Resources - Podcasts (2/22/2016)

February 22, 2016    Podcasts Learning Programming

Pair of studio headphones on the floor

The Main Meals:

These are some of the podcasts that I listen to often.

Twit.tv - TWIT was the first podcast channel that I started listening to. Many of the podcasts are not coding related, rather general tech. I started watching much more of the network, but there is only so much time in a week so as I have added other podcasts to my list, I have had to cut down on the As of now, I listen/watch to these podcasts.

  • Security Now - Steve Gibson has one of the great security podcasts. He is a coder and as most programs we make require dealing with customer data, I think that it is a good idea to be in touch with the security pulse to make sure that I am doing what I can to keep my programs secure within reason.

  • MacBreak Weekly - I use a Mac and an iPhone. Even though I have Windows and Android devices, I like to keep abreast of the most profitable company in the world and the makers of the eco system that my technology is based in. While they are all journalists, many have great connections with the programmer that deal and have dealt in the eco system. I like to get the overarching view. Also, the MacBreak picks are the best on the Twit network and you will smile from something Andy Ihnatko says or does, at least once a show.

Devchat.tv - This is generally my favorite podcasting network at this time. Home of Ruby Rogues and several others, most Devchat podcasts consists of developers who are currently making a living doing development.

  • Ruby Rogues - This podcast has been so valuable that I have gone back and listened to every podcast they have done from the beginning. I highly recommend it. Josh Susser and James Edward Gray II were two that had much great insight in the earlier episodes. I still enjoy much of the content put out on their their site today.

  • Freelancers Show - If you are even considering going into freelancing this podcast is a must. I enjoy the way they will focus on a single topic for each episode and get the perspective of the guys on the show. I have gone back to listen to all the podcasts they have done.

  • Javascript Jabber - This podcast can tend to get very product/new framework focused, mostly due to the nature of the Javascript world right now. I do like keeping up on what is going on and popular in the Javascript world, even if I tend to focus on Ruby on Rails most the time.

Spec Network - The Spec network provides an umbrella for a bunch of different podcasts. I feel like you will be able to find anything you are looking for from them as they really do have a variety of different topics by technical people. I will say a majority of their podcasts have more ‘designer’ slant than the other podcasts I listen to. But my consistent listens are of the more ‘developer’ focused ones.

  • Developer Tea - This is a podcast by Jonathan Cutrell, he will often have guests on to talk about their stories. Guest or not, this podcast focuses on high-level topics like, learning, client relationships, interview prep, ect, rather than a specific language.

  • Does Not Compute - Also tends to be higher-level developer concepts by Sean Washington & Paul Straw. They state that they are about “the lives and workflows of modern web developers”. I would agree with this statement and enjoy hearing them discuss their takes on different concepts.

The Bike Shed - This is a podcast put on by 3 of the developers at Thoughtbot, a consulting company. They are Ruby on Rails developers by trade, but tend to talk about anything catching their interest, which often are other programming languages like Rust, Elixir, Haskell, ect. Generally, this podcast is a conversation between the 2 hosts who can make it, which tends to rotate. This provides a very ‘fly on the wall’ feeling as you listen to the conversation they are having.

Javascript Air - This podcast tends to be a deep dive into Javascript. The panelists they have are typically well known in the community and can provide a lot of insight into the language. There are typically a panel of 5 or 6 on a show and while this often leads to having too much ‘noise’ and opinions, I feel this show manages it really well. The one time it can get to be a bit much is when they do their “tips and picks”. Every person usually does a tip and a pick and it can really feel long. There are times I will just turn the show off at this point, as the rest of the show is just too good to miss.

Under the Radar - Technically, Under the Radar is a podcast about iOS development, but I always get a ton of value from it. First, it is done by Dave Smith and Marco Arment (from the Accidental Tech Podcast). I love Marco’s take on development and his general perspective on development issues. While I did not know Dave before this podcast, he has some very well known apps and I have grown to respect his opinion as well. Secondly, many of the concepts they talk about trancend the iOS world and are things that any developer making a product must consider.

