Learn Hardcore Czech: Po práci rád odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v pokoji. - After work I like to relax and listen to the radio in my room.

The confusing part is that práci is also the accusative form, so you cannot see from the ending alone whether it is accusative or locative. You know it is locative here because po (with the time meaning after) requires the locative.

Po práce is simply ungrammatical in this meaning.

What exactly does rád mean here, and why do we need it?

Rád is an adverb-like word meaning roughly gladly / with pleasure / I like to.

In Czech, there is a very common pattern:

rád + verb = like to do something

So:

rád odpočívám = I like to rest / I enjoy resting
rád poslouchám rádio = I like listening to the radio

This is different from mám rád, which is used mainly with nouns:

Mám rád hudbu. = I like music.
Mám rád tohle rádio. = I like this radio.

But:

Rád poslouchám hudbu. = I like listening to music.

Also, rád agrees with the gender and number of the subject:

man speaking: rád
woman speaking: ráda
child / neuter subject: rádo
group with at least one man: rádi
group of only women or neuter: rády

So a woman would say:

Po práci ráda odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v pokoji.

Why is there no I (já) in the sentence?

Czech is a pro‑drop language: subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

The verb odpočívám ends in ‑ám, which clearly marks 1st person singular (I):

já odpočívám = I rest
ty odpočíváš = you rest
on/ona odpočívá = he/she rests

So já is not needed unless you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else):

Já po práci rád odpočívám, ale on jde sportovat.
I like to rest after work, but he goes to do sports.

Why is odpočívám used instead of something like odpočinu si?

This is about aspect (imperfective vs. perfective), which is crucial in Czech.

odpočívat = imperfective
- describes an ongoing or repeated/habitual action
- odpočívám = I am resting / I (regularly) rest
odpočinout si = perfective (with si)
- describes a single, completed act of resting
- odpočinu si = I will take a rest (once); I will have a rest

In the sentence Po práci rád odpočívám, the speaker is talking about a regular habit (what they like doing after work in general), so the imperfective verb odpočívat is the natural choice.

If you said Po práci si odpočinu, it would sound more like After work I’ll (then) have a rest – a particular action, often one time or a specific occasion.

Why is rádio in that form? Why not rádia or rádiu?

The verb poslouchat takes a direct object in the accusative case:

poslouchám
- co? (what?)
  → poslouchám rádio

The noun rádio is neuter, and for neuter nouns the nominative and accusative singular usually have the same form:

N sg: rádio
A sg: rádio

That is why you do not see any change.

Other forms would mean something else:

rádia =
- genitive singular (of the radio)
- or nominative/accusative plural (radios)
rádiu = dative or locative singular (to the radio / in the radio)

So poslouchám rádio is exactly the right form: rádio in the accusative.

Why is it v pokoji and not v pokoj or v pokoje?

The preposition v meaning in takes the locative case for location:

v + locative = in …

The noun pokoj (room) declines like this in singular:

N: pokoj
G: pokoje
D: pokoji
A: pokoj
L (locative): pokoji
I: pokojem

So the locative form is pokoji. Therefore:

v pokoji = in the room

v pokoj or v pokoje are ungrammatical in this meaning.

Can I say v mém pokoji to mean “in my room”? How would the whole sentence look?

Yes. You can specify that it is your room by adding the possessive adjective můj in the correct case and gender.

můj (my) – masculine singular, locative: mém

So the phrase becomes v mém pokoji:

Po práci rád odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v mém pokoji.
= After work I like to rest and listen to the radio in my room.

Without mém, v pokoji just means in the room; context usually makes it clear that it’s your own room, but adding mém makes it explicit or slightly more emphatic.

Is there a difference between poslouchám rádio and poslouchám si rádio?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance.

poslouchám rádio – neutral:
I listen to the radio.
poslouchám si rádio – a bit more colloquial and subjective:
I’m listening to the radio for myself / for pleasure, I’m enjoying it, I’m just sitting and listening.

The reflexive si often adds a feeling of personal benefit or enjoyment, similar to I’m having a listen to the radio in English.

In your sentence, poslouchám rádio v pokoji is perfectly fine and common; adding si would make it sound slightly more relaxed and cozy:

Po práci rád odpočívám a poslouchám si rádio v pokoji.

Could I change the word order, for example: Po práci rád poslouchám rádio a odpočívám? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, Czech word order is quite flexible, and your variant is grammatically correct.

Both:

Po práci rád odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v pokoji.
Po práci rád poslouchám rádio a odpočívám v pokoji.

are understandable and natural.

Subtle points:

rád usually comes before the verb it modifies, but it can “cover” both verbs in a coordinated structure:
- In the original, rád most clearly attaches to odpočívám, but it is naturally understood to apply to poslouchám rádio as well.
Changing the order slightly shifts the focus:
- Original: the first thing you mention is resting, then listening to the radio.
- Variant: you put listening to the radio first, which can sound like that is the more salient activity.

However, in everyday conversation, both will usually be understood simply as two things you like to do after work.

How would the sentence change if a woman is speaking, or if more people are speaking?

The main change is in the word rád, which must agree with the subject.

Man speaking:
- Po práci rád odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v pokoji.
Woman speaking:
- Po práci ráda odpočívám a poslouchám rádio v pokoji.
Group including at least one man:
- Po práci rádi odpočíváme a posloucháme rádio v pokoji.
Group of only women:
- Po práci rády odpočíváme a posloucháme rádio v pokoji.

The verbs also change for plural (odpočíváme, posloucháme), but they do not change for gender; only rád/ráda/rádi/rády does.

Can I use relaxuju instead of odpočívám?

Yes, you can. Czech has the verb relaxovat (to relax), often used in speech:

relaxuju (colloquial) or relaxuji (more formal spelling) = I relax

So you could say:

Po práci rád relaxuju a poslouchám rádio v pokoji.

This sounds a bit more colloquial / modern than odpočívám, but it is widely used and understood. Odpočívat is the more traditional, fully native Czech verb.