
Podcasts for Hackers - joshuacc
http://designpepper.com/podcasts-for-hackers
======
2arrs2ells
NPR's Planet Money Podcast: <http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/>

Lots of examples of people hacking various economic systems (i.e. buying
dollar coins to get airline miles) as well as the occasional economics behind
tech podcast (Marco Arment & JoCo were both featured recently), and a great
way to get a sense of the macroeconomic landscape.

~~~
firefoxman1
I also love the Motley Fool podcast. They have a lot of great info packed into
each episode, while staying true to the Motley Fool style of humor and
amazingly simplified explanations of complex topics.

------
awolf
I highly recommend Back to Work.

The signal to noise ratio is a problem, but we're talking about some pretty
high quality signal and some pretty hilarious noise.

Yes: Merlin can be _extremely_ rambly and he often has a hard time staying on
topic, but when he is on, he's on. The last three episodes have been
especially great on topics such as risk, valuing yourself, and looking at the
big picture in determining how to live your life and career. They resonated
very well with me as someone who has taken the plunge of quitting my job and
working on my own apps and projects.

------
spacemanaki
99% Invisible is in the same category of general nerdy podcasts like Radiolab
(i.e. not just meant for programmers). I think this show specifically would be
interesting to hackers, on manufactured sounds for digital interfaces, but
there's a lot of good stuff in the archives.

[http://99percentinvisible.org/post/3230995265/episode-15-the...](http://99percentinvisible.org/post/3230995265/episode-15-the-
sound-of-the-artificial-world)

~~~
radicalbyte
The podcast might be nice, but for some reason they don't publish links to the
mp3 in their podcast RSS feed.

Ironic to see a podcast about design making a simple UX mistake like that.

~~~
mmahemoff
I'm not sure which feed you're looking at.
<http://invisible99.podbean.com/feed/> does have mp3 enclosures.

------
alain94040
It may be time to start a news podcast, the "hacker new podcast", where 3 of
the top HN users discuss the day's headlines and comments on HN - 5
minutes/day.

Think of it as a summary of HN for HN fans who don't have the time to read all
the comments.

~~~
leot
Slate's Gabfests would probably be a good model for these. They're really
entertaining to listen to, and very insightful.

They've never discussed it explicitly, but their "formula" seems to include:

\- usually at most three main topics (occasionally more)

\- a closing bit of silliness

\- they make sure everyone has had time to prepare something to say on the
topics to-be-discussed

\- each person has a computer handy (but I never hear anyone typing, which is
nice)

\- they have some facility for including external audio (for discussion, e.g.,
music or ads)

\- one person leads the discussion, trying to keep people on topic, and making
sure that a transition happens to the next one at the right time

\- keep the podcast between 45 and 60 minutes, fairly consistently

\- they release it at a regular time

\- it's weekly, and comes out at a regular time

~~~
mmahemoff
As another Gabfest fan, I'll add: \- Community involvement. Live shows and a
facebook fan page which they stay active on, and refer to during the show. \-
Good mix of regulars, semi-regulars (usually other Slate people), and
occasional guests.

------
sergioramos
Think Vitamin Radio: <http://thinkvitamin.com/podcast/>

{ cast }: <http://www.curlybracecast.com/>

A Minute With Brendan: <http://www.aminutewithbrendan.com/>

FunctionSource Show: <http://functionsource.com/tags/podcast/>

------
mmahemoff
A few podcasts I like which focus more on broad technology trends, tech in
society, and the future:

* Seminars About Long Term Thinking: <http://longnow.org/seminars/> A little like TED, but longer talks and more focused on tech and long-term thinking. Don't miss Brewster Kahle's recent talk about the Internet Archive ([http://longnow.org/seminars/02011/nov/30/universal-access-al...](http://longnow.org/seminars/02011/nov/30/universal-access-all-knowledge/)).

* Triangulation: <http://twit.tv/tri1> Interviews with tech luminaries on the TWIT network

* Technometria: <http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/series/technometria.html> Interview/conversations led by Phil Windley, creator of IT Conversations, which is also worth checking out (<http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/> ; the original home of the StackOverflow/StackExchange podcast).

------
biafra
2600's Off the Hook - <http://www.2600.com/offthehook/>

And there are several very good german podcasts:

Chaosradio - <http://chaosradio.ccc.de/>

Chaosradio Express (CRE) - <http://cre.fm/>

mobilemacs - <http://mobilemacs.de/>

~~~
Derbasti
Funny how German podcasters pretty much unanimously decided not to do ads or
sponsoring while american podcasts are often littered with ads to the point
where it gets unbearable.

