25 podcasts to listen to for business lessons and inspiration

This post first appeared on Mention.

When I first started working in public relations back in 2008, companies were jumping on the podcast bandwagon with enthusiasm. Then, as trends do, the enthusiasm fizzled in the B2B space, while shows in the pop-culture and B2C space continued to flourish.

But now, podcasts for business are all the rage…again.

I’m listening to Startup podcast from Alex Blumberg (previously with This American Life) at this very moment. Friends of mine — the team at Dating Ring— are on episode 14 and are the focus of season two! Although it and Paul Jarvis Jason Zook’s Invisible Office Hours are the only podcasts I listen to religiously, I’ve enjoyed seeing the resurgence of podcasts in the business world over the last year.

It’s notable to add that this trend has gone far beyond media organizations, with tech companies launching their own podcast programs as marketing tools, some very successfully. With a low barrier to entry, it makes sense — all you really need is a good microphone, Skype, and a solid Internet connection.

We’ve even featured a podcast on our own blog, thanks to the help of our friend Clark at Technology Advice.

With all of this buzz, we wanted to know what other podcasts we’ve been missing out on, so we asked our friends. Here’s what they had to say!

1. Startup (from Gimlet Media)

Eric Stevens, Interactive Designer for GE & Founder of Asmbly

Alex Blumberg documents his personal journey of building Gimlet Media in real-time. Startup is a behind the scenes perspective of how an idea evolves to a pitch to a partnership and, well, a startup.

2. Startups for the Rest of Us & 3. Reply All(Gimlet Media)

Rob Carpenter, VP of Marketing,Front

Geared for entrepreneurs, designers, and developers, Startups for the Rest of Us is providing advice on how to launch software products. If you love the weird world that is the Internet, you’ll love Reply All.

4. The Unmistakable Creative & 5. On Being

Carrie Jones, Editorial Director, CMX

In The Unmistakable Creative, Srinivas Rao sources some of the most inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs. He does a great job of pulling out people’s stories and identifying creative turning points. I often find myself following most of his guests closely after I hear them on the podcast.

I also love On Being, a show answering “what does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live?” It’s by far my favorite podcast, but not at all business-related.

6. Smart People Podcast

Nathan Bashaw, Product Designer,General Assembly Dash

Smart People Podcast is awesome – they basically just identify people who have done amazing things, and then spend an hour talking to them to help all of us benefit from their experiences. The interview style is very direct, and they pick awesome people. Worth listening!

Numbers 7-12 are brought to you by…

Sofia Quintero, Head of Growth,Geckoboard

7. Product People

I love this podcast by Justin Jackson because it gives you a very detailed view of what it takes to launch products and reach market fit. If you are into product development, this is a very inspirational yet practical podcast.

8. Tim Ferriss Show

If you need a dosage of thinking big, the Tim Ferriss Show will do the trick. Amazing interviews with great thinkers, entrepreneurs, and extremely talented and accomplished people.

9. Invisibilia

Invisibilia offers great entertainment and educational value. They apply great storytelling to psychology and the reasons why we do what we do.

10. The Gary V Show

I listen to Gary Vaynerchuck for the same reason I listen to rap music: It helps me to get into the right attitude to kick ass everyday.

11. James Altucher Show

I love James’s honesty and crazy approach to interviews. It is a bit similar to the Tim Ferriss Show, but with a bizarre twist.

12. You Are Not So Smart

This podcast will make you question everything you think you knew about yourself.

Numbers 13-17 are brought to you by….

Gilles Bertaux, Growth Manager, Mention

13. This Week In Startups

Jason Calacanis brings us insights from popular startups.

14. Design Details

Brian Lovin from Buffer shares really cool tips and inspirations on designing user interactions.

15. Call to Action Podcast

Cool marketing tips from the Unbounce marketing team.

16. a16z Podcast

Insightful discussions on startups, venture capital, and management from Benedict Evans and Ben Horowitz.

17. Dorm Room Tycoon

Really cool interviews of popular startups founders, such as Product Hunt, Meetup.com, The Verge, Y Combinator, Typekit, and more.

Numbers 18-20 are brought to you by…

Solene Maître, Head of Product, Mention

18. The Product Hunt Podcast

I love how natural, frank, and transparent founders are talking about their products and their stories. It’s the best way to learn from product builders.

19. Context Matters

I was sold on “Context Matters” when they tackled the issue of gender in their very first episode.

20. The Valley Girl Show

Might sound super cliché for you, love it though!

I shared this post to reddit, asking for additions, and there were so many great suggestions I just had to share them.

21. Startup School with Seth Godin

Evan Bashir, Product Developer

Seth’s podcast is podcast is extremely practical, and covers the a-to-z for everything Startup related.

22. Board and Brilliant from WNYC’s New Tech City

From reddit user: “Sometimes we are looking to technology (reading, blogs, podcasts, etc.) for inspiration when really what we need is wander, dream and sometimes be bored, in order to come up with ideas worth building.”

23.  99% Invisible with Roman Mars

From reddit user: “I’m a cofounder of a quickly growing SaaS company, and I have a long commute every day, and I’ve cycled through almost all of the startup & tech podcasts that are out there. There are so many good ones, really. But what I’ve found lately is that the podcasts that really make me think, change my frame of thinking, and have been more impactful to me in my business thinking are ones that have nothing to do with technology or startups, but rather those that explore storytelling and the human experience.

In this vein, I love On Being, 99% Invisible, Theory of Everything, The Truth, The Allusionist, Story Collider, and Here Be Monsters are among my favorites. Not necessarily business related, but still valuable in helping you expand your thinking.”

24. Starting From Nothing – The Foundation Podcast

From reddit user: “It’s a good listen, and has tons of legitimate guest speakers, from Wet Shave Club to Woo Themes, and their backgrounds and how they got where they are. This one keeps me motivated as a lurker/wantrepreneur.”

25. The Growth Show

Hubspot’s podcast with CMO Mike Volpe.

Want more?

You should definitely check out the podcast collection on Product Hunt — it’s a solid group.

Do you have any must-listen podcasts to add? Share them in the comments below!

Read Next: Keep track of the best startup and entrepreneur podcasts with Interviewed.io