As the weather gets warmer in the Mid-Atlantic region, I’ve been doing my best to get outside more during the day. Podcasts have been a pleasant addition to my walk, runs, and bike rides. Below are five can’t-miss tech podcasts that you should follow—all of which are insightful, engaging, and informative.

99% Invisible

Produced and created by Roman Mars, 99% invisible is a weekly narrative podcast about the process and power of the unnoticed design and architecture that configure our world. I most recently enjoyed the episode titled Pandemic Tracking and the Future of Data, which provided a window into the role of citizen scientists at the COVID-19 Tracking Project in tracking cases at the onset of the pandemic. The episode also offered a brief history of data-driven epidemiology, starting with the Cholera Epidemic of the 1800s, and discussed some of the challenges governments face when administering a national data management system.

The Stack Overflow Podcast

Stack Overflow is a lighthearted conversational podcast about what it means to work in software. Its 12th-anniversary celebration reminded me of all the years of good podcast listening that I’ve missed out on. Its most recent release covers the topic of feeling burned out and comes at a time that some have coined the ‘great resignation.’ The podcasters offer tips for recovering from burnout and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

Babbage from The Economist

Named after Charles Babbage—a 19th-century mathematician and engineer—Babbage is a weekly podcast on science and technology. Recent episodes have covered nuclear power, climate change, disease prevention, and communication technologies. The podcast often features respected thought leaders and provides the technical depth one would expect from The Economist. I particularly enjoyed a March episode titled How to communicate in a war zone, which examines the technologies helping Ukraine stay connected.

HTML All The Things

I discovered HTML All The Things while looking for conversations about Web 3.0. Its March 9 episode provides a thoughtful overview of Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 (spoiler alert: the podcast defines Web 3.0 as much more than just distributed ledger technologies). While discussions about software and software development may not sound riveting, the hosts do a great job of providing an entertaining conversation about topics such as how to run a good tech interview to a thorough understanding of API development and search engine optimization.

Tech Won’t Save Us

Offering an often-critical review of technology, Paris Marx hosts a weekly conversation with guests to examine the technology industry. This podcast provides thoughtful discussions about the relationship between technology and society and often argues that people, not technology, are the solution to most of the world’s problems. The most recent episode I listened to was an interview with Molly White, author of the blog Web3 is going great, who offers a critical view of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.