- <em>Conversations</em> · A Vivir que Son dos Días
Cadena SER · Weekend Radio · Since 1988

Conversations

A VIVIR with Javier del Pino
On air all weekends - Spain's highest rated radio show
And around the world in all Spanish-speaking territories

JP
A vivir broadcast studio
2.3 MILLION Weekly listeners in Spain
Many more around the world
Since 1988 On the air
All year round
Multiple Award
Prize winner
Sat & Sun 8:00 to
12:00h

"Javier del Pino talks to people who think differently — people who broaden your perspective and nurture critical thinking."
Each weekend morning, the most unexpected conversations on Spanish radio.

Feature interviews
Barack Obama
Barack Obama · 44th President of the United States

"Thanks to democracy, Trump doesn't get 100% of what he wants"

One week after Biden's inauguration, the former president spoke to Javier del Pino about his presidency, his fears, Trump's legacy and his memoir A Promised Land . Del Pino previewed it as "a long conversation, sometimes funny, sometimes introspective — you can understand the electoral hype that took him to the Oval Office from the moment he says "Hi" to you."

"I never believed my own hype. I think one of my better qualities is that I take my work seriously, but I don't take myself so seriously."

— Barack Obama
January 2021
LISTEN
Unforgettable conversations
Ringo Starr
R April 2026
Music

Ringo Starr

MUSICIAN

The former Beatles drummer revisits his Liverpool beginnings with quiet emotion, and recalls John and George as if they'd never left.

"Some days it feels like it all started yesterday in Liverpool. We were friends — that was the whole thing."

— Ringo Starr on A vivir
April 2026 Listen
Svetlana Alexievich
A A Vivir Archive
Literature · Memory

Svetlana Alexievich

Nobel Prize in Literature 2015

The Belarusian Nobel laureate, author of The Unwomanly Face of War and Voices from Chernobyl, speaks about collective memory, the voices of ordinary people, and bearing witness to catastrophe.

"I don't gather facts — I gather human feelings, thoughts, and words. History is hidden there, in the individual."

— Svetlana Alexievich on A vivir
October 2019 Listen
Salman Rushdie
S May 2024
Literature

Salman Rushdie

Novelist · Survivor

Two years after the near-fatal stabbing that left him blind in one eye, Rushdie talks about his assasination attemp in an emotionally charged conversation.

"I remember lying on the ground surrounded by blood, thinking it was the end. Fortunately, I was wrong."

— Salman Rushdie on A vivir
May 2024 Listen
Woody Allen
W September 2025
Cinema · Literature

Woody Allen

Director & Novelist

From the living-room of his New York home, Allen muses on mortality, hypochondria, comedy, movies, politics and why he always writes for readers smarter than himself.

"I'd make another film if someone came with the right conditions — but that someone isn't coming."

— Woody Allen on A vivir
September 2025 Listen
Naomi Klein
K A Vivir Archive
Ideas · Activism

Naomi Klein

Author & Political Commentator

The author of Doppelganger speaks about capitalism, conspiracy culture, and why our political moment demands questioning everything we thought we knew.

"The most dangerous lies are the ones that borrow the language of truth — the shock doctrine runs on confusion, and confusion is manufactured."

— Naomi Klein on A vivir
January 2024 Listen
Emmanuel Carrère
C March 2026
Literature

Emmanuel Carrère

French author & filmmaker

The French master of self-fiction and journalistic literature talks about his thoughts on truth, memory, and why the best books refuse easy categories.

"Everywhere, across the whole planet, you feel a strange malaise of resentment and a vague need to rewrite the past — which is rather dangerous."

— Emmanuel Carrère on A vivir
March 2026 Listen
"Politics is something serious — people suffer, and decisions have been made with which I deeply disagree. But it also has its comic side: if you got all the world leaders together and said 'these are the best people we have to run the planet', I think it would be funny."
— Woody Allen · A vivir que son dos días
More landmark conversations
Tom Hanks
H A Vivir Archive
Cinema

Tom Hanks

Actor & Author

One of the world's most beloved actors speaks about his movies, his legendary typewriter obsession, and a career built on playing ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances.

"Every typewriter tells a story before you've written a single word — they carry history in their keys. That's why I collect them."

— Tom Hanks on A vivir
December 2022 Listen
Bono
B November 2022
Music · Activism

Bono

U2 Vocalist & Activist

The U2 frontman looks back on his life, the limits of charity, and his long affection for Spain — a candid exchange about the gap between rock stardom and real political change.

"Philanthropy is never going to change everything. The system itself has to be transformed."

— Bono on A vivir
November 2022 Listen
Pedro Almodóvar
A March 2026
Cinema

Pedro Almodóvar

Oscar-winning Director

Spain's greatest living filmmaker on his films, the newly found creative freedom late in his career, and the exhaustion of international prestige — intimate and disarmingly honest.

""At some point, loneliness feels heavy. Then you realize you are the only one to blame: detaching from people, not answering the calls...""

— PEDRO ALMODÓVAR ON A VIVIR
March 2026 Listen
"The question is not whether we are going to change — change is already happening. The question is who is going to be in charge of shaping it."
— Noam Chomsky · A vivir que son dos días
More voices that matter
Brian May
M A Vivir Archive
Music · Science

Brian May

Queen Guitarist & Astrophysicist

The Queen legend — who holds a PhD in astrophysics — speaks about the unexpected parallels between rock and science, and what it means to carry the legacy of Freddie Mercury.

