Top 10 Podcasts for Product Managers

This post is from 2018! Check out my newer post on the Top 10 Podcasts for Product Managers in 2020 here:

Top 10 Podcasts for Product Managers in 2020

Subscribe to these podcasts and you’ll stay entertained all year long (and learn a thing or two!) Author: Alex Mitchell

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About a year ago, I wrote Top 10 Podcasts for Product Managers in 2017, which got a lot of traction both inside and outside of the Product community.

I’m still commuting to work on the DC Metro (now to Upside Travel) and still logging about 1 hour of podcast listening time each and every day.

Here is this year’s list of my favorites for Product Managers looking to crush it in 2018.

There are a few duplicates from 2017, that’s because they are still great!

Top 10 Tech Podcasts for Product Managers

Honorable Mention: The Modern Product Manager

Note: This podcast is produced by the writer of this blog post (Alex Mitchell)

The Modern Product Manager is your deep dive into important and relevant Product topics and questions:

How can you thrive as a Remote Product Manager?

What design skills do Product Managers need today?

My recommendation: “The 5 P’s of Product Management”

iTunes Link: The Modern Product Manager

Spotify Link: The Modern Product Manager

Honorable Mention: Freakonomics Radio

How can a podcast (largely) about behavioral economics be relevant for Product Managers? How can it not?

Listen to Freakonomics to learn more about the world around you and the way people behave in it. The lessons you learn will help you build, target, and market your product (whether consumer or business facing) more effectively.

My recommendation: 4/12/17 “What would our economy look like? (Earth 2.0 Series). Freakonomics ran a multi-part series in mid 2017 that explored what major parts of our world and society would look like if we started over from scratch.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519?mt=2

P.S. If you haven’t read the Freakonomics books, check those out too!

10. This Week in Tech

This weekly roundup of everything in tech is worth the (weekly) wait. Everything from Bitcoin to DeepMind to the Top 10 YouTube earners is fair game for TWiT.

My recommendation: Episode 644 “This Is Fine” In a week where Bitcoin touches $20,000 before pulling back to $15,000, everything else feels pretty normal. Get your weekly dose of tech delivered to your ears from TWiT.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-tech-mp3/id73329404?mt=2

9. Y Combinator

Y Combinator (YC), is passionate about finding, investing in, and developing great ideas. They are equally passionate about sharing what they’ve learned with whoever will listen. Subscribe to their podcast to learn an incredible amount about their portfolio companies and graduates.

My Recommendation: #53 “Be Wary of Solving a Small, Rare Problem” with Des Traynor of Intercom. Wait, you’re recommending listening to Des on YC’s podcast instead of on the Inside Intercom podcast? Yes. This episode offers great insight into learning how to say no and how to develop a true product strategy.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/y-combinator/id1236907421?mt=2

8. The TOP

Nathan Latka is a podcasting and marketing machine. On his podcast you’ll find an incredible number of interviews with small and mid-sized companies.

The unique thing about Nathan’s podcast is that he gets his guests to share a surprising amount about their business and their key metrics. From margins to revenues to subscribers, Nathan reveals what makes these companies so successful and their growth so rapid. If you’ve ever wanted to improve your understanding of SaaS metrics, Nathan is your guy.

My Recommendation: #868 “The Argument for Spending 100% LTV on CAC”. Listen to Nathan and guest Jan Lukacs (Paymo CEO) talk through acquisition costs and their relationship to Lifetime Value (LTV).

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-top-entrepreneurs-in-money-marketing-business-and-life/id1023761733?mt=2

P.S. Check out Nathan’s recently released book: How to Be a Capitalist Without Any Capital

7. TedTalks Technology

In 2017, TED split up their incredibly popular podcast into 10 category-specific podcasts. In the TedTalks Technology podcast, you can find lightening talks on some of the hottest topics in the industry.