Compare and contrast the TWiT network or 5by5 with Tim Pritlove or BitsUndSo

~~~
Radix
Isn't the TWiT network a bit of a special case with Leo Laporte trying to
monetize and self produce the same niche of programming he was doing with the
Screen Savers back on ZDTV? There isn't much of a choice when the point of the
screen casts are that they should be your job. Also it helps that we're
conditioned to see adverts everywhere.

~~~
haakon
There was a time when TWiT was funded exclusively by donations, making a point
of not taking ads in order to stay independent. At some point I guess the
temptation become too big.

------
bootload
how could _"StackOverflow"_ not be listed here? love listening to this show
because it is a) technical & b) funny in a _"Statler and Waldorf"_ sort of way
~ <http://blog.stackoverflow.com/category/podcasts/>

and also ByteIntoIt, a real radio show also podcasted & streamed ~
<http://www.rrr.org.au/program/byte-into-it/>

~~~
VMG
will there still be a stack overflow podcast though after Jeff quit stack
exchange?

the last episode is from december 8th 2011

~~~
scorpion032
No. It was mostly on open discussion between Jeff and Joel (There are so many
"Let's discuss this after the podcast") about stackoverflow.

It is not going to be. In fact, it has not been ever since Jeff discussed his
exit with Joel. (2 months since)

------
joelrunyon
The Lifestyle Business Podcast - <http://www.lifestylebusinesspodcast.com/>

Great podcast about the intersection between business & lifestyle - focused on
bootstrapping and hacking your own business to get them off the ground.

------
polyfractal
Stanford's "Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar" is pure gold if you are
looking for high-level business, innovation and entrepreneurial discussions.

<http://etl.stanford.edu/>

------
cjm
NodeUp! <http://nodeup.com>

------
eliam
Don't forget about the Java Posse - <http://javaposse.com/>

------
pacemkr
Software Engineering Radio: <http://www.se-radio.net/>

------
jchrisa
<http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/> has some classic stuff. worth searching
their archives. (Woz is good, and Jon Udell)

------
AbyCodes
No Podcast list is complete without mentioning Software engineering radio:
<http://se-radio.net>

This compilation of podcasts by Skilldrick has some real good ones:
<http://skilldrick.co.uk/2011/08/podcasts-i-listen-to/> Especially, The
Changelog and FLOSS weekly.

Also another small compilation from infoq:
<http://www.infoq.com/news/2011/09/archcasts> I especially enjoy On
Architecture with Grady Booch:
[http://www.computer.org/portal/web/computingnow/onarchitectu...](http://www.computer.org/portal/web/computingnow/onarchitecture)

Stack Overflow (now stackexchange, you can find the old episodes on
itconversations), and techzing podcasts are packed with wit and humor.
Listening to Joel, Justin and Jason, brightens any day.

I also subscribe to Compucast:
<http://computersciencepodcast.com/podcasts.html> and Channel9:
<http://channel9.msdn.com/>

Herding Code: <http://herdingcode.com/> and radio free python:
<http://www.radiofreepython.com/> are on my "to listen" list.

------
petercooper
Thanks for including some that I'm involved in! :-) I want to suggest two
others (which are not mine):

Founders Talk - <http://5by5.tv/founderstalk> \- a frequent interview podcast
with founders, true HN style. The guests are often programmers.

Mixergy - <http://mixergy.com/> \- same as above but with more of a business
slant. Mixergy is huge though and Andrew is perhaps as much a "friend of HN"
as we could get IMHO :-)

~~~
joshuacc
Not a problem. I really enjoy your shows.

 _smacks head_ Not sure how I missed Mixergy. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll
add them momentarily.

