Over the last six months I have taken to the ultimate geek porno, software development podcasts. I line up the podcasts on my cheap-ass USB pen come mp3 player and go out on my bike, cycling to the rhythm of MVC, jQuery, and the Cloud. It has to be said though, I have learned quite a bit from this process. Anyway, I just wanted to document the list of podcasts that I’m currently actively listening to (in no particular order, other than that I prefer the one in first place to the one in second place 😉 ).

1. Stack Overflow – Hosted by Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood, think Laurel and Hardy, only funnier. I have been listening to this since podcast 1 and I’m pretty hooked. Topics vary from software management techniques to good/bad coding principles and practices.
2. Boagworld – Hosted by Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington. I’ve only been listening to this for maybe a month or so now but I like it. It’s not so much software development but web design but interesting topics and interviews all the same. Also, I would swear that Marcus Lillington is Noel Fielding, he sure sounds like him. This can actually be a bit disconcerting, as sometimes I think “is this just a couple of guys taking the piss out of computer geeks” – now that would be worth listening to.
3. Open Web Podcast – Hosted by Dion Almaer, John Resig, and Alex Russell. This started off well but there currently has not been a podcast for nearly a month so I’m losing a bit of hope. One thing I have to say about this podcast is that it tended to go into the topics in a fair bit of depth and when out on a cycle this maybe doesn’t sink in so much. You really had to be on the ball and up-to-date with the topic to have a full understanding. Also, I’m into a bit of humor whether intended or not, and this was maybe a little too serious. None-the-less still interesting.
4. WebDevRadio – Hosted by Michael Kimsal – variety of stuff on this podcast, I don’t tend to listen to it religously as it can be a little off topic to my interests at times.
5. Hanselminutes – Hosted by Scott Hanselman and Carl Franklin. This can tend to have a strong .NET bias which has put me off a little, but can sometimes have a topic that is of more general interest.

To summarise: a top podcast has to have an interesting people, interesting topics, and humour. Alternatively, it can just have humour, and this is why the Russell Brand podcast is one of the first I listen to each week. He’s not everybody’s cup of tea but I recommend a listen, you may be surprised. The show is at its best when Matt Morgan and Noel Gallagher are both in attendance but is always worth a listen.