19 Podcasts Designers and Developers Should Subscribe To

Sometimes you feel like reading the cramped font type that most websites use and sometimes you just want to close your eyes, rub your temples and relax with a nice glass of wine as you listen to the smooth tones of designer and developer podcasts.

Or did I just mix up designer podcasts and K-billy’s Super Sounds of the Seventies weekend again?

1) Shoptalk

The Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert hosted Shoptalk is a fantastic podcast about user experience, as well as web design and development. On the show, they take the questions users ask and in the process give us deep and detailed insights into the development and design world. Well worth checking out!

2) The Bike Shed

Check out The Bike Shed podcast, hosted by Laila Winner, Sean Griffin, and Derek Prior. They explore the problems and challenges that they themselves have had with such software as JavaScript, Rails, Ruby and others. Also, the show has sponsorship opportunities, which gives an added incentive for checking it out.

3) A Life Well Wasted

Okay, I like computer games (and Reservoir dogs) and this podcast is about video games and people who love them. So I might be biased. Still, it’s a fantastic little series to check out (even if it’s no longer on air) and allow yourself to be cross-fertilized. Okay, that sounds dirty.

A dirty mind is a joy forever. (That comment has nothing to do with the show).

4) Responsive Web Design Podcast

I’ll give you two guesses to figure out what this one about. Here, McGrane and Marcotte interview guests to find out and discuss Responsive Web Design (did I just give the concept of the show away?) with the field’s big names. If this is where your interest lies are sure to take the time and listen in.

5) Data Stories

You might think data is boring. You’d be wrong. And this podcasts proves that. A great podcast about data visualization and web development and well worth it not just for designers and developers, but everybody who’d like to work with data and infographics.

6) The Web Platform Podcast

Interested in Polymer, Ruby, HTML, CSS, SVG and such? Then I present to you The Web Platform Podcast! Catch their weekly show and get a discount on O’Reilly in the process.

7) The Five-Minute Geek Show

Five minutes can change your life. Just ask somebody who has been shot at. This little show is like a shot in the arm if you need some great insights – add to that that they shoot off two episodes per week and you’ll be well supplied with useful tips and tricks.

They don’t just discuss design and development, but also try to help you shoot for a more balanced life as a designer and how you can deal with facets of the freelance life as ‘Notifications, Procrastination, and Distraction’ and ‘Being a Remote Employee Ain’t Easy’.

8) Happy Monday

A wonderful little podcast to turn the 9^th day of your working week into a slightly more joyful experience. Sarah Parmeter really does a great job with this one, with it covering some interesting stories.

9) the changelog

This one’s all about open source developments and in the process can offer you a real leg up if you’re trying to run your design and development on a shoestring. This is surely worthy of checking out.

10) Responsive Design Podcast

Justin Avery interviews some of the big names and allows us a real view of what it’s like to be at the cutting edge. AS I am so far from this place I need to cut lemons with a hammer to keep my gin tonic habit going, this is definitely one I try to check out regularly.

11) Web Design Agency Podcast

The Web Design Agency Podcast all about assisting webmasters, designers, and website owners as well freelance developers in how to deal with their design. The hosts are particularly good at what they do, possibly because of all the experience they have, with Mat Newton being an SEO expert as well as digital marketing and Ben running a company that performs web design.

12) The Gently Mad

Though I couldn’t tell you why I have an affinity for the self-admitted mad. Perhaps that’s why I like Adam Clark as much as I do. Or perhaps it’s just that he’s a great host, as he discussed the life of design and development as well as business and how to be an entrepreneur in this area.

13) Three Devs and a Maybe

Starting out in PHP? Then this one is for you! Check it out and get a good grasp of this area and others. Yes, it can get a little technical, but if that’s not what you wanted to do then perhaps you should have considered a different career – may I suggest teaching finger painting at a kinder garden?

Oh and they’re very funny (though as you might have noticed, I might not be the right person to judge).

14) Boagworld

Paul Boag hosts this one and it covers a very wide range of topics about design, development, and blogging. He really covers a lot of ground, which makes it perfect if you just want to hear some interesting insights over a wide range, rather than getting specific advice about a specific topic.

15) Let’s Make Mistakes

There is such a fear of mistakes in our modern society that just the name of this podcast makes it a winner. But it’s so much more than the name of this one that makes it work. This is a fantastic podcast, which is hosted by Mike Monteiro and Leah Reich, is really worth checking out!

16) The Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots

No, it’s not another anime podcast (do those actually exist?) Instead, it’s a podcast where the hosts are joined by guests who mainly come from the thought-bot team. Obviously, they talk about their work and development and design processes. What’s more, there’s a lot of talk about how to make design and development fit together.

17) This Developer’s Life

A great little podcast for the starting designer, where it’s possible to get a look into the development lifestyle – both in terms of how it is to live that way and to work that way so that you can then decide if this what you want. Even a little bit more experienced people can benefit as this site has stuff not just about the work, but about what it will do to your life as well.

18) Iterate

A great little podcast to check out the recent trends in technology, web design, and development, the show centers around the hosts talking about their experiences, with the occasional guest to spice things up.

19) Developer Tea

Another good one for the newcomers, Developer Tea has some useful tips and advice to get you started, while going in depth enough that even if you’re a little bit more advanced you can still learn something.

This article is written by Rick Riddle. He is a successful blogger and content manager at UrgentEssayWriting.com whose articles aim to help readers with digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and self-development. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.