Programming podcasts

As a developer it’s often hard to stay current with your field. New technologies and new ways of doing programming pop up every day, it’s difficult to know if you should invest any time in learning them or if they are just passing fads.

Podcasts are a great way to get exposed to these new things: if you commute, jog, travel, you can easily use that time away from the computer to get better informed and reflect about our field.

I have a 20 minute walk between home and my office. That’s more than 3h of free time per week that I can spend thinking, listening to music or getting entertained and educated through relevant podcasts.

These are my preferred shows so far:

**[Hanselminutes][1]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][1itunes]
A 30 minute or so podcast about technologies, usually closely or distantly related to Microsoft development. Scott is an excellent interviewer and his [blog][1a] is a must read too.

**[Herding Code][2]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][2itunes]
A 60 minute show with a bunch of well-known developers, [K. Scott Allen][2a], [Kevin Dente][2b], [Scott Koon (Lazycoder)][2c], and [Jon Galloway][2d] discussing wide-ranging topics with their guests.

**[.Net Rocks][3]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][3itunes]
The unavoidable 60 minute grand-father or all .Net podcasts. Funny and always informative. Also check out the related [DnrTV][3a] for on-topic screencasts, excellent for getting started on a new technology.

**[The Polymorphic podcast][4]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][4itunes]
A nice podcast, the host, Craig Shoemaker, is a great inteviewer. Only drawback is that shows are not regularly produced.

**[The StackExchange podcast][5]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][5itunes]
Sometimes random, mildly irritating at times (guests sound quality, audio sync between guest, ramblings about Stackoverflow’s principles) but usually both enlightenning and funny. Topics revolve around [Stackoverflow][5a] and the various [StackExchange][5b] sites. It’s always worth listenting to [Joel Spolsky][5c], he tends to see clearly in an industry that often borders on the BS.

**[This Developer’s Life][6]** [![Subscribe with iTunes][itunes]][6itunes]
Last but not least, a beautifully produced podcast that covers more philosophical topics through interviews and real-life experiences. It’s not about technology, it’s about the human aspect of being a coder, and what it means to be one.

Whichever you choose, any of these podcasts are bound to expand your knowledge, educate and entertain you!

[itunes]:/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/viewinitunes_enbws.png
[1]:http://www.hanselminutes.com/
[1a]:http://www.hanselman.com/blog/
[1itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hanselminutes/id117488860
[2]:http://herdingcode.com/
[2a]:http://odetocode.com/
[2b]:http://weblogs.asp.net/kdente/
[2c]:http://lazycoder.com/weblog/
[2d]:http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/
[2itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/herding-code/id284067914
[3]:http://dotnetrocks.com/
[3a]:http://dnrtv.com/
[3itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/.net-rocks!/id130068596
[4]:http://polymorphicpodcast.com/
[4itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/polymorphic-podcast/id73330909
[5]:http://blog.stackoverflow.com/category/podcasts/
[5a]:http://stackoverflow.com/
[5b]:http://stackexchange.com/sites
[5c]:http://www.joelonsoftware.com/
[5itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-stack-exchange-podcast/id279215411
[6]:http://www.thisdeveloperslife.com/
[6itunes]:http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/this-developers-life/id389727545