If you have an A/E/C job that involves visiting clients and sites, like many people who read this blog, you probably have some time to kill in the car.
Instead of listening to radio or news, I find car rides to be a fantastic time to listen to podcasts.
Podcasts as a medium are a great way to learn and get inspired to do great work!
Below are a few of the podcasts that I listen to and would recommend. They fall into three basic categories that I think would help any A/E/C Professional or land use enthusiast.
Places and Spaces
The “Places and Spaces” bucket includes shows that are most directly tied to the A/E/C Industry. They include podcasts about architecture, real estate, investing, development, and places in the state of North Carolina.
- 99% Invisible
All about design with a heavy focus on cities. Discussions on the 99% of design that is invisible to most of us, until it isn’t. - Away Message
A fantastic series about various places in the great state of North Carolina. The Mountains to Sea season is my favorite. - The Buddy Ruski Show
All about origin stories, from the heart of Durham. I was a guest on Episode 27! - The Dirt NC Show
About the places and spaces of North Carolina and the people who make them awesome. Hosted by me. - EntreArchitect Podcast
Designed by and for small-firm entrepreneurial architects. - The Fort
The Fort podcast is all about real estate, business, and investing, hosted by Chris Powers, an industrial investor based in Texas. - Go Cultivate
If you are looking for an engineering and planning firm that thinks differently, look no further than the team at Verdunity, hosts of Go Cultivate. This podcast is filled with compelling ideas from design and planning practitioners with a lens for fiscal analysis. - Podcast Raleigh
This podcast interviews local leaders of all varieties from Raleigh, the City of Oaks. - Reinventing Parking
Parking is a big topic in urbanism circles. If you have ever read The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup, then this is the podcast for you. - TRXL (Pronounced: Troxel)
The podcasts by architects for architects, this show talks all about the intersection of architecture and technology.
Design and Creativity
While many of the shows in the first bucket include a heavy dose of design and creativity, this second bucket focuses on shows that fall outside of the realm of the A/E/C Industry.
I firmly believe that all facets of the A/E/C Industry fall into the creative professions. These shows help inspire me to think more creatively and get “outside the box”, which is critical for our industry.
Even though they aren’t strictly speaking about the A/E/C practices, there is a ton of wisdom in these shows for A/E/C professionals.
- Creative Pep Talk
This podcast, as the name suggests, is a pep talk for your creativity. It combines a lot of my favorite things, ADHD, story telling, people, and creative thinking. - Design Matters
Host Debbie Millman interviews designers and creatives of all types. She is hands-down the best question asker of any podcast host I have ever listened to. - The Great Creators
Probably the newest podcast on the list. Guy Raz interviews some of the biggest creative forces in film, television, music, and fashion.
Business
Last up are the business shows. Like the second bucket, these shows are not related to the A/E/C industry, but as creative businesses I think it’s important to have a solid grasp of the business world at large in addition to a grasp on creative businesses.
- 2Bobs
This podcast is targeted at marketing agencies, but since all A/E/C firms are creative firms, their advice absolutely carries over to our industry. - The Best One Yet (TBOY)
This is the only daily podcast I listen to. I get the business highlights of the day in a funny and easy to digest 20 minutes. - Ditching Hourly
Based in the world of programming, this podcast explores the advantages of a business model based beyond billing time for money.
Conclusion
If you have any podcast recommendations that you think need to be added to this list, shoot me an email at [email protected] and let me know!
In the meantime, happy listening, and happy learning!