were the five podcasts I wanted to recommend to you.
If you want a more extensive list of ideas for authentic content in Italian (books, films, YouTube channels, podcasts, etc.), you can download my PDF of authentic resources for learning Italian.
