Best Business Podcasts

Best Quick Take: The Indicator

From the team that brought you the beloved Planet Money podcast, this show aims to explain topics in the news in less time than it takes you to eat your breakfast and drink your first cup of coffee in the morning. The hosts pick an indicator, such as something in a recent jobs report or a statistic from a recent study, and bring in exciting experts, everyday people, and case studies from around the world to help explain how the chosen indicator fits into the larger global economic story. Common topics include unemployment and the availability of work, political factors that impact local and national economies, and how trade policy will impact everyday Americans.

Best for Women: The BizChix

If you’re a female entrepreneur feeling like you need guidance and community on your rise to the top, this is the show for you. In addition to the solid business advice you will find in the other shows on this list, this podcast provides advice tailored specifically to the challenges women face in today’s workplace. The host of the show is career coach Natalie Eckdahl, who has three children and runs a large community for female entrepreneurs. As such, she’s an expert at figuring out how to outsource different home and career tasks to maximize your efficiency as well as helping individuals craft a growth-oriented mindset that will serve them well for generations to come.

Best for Minority Businessmen and Women: Brown Ambition

This weekly podcast is hosted by two superstar financial reporters, Mandi Woodruff and Tiffany Aliche. While both specialize in helping individuals craft workable personal budgets, the show also focuses on building financial freedom, balancing your own life and career, and taking charge of your work and time. The hosts are not afraid to take political stances on issues that impact communities of color, and their tone is both candid and compelling. Recent topics include how to ask for a raise, revamping your personal brand and tackling credit card debt.

Best for Mindset: The Mind Your Business Podcast

Believing in what you are doing, overcoming putting yourself out there, and being consistent when times get tough can be overwhelming for any entrepreneur. The Mind Your Business Podcast by James Wedmore will help you take your business mindset to the next level. Wedmore makes you think in a whole new way, so you stop telling yourself "false stories" and you switch to genuinely believing that you are capable and deserving of success. He offers weekly motivation to keep your business headed in the right direction with frequent interviews and captivating storytelling. He is exceptionally relatable and empowers his listeners to take massive action as a digital CEO.

Best Interview Show: Entrepreneurs On Fire

Are you ready to light a fire under your career? If you like extremes, you will love this podcast. John Lee Dumas interviews successful entrepreneurs—celebrity names like Tim Ferriss and Tony Robbins as well as lesser-known individuals—and delivers it in a format designed to give you something you can act on each and every episode, seven days a week. Dumas asks excellent questions that get at the heart of each guest’s journey. The show has recorded more than 3,000 episodes, so you will never run out of content. Episodes include how to build a seven-figure business from just an idea, methods for increasing your overall productivity, and how to best leverage Facebook ads.

Best Inside Look: How I Built This

Ever wonder how Bobbi Brown built her cosmetics empire, how Drybar became synonymous with sleek hair, or how Honest Tea got started? In this excellent NPR offering, Guy Raz treats the stories of profitable, unique, and interesting companies like only a journalist can. He interviews the founders of famous companies and also gives in-depth treatments to the stories of their brands and what sets them apart.

Each episode averages less than an hour, so it’s easy to make this podcast part of your weekly routine and is appealing to a wide audience. Raz has a prolific journalism career, having worked in some of the world’s most conflict-ridden regions; I’d imagine that interviewing friendly entrepreneurs is a welcome break for him, and that listening will be a delightful break from your daily grind.

Best from the Ivy League: HBR IdeaCast

If you have ever read a Harvard Business Review article, you probably already know that the Crimson style is buttoned-up, no-nonsense, expert-led, and results-driven—but what more could you want out of a business podcast? These short episodes, often between 20 and 30 minutes, highlight the concepts that major companies around the world are thinking about and using to increase their competitive advantage and productivity.

While HBR’s research and most of its articles are tucked behind a paywall, listening to this podcast is completely free. Superstar guests include Eric Schmidt from Google and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Recent topics include how to manage someone who enjoys talking to their coworkers a little too much, challenges that minorities face at work, and unconventional ways of thinking that can help individuals and companies stand out.

Best Practical Tips: The $100 MBA

Omar Zenhom used to attend the prestigious Wharton School of Business before he dropped out to create the $100 MBA community. Frustrated by an education system that didn’t prioritize the needs of students, he sought to change the discourse. This show has 125,000 daily listeners and covers a wide array of practical topics without any of the boring (or what others might find interesting but non-essential) stories behind them. Omar has a ton of social proof to confirm the effectiveness of his podcast with more than 1,000 five-star reviews. Fans love how compact the episodes are, with most being less than 15 minutes. Zenhom teaches everything you need to know about building a business—how to invest in your business, how to set your rates, email list growth strategies, and a seemingly endless list of other topics.