Hello again guys (and gals). I want to tell you about an addiction I have had since the early 2000’s. Along with heroin, I have done it religiously, for at-least an hour, every single day since I discovered it.
No matter how hard I try, I just can’t stop listening to podcasts!
All jokes aside, for me, podcasts have by far been the most useful tool for keeping up with an industry that seems to be changing its ‘standards’ at an increasingly rapid pace each year. Podcasts are great for keeping your finger on the pulse of the latest technologies and for expanding your knowledge on the tried and true technologies that you use every day.
Podcasts also allow you to soak up new knowledge without tying up 100% of your attention (like those damn books), and many podcasts are also actually funny as shit.
The podcasts I about to list out are definitely not funny as shit, but are sources that I personally use to keep up with the most notorious of all the shifting software ecosystems/stack/whatever they are calling it nowadays. Dun dun dun ….. JavaScript.
JavaScript Jabber
What can I say, the name says it all. This podcast is a must listen for any developer who makes their bread and butter writing JavaScript. JavaScript Jabber is a weekly podcast that features round table discussions and interviews on everything JavaScript; including tools, frameworks, language concepts and a host of other random topics related to the technology.
JavaScript Jabber is a part of Devchat.tv, a podcast network with a host of other programming related podcasts, some of which have also made it onto this list.
Adventures in Angular
Adventures in Angular is another great podcast that falls under the DevChat.tv banner. As you can probably guess by the title, they talk about all thing Angular.js, though they do sometimes stray from the main focus of the show to discuss other topics/issues relevant to JavaScript and software development as a whole.
Obviously, if you are not an Angular developer, and have no interest in learning about the technology, it is fair to say that you will not miss much by skipping this one.
Node Up
Honestly, 70% of the time Node Up is a pretty boring podcast, however it can sometimes be entertaining and informative provided that you are interested in node.js and the surrounding technologies. I personally have a vested interest in keeping up with Node.js, so I generally go out of my way to listen to every episode. I am not going to lie though, It definitely can be a chore sometimes.
The Changelog – (Some JavaScript)
The Changelog is a weekly podcast that covers everything open source, however it tends to lean towards more technical topics. The podcast is a mix of interesting and informative interviews with founders from various open source projects, as well as a few round table discussions thrown into the mix. The Changelog podcast is a great way to keep up with the open source programming community, and is a must listen for EVERY developer regardless of your preferred technology.
Software Engineering Radio – (General Programming)
Software engineering radio is a great educational resource aimed at “professional” programmers. Like Node Up, many of their episodes are formed around topics that are (almost) objectively dull and better suited a lecture room in a higher learning institution. Listening to them back to back will become quite tiresome very quickly. Thankfully however, there are usually one or two episodes per month that covers topics of general interest to developers who care about their craft.
I am sure there are a host of other podcasts I could have listed out (e.g. Developer Tea and Eat Sleep Code), however these are these are the ones that I personally listen on a regular basis.
Do you listen to any podcasts that you think I should have included in my list, send me a message in the comments below or hit me up on twitter (@adrian_gordon).