"Music and science both demand the same thing: a willingness to be completely wrong, and to start again from scratch."

— Brian May on A vivir
July 2023 Listen
Jane Goodall
G A Vivir Archive
Science · Conservation

Jane Goodall

Primatologist & UN Messenger of Peace

The world's foremost expert on chimpanzees discussed her decades in Gombe, the destruction of natural habitats, and why — despite everything — she still believed young people can save the planet.

"Every single day you live, you make some impact on the planet. And you get to choose what sort of difference you make."

— Jane Goodall on A vivir
February 2013 Listen
Noam Chomsky
C A Vivir Archive
Linguistics · Politics

Noam Chomsky

Linguist, Philosopher & Political Thinker

One of the most cited intellectuals alive speaks about manufactured consent, U.S. foreign policy, the climate crisis, and whether humanity has enough time to correct course.

"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum."

— Noam Chomsky on A vivir
September 2022 Listen
"Literature is not a luxury — it is the place where we learn to inhabit someone else's existence. Without that, we stop being human."
— Ken Follett · A vivir que son dos días
Further conversations
Ken Follett
F A Vivir Archive
Literature

Ken Follett

Bestselling Novelist

The Welsh master of historical fiction — whose cathedral epic The Pillars of the Earth has sold over 27 million copies — speaks about the craft of the page-turner and the research behind his centuries-spanning sagas.

"A novel has to grab you on the first page. If you aren't hooked in the opening chapter, no one will reach the last."

— Ken Follett on A vivir
September 2023 Listen
Gabriel Boric
B July 2023
Politics

Gabriel Boric

President of Chile

The youngest president in Chilean history speaks on governing across the political divide, polarisation in Latin America, and his generation's relationship with power.

"The great challenge of politics today is speaking to people who don't think like you. Understanding your opponent's best argument can teach you a great deal."

— Gabriel Boric on A vivir
July 2023 Listen
Yuval Noah Harari
H September 2024
History · Ideas

Yuval Noah Harari

Historian & Author of Sapiens

The Israeli historian whose Sapiens reshaped how millions understand humanity speaks about what AI means for the future of civilisation.

"AI is the first technology in history that can make decisions and create new ideas by itself. We have no idea what that means for humanity."

— Yuval Noah Harari on A vivir
May 2023 Listen
"I always thought I was right. That's the problem with people who are right too often — they stop being curious about being wrong."
— David Sedaris · A vivir que son dos días
Conversations to remember
Abbey Road zebra crossing
Music · History

Giles Martin

Record Producer

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, the son of legendary producer behind the Beatles' sound speaks about his father, known as the Fifth Beatle, and the risk and honor of preserving and remixing the band's legacy.

"They were like children playing in a room, not really knowing what they were doing. They didn't realize they were changing the world. They were creating art just because it amused them."

— GILES MARTIN ON A VIVIR
November 2018 Listen
Jane Fonda
F A Vivir Archive
Cinema · Activism

Jane Fonda

Actress & Climate Activist

Three-time Oscar nominee, fitness icon and fearless climate campaigner, Fonda speaks about aging with purpose, the Fire Drill Fridays movement, and why she has never stopped fighting.

"It's never too late — not for you personally, not for the planet. But we have to start now, every single one of us."

— Jane Fonda on A vivir
December 2019 Listen
David Sedaris
S A Vivir Archive
Literature · Humour

David Sedaris

Essayist & Humorist

America's funniest memoirist speaks about growing up mortified, his compulsive diary-keeping, life in the English countryside, and the strange therapeutic power of embarrassing yourself on the page.

"Humiliation is the gift that keeps on giving — every awful thing that happens to me is material I'm grateful for later."

— David Sedaris on A vivir
April 2024 Listen
And…
Mary Beard Yanis Varoufakis Ezra Klein Siri Hustvedt Jean Reno Judith Butler Kaveh Akbar Colson Whitehead
…many, many, more.
About the show
The Show

Spain's weekend institution

A Vivir Que Son Dos Días — literally "Live, because life is short" — launched on March 1988 and has aired every Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 to 12:00 on Cadena SER ever since, making it one of the longest-running shows on European radio.

The show combines landmark interviews with world figures, literary conversations, cutting-edge science, and sharp comedy — a tonal range that keeps listeners tuned in every weekend.

Javier del Pino took over as host in September 2012 and has since set a record breaking following of 2.3 million listeners on Saturdays and Sundays, and many more around the world. The show is deeply committed to foreign affairs, global issues and cultural landscapes, and it is highly regarded as the best radio show for in-depth journalism, smart humor analysis and innovative style.

All interviews are available as Podcasts on Cadena SER's website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and the show's YouTube channel.

SER YouTube Spotify Apple
JdP
Javier del Pino
Javier del Pino

Host & Director

Javier del Pino spent 15 years as a Washington DC correspondent before hosting A Vivir. He covered US politics, presidential campaigns and all entertainment, finance and current events, including such heartfelt tragedies as 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina. He hosts the show year-round from radio studios in both Madrid and Washington DC. In-depth interviews to English-speaking guests are a rare occurrence on European radio.

He is the recipient of numerous awards and a frequent speaker in colleges and forums about journalism and media.

International Journalism Award 2008 Antena de Oro Award 2014 Liber Award 2014 Ondas Award 2015 Rey de España Award 2019 L. González Award 2019 Chaves Award 2022 Ondas Award 2023