Podcasts that I regularly listen to
I have a long commute to and from work. I could spend those hours yelling at other drivers or I could spend it learning something. After years of the former, I have found much more peace in the latter.
I also listen to many of them while I work as long as I’m not doing something that needs my complete attention. I also listen to audio books from audible.com after I have caught up on all of the podcasts. I’ll go over the books that I’ve listened to (over and over again) in another post later.
Here is a list of podcasts that I regularly listen to. These are the ones that I learn the most from and the ones that I trust the most for what’s happening.
Twit.TV Network
The Tech Guy – This is always a good take on the home electronics consumer market. I used to take calls like this as a repair guy in Ann Arbor and many of the calls bring me back to my roots. I often find myself yelling the answer at the iPod but Leo never seems to hear me.
Windows Weekly – Great Podcast to keep up on the inside scoop of the Microsoft world. Paul stays pretty comfortably in the home consumer market but he does occasionally salt his podcasts with some good IT content. It’s always interesting to hear his take on the politics at Microsoft. I sometimes wonder why he’s not on the panel of The Cranky Geeks.
Net@Night – Amber always serves a heaping scoop of the cool, the strange, and the ugly. She must be clicking the “Stumble!” button for hours to come up with some of the weird and sometimes very useful links that she reveals on her show. Leo adds the polished tone and linear structure to make this podcast a hit for anyone looking for a website to waste some corporate time and resources on. Come on, who really surfs this stuff after they punch out?
MacBreak Weekly – This is one that I most recently started listening to. Now that I have a MacBook Pro, I am always interested in what is happening in the ever flaunty world of Apple. This is actually really well prepared and accurate information that I’ve grown to rely upon. They have been going on and on about the iphone lately but I’m expecting that we’ll get back to the computing world eventually.
This Week in Tech – This is the king of all panel podcasts out there. Every participant is highly respected in their fields. I am glued to this one with every new episode. If I were going to participate in a podcast, this is the one that I’d feel most at home with – Cranky Geeks is a close second, though. 
Digg Nation – What’s not to enjoy about a couple of drunk dudes talking tech? If I had friends, these are the kind of people I’d hang out with. Successful, rich, and drunk – Now that’s a role model for every geek if I ever saw one. This is a Must Watch for anyone. Anyone who can create technology like Digg and Revision 3 and still keep it real at the same time deserves a lot of respect from me. Their liver is probably trying to bury them but I give them a Digg.
C|NET Live – Ok, this is probably the most corny and/or cheesy podcast that I watch/listen to. These guys often give mainstream answers to amateur questions but in between these annoyances, there are little nuggets of goodness. It’s very well produced and the hosts are never boring. Sometimes I think that they talk about linux to seem cool but I can look past that as long as they keep bringing some good content into the mix.
JetSet Podcast – She’s like your average like girl who like is animated and stuff but the sorta animation kinda takes away from the stuff she’s kinda talking about. Yea. I actually enjoy this one sometimes even though I feel a bit emptier after some episodes. Really, though, she is very talented and delivers something cool and new with each episode. You just have to get over her weird attempts to be unique to appreciate it.
The Lean blog – My company is a Scanlon organization. We have practiced lean principles for over a decade and I am a firm believer in the lean philosophy. Our CEO was mentored by one of the original Lean Manufacturing guru’s and that is a major benefit for our company. It’s like having Daniel Larusso heading your Dojo – or something less corny but equally profound. Anyways, the podcast is a seriese of interviews of execs that have embraced Lean principles and have made it work in their organizations. It can be a bit dry sometimes but there are some good ones in there, too.
Scanlon Leadership Netw
ork Podcast (EPIC) – This podcast actually has an interview with our CEO – Myron Marsh. He is one of the great leaders in Scanlon and Lean Manufacturing. The interviewer is very professional and keeps things moving so that the interviews do not stagnate on one issue for too long. If you work in a manufacturing environment, this is highly recommended. You can never go wrong with the Lean approach as long as you embrace it fully.
The Cranky Geeks – These guys are right up my alley. I listen to them on my morning commute because that’s when I’m most cranky. While I think that John can be a bit out of touch sometimes, I think that he gets a harder rap than he deserves. You’ve got to give him credit for staying as credible and relevant as he is for a man of his age. He adds priceless humor and toung-in-cheek arrogance to the show that nobody else could do. He’s truely the Rush Limbaugh of the Geek world. The other guys on the show are cool, too.