The Best Tech Podcasts

    (From Netflix's "Manifest" Season 1 Episode 10. I've made this pic).

This post (from February 2020) was updated with additional tech podcasts (September 2021).

- The recommendations from February 2020: 

L.A. has the worst traffic in the world. 

Since I'm spending most of my days on its bumpy roads, I decided to turn this unpleasant experience into something beneficial. This is how my tech podcasts addiction started. 

They make the traffic problem bearable and help me keep my finger on the pulse of the tech industry. Win-Win. Now, I'm gladly sharing my recommendations with you.

• It is in NO particular order. I love them all.

Recode Decode

Description: Recode's Kara Swisher hosts candid interviews with tech execs, politicians, celebrities, and more about their big ideas and how they're changing our world.

Fascinating episode: "Anna Wiener: The dark side of the tech industry's seductive culture."

Warning label: You'll wonder how Kara manages to do so much in one day while you're just listening to one of her trillion in-depth interviews.

* In 2019, Recode Decode won the "Adweek Podcast of the Year" Award. Well-deserved. 

Queen Kara paved the way for all the others in the Vox kingdom and beyond.

Pivot

Description: With great power comes great scrutiny. Recode's Kara Swisher and NYU Prof. Scott Galloway offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the way technology is shaping business and culture across media, advertising, politics, and more.

Fascinating episode: "Gloves off over privacy, from Apple to Microsoft to Grindr. PLUS Scott's big 2020 bets."

Warning label: You'll start describing actions as a "Gangsta move!"

Reset

Description: Every story is a tech story. We live in a world where algorithms drive our interests, scientists are re-engineering our food supply, and a robot may be your next boss. 

Vox's Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why - and how - tech is changing everything.

Fascinating episode: "The Airbnb Scam." Interviews with Mike Isaac and Allie Conti.

Label warning: You'll start saying bye to friends using "Later, Nerds."

Land of the Giants

Description: In less than two decades, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos scaled an online marketplace for books into the world's most valuable company. But at what cost? The podcast addresses Amazon's rise to power with detailed, thought-provoking, measured reporting from host Jason Del Rey. This show offers never-before-told, behind-the-scenes stories for the Amazon-obsessed. 

* Season 2 would focus on Netflix - I can't wait.

Fascinating episode: "Is Amazon Too Big? We Ask Its Sellers."

Warning label: You'll feel less good about yourself the next time you order something using Amazon's one-day delivery.

First Contact

Description: Laurie Segall hosts a weekly podcast series that explores the people and technology that are changing what it means to be human. First Contact brings listeners engaging and thought-provoking interviews with some of the biggest names in tech in ways we can all relate to.

Fascinating episode: "Ex-Facebook Security Chief Speaks Out on Russia & Spies in Silicon Valley." An interview with Alex Stamos.

Warning label: You'll start thinking about your first contact with the people around you.

TechDirt

Description: The Techdirt Podcast, hosted by Mike Masnick. Each episode begins with an essay, followed by a discussion, covering topic areas that are less news-driven and instead more about larger ideas/concepts that we think are worth discussing.

Fascinating episode: "The Past & Future of Section 230." An interview with Prof. Jeff Kosseff.

Warning label: There are ways to make tech dirt-free. You'll just need the right shovel.

The Information's 411

Description: A weekly podcast by The Information, a subscription tech news site doing deep dives and investigative looks at the tech and media industries. Each episode highlights some of the major happenings in the tech business world. Host: Tom Dotan.

Fascinating episode: From all of the serious episodes, I decided to choose the funniest one: "Finding Humanity in (HBO's) Silicon Valley." An interview with Thomas Middleditch and Zach Woods about the most hilarious (and sadly accurate) show about Silicon Valley.

Warning label: The rest of the coverage from "The Information" requires a subscription. Their reporting is always unique and important, but it's your choice, of course.

Bonus: Five more episodes

From Business Casual: "All Nerds Not Welcome: Why Tech's Diversity Problem Matters." An interview by Kinsey Grant (Morning Brew Newsletter) with Reshma Saujani (Girls Who Code).

From This Week in Google: "Our Best of 2019." Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis & Stacey Higginbotham debate while presenting opposite perspectives on various tech stories.

From TED Talks Technology: "What obligation do social media platforms have to the greater good? | Eli Pariser.

From The Daily: "The End of Privacy as We Know It?" An interview by Annie Brown with Kashmir Hill, the technology reporter for The New York Times, about her Clearview-AI expose.

From Today Explained: "Shaken like a polarized picture." An interview by Sean Rameswaram with Ezra Klein. Most of this podcast's episodes are not really into tech, but they are incredibly informative. What can I say? Vox knows how to produce great podcasts.

- September 2021: 

Big Technology Podcast

Description: The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world, featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators. Alex Kantrowitz, a Silicon Valley journalist who's interviewed the world's top tech CEOs – from Mark Zuckerberg to Larry Ellison – is the host.

Fascinating episode: "Does YouTube Radicalize? A Debate Between NYT's Kevin Roose and Software Engineer Mark Ledwich."

Warning label: In-depth conversations. Nothing extreme and includes nuances. So, those are the types of conversations that you are probably not used to but should.

Sway

Description: Power, unpacked. "Sway" is a new interview show hosted by Kara Swisher, "Silicon Valley's most feared and well-liked journalist." Now taking on Washington, Hollywood, and the world, Kara investigates power: who has it, who's been denied it, and who dares to defy it.

Fascinating episode: "Why Ashton Kutcher and Julie Cordua Are Defending Apple."

Warning label: The toughest questions possible. Brace yourself; Kara is coming.  

Build For Tomorrow

Description: This is a show about the unexpected things that shape us and how we can shape the future. Hosted by Jason Feifer, this show was previously called Pessimists Archive.  

Fascinating episode: "How To Live Like Ancient Royalty."

Warning label: Jason Feifer is probably the last tech-optimist standing. In an era of Techlash, it's fascinating.   

Sudhir Breaks the Internet

Description: The Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh is hosting a podcast about the digital revolution. In each episode, Venkatesh draws from his connections to interview the people who are building and running the digital world and those who are using it in a signal way, digging deep into their motivations and challenging their priorities.

Fascinating episode: "The Garbage Can Model of Decision Making."

Warning label: The last episode was in May 2021. So… stopped altogether? I don't know. I hope it will return.

 

Give them a listen and thank me later.

If you have any additional recommendations, please do share.