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My favourite podcasts of 2020

I’ve been listening to podcasts for a few years now. Mostly doing so while driving. In 2020 I haven’t done as much driving but my podcast consumption has remained relatively the same nonetheless. Mostly while doing house chores or waiting for a some automated process to finish.

In this article I want to take a look back on the podcasts that I’ve listened to in 2020 and, if you haven’t already, why you should check them out in 2021.

Cortex

Cortex is hosted by CGP Grey (who makes awesome educational YouTube videos) and Myke Hurley (co-founder of Relay FM) is the podcast that got me started on listening to podcasts (together with Hello Internet). It’s been going since 2015 and it’s probably still my favourite podcast.

On Cortex, Grey and Myke discuss their working lives as independent content creators and discuss productivity, time management and the Apple ecosystem (two steps forward, one step back). If you’re interested in productivity, time management or are just looking for some honest life wisdom then this is a podcast is for you.

Design Life

Design Life is a podcast I’ve been listening to since 2017 and it continues being interesting. Following Charli Prangley and Femke van Schoonhoven in their design careers they offer insights into their side projects and the things they encounter at work.

They’re not afraid to speak their minds and their episodes make me think about my own career choices and how I spend my time. Besides this they provide me interesting nuggets to think about on the subject of design that I can apply in my own work (as someone who isn’t a designer) and their occasional guest is a great way to discover other talented people.

My first million

This is a podcast I’ve picked up in the past six months. I’ve started listening at episode 1 and am now at episode 50 (published 28 February 2020) with quite some more to go (episode 136 released on December 11th).

My first million is hosted by Shaan Puri (who created a startup that sold to Twitch) and Sam Parr (CEO of The Hustle). The podcast includes interview with founders who have started a company and made their first million (usually through an exit of some sort). They also contain a lot of episodes with Shaan and Sam exchanging ideas about potential businesses or analysing existing businesses.

It’s a great podcast to improve your own way of looking at businesses, startup ideas and business processes. If you’re someone who thinks a great startup idea is hard to come by, then this podcast is here to change your mind and show you that there are ideas aplenty, you just need to do the work.

Honourable mentions

Two podcasts that I love but are not actively being produced still deserve an honourable mention for the joy and inspiration they’ve brought me in the past.

Hello Internet

Hello Internet is another great podcast hosted by CGP Grey, this time accompanied by Brady Haran (producer of Numberphile and Periodic Videos). In this podcast Grey and Brady talk about “YouTube, life work, whatever”.

This podcast is an honourable mention because unfortunately its last episode was in February of 2020 and I’m unsure if there’ll be more episodes (I certainly hope so). It’s a podcast that is not one to jump into the middle of but if you’re looking for more interesting content (and want to know what a ‘hot stopper’ is) then start at episode 1.

StartUp

StartUp is created and hosted by Alex Blumberg and follows the start of Gimlet media, a podcasting company that has since been acquired by a large streaming service. Although no new episodes will be released for this podcast, it’s been great to follow Alex along on his startup journey, from raising capital to hiring employees and growing the company, up to and including a successful sale of the company.

If you want to start a company then this is a story you must have heard!

Your recommendations

Perhaps you’ve noticed a trend in the podcasts that I’ve mentioned. For 2021 I’m looking for more podcasts to listen to! If you have something you think I like (or maybe something completely different from what I listen to) then let me know on Twitter!