Product management podcasts are popular but let me be honest: I haven’t listened to any of them. I’m still figuring out how to make time for listening to podcasts, but that didn’t stop me from collecting all the best recommendations for you to listen to.
The following list is credited to people I highly respect from my team and wider product circle, who have all pitched in their favorites.
In addition to several shows about product management, engineering, and design – there’s funny and philosophical commentary on the tech industry, stories of startup success, and some good old brainfood that will get you thinking.
From big media names to the small independent shows you’ve never heard of (yet!), here are the product management podcasts you should be listening to.
Product Management Podcasts
Product Thinking – This product management podcast offers a 360 view of the field and is hosted by the great Melissa Perri. She wrote “Escaping the Build Trap,” which we ranked as one of the best product management books.
In each episode, Perri “will connect with industry leading experts in the product management space, and answer your most pressing questions about everything product.”
One Knight in Product – Here’s a podcast “aimed at people involved in designing, managing, building or marketing products.” Jason Knight interviews lots of folks you’ve probably heard of, including yours truly. I was a guest on Episode 23.
Product-Led – Product-led growth (PLG) is a buzzworthy concept, so it’s no surprise there’s a podcast dedicated to it! This show “dissects how world-class product leaders are using their product to grow their business.”
Episode topics can be very growth-oriented, about sales or customer experience, but there are also episodes such as, “The Role of Product Vision in PLG.”
Product Coffee – Product Coffee releases half hour episodes in which “Product Management Leaders share stories, advice, and thoughts on all things product.” Topics can range from prioritization models, to customer research, to team morale.
Product Science – Product Science is “for startup founders and product leaders building high-growth products, teams, and companies.”
In true product manager form, each topic is presented as a “hypothesis” from the guest, and the episode is dedicated to exploring it. Check out the episode with Marty Cagan, author of two landmark books about product management.
The Product Experience – A weekly podcast from Mind the Product that features in-depth conversations about “solving real problems, developing awesome products, building successful teams and developing careers.”
Product, Explained – Native only to Twitter and the podcast app nearest you, this show “dives into the companies, history, and strategy behind popular tech products.”
Fearless Product Leadership – I’ve said that a key to becoming a great product manager is to read as many playbooks as you can, i.e. listen to the stories and lessons from fellow product leaders.
In this podcast, Hope Gurion, product leader coach at Fearless Product, interviews product leaders from B2B & B2C at all stages of growth. “In each episode she asks for 5 perspectives on how product leaders handle a tough responsibility of the role,” delivering 5 playbooks at once.
100 PM – This podcast’s mission is to “interview 100 active product managers – from startups to enterprise and everything in between.” You’ll hear loads of playbooks with this show!
They stopped releasing regular episodes in 2020. But occasional new ones might pop up on your feed, like the most recent, “Are OKRs o-v-e-r?” with Christina Wodtke, author of “Radical Focus.”
Product-related podcasts
Engineering
Developing Leadership – Here’s a podcast for engineering leadership, “about the ins and outs of managing software teams at different stages of your business.”
Topics stay pretty specific to leaders, but there are some episodes that could benefit anyone interested in engineering today, including an episode for engineering leaders to send to their CEOs.
Crafting Code – These software developers consider themselves craftsmen and revere the art of writing code. They share experiences and advice about software development. Here’s their own words: “Your hosts discuss the importance of doing the right thing, at the right time, with the right tools. To us, this is one of the keys to software craftsmanship.”
Soft Skills Engineering – This is an advice podcast designed “to help software developers level up their engineering skills beyond writing code,” covering everything related to work and navigating your career. The two hosts answer listener questions on air, so you could even submit one of your own!
Marketing
Everyone Hates Marketers – Don’t be turned off by the name! This podcast is actually all about supporting marketers and anyone who’s invested in the business’ growth… which is everyone. Louis Grenier shares “no-fluff, actionable marketing insights so you can stand out—without being sleazy.”
Topics circulate around marketing initiatives, like community building and conversions, but also include episodes about launching products and how to use customer research to design better products.
Design
UX Maturity – The goal of this podcast, hosted by London-based designers Leonardo Mattei and Susan Zhuang, is to help nurture the design community and specifically to “help designers identify and improve the maturity within their teams.”
Topics aren’t strictly about aesthetics! Episode titles range from “Fun and Whimsy” to “Conflict Resolution.”
Tech industry news and commentary
Pivot – From Vox Media at New York Magazine, Recode’s Kara Swisher and NYU Professor Scott Galloway serve up “sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics. They make bold predictions, pick winners and losers, and bicker and banter like no other.”
This is a great choice if you’re into the intersection of tech trends, current events, and witty commentary.
Vergecast – From the Verge, this podcast is hosted by two journalists who are often joined by big names to discuss the latest news in tech. The show offers an “irreverent and informative look at what’s happening right now (and next) in the world of technology and gadgets.”
Business lessons and musings
Acquired – This podcast tells the stories of the biggest IPOs so that you can “learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.”
They’ll occasionally have guests, such as the CEOs of Twitter, Sequoia Capital, or Mozilla. And the show’s previously been rated the #1 Technology show on Apple Podcasts, so maybe worth checking out?
The Disruptive Voice – A business theory podcast out of Harvard Business School that explores “the theories of disruptive innovation across a broad set of industries and circumstances with academics, researchers, and practitioners who have been inspired and taught by Professor Clayton M. Christensen.”
Episodes focus on a wide range of topics, from how startups build using the Jobs-to-be-Done framework to how Johnson & Johnson is using “principles of disruption” to improve global healthcare.
Work life
Make Things That Matter – Andrew Skotzko explores modern work life and how we could be “using science to unleash creative performance and thriving teams.” If we spend so much of our lives working, shouldn’t we be doing impactful stuff?
In particular, check out the episode with Teresa Torres! She discusses the ideas from her book, “Continuous Discovery Habits,” which we listed in our top 10 best books about product management.
Generally interesting, brain stimulating stuff
The Knowledge Project – Farnam Street promises to deliver brain food through your ear drums in this podcast, which “draws out key lessons and timeless insights so you can master the best of what other people have figured out.”
Topics run the gamut, but you can filter specifically for subjects you’re interested in, including Business & Leadership or Decision Making.
Hidden Brain – If you’re a podcast fan, you’ve probably heard of this one already. This massively popular podcast “explores the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior and questions that lie at the heart of our complex and changing world.”
No Such Thing as a Fish – A UK favorite from the creators and researchers behind the BBC game show QI. As described on the website, “Dan, James, Anna and Andy discuss their favorite facts unearthed in the past seven days.”
The podcast combines science and comedy, has won several awards, and now even has a television spin-off and a live tour. Pick your format!
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