Podcasts are perfect for background when you’re working, cleaning, or walking. That makes them awesome resources for learning something new when you don’t have time or attention to read an article. It’s no wonder they’re so popular.
As of April 2021, there are 2 million podcasts, amounting to more than 48 million episodes. With that many options, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to listen to—and, when you’re looking to learn—who to trust.
Don’t worry, we can help. Here, we’re sharing the best business podcasts, including our recommendations for:
- Beginners
- Entrepreneurs
- Sales
- Marketing
Here we go.
Best business podcasts for beginners
We’re calling this for beginners, but you could easily swap that for generalists instead. These podcasts are great for learning about new business topics, hearing about unexpected experiences, and catching up on foundational business theories.
1. Planet Money
This NPR podcast explains our economy. Even better, though, the podcast does so using interesting stories as a way of breaking down larger, more confusing topics.
This is a great example: A recent episode featured a New Jersey deli worth $100 million. Planet Money explained this unexpected price tag and used this story as a jumping off point to discuss how the stock market works.
Subscribe here.
2. HBR Ideacast
On this podcast, Alison Beard and Curt Nickisch, both senior editors at the Harvard Business Review, interview experts and business leaders about management, strategy, and more.
Image via HBR Ideacast
The topics covered on this podcast are similar to what appears in HBR. There are deep dives into psychology and employee performance, explorations of the circumstances surrounding innovations, and strategies that are outlined and then broken down so that you can not only use them in your company but also understand how they work and why.
Subscribe here.
3. The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Work Week, explores productivity and routines in his podcast. Here’s how he explains it:
Each episode, I deconstruct world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use. This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more.
Plus, his guests include A-list celebrities and industry leaders (Hello, Dr.Jane Goodall? Enough said!). Well worth a listen.
Subscribe here.
4. Freakonomics
This podcast covers socioeconomic issues. Like Planet Money, it breaks down bigger theories and systems for everyday listeners. Plus, it uses engaging storytelling to make it easy—and interesting—to wrap your head around these ideas.
Wondering what socioeconomic issues really means? Recent episodes explore the impact of marijuana legalization on the workforce, the impact of the minimum wage, and the US healthcare system.
Subscribe here.
5. So Money
Former financial journalist and current personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi hosts So Money, an awesome business podcast for beginners. The focus here is a little different—it’s all about money. How to make it, how to use it, and what to do with it.
6. Two Minute Marketing
This podcast is exactly what you’d expect based on the title: quick, succinct marketing advice for business owners looking to launch or scale their startups. Host Josh Rimmington is a marketing expert and runs a digital marketing agency, so he’s often sharing experiences—including what mistakes to avoid.
Now, these are great overviews, and we’ll get into more business podcasts for marketing soon.
Subscribe here.
Best business podcasts for entrepreneurs
Being a founder isn’t the same as being an employee. So being an entrepreneur looking for business tips requires its own categories. Here are the best business podcasts for founders and hopefuls.
7. Zero to a Million
We had to call out our podcast here. Zero to a Million features advice on launching and scaling a startup from the people who have actually done it. Each week, Zach Rego talks to a founder, investor, or marketer about the strategies that worked, the tests that failed, and the tips they wish they knew when they were starting out.
Here’s a great example. In this episode, Zach talks with Jess Meher, founder of Wonderment, about learning about marketing while working at HubSpot and then using that launching her SaaS company now.
8. Metrics & Chill
Hosted by John Bonini at Databox, Metrics and Chill is a podcast about, well, marketing metrics. That might sound boring, but trust us. The podcast is not only great for learning about how other marketing teams measure success, but also an entertaining listen.
Subscribe here.
9. Black Entrepreneur Blueprint
The Black Entrepreneur Blueprint features—you probably guessed it—Black entrepreneurs. Host Jay Jones is an experienced founder and investor. Each episode, he talks with an entrepreneur or business leader about their experiences starting and building their businesses.
Subscribe here.
