Commuting to work from east of Baltimore to Washington DC leaves a lot of time in the car. While driving to work one day early in my web development career, I wondered if there is such a thing as a web development podcast. How would you pull off live coding on a “radio” podcast. Well, you don’t. Well, sometimes they do, but the moral of the story is that I was shocked to find that not only are there web development podcasts, there are a lot of them and really good ones to boot. These podcasts have become staples to my learning and I recommend them to everyone who is just starting out. While there are plenty to listen to, I recommend starting with these. You’ll have plenty of time later to load up deep dives into the V8 JavaScript engine later.
These podcasts are focused more on the technologies used in web development and their use cases.
Syntax - The new kid on the block and by far my favorite right now. Syntax was started last summer by two popular, dare I say celebrity, web developers. Wes Bos is the creator of JavaScript30 and many other courses. Scott Tolinski is the creator of Level Up Tuts. People talk about that weird space between beginner courses and deep dives and these guys are greatly helping navigate that awkward phase. Syntax definitely keeps that feeling going and is simply chocked full of "tasty web treats."
Front End Happy Hour - A relaxed look a front end development. The podcast is hosted by some of the devs from Netflix, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and others. They pick a word every podcast which when someone says the word, they have to drink. There have definitely been shows where the drinks were flowing. Outside of the drinking it is great to get insight from some of the top devs in our industry.
Shop Talk Show - A podcast firmly planted in front end development and design that is hosted by Dave Rupert and Chris Coyier, creator of CSS-Tricks. A great podcast where Dave and Chris tackle new or updated technologies in some shows and take listener questions in other shows.
JavaScript Jabber - A weekly podcast that is about, you guessed it, JavaScript. Hosted by Charles Max Woods from Dev Chat TV. The show covers JavaScript in a relatable manner introducing new frameworks or libraries and posing daily use and edge case questions. I subscribe to the master feed which also includes My JavaScript Story where Charles interviews the movers and shakers in the JavaScript community.
Full Stack Radio - A bit deeper dive into web development while living up to its name with a great mix of front and back end topics.
NodeUp - Another deeper dive into the technology but this time with Node.JS in mind. Admittedly sometimes a hard listen. There have been episodes that I need to listen to at home so I can follow along with a computer.
The Changelog - Not actually a web development specific podcast, but more of an open source technology podcast. A lot of technologies cross over though so I sometimes just skip the episodes that don't relate. A very well produced podcast and you can't beat the music by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Coder Radio - Another podcast that's not specifically web development but still provides value. I'm a fan of Jupiter Broadcasting linux podcasts so I was naturally drawn to Coder Radio. Be warned though, this podcast is highly opinionated.
These podcasts are focused on the successes of those who taught themselves or made a career change into web development. Don't shy away from these podcasts as they provide valuable industry insight in terms of learning processes, interviewing, and career advancement.
Learn to Code With Me - The first web development podcast I subscribed to. Only in her fourth season host Laurence Bradford interviews people in "tech" about their path from other careers into web development. If you look back through the episodes you will probably someone with your current job. Her podcast isn't overly produced and that's the point. It makes you feel like you could be interviewed by Laurence one day.
Code Newbie - If they were frameworks, Learn to Code with me would be the new smaller framework and Code Newbie would be the framework that's bigger with more features and polish. Both have carved a niche in the market and both are worth the subscription. The host Saron Yitbarek also hosts a Code Newbie conference annually and has another podcast teaching basic Computer Science.
Free Code Camp Podcast - Just recently started, as a member of Free Code Camp, I was excited. So far the podcasts have been a good mix of success stories and interview and learning insight. A bit on the short side, the podcasts usually are about 10 - 30 minutes long.
I didn't include any WordPress podcasts because of the variety and the sporadic lifespan. I had trouble find one that I liked and that would be updated regularly. I would love to hear any suggestions in the comments below.
I hope you find space in your podcast player for these podcasts. They give you an opportunity to turn wasted commute time into something productive. My only advise is to give a podcast a few episodes before passing judgement. There have been a couple that I didn't think I was going to like and are now staples. Comment below if you think I should add any to the list!