UX Podcasts

Just as a doctor needs to be well-read about the latest treatments, or a software developer needs to practice with the newest tech tools—if you’re a UX designer working in the field, you need to be up to date with the current industry trends. And the good news is, there are many resources out there to help us maintain our awareness and support our journey as lifelong learners.

But how can you keep up with all these new advances, when our working lives already take up so much of our precious time? One brilliant answer to this question is podcasts. Podcasts can be presented in various formats, like talk shows, lectures, seminars or discussions.

The best part is that you can tune in whenever it suits you, like while you’re driving, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, exercising or working. This allows you to multi-task and make the most of every spare minute to learn something new about your profession.

Break out your headphones: we've got the complete list of podcasts for UX designers.

Why Listen to UX Podcasts?

We all experience a little self-doubt from time to time. This is particularly true if you’re just starting out in the industry, or if you’ve recently switched careers into UX. What matters most is whether you strive to improve your skills. One of the best ways to maintain your confidence in a competitive work environment is to learn about recent advancements in your field—the technological changes, challenges, and how to overcome them. This is where UX podcasts come in.

There are literally hundreds of podcasts available for people learning or working in fields related to UX design. If you’ve ever gone looking for them, you might’ve found it a little overwhelming. It can be tough to decide which ones are really worth your time. Fortunately, we’ve done the groundwork for you to remove some of the guesswork and get you started on the right track.

Below is a list of some of the most popular and highly rated podcasts on UX design. Read on if you’re ready to boost your skills and level-up your UX game.

Google Design Podcast

Google has produced a series of podcasts on how their designers at Google work. In addition to inspiring and engaging talks from different departments at Google, there are in-depth discussions on style guides, product design, material design, creativity, typography, UX design for machines, as well as the hiring process at Google. The podcast is available free on the Google Design webpage. Each is around 20-30 minutes in duration, and great for beginners.

UX Podcast

In each episode, hosts James Royal-Lawson and Per Axbom discuss digital media and technology, as well as a myriad of other topics like cognitive neuroscience, integration of lean and agile methods, information architecture, and even story-mapping.

With over 200 episodes, listeners can expect regular updates on UX as applied to different fields, as well as the latest UX strategies. Most of the episodes clock in at 30-40 minutes long, although some last a full hour.

The podcast is available for free, although you’re encouraged to support the site with a donation. Listen in on Apple and Google Podcasts, Android, RSS, and Spotify. We recommend you check out their episode on Human-Centered Design with Alastair Somerville as a great starting point.

Wireframe

This series was created by Khoi Vinh, Senior Director for Product Design at Adobe XD. Khoi is also responsible for Subtraction, a blog about design and technology which also hosts the Wireframe podcasts.

Each episode deals with real-life examples and stories about interaction design, covering areas like design ethics, good design, and design disasters.

The blog also talks in detail about working methods, tips, and tricks on Information Architecture, UX research, testing, and prototyping.

Concepts like app design, web design, and human-computer interactions are also explained in great detail.

The podcast series is free and is accompanied by written articles and embedded video and audio clips. Catch it on just about any podcast platform.

Design Life

This weekly UX design podcast is hosted by Femke van Schoonhoven (designer at Uber), and Charli Prangley (designer at ConvertKit). The two women work full-time jobs and teach product design on YouTube on top of running this successful podcast. The episodes are conversational and friendly, making them highly accessible and easy to listen to. In addition to hands-on design subjects, they also explore topics like job hunting, freelance opportunities, mastermind groups, side projects and tech gadgets for designers. With around 200 episodes available, you can access this highly rated pod on all popular platforms. There’s also an option on the website to submit a topic for consideration by the hosts.

The UX Intern

The UX Intern, hosted by Wesley Noble, is another great podcast targeted towards beginners and interns.

You can expect high quality content delivered by experienced UX designers, authors, teachers, researchers, and design employees from a broad range of companies, from start-ups to well-known companies.

Presented as a series of lectures, you’ll hear about the successful paths and careers of UX experts as they chronicle their journey, advice, and viewpoints for aspiring UX designers.

Each episode is generally an hour or so long, and is presented by a different speaker.

Subscribe through iTunes or RSS, or listen through the website.

Beyond Users

Run by Alen Faljic, this podcast deals with the commercial and business aspects of good design. There are over 50 episodes that deal with the business skills essential for designers, with discussions on the food industry, design for scalability, and venture design. You can also listen to lectures on the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on businesses, and how the design field has been impacted. The podcasts are available ias MP3 files on major podcast platforms like Spotify, iTunes, and Google Play.

UI Breakfast: UI/UX design and product strategy

This podcast has over a hundred episodes and is hosted by Jane Portman, a UI/UX consultant from Russia. There are talks with people from various backgrounds, including designers, engineers, writers, and entrepreneurs, along with accompanying articles and resources. One of the recommended episodes is ‘Episode 103: UX Personalization with Samuel Hulick’.

Honorable Mentions

We’ve provided the above titles as a starting point, however there are many other good resources to learn about UX design, job opportunities, and work life. Some other noteworthy and popular podcasts include:

• UX Pod – for UX and other design fields
• Users Know – For beginners, start-ups, and UX trouble-shooting
• User Defenders – From AI to empathy in UX design (rated 4.7/5 on Apple Podcasts)
• Shop Talk – Front-end web coding and UX

More Resources for UX Designers

Along with podcasts, there are plenty of blogs out there dealing with various aspects of UX design. Popular channels on YouTube also talk about the basics of UX design, especially for beginners, and deal with issues like mental modeling frameworks, UX deep dive, and commonly asked interview questions for UX design positions.

However you choose to progress in your discipline, you know you’ll always have new learning opportunities in UX.