The John Morris Show - John is quite the character. He is a PHP developer with some angst and opinions. While there are some sections of his podcast which are PHP related, most is high-level freelancer and developer concepts. If you tend to prefer the “everyone can be right” outlook, John may really get on your nerves. While I may not quite so opinionated, I have always, prefered polarizing people to non-opinions. As such, this podcast gets me thinking about why I may agree or disagree with John and usually I enjoy at least hearing his perspective. If you are familiar with the sports world, John would be the Colin Cowherd in my podcast list.

ShopTalk - I am not going to lie, there are definitely times where this show just gets on my nerves. They tend to be the exact opposite of what I described above; having the “every opinion is a winner” attitude and there can be a “rah-rah” type feeling. I dunno, maybe I just hate fun. All that said, much of their content is great and extremely educational. This is by far, the most designer focused podcast I listen to and because of that fact alone, I don’t get the insight anywhere else.

Release Notes - I have just recently started listening to this podcast. They claim to be “everything but the code”. As such, they tend to come at it from a very “business” sense, which I like. They run larger companies and seeing their perspective as opposed to the “indie” developer is very interesting to me. I recommend checking them out and seeing if they interest you.

Accidental Tech Podcast - Another regarding the Apple ecosystem. This one is a bit different as all the hosts are coders to different extents. It is good to hear the perspective from them as opposed to the journalists on Twit. They also tend to focus more on hardware specifications. The three hosts really make this show educational and incredibly entertaining.

Programming Throwdown - There can often be some time in between the podcast that they do, but when they are, they are really interesting. I find that I usually learn more about programming history with this podcast. I have gone back to listen to all the podcasts they have done.

Coding Blocks - These guys generally talk about high level coding concepts and tools through a .Net lens. I find that I learn a lot when listening to them and their different perspectives usually shows me.

Code Newbie - This deals with many of the things that beginners struggle with. Saron is very good at asking the questions that someone new to programming may ask. She seems to really have a grasp on thinking in a way to encourage and help a newcomer to feel like they are not alone.

5 Minutes of Javascript - This podcast is put on by the guys at Codeschool. It is great to hear a quick update on the Javascript news. This podcast can sound a bit scripted depending on the hosts, but the format makes few podcasts like it.


Occasional Snacks:

I will catch these podcasts as time permits and as they have subjects that seem to be of interest. A common theme with these will often be for me to listen when they talk about topics I am interested in.

.Net Rocks - This can be a great podcast, but they will focus on .Net often. I try to listen when they are focusing on more generic topics or languages that I deal with more often (javascript).

Hanselminutes - It is not to common for Scott Hanselman to focus on .Net/Microsoft issues, despite his position as Microsoft community evangelist. If not, I try to take a listen. I really appreciate his thought process and the way that he looks to include the community and have more be successful. I feel like he looks to have as many understand the technical world as much as possible.

Debug - This podcast really depends on the guest they have. I tend to look at the topic and try to determine my interest. I highly recommend any episode with Don Melton and Nitin Ganatra, particularly the 3 episodes they did together.


Decommissioned

There is only so much time in a day and as I add podcasts and life changes, so do the podcasts I am listening to. This list will also include podcasts which are no longer posting or seem to be cancelled (as they are no longer posting at this time).

Start Here - These podcasts seems to be cancelled. They lost one host and there has only been one episode since. I really liked it when it was going and it would be worth going back for a listen to some of the earlier episodes

  • Web Development - This podcast had great potential. They went through popular web languages and frameworks, which was nice to get overviews. I especially like that they talked about how to go about starting a project for a client. Even though it did not play out fully, there was a lot of great information and perspectives that they shared.

  • Ruby on Rails - In the first episode of this podcast, they talk about learning how to code. They make a lot of great recommendations and they talked about a similar type of learning as I talked about in my last post.

Twit.tv

  • Coding 101 - Officially cancelled at the beginning of 2016, I wish this podcast was still running. However, they got more ‘maker’ focused at the end and it they could combine the shows into one. This is also worth going back and looking through their modules to see if any languages pique your interest.

** Items in Bold are new additions from last post **