Five podcasts to help you get the most out of work

At workplaces everywhere, the fodder of water cooler chats is increasingly, podcasts. According to Edison Research, 46 million Americans listen to podcasts a month, and it’s easy to see why. Podcasts are an easy way to keep informed and entertained—and they can help you get more out of work too.

Here are some of our favorite podcasts on topics we think about a lot on at Asana: mindfulness, leadership, and teamwork.

1. This Is Your Life

The former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael Hyatt, shares his insights on personal growth and development on This Is Your Life. The show delves into topics relevant to leaders like team alignment and delegation. In a recent episode called, “How to discern your calling,” Hyatt shares his framework for identifying a calling and provides actionable steps on how to test if you’ve found yours.

2. HBR Ideacast

If you get a kick out of the detailed investigations of organizational culture found in Harvard Business Review, there’s a better than slight chance you’ll enjoy the HBR Ideacast too. Each week they sit down with a different leader (from the world of business or otherwise) to discuss topics like “Becoming a more authentic leader” or “How to give constructive feedback.” Past guests include Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, and Maya Angelou.

3. StartUp

After a successful career at This American Life and NPR’s Planet Money, veteran reporter Alex Blumberg decided to set off on his own and start his own podcast network. StartUp tells that story. In the first season he details “what really happens” when you launch a new business—warts and all. In season two, he follows an entirely new company.

4. You Made It Weird

Comedian Pete Holmes gets deep with really, really, long discussions about mindfulness, the value of presence in relationships and at work, and other esoteric topics in the podcast You Made It Weird. Guests include comedians, spiritual thinkers, and other “weirdos” (as Holmes affectionately dubs his community). Also: it’s hilarious.

5. TED Radio Hour

Produced by NPR, the TED Radio Hour podcast curates the best TED talks and stitches them together into an episodic format. Host Guy Raz explores heady topics like, “What is beauty?” “Building better cities,” and “The meaning of work.” Though it’s a show about ‘anything,’ there is an underlying theme that connects all the stories.

We hope these podcasts help you find a new or different perspective on how to get the most out of work. Know of another podcast we should be listening to? Tell us about it in the comments!