Spain Explained
Subscribed: 3Played: 14
Subscribe
© 2026
Description
Spain Explained is the podcast for people who want to understand Spanish culture, Spanish food, and Spanish traditions beyond the guidebook basics. Hosted by award-winning author and cook Marti Buckley, who's lived in Spain since 2010, this show unpacks the concepts, rituals, and quirks that make Spain… Spain.
Whether you're planning a trip to Spain, obsessed with Spanish cuisine, dreaming of moving there, or just curious why lunch can last four hours, this podcast translates the untranslatable. Each episode dives into one single part of Spanish life, from sobremesa to siesta, café con leche to jamón ibérico, and explains what it is and why it matters.
Marti is the author of cookbooks including The Book of Pintxos and Basque Country, writes for Condé Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, and Food & Wine,, and founded the International Society for the Preservation and Enjoyment of Vermouth. She's your insider guide to Spanish culture, Spanish daily life, and Spanish food traditions.
This podcast is about understanding why Spain works the way it does. Perfect for Spain lovers, travelers, expats, and anyone who's wondered why Spaniards eat dinner at 10pm.
New episodes weekly covering Spanish food culture, daily life in Spain, regional traditions, and the quirks of living in Spain.
Whether you're planning a trip to Spain, obsessed with Spanish cuisine, dreaming of moving there, or just curious why lunch can last four hours, this podcast translates the untranslatable. Each episode dives into one single part of Spanish life, from sobremesa to siesta, café con leche to jamón ibérico, and explains what it is and why it matters.
Marti is the author of cookbooks including The Book of Pintxos and Basque Country, writes for Condé Nast Traveler, The Telegraph, and Food & Wine,, and founded the International Society for the Preservation and Enjoyment of Vermouth. She's your insider guide to Spanish culture, Spanish daily life, and Spanish food traditions.
This podcast is about understanding why Spain works the way it does. Perfect for Spain lovers, travelers, expats, and anyone who's wondered why Spaniards eat dinner at 10pm.
New episodes weekly covering Spanish food culture, daily life in Spain, regional traditions, and the quirks of living in Spain.
5 Episodes
Reverse
Every evening, entire Spanish neighborhoods empty onto the streets. No event, no destination, just thousands of people walking. This is the paseo, Spain's daily walking tradition and the most elegant solution to modern loneliness ever invented. According to Spain's national statistics institute, 71% of Spaniards say walking is their primary leisure activity. Not hiking, not gym workouts, just communal evening strolls. This episode breaks down what the paseo actually is, why Spanish cities are designed for it, and how this 200-year-old tradition solves problems like anxiety, isolation, and sedentary lifestyles that wellness apps desperately try to fix. You'll learn the unwritten rules, what time to go, why the timing matters, and how to participate if you're living in Spain. The paseo survives because it answers a fundamental question: how do you maintain actual community when everything is designed to keep people isolated? If you want more Spain content: ∙ Subscribe to Marti's Substack at https://substack.com/@martibuckley ∙ Follow her on Instagram @martibuckley ∙ Visit her blog at www.travelcookeat.com.
This is an episode about Spanish coffee. Not just café con leche...also cortado, café solo, carajillo...and each one has its own rules, its own timing, and its own place in the daily rhythm of Spanish life. In this episode, I break down the essential Spanish coffee drinks, when and how to order them, what makes Spanish coffee taste like it does, and what it reveals about how Spain approaches food, time, and ritual. This is your guide to drinking coffee like a Spaniard. If you want more Spain content: subscribe to my Substack, follow me on Instagram @martibuckley, and visit my blog at www.travelcookeat.com.
Sobremesa is the word for what happens after you finish eating in Spain, and once you get it, everything clicks. It's why a Tuesday lunch turns into a three-hour situation. It's why Spanish restaurants feel so unhurried. It's why the best part of a Spanish meal has nothing to do with the food. In this episode I break down what sobremesa actually is, why it's sacred, and what it tells you about how life in Spain really works. The meal is over but no one leaves. And guess what? That's the whole point. If you want more Spain content: subscribe to my Substack here, follow me on Instagram @martibuckley, and visit my blog at www.travelcookeat.com.
Tortilla española is just eggs, potatoes, and oil. That's it. And yet somehow it's Spain's most important dish… on every menu, in every bar, and the source of passionate debates over whether it needs onion or not. In this episode, I break down what tortilla española really is, why it's everywhere, the great onion debate (it's real), and how to eat it the way Spaniards actually do. This is Spanish food at its simplest and most essential. If you want more Spain content: subscribe to my Substack here, follow me on Instagram @martibuckley, and visit my blog at www.travelcookeat.com.
Spain is bigger, stranger, and more interesting than most people realize. The Basque Country, Cataluña, Andalucía, Galicia …they all cook differently, speak differently, and don't always agree on what "Spain" even means. In this first episode of Spain Explained, What is Spain?, I dive into why "Spanish cuisine" is kind of a myth, what it really means to be Spanish, and why understanding this changes everything about how you experience the country. This is where we start. If you want more Spain content: subscribe to my Substack here, follow me on Instagram @martibuckley, and visit my blog at www.travelcookeat.com.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States