10. The SaaS Club
This is a must listen for anyone interested in starting a SaaS business—or anyone who’s actively working on one now. Host Omer Khan interviews experienced founders to get advice on SaaS businesses, like reducing churn, hitting customers, and finding a gap in a crowded market.
This last topic is one that our own CEO Grant Deken actually spoke about when he joined the podcast.
You can listen to that one here.
Subscribe here.
11. She Did It Her Way
The goal of the She Did It Her Way podcast is to teach, motivate, and inspire their listeners, an audience entrepreneurs. Host Amanda Boleyn is a founder, CEO, and business coach. Similar to other podcasts, each episode features another founder or CEO to share their experiences.
The focus, though, is less on business strategies and more on holistic approaches to starting running a business.
Subscribe here.
12. The Top
Nathan Latka has built his personal brand as an entrepreneur who breaks the rules—specifically, the money rules. He advocates for bootstrapping, he thinks doing one thing is a risk, and he even shared his tax returns in his book.
Each episode of The Top is a 15-minute quick run-though of questions with SaaS founders. Perfect to crush in the background.
Subscribe here.
Best business podcasts for sales
Learning about building a startup can be a benefit for anyone working in a new company. But it doesn’t necessarily translate into skills to do your job better.
These are our recommendations for the best business that do actually help sales reps and managers get better at their jobs—and grow the startup in the process.
13. The Sales Hacker Podcast
The Sales Hacker Podcast has a simple, straightforward goal: to offer practical advice and easy-to-use tactics to listeners working in sales.
One of the best parts about this podcast is its show description. The transcript includes bolded quotes, major takeaways, and editor’s notes.
Subscribe here.
14. Conversations with Women in Sales
When accomplished sales leader and CEO Barb Giamanco noticed that nearly all the sales gurus being listed in roundups, quoted in content, and interviewed on podcast were men, she knew she wanted to do something to change that. That something was launching Conversations with Women in Sales.
On this podcast, Barb Giamanco interviews women in sales at all levels to share their experiences and their expertise while boosting their visibility.
Subscribe here.
15. Make It Happen Mondays
On this podcast, John Barrows gets right down to business. The experienced sales leader and coach breaks down sales processes, shares successful strategies, and connects these with his own experiences so that you know not only what works, but also how it works.
Subscribe here.
Best business podcasts for marketing
We know there’s a lot of content out there for marketing advice, but there’s so much to cover. And, plus, aren’t you always looking for more ideas to improve?
Here are the podcasts that we love to listen and learn from.
16. B2B Growth Show
This might be one of the best podcasts on the list in terms of sheer volume alone. The B2B Growth Show is a daily podcast, so you can expect five full-length episodes every of your workweek.
The podcast, run by Sweet Fish Media, covers everything in B2B sales and marketing, including product ecosystems, brand awareness, and so much more.
Subscribe here.
17. Copyblogger
The Copyblogger podcast consistently delivers on content marketing, copywriting, email marketing, and SEO tips. Hosts Tim Stoddart and Darrell Vesterfelt break down new trends, explain why old standbys are still relevant. (Their episode on email marketing makes a great case for why it’s still a valid marketing channel.)
Plus, these episodes are usually 35-40 minutes long, which is a perfect amount of time for a great discussion without getting too bored or stiff.
Subscribe here.
18. The Animalz Podcast
This podcast is focused on content marketing, too, but it takes a narrower approach. It focuses exclusively on the content process start to finish and, even more importantly, the functions of a content team.
That narrow focus leads to some great discussions that you can use to improve your content’s performance and your team’s approach right away.
Plus, this podcast doesn’t have a set host. Instead, it rotates through different members of the Animalz team, which means that you know you’re getting a wide variety of expert advice.
Subscribe here.
Subscribe to the best business podcasts for you
And there you have it, our favorite business podcasts. Find a few that work for your goals, whether it’s launching your product or improving your marketing or building a sales funnel, and then tune in each week. Or, hey, go crazy and subscribe to all of them.