Being a constant learner is a core value at Shopify, and you’ll often find Shopifolk discussing their recent discoveries in Slack. Back in March, we tapped into these conversations to round up our tech talent’s top book recommendations to share with you.
This time we took our quest for knowledge to another popular medium—podcasts. These days you can find thousands of podcasts on almost any topic that interests you, and the tech space is no exception. We even have an entire collection of internal podcasts, including Context, founded and hosted by our CEO, Tobi Lütke, in which each episode unpacks a high-level concept or decision behind Shopify.
We asked our tech talent which podcasts they’re tuning into and curated a list of their favorites. Whether you’re in the mood for something quick and informative, or witty and conversational, we think you’ll find something on this list you’ll enjoy.
Software Engineering Daily
Software Engineering Daily is one of my favorite engineering podcasts, and one that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys writing or learning about modern software. The podcast covers a wide variety of technical topics and does especially well at deep-dives into popular open source technology. The founder and host, Jeff Myerson, conducts thoughtful, well-researched interviews with a variety of engineering leaders and always approaches these topics from a software engineer’s perspective. Even though the conversations are technical, the podcast does a great job at distilling them into manageable subway ride length segments. Another bonus of Software Engineering Daily is that its mobile and web apps are all open source, and listeners can contribute to them on Github.
Eric Mustin, Production Engineer
ShopTalk
ShopTalk Show is a weekly podcast from developers Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert. They talk about anything from React to Docker and everything in between. I enjoy listening to ShopTalk because it focuses on front-end web development while performing the impossible task of being informative, entertaining, and most of all, hilarious. Their slogan sums up their podcast perfectly: “Just build websites.”
Jason Addleman, Senior Developer
Syntax
Syntax is a very approachable podcast that caters to the modern web developer in the JS stack. This podcast came out right when I was graduating from a coding bootcamp, and I was trying to absorb any and all things JS. The hosts are both well known and respected within the community. When I started listening, I found the content easy to digest, and the hosts always throw in some witty banter to keep you entertained. Years later when I hear something new announced in the JS world, I’m interested to see if they have an episode out to get their take on things. Not all episodes are about web development, and I enjoy the break from my day-to-day focus.
Heather Knowlton, Developer
Soft Skills Engineering
I’ve always enjoyed blogs like Ask A Manager that dive into thorny work problems. So, I was delighted when I discovered the Soft Skills Engineering podcast. It’s like an old-school “advice column” but specific to the software industry—with a dash of silliness and humor thrown in. Each week, Dave Smith and Jamison Dance take 30 minutes to answer two listener submitted questions and use that to explore what makes a successful software engineer, beyond just coding. I appreciate that they bring compassion and understanding to their advice. I’ve learned a lot from listening and have leveled up my understanding of how to grow and succeed in my career as a result. Highly recommended!
Anarosa Paredes, Senior Production Engineer
Hanselminutes
Hanselminutes is a podcast by Scott Hanselman, who is a model in the tech community for coding with kindness. He shares his 30+ years of developer experience through his blog, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok channels. In his podcast, he interviews people from all walks of life—from PhDs to open source developers and entrepreneurs to magicians—about topics directly related to technology or general topics we can relate to such as career development, imposter syndrome, and learning how to teach. This podcast becomes a one-stop shop to hear from people that are diverse in many ways: race, gender, profession, interests, and hobbies. With a wide range of topics, you’ll definitely find something that piques your interest!
Sunitha Patel, Developer
The Bike Shed
I love being a developer because we never stop learning. One of my favorite resources for learning is The Bike Shed Podcast produced by thoughtbot. In weekly episodes, the hosts Steph and Chris talk about their day-to-day experiences as software engineers, covering various topics like Ruby, Rails, JavaScript, and leadership. The challenges they cover are so multifaceted and inspiring that it just doesn't get boring.
Irmela Göhl, Senior Developer
Collaborative Craft
Collaborative Craft is a podcast produced by 8th Light, a software consultancy company—and, full disclosure—where I used to work. The podcast is generally focused on the things that 8th Light values: craft, community, and consulting. It features guests from across the software industry (including Shopify's own Aaron Patterson!) talking about these subjects. It's approachable for developers at any level since it's less technical than some software podcasts, and really highlights the collaborative, "software as a team sport" aspects of software engineering.
Stephen Prater, Staff Developer
Darknet Diaries
Darknet Diaries is a podcast on hacking, cybercrime, and data breaches. It not only delves into the motives and actions of the perpetrators, but also profiles the people trying to catch them. The first episode I listened to was “Dirty Coms,” about young hackers who are profiting from a combination of insider threats, stolen identities, and plain old snatch-and-grabs. It gives a refreshing look into a complex world full of interesting characters, along with personal anecdotes from the host himself.
Sam Mar, Security Incident Response Engineer
Freakonomics
Host Stephen Dubner is so good at finding thought-provoking questions and deep diving into the answers with experts who tease out interesting truths. The podcast cites some great examples of stats and A/B testing, which is helpful for getting into a Data Science mindset. Dubner is also one of the best examples of someone who can take a really complex idea or lesson and make it simple and fun to understand. I think being able to communicate complicated ideas and make the takeaways simple and understandable, like Dubner does, is one of the more powerful skills a Data Scientist can master.
Mike Solty, Data Scientist
The Changelog
I discovered The Changelog after learning that one of the engineering blog writers was going to be a guest. The hosts Adam Stacoviak and Jerod Santo bring in fascinating guests from all across the software development world (they have great voices too, which is a must for me to listen to a podcast!). I’m always learning something new as they strive to bring a variety of topics and guests to the show. It’s always fresh and insightful.
Anita Clarke, Engineering Blog Managing Editor
Ashley Sawatsky is Copy Editor on Shopify's Engineering Communications team. She’s also a writer, a mom, and an iced coffee drinker. Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn.
Want to learn and grow alongside a world-class Engineering team? We're always on the lookout for talent and we’d love to hear from you. Visit our Engineering careers page to find out about our open positions.