I’ve been listening to podcast for a long, long time. I’ve started like many other to listen to podcasts on my commute to/from work and still do.
Technical podcasts helped me learn about new technologies and stay in touch of existing ones. But most importantly they keep me entertained – even during the worst of traffic jams.
As my listening choices change I tend to update my podcast list. I delete old podcast who are no longer active or I lose interest in and add podcasts when I find out about new and interesting shows.
Looking at the app on my soon-to-be-replaced mobile phone I see several podcasts which I’ve been listening forever as well as a few new ones I’ve just added a few weeks ago. Another thing I notice is that there’s a mix of topics – some related to my current work, some I listen to to learn or keep informed about a specific technology and some are purely for my pleasure.
And so here is my current listening list as of the beginning of 2017:
Been listening forever list
When I’ve first discovered podcasts I’ve started listening to the following shows, they’ve been with me the longest and it amazes me that I still find them interesting.
I’ve probably heard most of the recordings in the list and for a good reason – those shows are both interesting as they are relevant and informative.
Hanselminutes
This was my entry drug to the world of podcasts. I don’t remember why I’ve started listening to Scott Hanselman but I always liked the way he interviewed his guests and explains new thing. I’ve been listening to this show since the very first chapter and kept only listening to this day – for more than 500 episodes.
DotNet Rocks
After the first time I run out of Hanselminutes episodes to listen to I needed to find another podcast to get my “fix” and since Carl Franklin which was involved in Hanselminutes production had a podcast as well – it looked like a good place to start. Since then I’ve been listening to .NET Rocks at least once a week – which is barely enough to keep up with the amount of released episodes. It’s a great show to stay current with what’s hot in software development and as the name implies mostly – but not all is .NET related. In the last couple of years they have have recorded a few Geek Out shows in which the talk about a non-programming related topic such as manned missions to mars or fusion power.
Software Engineering Radio
Finding SF Radio was like going back to a class in my bachelor degree. General programming topics, programming languages, up to quantum computing – It is an amazing show that manages to explain complex topics in a simple, no nonsense way.
Talk show interviews
Those kind of podcast have become popular in the last couple of years. A leading figure of our industry tells his/her story.
Hello World Podcast
I’ve started listening to Shawn Wildermuth’s podcast because I wanted to hear about how Mary Jo Foley started writing about all things Microsoft and since then I’ve been checking it from time to time. He manage to find amazing guests each with an interesting story. Right now he has 82 chapters each with a different guest and it looks like the last show will be show 100 in which Richard Cambell will interview Shawn – so it seems that next year I’ll need to find a different show, which bring us to “Developer On Fire”.
Developer On Fire
There are a lot of similarities between this show and “Hello World”. In both an inspiring person tells his story. But while “Hello World” is focused on leading, well known developers from our industry this show focus on the lesson learnt. I usually pick an episode to listen to based on the person and the topic of the show.
Keep in touch with technology
One of the benefits of listening to podcast on my way to work is that I can learn about new technologies and tools. Right now I have two shows that keep me updated. One in all things Microsoft and the other about the new developments in C++.
MS Dev Show
I’ve watched (read: listened) as this show transformed from two guys in a garage to a fully fledged professional show about cutting edge technology – as long as it’s in the MS world. The only thing that survived the transformation was the game at the end. It’s the show every MS developer should hear from .NET core to IoT and HoloLens the episodes are always interesting and I learn a lot while having a good time.
CppCast
I’ve started my career as a C++ developer and although I work in .NET and Java I never really left. I like hearing CppCast because it keeps me informed on the new improvements in the world of C++. And there are so many. Voted the best C++ podcast (although as far as I can tell the only C++ podcast). this show is worth listening to.
Newly subscribed
Those are new arrivals, I’ve been listening to them for a short time but so far I like what I hear.
Complete Developer Podcast
I’ve started listening to this show because of this episode and continued listening because I liked the topic diversity. They talk about all topic development in a language agnostic way. From “back to basic” show about Array to an interesting one about developer’s motivation.
ProBlogger
I’ve been reading ProBlogger blog for a long long time. If you have a blog and never heard about ProBlogger you must go there and start reading – thank me later. In the last month I’ve also started listening to this Podcast as well – each show is about one tip or subject that would take your blog to the next level.
Infotainment
Those shows are not software development oriented. I enjoy listening to both and to my amazement learned quite a lot from them. To when I don’t feel like listening to one of the dev shows (it happens).
Cracked
This is another example of I’ve read the “book” before the podcast. Cracked is a humoristic site with excellent articles some of which are on serious topics. They writing is amazing and so is their high quality podcast. It’s both informative and hilarious. From time to time they even tackle serious topics in ways that are too rare in today’s internet. When I’ve started listening to the Cracked podcast I was immediately hooked – and I promise you you’ll be as well.
Startalk radio
A friend recommended this show I’ve heard the episode “Is our universe a simulation“and I was immediately hooked. Neil DeGrasse Tyson a well known astrophysicist explains about the universe in a down to earth kind of way. The topics are interesting and thought provoking.
So there you have it, this is what I hear right now when I have the time. I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting podcasts – so if you have a favorite podcast which I didn’t mention – write a comment and let me know.
Helper Code 