I used to use a streaming app to listen to BBC News Arabic during the commute between the Presidio and Fort Ord. While listening to the news, I’d ask myself some understanding questions: What’s happening, where’s it happening, who is involved, why is it happening, and how did it happen or how is it being resolved. I was studying Modern Standard at the time, so this was a very useful daily exercise for me.
And if you want to really pick up a lot of interesting vocabulary (that has been more useful than expected), you could try your brain at سيد الخواتم , which is Lord of the Rings translated into Arabic and published in Egypt. Just understand that it’s a bit tough to read straight through. The first chapters have a lot of the translator’s notes in English and Arabic, and so are very useful. Once you have a grasp of the essential vocabs (هوبتيين، الأقزام), it’ll be more entertaining to jump around in the book and see if you can understand the 5Ws (and how) wherever you’ve opened the book.