The 8 Best Podcasts About Technology

Key Points:

• Tech podcasts offer a great way to stay informed, listen to different opinions, and get a breakdown of everything you really need to know. 
• Waveform is a must-listen for anyone who loves to play with shiny new gadgets. 
• The well-informed hosts of Vergecast do a fantastic job of taking tough topics and breaking them down into easily digestible conversations that will make sense for anyone, even if you aren’t quite a techie. 
• When you just want the top tech headlines of the day, Techmeme Ride Home is 15 minutes of the most important stories without the fluff. 
• It’s really important that you consider how frequently you want to listen to a particular podcast. Are you only interested in listening during your commutes? Then daily or weekly frequencies are best for you.

Whether you are someone who has dedicated your life to technology or someone who switches out their smartphone every five years, there’s a tech podcast for you.

As technology moves quickly, it can be a struggle to keep up. Tech podcasts offer a great way to stay informed, listen to different opinions, and get a breakdown of everything you really need to know. 

Just as YouTube grabbed everyone’s attention for videos, podcasts are grabbing everyone’s attention for listening. It doesn’t matter if you are sitting in bed, at a desk, running, or on a train, podcasts can be listened to at almost any time throughout your day. 

After listening to hours of dozens of tech podcasts, we’ve made our ranking of the 8 best podcasts about technology:

• Best Overall: Vergecast
• Best for Apple Fans: Mac Power Users
• Best for Gadget Lovers: Waveform
• Best for Startups: Acquired
• Best Quick Listen: Techmeme Ride Home
• Best for General Listening: TechStuff
• Best for Deep Dives: Land of the Giants
• Best for Tech Secrets: Darknet Diaries

Best Podcast Overall About Technology: Vergecast

There are a number of podcasts that all will rightfully vie for the best podcast title about technology. But, in our opinion, Vergecast is the one to beat. Hosted by the Verge’s Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel, David Pierce and Alex Cranz, Vergecast is all about making sense of the week in the tech world. 

The well-informed hosts do a fantastic job of taking tough topics and breaking them down into easily digestible conversations that will make sense for anyone, even if you aren’t quite a techie. 

Episodes discuss everything from earnings calls and acquisitions to tech’s biggest CEOs dropping in for a chat. All episodes are available through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

There are more than 566 episodes available with new releases dropping every week. Rest assured there’s no shortage of topics to cover, as one of our most recent favorites was about Instagram wanting to be TikTok and there were plenty of strong opinions being tossed around. It was a great listen. 

Best for Apple Fans: Mac Power Users

Apple fans looking for a dedicated podcast about their favorite company should look no further than Mac Power Users. Hosted by David Sparks and Stephen Hackett, their personalities are instantly relatable and it’s easy to recognize that they share the same passion for Apple that you do. 

Episodes are relatable as they cover a wide range of topics including everything from “Where Does the iPad Fit” to interviews with developers. 

There are new episodes every week with the library going all the way back to 2009. That’s good enough for more than 650 episodes available (and counting) to catch up on. 

Everyone’s favorite iOS Reddit app, Apollo, was developed by Christian Selig, and he recently joined the podcast for a 90-minute to talk about the history of the app and its future. As dedicated Apollo users, we thought this was a fantastic listen. 

Unsurprisingly, Mac Power Users is available through Apple Podcasts but listeners can also enjoy it via Spotify as well. 

Best for Gadget Lovers: Waveform

There are podcasts about gadgets, and then there is Waveform. In no uncertain terms, Waveform is a must-listen for anyone who loves to play with shiny new gadgets. 

Waveform’s primary host needs little introduction as Marques Brownlee is one of the best-known tech YouTubers today. His co-host is Andrew Manganelli, who also serves as a producer for the MKBHD YouTube channel. 

Each episode feels down-to-earth and relatable, which is one of the big reasons Marques has found such success. You can expect to hear topics covering everything from the latest smartphones to electric cars. 

Most importantly, many of these episodes will help you determine if a new gadget is worth your money or if it’s a hard pass. 

A recent favorite episode surrounded everyone’s favorite smartphone question: what is the best smartphone camera? The Xiaomi 12s Ultra Smartphone ignited this debate yet again, and it was great to hear the hosts debate a topic that has no easy answer. You can listen to Waveform through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Best Tech Podcast about Startups: Acquired

Every startup has a backstory and whether you are working for a startup, founded one, or are just interested in its history, Acquired is the podcast for you. 

This isn’t a softball podcast about startups either—there are hard lessons to be had about starting your own business. Hosts David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert are both well credentialed in the startup space and they don’t shy away from the tough topics. They know the right questions to ask and make every founder’s story feel like the most important one. 

Guests have ranged from the founders and CEOs of Twitter, Venmo, Zoom, Mozilla, Digg, Solana, Electronic Arts, and so many more. 

As someone who grew up with a Sony Walkman, a recent episode discussing the history of one of the most recognizable names in tech was three hours of incredible backstory. 

You can listen to Acquired through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Best for Quick Listening: Techmeme Ride Home

When you just want the top tech headlines of the day, Techmeme Ride Home is 15 minutes of the most important stories without the fluff. 

