Approximately 165 million people, or 22% of Americans listen to podcasts on a weekly basis. While most prefer to listen to podcasts at home, it is highly likely that tech entrepreneurs, innovators and founders rarely have a minute to give their undivided attention to an episode. For those with a tight schedule, we have compiled a brief list of podcasts that provide insights into the world of business, management, technology or software engineering. If you have not stumbled on them already, these will be a useful addition to your podcast library to listen on the go or during a quiet minute or two.
FOUNDR MAGAZINE PODCAST WITH NATHAN CHEN
Started: 2014
Episodes: 280+
Avg. runtime: 40 min
New releases: Weekly
The Foundr Magazine Podcast kicks off this list. This one is no regular interview podcast. Host, Nathan Chen, who also happens to be the founder of the online magazine, brings on hard-to-reach guest entrepreneurs so they can share their life’s lessons and hard-earned experience with his listeners. This one will be interesting to anyone who does not want to spend time on just-your-average interview. Facts, examples and lessons of failure that taught great minds to succeed. Listeners can even get insightful tips on how to start your own podcast.
Started: 2018
Episodes: 600+
Avg. runtime: 15 min
New releases: Daily
Techmeme is a daily newscast with episodes that summarize the biggest news and stories in tech. Jam-packed with quotes and figures from top media publications, Brian McCullough, author of “How the Internet Happened” brings you up to speed on venture capital investments, mergers and acquisitions and new product launches. All of this in about the time it takes for your commute from work.
ESCAPE VELOCITY WITH DAN MARTELL
Started: 2019
Episodes: 15+
Avg. runtime: 40 min
New releases: Twice a month
Dan Martell headlines his new show, which flows directly from the biggest SaaS-related Youtube channel. If this is not a name you are familiar with, Dan Martell is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor with a history of successful (and, of course, failed) companies, who is happy to share lessons on growth, productivity, leadership and motivation. Dan touches on many topics from business management, sales and marketing to scaling your business and defining growth strategies. The experience shared is far from his own, as he conducts a series of interviews with big name company founders and small-scale startups. In a nutshell, most episodes revolve around technology and the series as a whole serves as a continuation of Dan’s no-less useful series — SaaS Growth Stacking.
Started: 2006
Episodes: 390+
Avg. run time: 60 min
New releases: Almost weekly
Following up with another longform episode series, the SE Radio team crafts a series that serves to educate the professional software developer. The episodes form a knowledge base comprised of interviews with talented individuals, who can spill the beans on topics broad and niche. The goal of the series is to serve as an educational resource for the modern software engineer interested in further education. However, it also succeeds in introducing non-developers to software application development and agile product methodologies.
Started: 2015
Episodes: 90+
Avg. runtime: 50 min
New releases: Whenever they are ready
Since even universities start their own podcasts, it would be remiss to not leverage the opportunity to learn directly from thought leaders, academics and professionals that populate and guest star in the Stanford Global School of Business podcast. The series dwells on management practices and main principles that cultivate in a variety of industries and verticals as shared by their leaders. Older episodes will offer bite-size insights, while the more recent episodes present a longer and more in-depth conversation with the people behind the wheel of global business.
Honorable mentions:
The a16z Podcast by venture capital firm Andreessen Horrowitz looks at culture trends and the future of tech as “software eats the world”.
The HBR IdeaCast helps answer pressing work-life balance questions, but that is just scratching the surface. This podcast puts “leading thinkers in business and management” to the microphone to speak on emerging issues and timeless principles in the workplace.
A great alternative to its sound-alike, Software Engineering Daily merits code-savvy listeners and software engineering enthusiasts with specific case studies (analytics systems, databases, programming languages, business workflows etc.) brought to you by experts in the field.
21 January 2020