Here at Gizmodo Australia, we love a podcast, but we love a podcast more when it’s talking about something in the tech realm, be that a mini-series or a weekly podcast dedicated to the technology space.
Podcasts are a dime a dozen, but too much choice can be a bad thing. So, we decided to round up suggestions from the team – here are the best tech podcasts, according to us.
13 best tech podcasts
Just a note that all links embedded below are for Spotify and in most cases, the links are defaulted to the latest/last podcast from each.
Bad Blood: The Final Chapter
By now, we’ve all heard the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, but there’s something about being walked through the whole saga by the person who broke the story, John Carreyrou, to really get you going. The last episode covers the verdict handed down in 2022.
Radiolab
Although not just tech, the Radiolab podcast does a great job of weeding through some of the more human parts of the online world we find ourselves in. It comes recommended by Sarah, David, and Maya, and I trust their judgement.
The Vergecast
It might be a little strange promoting the work of a rival publication, but you gotta give credit where it’s due. This tech podcast comes highly recommended by Mateus who reckons it’s one of the best industry wrap-ups out there.
Ologies with Alie Ward
Ologies with Alie Ward comes recommended by Maya and, while I’ve not listened as yet, the sell is really doing its thing: “Volcanoes. Trees. Drunk butterflies. Mars missions. Slug sex. Death. Beauty standards. Anxiety busters. Beer science. Bee drama. Take away a pocket full of science knowledge and charming, bizarre stories about what fuels these professional -ologists’ obsessions. Humorist and science correspondent Alie Ward asks smart people stupid questions and the answers might change your life.”
Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
I just finished listening to Spellcaster on Saturday, when the news broke that once-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried was headed back to jail. SBF was the brains behind fallen crypto exchange FTX and the whole story would be unbelievable, if you didn’t know it was true. As with the story of Theranos, this one is delivered by the journalist who exposed the allegations that led to SBF and FTX’s downfall.
Tech Won’t Save Us
Jie reckons Tech Won’t Save Us is one of the best podcasts out as it weeds through the crap and snake oil of the industry and discusses the human consequences of technology.
Search Engine
If you were a fan of Reply All, you might have followed PJ Vogt to his next pursuit, Crypto Island, which explored the world of cryptocurrency and the weird human stories behind the blockchain. He’s now using that feed for a new show, Search Engine, where he explores the kind of questions you usually can’t find online. (He was the inspiration for this article).
Download This Show
Staying local for this one, and friend of Gizmodo Australia, Marc Fennell, has a fabulous weekly podcast where he discusses all things tech. Guests of the podcast include me, but also my peers – although it’s produced by the ABC, Download This Show has a great community vibe about it where Fennell steers the chat and poses questions to Australian tech journalists and experts in a way that makes it relevant to Aussies.
Volkswagen Diesel Scandal (American Scandal)
I’ve listened to everything Wondery’s American Scandal program has put out – it’s phenomenal gear and a good collection of 4-6 episode series’ that are delivered in such a unique manner. This miniseries has five episodes, which, as you can guess, tells you the story of that time Volkswagen cooked its emissions testing.
Logged On
A monthly series exploring all things internet culture, from memes, to emerging trends, to deep web conspiracy theories, and beyond. Host Günseli Yalcinkaya dives into the micro and nano cultures of sigma males, Deleuzian catboys, techno-spirituality, and psyops, and brings on experts to help make sense of what these words mean and how they’re changing the world.
Tape Notes
Bianca, who moonlights as the powerhouse behind the Aussie band Grenade Jumper, wanted to bring to your attention Tape Notes. While she said it might be “a wee bit of a stretch”, she touted the podcast as giving artists the space to not only talk about their music, but the nerdy stuff too, such as the gear/software they used to make their records.
Huberman Lab
This podcast comes recommended by Laura, and another four people gave it the thumbs up in our company Slack chat, so surely if you’re into the neuroscience part of our tech world, Huberman Lab is the best podcast for you. Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, so you know he’s more than qualified to give you the goods.
The Kotaku Australia Podcast
And last, but not least… Our friends over at sister site Kotaku Australia have a podcast where they talk all things gaming. We might be a little biased, but we love seeing our team kick butt and you’ll definitely find that here.
That’s it for now, happy listening!