My Recommendation: 12/11/17 “Free yourself from your filter bubbles.” A very topical conversation with Joan Blades and John Gable on how our highly curated real-world and social networks can lead to the creation of filter bubbles where we believe everyone thinks the same way as us.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tedtalks-technology/id470624027?mt=2

6. Inside Intercom Podcast

Intercom continued it’s impressive growth trajectory in 2017. See how they continued to keep the rocketship on course over the past year with their insider podcast.

My (NEW!) Recommendation: 12/6/17; Conversation with Fergal Reid, Machine Learning Strategist. Talk about a job title that didn’t exist a few years ago! See what you can expect from ML in the next couple of years and how you can integrate the tech. into your company.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/inside-intercom-podcast/id996103731

Thanks for reading! If you’re enjoying this post, I know you will enjoy the great content at The Modern Product Manager.

If you prefer books, I think you’d also enjoy Disrupting Yourself (How to Succeed in the New Economy) or Building Digital Products (Handbook for Product Managers).

5. Acquired

Acquired tells the stories behind the major tech deals. From Stitch Fix’s IPO to Beats’ acquisition by Apple, learn about the players involved, the negotiations, the power dynamics, and more.

You already know the ending, Acquired tells you how it came together.

My Recommendation: Episode 39: Whole Foods Market. The biggest tech acquisition of 2017 (Whole Foods by Amazon) is broken down in depth. Learn about the history of grocery + tech and what this acquisition means for the future of both industries.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/acquired-a-podcast-about-technology-acquisitions-ipos/id1050462261?mt=2

4. Equity

Similar to #10 (TWiT), Equity is a weekly summary of the major news in tech. Less discussion and more straight-to-the-point news than TWiT makes equity a faster listen (30 mins. vs. 2 hours) for your tech update.

If you follow tech news religiously, you may find that Equity feels like reading an old newspaper, but included in each episode are interviews and perspectives on major tech events of the week that you may not have considered.

My Recommendation: 12/7/17 #46 “Lyft’s driving fast, Blue Apron’s troubles and bitcoin infinity.” Get the stories behind these headlines that will have a major impact in the early months of 2018.

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/equity/id1215439780?mt=2

3. This Week in Startups

Angel investor Jason Calacanis kept his spot on my top 10 list this year by continuing to crank out HQ content with the top names in tech.

My (NEW!) Recommendation: Episode 778 “LAUNCH Scale” Greylock’s Josh Elman (prev. FB/Twitter) breaks down the only metric that matters for hyper-growth. What is that metric? You’ll have to listen to find out!

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-startups-video/id314461026

Check out Jason’s book here: Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups

2. Startup (Gimlet)

Startup continued to produce amazing content throughout 2017. Their departure from following just one startup through the trials of growth (or the lack of it) was risky. But, they managed to transition well and covered many compelling technology startup stories this past season.

My (NEW!) Recommendation: 11/9/17 “Dear Music Fans” Learn the history of Grooveshark, the first to market with an all you can stream music product. Why did they end up losing competitively to Spotify? You’ll need to listen to find out!

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-podcast/id913805339

1. Masters of Scale

Reid Hoffman (Greylock VC, LinkedIn founder) made a major splash in podcasting this year by launching Masters of Scale. He quickly climbed the podcast rankings with his frank, quirky approach to the medium.

Reid brings you behind the scenes for conversations with today and tomorrow’s leaders of tech. With each episode, he also shares what he personally has learned through his successes and failures as both a founder and a VC.

My Recommendation: #13 “The Big Pivot”. Learn how Stewart Butterfield, founder of Slack pivoted several times in HUGE ways over the course of his career to succeed with both image hosting (Flickr) and communications (Slack).

iTunes Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/masters-of-scale-with-reid-hoffman/id1227971746?mt=2

Check out Reid’s latest book here: Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies

What Did I Miss?

What podcasts did I leave off of my list this year? Which episodes are your favorites? Let me know on Twitter: Alex Mitchell

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