Intermediate-advanced podcasts in Chinese
One of the more difficult things in breaking through the intermediate plateau is finding level appropriate listening or reading material: learner material is often too slow, but material for natives is too fast, too advanced and too frustrating. Bridging the gap is difficult to do well - with that in mind, I’ve collated a list of podcasts suitable for intermediate to advanced learners of Chinese. Some of these are designed for learners, some not, but all are grouped by difficulty and accessibility. You can find them all on Spotify.
If you’d like a Chinese-only podcast app, try downloading Ximalaya or 喜马拉雅. It has tons of stuff for learners, university lecture series etc, but is a little more difficult to navigate for intermediate learners. They also have audiobooks, and language series - if you want, you can learn Japanese through Chinese here!
Intermediate podcasts (in Chinese, but easier, slower etc)
1) Li Laoshi’s Chinese Pod - 5 minute podcasts about cultural topics i.e. first emperor of China, invention of paper etc, slow pace with one female host
2) 听故事学中文 - non-adapted stories that are read once in their entirety, then explained in slow Chinese. One female host, good but a bit slow/annoying though you could just listen to the normal speed, non-explained stories.
3) 大鹏说中文 - 5-15 minute episodes, quite slow with a male host with a veeery deep voice, cultural topics, new expressions etc.
4) Learn Something in Chinese with Dee - slow and very calming single male host. Very helpfully gives a percentage indication (50%, 90%) of how much he speaks in Chinese each episode so it’s suitable for all levels of intermediate learners.
Intermediate-advanced (for learners, but at almost natural/faster pace)
1) 聊聊东西 - one of my favourite podcasts ever. Two female hosts who’ve lived abroad talk about cultural differences between China and the west, very natural conversation - quite easy topics/vocab like dating, television, introversion vs extroversion etc but at a very natural speed with colloquialisms, talking over each other etc so really useful. Nothing is really explained but it’s one of my favourites.
2) 自然而然说中文 / Speak Chinese naturally - designed for learners with very clear voice and reasonable speed, but quite advanced vocab. 15 minute episodes with one female host, topics include introducing places, internet vocabulary (!!), language learning etc.
3) Kaela的中文广播 - 15-50 minute episodes with one female host at a reasonable speed, with music in the background, talks about destinations like Shanghai Disneyland, topics like teaching online, feminism, zodiac signs etc.
4) Chinese colloquialised - this could either go in here or above, sometimes advanced vocab but a nice slow speed and clear speech, 5-15 mins with one female host, topics include looking at song lyrics, chengyu, fashion, films, Chinese holidays etc. There are some episodes for the harder ones totally in English, and then another episode (exactly the same) totally in Chinese, so if you get stuck you can listen to the English one but you don’t have to.
5) 面包吐司 - actually this has an American host, but his Chinese is pretty good. He gets in a load of guests and talks about things like giving up smoking, bullying, different dialects, foods from different parts of China. Useful because it’s natural conversation and has guests from different parts of China, as well as quite aspirational! 20-40 mins.
Advanced (not designed for learners, enter at your peril!)
1) 小声喧哗 / Loud Murmurs - this is a GREAT podcast by four American born Chinese women about Western pop culture, especially race, gender, sexuality etc. One of my favourites but very advanced; just four people talking excitedly over each other. Topics include various TV/film reviews such as Black Panther, the Queen’s Gambit etc as well as current shows in China like Street Dance of China. Also feminism, Weinstein, Chernobyl, the list goes on.
2) 迟早更新 - one male host, talks about news, history, culture, technology etc. Not designed for learners but one of the more accessible ones here, as he speaks very clearly and usually there’s only him (and he doesn’t read like he’s reading a book aloud). Episodes around 1 hr, around 200.
3) 返潮流俱乐部 - sometimes one male host, sometimes many. Talks about news, technology, current events. Quite fast but still ok.
4) 硅谷早知道 - two hosts, mostly talking about business and technology, adverts on Facebook, AI, social distance and coronavirus etc. A bit tricky for me, but very interesting!
Other shows that I have on my to-listen list but haven’t yet:
I like to divide my listening into two categories: active listening, where I try to understand as much as I can, and passive listening, where I am fully aware the content is too advanced and simply let it run in the background. Don’t underestimate the importance of this! You’re teaching your brain to get used to the speed, to get used to different accents and more casual speech - it’s alright if you don’t understand everything. To prevent you from getting frustrated and bored, though, I’d stick to things you understand 80%-90% of the majority of the time, and listen to more difficult language around 20% of the time. Have fun!
