The best developers are always in motion. They learn fast, adapt faster, and never stop looking for an edge. Podcasts are one of the easiest ways to stay sharp, offering a steady stream of insights and inspiration you can plug into anytime.
Whether you're deep in code or guiding a team, the right voices in your ears can challenge how you think, spark new ideas, and help you grow into the kind of developer you want to be.
Here are 15 of the best podcasts for developers, curated with the X-Team mindset. Stay curious, build boldly, and Keep Moving Forward.
Level Up Your Code
Perfect for new or aspiring developers or for anyone looking to grow their technical knowledge.
CodeNewbie Podcast
Host: Saron Yitbarek
Episode Length: 45 minutes
Quick Take: CodeNewbie makes software development feel human and accessible. With inspiring stories from people who’ve transitioned into tech — and those still finding their way — it’s the ultimate companion for anyone starting their dev journey.
Why You Should Listen: If you’re just starting out, CodeNewbie helps you build confidence fast. Each episode offers practical advice and a clear reminder that progress comes from showing up and learning as you go.
Talk Python to Me
Host: Michael Kennedy
Episode Length: 60 minutes
Quick Take: Talk Python to Me is essential content for Pythonists. It hosts discussions with experts across data science, web frameworks, and machine learning — making it easy to stay fluent in one of the world’s most versatile languages.
Why You Should Listen: Paul DeMott, chief technology officer at Helium SEO, calls Talk Python to Me “my go-to when I want to stay current on how Python is being used outside the typical boundaries.” One episode on Python’s role in data analytics “kicked off a test project that turned into a permanent upgrade to our data pipeline,” he noted.
Developer Tea
Host: Jonathan Cutrell
Episode Length: 15 minutes
Quick Take: Developer Tea delivers short, focused episodes that help you think more clearly about code, career, and growth. It’s a perfect listen for busy devs who want to pause, reflect, and work with more purpose.
Why You Should Listen: As Peter Lewis, CEO at Strategic Pete puts it, “These are rapid fire. Ten minutes of signal through the noise. Perfect when your head's fried but you gotta feel like you're still learning.”
Syntax
Hosts: Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski
Episode Length: 30–60 minutes
Quick Take: Syntax is a fast-moving front-end podcast covering JavaScript, CSS, and the tools shaping modern web dev. With great chemistry and sharp insights, Bos and Tolinski make complex topics feel approachable and surprisingly fun.
Why You Should Listen: Syntax makes it easy to stay current without getting overwhelmed. It strikes a rare balance between technical depth and genuine entertainment, so you learn without it ever feeling like work.
Think Bigger
These shows zoom out and help developers step into a strategic mindset by exploring the ideas, technologies, and decisions shaping the future of software.
Acquired
Hosts: Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
Episode Length: 3 hours +
Quick Take: Acquired tells the stories behind the world’s most iconic companies — how they started, scaled, and made the key decisions that changed everything. With deep research, long-form episodes, and sharp commentary, it’s a masterclass in business and strategy.
Why You Should Listen: Kyle Sobko, CEO of SonderCare, calls Acquired “hands-down my favorite,” explaining that “it’s not about code — it’s about how iconic companies are built, and as someone building tech with startups daily, that context is gold.”
Latent Space
Hosts: Swyx (Shawn Wang) and Alessio Fanelli
Episode Length: 60 minutes
Quick Take: Latent Space explores the real-world impact of AI, cutting through the noise to focus on what’s working in production. The conversations are thoughtful, technical, and grounded in real engineering experience.
Why You Should Listen: Latent Space is, as DeMott puts it, “one of the more forward-looking shows out there right now.” It “dives deep into AI topics without getting lost in buzzwords,” offering insights that translate directly to engineering practice.
The Hanselminutes Podcast
Host: Scott Hanselman
Episode Length: 40 minutes
Quick Take: The Hanselminutes Podcast spotlights the people, principles, and perspectives shaping tech. Hosted by longtime developer and advocate Scott Hanselman, it covers everything from accessibility and equity to community and culture.
Why You Should Listen: Hanselman brings in thoughtful, often underrepresented voices and digs into what really matters. If you care about inclusion, leadership, and building a more human-centered tech culture, this belongs in your rotation.
