Podcasts I like listening to (2026 edition)
I have published another post like this almost two years ago. I like listening to podcasts even more than I did back then, when I only just started diving into this world.
Sometimes I really like the silence. Other times, podcasts accompany my training regime, my chores and my (short) commute when I’m going to the office and not working from home.
Let me say that I’m not going to differentiate between technology, society, politics and other topics. Everything is political. Especially technology. This is something which could perhaps be overlooked from a privileged position many years ago, but that’s not possible anymore without willful ignorance.
I’ve tried organizing the podcasts according to my listening habits, the order within categories doesn’t have any particular meaning.
Never miss an episode
These are the podcasts I listen to every time they publish.
Tech Won’t Save Us
Tech Won’t Save Us is unfortunately even more relevant than it was back in 2024. The CEOs of the tech industry sat in the front row of the current president of the US of A’s inauguration and there’s really no way to overlook their allegiance.
The tech industry and the political project goes hand in hand, and we have to push back. This podcast offers practicable ways to do that and also provides a lot of background on what’s going on.
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
(The description on YouTube contains links to other platforms. I don’t actually listen on YouTube.)
How could you not like what Jon Stewart is doing? Back in the days, the Daily Show was my introduction to the world of humorous political and societal commentary. I also like the other hosts of the daily show, the long form interviews on the weekly show are something special though.
404 Media
I’m one of those people who do not read all the articles 404 Media publishes, but I’m definitely listening to the podcast episodes where they talk about the stories they wrote. They have recently started publishing a series of interviews where I’m more selective, though I’m interested often.
Gute Frage!
A new podcast from the makers of the Republik online newspaper. I hope they keep it going. I’m also diving into other podcasts from Republik.
Meyer:Wermuth
I’m not even a member of the party (SP/PS), but I know some of the politicians personally and the podcast is a good way to get their insights.
Le Show
Le Show was recommended by a good friend who has roots both in New Orleans and Switzerland. I like the way the show mixes critical commentary on Politics, the AI hype, our smart world, the church and other topics with great musical interludes.
Regular rotation
These are podcasts I usually listen to but might skip some episodes.
Trash Future
I don’t think the Future is trash and I somehow, maybe despite the fact that I sometimes feel I should know better, don’t believe it is bleak either. I don’t think the makers of these podcasts genuinely believe that either. That said, black humor helps with coping, therefore this is a listen I always look forward to.
Django Chat
I always have a great time listening to news about my favorite web framework and especially my favorite web framework community.
Volksverpetzer
Volksverpetzer is the anti fake news podcast by the german Volksverpetzer team. The name is hard to translate because it’s both a joke and a pun. I won’t even try to explain it and instead link to their own about us page.
Datenschutzplaudereien
This is still required listening for people working with customer data in Switzerland.
Soft Skills Engineering
This is always a nice listen. The podcast has been recommended by Tim I think. I have to say I almost always skip the first 5 minutes. The questions are great and there’s still a lot of banter to be had after the introduction.
Oxide and Friends
I could listen to Bryan talk all day long. I’m sure I’m not the only one, maybe he himself included.
Talk Python to Me
A well-established podcast about my favorite programming language with interesting discussions about Python and the broader ecosystem.
Selective/Topic-based
These are podcasts where I pick and choose episodes based on the topic or guest.
SRF Podcasts
There’s no single show I always listen to, but the selection is impressive. Interviews with leaders, philosophy, politics. I think it’s especially important to mention this in these days, because some people want to slash public funding for the fourth estate. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that those people are mostly aligned with the political right. They would probably like if billionaires had more power about our media as well. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that and definitely throw in a resounding NO! in the public referendum coming soon.
Rust in Production
When Oxide and Friends are not talking about Rust I have to get my fix somewhere else. I don’t work with Rust but I think it’s currently one of the most genuinely interesting programming languages.
core.py
I didn’t find a site for this, but I like this established podcast about my favorite programming language.
DOS Game Club
This is a fun one, especially when I have played the game discussed in the past, but more often than not also when I didn’t.
The Ezra Klein Show
The podcast is often not critical enough for my taste, but some topics and guests are still really interesting and worth the listen.
Honorable mentions
These are podcasts I still like but listen to less frequently, or they serve a specific purpose in my current work.
Hanselminutes
A long-running technology podcast that I still enjoy when I catch an episode.
React Native Radio
I’m working on a large React Native project these days or months, and RNR is a way to learn more about this technology.
Weird Studies
I really like this podcast because of its strangeness, though I listen less than I did two years ago.
Leavers
Some podcasts are too lighthearted or too centrist for my taste and I have stopped listening to them, not as a statement, just as a fact. There’s no point in listing them, since they are well made and I think listening to them is still much better than losing interest in our society.