Released every day at 5 pm, each episode is curated just enough so you can multitask and listen along as well. Hosted by Brian McCullough, every episode has just the right amount of enthusiasm. An offshoot of Techmeme, a popular technology news aggregator, there are more than 1,280 episodes available. 

If you like working off of your iPad, a recent episode on iOS 16 and Stage Manager was especially intriguing, and we wished it had been longer. 

Whereas most podcast episodes range from 45 minutes to a couple of hours, Techmeme Ride Home is lightning in a bottle for quick listening. You can start listening today through both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Best for General Listening: TechStuff

TechStuff is a unique technology podcast that pulls double duty by going behind the scenes in the tech world while also discussing how the same tech impacts our lives.

The host, Jonathan Strickland, does a superb job of making big tech topics easily digestible for the average listener, including those who might not be super passionate about tech. 

We can all agree that the Super Soaker is one of the best inventions ever, right? TechStuff’s most recent episode dives deep and shows us how this summer staple came to market. It’s an awesome listen. 

Other hot topics include a wonderful series about why Jony Ive left Apple and why preserving video games is all the rage these days. Most episodes are under an hour, so they are perfect for listening in one sitting, and Jonathan’s delivery is very engaging. 

Listen to TechStuff through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Best for Deep Tech Dives: Land of the Giants

Where most podcasts jump from topic to topic, Land of the Giants is a longer look at some of the biggest names in tech. 

Hosts have varied by season, but over the course of the six seasons Land of the Giants has been available, the podcast has covered Amazon, Netflix, Google, Food Delivery, Apple, and Facebook. Each season is an in-depth look at how each of these companies has become dominant and what impact that growth has had on society at large. 

One of our favorite episodes takes us all the way back in time to when Blockbuster still dominated home video. Hosts Shirin Ghaffray and Alex Heath discuss how Blockbuster failed to crush Netflix when it had the chance to do so. It’s a wonderful conversation about what could have been. 

We can’t wait to see what company Land of the Giants tackles for its seventh season, but until then, you can catch up now through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Best for Tech Secrets: Darknet Diaries

A truly niche podcast about technology, Darknet Diaries goes behind the curtains and takes a look at the dark side of the tech world. 

Through 121 episodes (and counting), host Jack Rhysider has looked at stories ranging from hacktivism, data breaches, digital robberies, and cyber-operations. 

Many of the episodes are joined by experts who can provide incredible insight and bring a lot of these dark tech secrets to light. Episodes are irregularly scheduled so there’s no weekly cadence, but when they arrive, they are worth an instant listen. 

One of the best places to start is with an episode from October 2020 and a look back at the February 2018 Olympics in South Korea. It’s a jaw dropping listen about how the cyber attack that wiped out a lot of digital infrastructure necessary to support the games came to life. 

Darknet Diaries is available to listen to through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

How to Pick The Best Podcasts about Tech: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before you choose any podcast, there are a couple of quick considerations you should look at: 

• Topic
• Listening Time
• Frequency

Topic

While every podcast on any list of the best tech podcasts will cover “tech,” it’s a really broad term (and only getting broader) that means different things to different people.

Are you more interested in general tech or deeper dives into individual companies? If you want to listen to a podcast about startups, Acquired is a fantastic choice, just as Land of the Giants is, for a full-season listen on Amazon. 

We recommend choosing the best tech podcast that really speaks to you and what you think will be engaging. If you use a number of Apple products, Mac Power Users will be right up your alley.

Regardless of what you enjoy, there is a tech podcast out there for everyone, but it’s best if you try an episode or two of each podcast and see if you like the topic and the hosts as well as how they talk about each topic. 

Listening Time

This is a critical one to help you narrow down which of the 8 best podcasts about tech is right for you.

For commuters, the longer the better, so Acquired or Land of the Giants might be right if your commute is 30 minutes or greater. For commuters that only travel a short distance, Techmeme Ride Home is perfect with its 15 minutes of max delivery time. 

For anyone looking to spend hours listening to a podcast, maybe while working out, Mac Power Users’ episodes come pretty close to the two hour mark. Acquired is the best tech podcast on this list for long listens, as it has episodes that hit over the three-hour mark. This makes it perfect to spend an entire morning on just one episode. 

Our recommendation is to try out a podcast and see if it can hold your attention for hours at a time. 

Frequency

How often any of the podcasts about tech come out is a really important part of choosing which ones are right for you.

Daily podcasts like Techmeme Ride Home are a great thing to look forward to each day. On the other hand, more seasonal podcasts like Land of the Giants will end their Facebook season only to return for another season later this year or next year. 

It’s really important that you consider how frequently you want to listen to a particular podcast. Are you only interested in listening during your commutes? Then daily or weekly frequencies are best for you. Perhaps you only listen once in a while, so the seasonal podcasts are perfect for you. The easy recommendation is to think about your schedule and make the best decision on how frequently you will to listen to a podcast. 

Of course, you can always just listen to them all, and the fact that they come in episodes makes it easy to listen in installments or even mix-and-match. 

Final Thoughts

Podcasts are having their moment and have been for the last decade or so.

It seems like every week, thousands of new podcasts join the fray and hope to cut through the noise and find their way to your ears. There are so many good podcasts about technology that choosing the best ones wasn’t easy, but this list has exactly what you need to get started, regardless of your involvement in the tech space!

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