The tech world evolves faster than any other industry. What was once considered cutting-edge may fall by the wayside in a week, never to be revisited. Whether they’re in the business of producing business or consumer tech or they’re overseeing their company’s internal tech processes, all tech professionals need to pay attention to both tech and business trends, as well as the latest advances and their impact.
Podcasts remain one of the best ways to stay in touch with what’s going on in business and industry—especially for busy tech professionals. But which podcasts do tech leaders find the most useful? Below, 17 members of Forbes Technology Council discuss the podcasts they never miss and the essential information they provide tech leaders and professionals across industries.
1. 16 Minutes On The News
16 Minutes on the News, hosted by Sonal Chokshi, a16z’s editor in chief, covers the top tech headlines of the week in 16 minutes. Presented by Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s leading VC firms, the podcast details why the topics are in the news and what’s real versus what’s hype. It is my go-to podcast for keeping up with technology because it gives me a quick overview of what matters so I can stay well-informed. – Michael Keithley, United Talent Agency
2. Arrested DevOps
I enjoy Arrested DevOps for the diverse technology perspectives from the guests and hosts—my favorite host being Bridget Kromhout. Discussions center on real-life DevOps challenges and forward-leaning initiatives. It always catches my attention to hear how organizations are pushing the boundaries on the implementation and practice of DevOps, AIOPs and other associated methodologies. – Troy McAlpin, xMatters
3. BBC Click
I enjoy and encourage everyone to listen to BBC Click. This podcast covers every spectrum of the tech and gadget world. It creates sufficient curiosity that you want to go and investigate the topics further. – Susan Bowen, Aptum
4. Business Wars
I enjoy Business Wars by Wondery. This podcast features many tech-related episodes that describe stories that we’ve all heard of and think we know well—but we’ve never really heard the entire stories with all of the details. It’s educational and has excellent storytelling and editing. Check it out! – Or Lenchner, Bright Data (Formerly Luminati Networks)
5. The Cloudcast
The Cloudcast is my favorite tech-focused podcast, as cloud is my area of interest. This podcast regularly covers aspects such as serverless, open-source, DevOps and containers, among other topics, and covers major cloud providers such as AWS, Azure and GCP. – Sunil Sarat, Microland
6. Cyber Security Sauna
I regularly listen to the Cyber Security Sauna podcast, hosted by Janne Kauhanen. It provides interesting details on hot topics in cybersecurity and presents top trends in an easy manner. This helps me keep pace with the latest happenings in the cybersecurity domain and adapt to the constantly changing approach to defending against adversaries. – Arun Singh, Ilantus Technologies
7. Darknet Diaries
Most people, tech executives included, have no idea what really happens on the dark side of the internet—despite cybersecurity quickly becoming the chief concern of many boardrooms. Darknet Diaries is my go-to podcast for hacker culture and antics. The podcast features true stories about hackers, breaches, shadow government activity, hacktivism and cybercrime. – Cory Ruthardt, Simpatico Systems
8. The Economics For Business
Every CTO needs to understand the business goals and economics behind the decisions they make. The Economics for Business podcast, with Hunter Hastings, is a great resource for innovators, covering topics such as complexity theory, customer value monitoring, process improvement and entrepreneurship. – Clay Miller, SyncDog
9. Hacking Humans
The CyberWire’s Hacking Humans podcast is one of my favorites because it takes a deeper look into what’s going on in the field of cybersecurity that’s focused on social engineering. The hosts provide a concise and engaging format that makes it easy to get the information you want while keeping you interested throughout each episode. – Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4, Inc.
10. Invest Like The Best
One of my favorite podcasts is Invest Like the Best, by Patrick O’Shaughnessy. It’s more about how to invest your time when building a business. The guests are generally entrepreneurs who talk about the “secret” insight that drives their business. – Wendy Chen, Omnistream
11. Lex Fridman’s Podcast
Lex Fridman’s podcast is second-to-none for deep, wide-ranging discussions with the brightest and most interesting minds in fields such as AI, ML, physics and mathematics. Each episode is two to three hours long, allowing Fridman to really dig into topics with his guests. For me, it’s a “can’t-miss” and by far the most thought-provoking podcast out there. – Paul Lipman
12. Like A Boss; Hipsters; Masters Of Scale
Latin America has an effervescent podcast scene. To keep up to date with the tech world, I recommend Like a Boss for its inspiring talks with great entrepreneurs and Hipsters, which discusses coding, UX, technological trends and much more. And in the U.S., there’s Masters of Scale, in which LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman hosts insightful, thought-provoking interviews with CEOs and leaders. – Lincoln Ando, idwall
13. Packet Pushers
Packet Pushers offers the best—and most entertaining—analysis of all things networking going, whether it’s about a technical deep dive or “pooh-poohing” the latest desperate technology takeover. There’s something for everyone here. – Jeff Paine, Pica8 Inc.
14. Pivot
I recommend the Pivot podcast. Hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway are super-smart, updated and highly connected to the people who matter. In every new podcast, I learn new things, and it makes me think about my own world and business. – Tzahi (Zack) Weisfeld, Intel Ignite
15. Product Talk
Product Talk, by Nikki Ahmadi, is a podcast you just can’t miss. Ahmadi is a very capable product manager, and in her podcast she explores different perspectives from successful tech executives and product owners and managers on product management. She asks the right questions, and her podcast is very insightful. – Afshin Doust, Advanced Intelligent Systems Inc.
16. This Week In Google
I enjoy listening to the This Week In Google podcast, hosted by Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Stacey Higginbotham and Ant Pruitt. First, I appreciate Higginbotham’s expertise in matters concerning the Internet of Things. Second, the podcast covers a variety of relevant topics, including connected and smart homes, IoT devices, smart services, and more, all presented in a positive and informative way. I highly recommend it! – Amir Kotler, Veego Software
17. This Week In Tech
This Week In Tech (TWiT) is an entertaining and long-running panel-format podcast helmed by the incomparable Leo Laporte. Laporte is a master of his craft, with decades of experience hosting similar shows in various media, and the knowledge, chemistry and humor are must-haves. I know people who listen to the new episode of TWiT multiple times a week—it’s that good. – Jonathan Gill, Backtracks