CoRecursive
Host: Adam Gordon Bell
Episode Length: ~45 minutes
Quick Take: CoRecursive is where software engineering meets storytelling. With a narrative style that digs into real-world dev challenges and career-defining moments, it’s a must-listen for those who want to understand the why behind the what.
Why You Should Listen: Hone John Tito, co-founder of Game Host Bros, describes CoRecursive as “life-changing,” praising the way it reveals the “real behind the scenes of developers’ work.”
Lead Boldly
Podcasts for developers who are scaling teams, defining culture, and navigating the challenges of technical leadership.
Keep Moving Forward
Host: Caleb Brown
Episode Length: 30 minutes
Quick Take: Keep Moving Forward, X-Team’s own podcast, explores what it means to stay driven, lead well, and keep growing. Featuring guests who live the KMF ethos, it’s for developers who want to stay intentional and inspired as they take on bigger challenges.
Why You Should Listen: This podcast cuts to the core of what it takes to lead with intention — from the habits that shape strong teams to the mindset that keeps you growing.
Dev Interrupted
Hosts: Dan Lines, Ben Lloyd Pearson, and Andrew Ziegler
Episode Length: 45 minutes
Quick Take: Dev Interrupted features candid conversations with engineering leaders on how they ship faster, scale smarter, and lead better. Think of it as your unofficial manager’s manual.
Why You Should Listen: This podcast gets straight into the real-world challenges of leading engineering teams — from delivery pressure to cultural scale. You’ll hear how top leaders make decisions, fix what’s broken, and build teams that thrive.
The Pragmatic Engineer
Host: Gergely Orosz
Episode Length: 90 minutes
Quick Take: The Pragmatic Engineer looks at what really works in software engineering. Hosted by Gergely Orosz — former engineering leader at Uber and author of one of tech’s most respected newsletters — it’s straight talk from people who’ve built and led teams at scale.
Why You Should Listen: Described by Carlos Aponte, Senior Consultant, as “the podcast that I rarely miss,” The Pragmatic Engineer is a go-to for engineering leaders who want real insight into how top teams operate.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
These podcasts help you stay current with evolving tools and trends — perfect for developers who want to stay connected to the conversations shaping the industry.
Software Engineering Daily
Host: Originally Jeff Meyerson, now Gregor Van and Sean Falconer
Episode Length: 45 minutes
Quick Take: Software Engineering Daily is a high-frequency feed of conversations with engineers solving today’s biggest tech problems. Whether it's AI infrastructure or new programming paradigms, this show makes sure you’re never out of the loop.
Why You Should Listen: This show helps you keep up with what matters without getting overwhelmed. As Danilo Coviello, founder of Espresso Translations, says: “It is helpful for getting a sense of what is going on in the technology world without getting a headache.”
Software Engineering Radio
Host: SE Radio team
Episode Length: 60 minutes
Quick Take: Software Engineering Radio is for developers who want to understand systems at scale. With guests who live and breathe architecture, workflows, and testing, it's a textbook in podcast form — only much more fun.
Why You Should Listen: Each episode delivers focused, technical insight from engineers who know their domain inside out. These are the kinds of conversations that sharpen how you think as a builder.
The Changelog
Host: Adam Stacoviak and Jerod Santo
Episode Length: 90 minutes
Quick Take: The Changelog shines a light on the maintainers, hackers, and creators who keep open source vibrant and weird. Long-form and low-filter, it's the place to hear what’s next in the dev world before it hits your feed.
Why You Should Listen: John Yensen, President at Revotech Networks, calls The Changelog out for “understanding the human side of open source and community contributions.” It’s a front-row seat to the people shaping the tools you use every day, plus early insight into emerging projects and ideas.
Coffee with Developers
Host: Tim Bornholdt
Episode Length: 60 minutes
Quick Take: Coffee with Developers is all about real-life stories, wins, lessons, and the occasional rant. It’s like grabbing a coffee with someone from your dev Slack — only they’ve built something really cool.
Why You Should Listen: Guests share what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s a low-friction listen with takeaways you can bring straight back to your own work.
The Best Developers Never Stand Still
Great developers keep learning, stay curious, and put their growth into action.
These podcasts do more than entertain. They offer real insight, fresh ideas, and the kind of energy that helps you lead, build, and stay sharp.
Start listening to Keep Moving Forward today.
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