Top 10 Technical Podcasts (as Chosen by the Rails Community)

Are you on the search for new podcasts to help you sharpen your coding skills? Well, I have good news!

In the spring of 2020, we surveyed over 2,000 Ruby on Rails developers from 92 different countries. One of the questions that we asked the community about was, "What are some technical podcasts that you enjoy listening to?"

Here are the top ten chosen by the community, as well as recommended episodes for you to check out!

#10 - Syntax

Syntax digs into a wide array of software development related topics on their podcast. Much of their conversations revolve around explaining the fundamentals across different technical stacks and platforms. Currently hosted by Wes Bos and Scott Tolinski.

#9 Maintainable

The Maintainable Software Podcast might sound familiar because a) Planet Argon produces it and b) I (Robby) am the host! On Maintainable, we speak with seasoned practitioners who have helped organizations overcome the challenges that are often associated with technical debt and legacy code. A lot of the conversations focus on team processes, communication challenges, growing as technical leaders, and diving into new-to-you projects.

To make the top ten list was a pleasant surprise!

🎧 Recommended episode: Robby Russell: Turning the Mic Around with Kayla Reopelle

#8. Full Stack Radio

Full Stack Radio is hosted by Adam Wathan. On the show, Adam brings on guests to share details about new tools that developers can use to build their applications with. The podcast is going into its sixth year with almost 150 episodes.

🎧 Recommended episode: Jason Fried - Running the Tailwind Business on Basecamp

#7. The Changelog

The Changelog is a series of discussions with innovators in the software development industry. Currently hosted by Adam Stacoviak and Jerod Santo, this podcast (amazingly) originated way back in 2009, way before podcasts were anywhere near as prominent as they are today. They chat with guests ranging from startup creators to veterans at Fortune 500 companies about technical topics, dev culture, workplace challenges, and more.

🎧 Recommended episode: Oh My Zsh with Robby Russell (hey, that's me!)

#6. The Ruby Blend

The Ruby Blend was a short-lived but widely appreciated podcast. It was a Ruby-focused podcast with panel discussions and guest interviews. They published 21 episodes before deciding to recently discontinue the project.

Rest in peace.

🎧 Recommended episode: Open sourcing a Ruby gem with Brittany Martin

#5. Rails with Jason

The Rails with Jason Podcast is an interview style format hosted by Jason Swett. Topics are usually Ruby on Rails-specific and Jason is known for his YOLO interviewing approach.

#4. Ruby on Rails Podcast

The Ruby on Rails Podcast is the longest running in the community. It's currently hosted by Brittany Martin. On each episode, Brittany digs into topics related to the Ruby on Rails framework and community with guests.

🎧 Recommended episode: 2020 Ruby on Rails Community Survey with Robby Russell (we discuss the results of this survey!)

#3. Ruby Rogues

Ruby Rogues probably has the largest number of episodes of any podcast. Topics covered on this podcast to vary between new features and functionality in Ruby/Rails and becoming better developers through interviews.

🎧 Recommended episode: Hiring Diversely with Sarah Mei

#2. Remote Ruby

Remote Ruby is hosted by Chris Oliver, Jason Charnes, and Andrew Mason. On this podcast, they dig into a lot of newer technical and community-related topics. There are interviews from time-to-time as well.

🎧 Recommended episode: Rails Hosting Survey results & Junk Drawers for Code

#1. 🚲 The Bike Shed 🎉

...and the front-runner is The Bike Shed! Chris Toomey and Steph Viccari host this podcast. Each week, they discuss the challenges of being a software developer, refining your craft, new technologies, lessons they've learned, and what is new in our community.

🎧 Recommended episode: I'm Not Allowed to Play With Other Shells

In Closing

First of all, a big thanks to all 2,049 of you those who shared their experiences in our community survey.

..and a huge, huge thanks to all the people who are spending time (and money) on producing valuable content that is freely available to our community.

this was originally published on the Planet Argon blog

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