~~~
petercooper
Oh, and can't believe I forgot <http://thechangelog.com/> also :-)

And.. <http://herdingcode.com/>

<http://hackermedley.org/> was one of my all time faves for.. 5 episodes.
Sadly they stopped doing it but every episode was awesome.

~~~
starfox
The pilot episode on GSM security was my favorite one.

------
stevepdp
There's a great collection of podcasts here: <http://hackermedia.org/> and
here: <http://www.thelinuxlink.net/>

The 2600 family of shows: <http://www.2600.com/offthehook>,
<http://www.2600.com/offthewall> and the Hackers On Planet Earth conference
archives: <http://blip.tv/2600magazine/rss>

Security now: <http://twit.tv/sn>

This Developer's Life: <http://thisdeveloperslife.com/>

The Linux Action Show:
<http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/linuxactionshow/>

Techsnap: <http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/show/techsnap/>

Ubuntu-UK Podcast: <http://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/>

Free As In Freedom (The Software Freedom Law Show):
<http://www.softwarefreedom.org/podcast/>

------
znake
I´d suggest: Hypercritical: <http://5by5.tv/hypercritical/> The Big Web Show:
<http://5by5.tv/bigwebshow/> The Critical Path: <http://5by5.tv/criticalpath/>
This Week in Startups: <http://www.thisweekinstartups.com/>

------
Jare
Creative Coding Podcast: <http://creativecodingpodcast.com/> \- Flash, HTML5,
Processing, OpenFrameworks, or anything graphics and interaction-related.
Frequent interviews with developers. Irregular.

LostCast: <http://www.lostdecadegames.com/> \- HTML5 game development. Fairly
recent and not terribly hardcore. Irregular.

------
ndubya
ThisWeekInStartups.com

Jason's show and network is what gave me my entrepreneurial spark a year ago.
Great guests and great content. He does need to move the show to SF though.
You can only interview LA founders for so long. I've really enjoyed the shows
the past few weeks @ CNet and Waze because he has interviewed some of the most
prominent tech startups.

~~~
phil303
Completely agree. The show itself has great content. Jason is a smart guy who
is humble enough to be engaging and relatable, and confident enough to ask the
right questions and make poignant comments. (Only caveat to this statement is
the mailchimp ads. The "eee eee eee" part of these ads make me cringe every
time.)

I really would like him to move up to the bay area too but part of me think
he's able to take a more critical perspective on startups because he's not
physically immersed in the SV culture. It would be really cool to run into him
in a starbucks or something though.

------
oliverdamian
I recommend Econtalk <http://www.econtalk.org/>

In addition to the good topics on economics, they also cover technology, e.g.
Kelly on Technology and What Technology Wants -
[http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/11/kelly_on_techno.htm...](http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/11/kelly_on_techno.html)
or Hazlett on Apple vs. Google -
[http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/10/hazlett_on_appl.htm...](http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2010/10/hazlett_on_appl.html)

My latest favourite is Taleb on Anti-fragility -
[http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/taleb_on_antifr.htm...](http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2012/01/taleb_on_antifr.html)

------
rookiejet22
The Morning Stream (<http://frogpants.com/tms>) is a particularly good
podcast, although the subject matter does not usually contain any programming
or indeed tech related material. The banter, and chemistry between the show's
co-hosts, and the interesting assortment of trivia that is often on stock
brightens my mornings, and the time that I spend on drudge work. I usually
listen to silence, or music with no lyrics, mostly jazz and electronica when I
have to concentrate on the task at hand. Podcasts are a huge distraction
vector for me personally, or at least were till I banned them from my assigned
work hours. Nonetheless `The Morning Stream' is highly recommended.

------
hepek
I cannot recommend more the BBC Radio4 In Our Time talks:

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/in-our-time/>

They cover different topics, from philosophy to history, and they always have
the most interesting guests.

------
Ecio78
Thanks for this article and comments, I usually listen to Justin and Jason's
TechZing but here there are some links very interesting (i.e.
<http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/>, i've seen they put a transcript of
every episode so it's useful for me, i use podcasts also to improve my
english)

A suggestion for podcast authors: if you cant put a full transcript, at least
try to have an abstract (with link,s people, societies etc..)

