- The ChangeLog The ChangeLog recently celebrated 10 years and is a longtime favorite of many on the team. It’s an eclectic mix of topics focused loosely around open source software development – sometimes more focused on programming tools or platforms, sometimes more focused engineering leadership or methodologies.
- ShopTalk ShopTalk is another engineering show that has a long history, over 8 years of good content. The hosts have strong chops in front-end development, and it comes through in discussions all about building websites. I only started listening to it in the last few months, but several folks on our team have been fans for a while. It’s great for keeping up on recent browser changes and general news on HTML, CSS, and JS – along with occasional business-focused topics.
- The Bike Shed I started listening to The Bike Shed on their first episode 6 years ago, and I still listen fairly often. It started out very focused on Rails, and while it seems to cover broader topics lately, those episodes with Rails experts and core team members are still my favorites. Any of the episodes with Sandi Metz is a great choice to start, e.g., this live show from RailsConf 2016
- Software Engineering Radio Go through phases with SE Radio. I listened to every episode back when I was trying to learn everything I could about software architecture, in the late 2000’s. Nowadays, I only listen if an episode topic strikes a particular chord, but it’s always well-done, with top notch production. Of recent episodes, I enjoyed #357, Adam Barr on Code quality. Going back a bit, #285, James Cowling on Dropbox’s Distributed Storage System on is a great primer on building systems at a massive scale. Going back even further, #89, Joe Armstrong on Erlang is excellent and will make you want to start learning Elixir.
- Risky Business Risky.Biz is focused on information security, an area where I know some of the fundamentals but don’t make time to keep up. This show helps keep a finger on the general pulse. I don’t listen to every episode, just dip in when the topic looks interesting.
- Thoughts on Functional Programming In full disclosure, I haven’t listened to many episodes of this show yet. When we were sharing podcast recommendations, this one came up and got my attention with its range of topics. The speaker is clearly extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful about paradigms of software.
- Artificial Intelligence with Lex Fridman Lex is an MIT researcher in AI and robotics. I like this podcast because it explores aspects of computer science that I don’t encounter in my routine engineering tasks. Topics range from semi-practical discussions of machine learning or quantum computing to extremely philosophical dialogues on consciousness or the nature of intelligence. It’s not one that you can just put on the background and follow along with half a mind, but if you want to be engaged, there are some great episodes.
- Engineering Heroes Engineering Heroes delves into the engineering challenges facing us today. Founded and hosted by Melanie and Dominic De Gioia, each week the pair chat to a different engineer about their career and area of expertise.
- Engineering leaders podcasts In case you missed it as part of World Engineering Day, this podcast considers international perspectives in engineering.
- 99% Invisible Design is all around us, but we don’t always notice it. This weekly podcast from producer Roman Mars is about all the thought that goes into the things we don’t think about — the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world.
- Houston We Have a Podcast Fascinated by space? Then you won’t want to miss the official podcast of the NASA Johnson Space Center. Tune in to go behind the scenes and hear from some of the brightest minds in the universe, from astronauts to engineers, scientists and program leaders. At 171 episodes and counting, this weekly podcast covers everything you’ll ever want to know about space.
- Board Level Want to hear from some of Australia’s most influential leaders? This series from the The Australian Institute of Company Directors shares insights from such leaders, hence the name. Take a listen to the episode featuring Dr Marlene Kanga on lifting STEM expertise across the board. Recognised in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours , Kangadiscusses why women go into engineering and what the industry can do to increase diversity on boards.
- Cautionary Tales
- Engineering Reimagined From Egyptian pyramids and Roman viaducts, to aeroplanes and skyscrapers, engineers have played a significant role in history’s greatest developments. But what does the future hold for engineers?
- Radiolab
- Stuff You Should
Know
Over the last 12 years, Stuff You
Should Know hosts Chuck and Josh have covered everything
from planned obsolescence in consumer goods to why the US
isn’t on the metric system. But you don’t need us to
convince you to listen — it’s consistently at the top of the
podcast charts for a reason.
- Unprofessional Engineering
- more ...
I recently revisited the episode #352, a discussion with The Pragmatic Programmers, Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas. It was as good as I remembered.
My favorite episode I’ve listened to recently was actually an overview of content management systems, episode #383, What’s Up with CMS’s?.
Most recently, I enjoyed episode #579, their discussion of how Apple and Google are implementing the COVID-19 contact tracing.
For example, I really enjoyed this short episode, What kind of software is functional programming not suited for?.
The episodes with Elon Musk are probably his most popular, but my favorites are his ones with CS luminaries, e.g., the one with Donald Knuth or the one with Peter Norvig
Its fourth season wrapped up last year, but this Australian podcast is still worth a listen as it looks at topics from the problem with space junk to ethics in AI and overcoming imposter syndrome. There’s even an episode with Sean Brady, host of the next podcast on this list.
Aligning with each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, young engineers and future leaders share what they are doing to make a difference in the world.
With more than 400 episodes covering everything from who invented ringtones, to why metal fire escapes are mostly found on older buildings, and how superstition shapes architecture around the world, this show is 100% fascinating. Can’t get enough? There’s also a book
To meaningfully contribute in today’s society, engineering needs to be reimagined, by combining smart thinking with digital technologies and a focus on human-centred outcomes Will engineers be the rock stars of the future? Do our universities need to change? How can art and engineering create meaning in our lives? Do we take good design for granted? This podcast from engineering consultancy firm Aurecon explores how people from all walks of life are reimagining the future and their leadership roles in it.
With an archive of hundreds of episodes, adding Radiolab to your podcast app will keep you entertained for hours, while Radiolab for Kids will keep younger minds engrossed, too.