------
dscape
This is obviously missing nodeup:

* Got all the core team members talking about where nodejs is going * Does live events with 150 people nerding out and drinking beer.

It's an obvious miss.

------
HiredGuns
Landing Page Optimization by Tim Ash
[http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/landing-page-
optimization...](http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/landing-page-
optimization/id308016010)

Thou not as frequently updated lately, it's extremely informative podcast on
landing pages, data analysis and consumer behavior in relation to web pages.

------
Mad_Dud
€uroTr@sh: Information Security Podcast -
<http://www.eurotrashsecurity.eu/index.php/Main_Page>

Using this opportunity I would like to propose to organize some kind of
streaming channel (on twitch.tv or similar) about hacking/coding.

------
aaronmoodie
Thanks for the list. A friend recently did one as well, which was a bit more
general, though has some good tips.

[http://makenosound.com/2012/01/06/podcasts-worth-my-
time.htm...](http://makenosound.com/2012/01/06/podcasts-worth-my-time.html)

------
boxysean
CBC's Spark podcast: <http://www.cbc.ca/spark/>

Recent stories: Limor Fried on Open Source Hardware, Cory Doctorow on the War
on General Computing, Don Tapscott on the Future of Crowdsourcing.

------
radicalbyte
In the same way that Planet Money is being recommended, I have to suggest Dan
Carlin's excellent Hardcore History:

<http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hh>

------
rmason
There's a new one called <http://deductivedevelopers.com> with Matt Woodward
and Peter Farrell who both have a long history with open source.

------
bromagosa
I love James Robertson's Independent Missinterpretations podcast about
Smalltalk: <http://www.jarober.com/rss/blog_podcast.xml>

------
jgroome
Perhaps not for "hackers" per se, but Shop Talk (<http://shoptalkshow.com/>)
is worth a listen if you're a front-end developer type.

------
alexholehouse
Not specifically "hackery" but Buzz Out Loud is a pretty fantastic tech
podcast;

<http://www.cnet.com/buzz-out-loud-podcast/>

------
glennwiz
PaulDotCom Security Weekly <http://www.pauldotcom.com/>

Good podcast discussing tech, hacking, sec , exploits and more

------
feedelli
Quintessential hackers podcast: Thomas Gideon's Command Line Podcast
<http://thecommandline.net/>

------
daniel_iversen
More related to startups than hackers (but so is Mixergy which is on the
list), This Week in Startups (or TWiST), is very entertaining!

------
densh
I would definitely add The Changelog [1] to the list.

[1] <http://thechangelog.com/>

------
marcospolanco
Steve Blank's Customer Development Podcast <http://clearshore.net>

------
schlecht
Forgive me, but what has "This Developer's Life", and "The Ruby Show" got to
do with "hacking" exactly?

~~~
dalke
"This Developer's Life" is my new favorite podcast. It's introspective, and
covers the mental, emotional, and personal side of the life of hackers. And it
has great background music.

~~~
schlecht
I think you have the term "hackers" mixed up with Fortran/AJAX/.Net
developers.

~~~
dalke
You say this on a forum titled "Hacker News"? What definition of hacker are
you using?

I'm using definition 3 from Merriam-Webster, "an expert at programming and
solving problems with a computer", and that is the most compatible meaning for
this forum.

~~~
schlecht
I see.

------
theone
I was just wondering, if there is any equally great podcast for
HTML/HTML5/CSS/CSS3 hackers.

------
abdelm
Aren't there any Python-related podcasts? Seems like everything is either Ruby
or JS.

~~~
SammyRulez
here a good one to add to the list <http://radiofreepython.com/>

------
gdg92989
YayQuery! <http://yayquery.com/>

------
joshuacc
Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I will try to update the post soon.

------
waterloomatt
php and java would be excellent!

------
mahmud
EconTalk

------
DodgyEggplant
techzing

------
platzhirsch
Software Engineering Radio <http://www.se-radio.net/>

~~~
doncote
+1

------
stevofolife
Thanks for the link!

