I have a lengthy commute: sometimes an hour or more each way. Years ago, I would listen to the morning drive time radio. Then, I discovered podcasts and realized that I could make my commutes productive by actually learning something while I navigate my metal coffin to my cube dwelling for the day. Here are ten podcasts I’ve benefited from over the years:

1. .NET Rocks

Carl and Richard talk all things .NET and more (that is, various software development topics for those of less nerdy persuasion). The two also dive into more sciency topics with their periodic “geek out” sessions. .NET Rocks has to be one of the longest running podcasts around, having started in 2002, and they show no signs of quitting any time soon.

2. Contra Krugman

Economist Paul Krugman seems to have the ear of lots of media outlets. Unfortunately, he tends to run fast and loose with the “facts” he presents in these venues. While the media lets him get away with his embellishments, Tom Woods and Bob Murphy don’t: in every episode, they point out his mistakes and–dare I say?–potential lies and have a lot of fun in the process.

3. The Tom Woods Show

Not content with his weekly Contra Krugman podcast, Tom Woods also hosts The Tom Woods Show: easily digestible, daily podcast episodes covering a wide variety of topics from economics, to current events, to history, and much more. I highly recommend this one!

4. Hanselminutes

Technologist Scott Hanselman hosts a periodic conversation with other prominent technologists. He covers lots of software development topics but occasionally ventures into broader themes such as how to attract more women to STEM careers, technology in non-profits, tracking your own life and health metrics, etc.

5. Part of the Problem

Comedian Dave Smith discusses current events from a more libertarian perspective…and drops a joke or two!

6. The Sword and Laser

I love science fiction and fantasy books! In the Sword and Laser, Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont discuss a wide variety of science fiction and fantasy books. They’ll often introduce me to authors and books I’ve never heard of, which can be frustrating since plummeting down the highway is no time to be writing down cool book recommendations!

7. Talk Python to Me

I’ve been teaching myself to code in Python for the last several years now, so I’m always eager to find resources to help me speed that process along. Enter Talk Python to Me. Here, Michael Kennedy interviews a variety of Python aficionados and discusses the many cool projects they’re working on. I particularly enjoy when he asks his guests to identify a couple of their favorite packages–I’ve found quite a few of their recommendations helpful to me in my work and personal projects.

8. The Genealogy Guys

I’ve listened to the Genealogy Guys for years now and even had the pleasure of attending a session taught by Drew Smith himself at the Ohio Genealogical Conference in 2016. In The Genealogy Guys, George and Drew discuss a wide variety of topics to help amateur and professional alike with their family history challenges.

9. The James Altucher Show

James Altucher walks to the beat of a different drummer. In this podcast, James interviews lots of popular and influential people from his unique perspective, trying to identify the patterns and practices that make them successful.

10. The Survival Podcast

Don’t let the name fool you: no one’s wearing a tinfoil hat here. Jack Spirko is passionate about helping people identify their single points of failure and helping them build backups and redundancies in these areas. At my work–and I’m sure nearly everyone else’s–there’s such a huge emphasis on disaster recovery planning. Every new software or system we put in place has to have a detailed plan on what to do if the system suddenly fails. We even have quarterly exercises where we pretend the systems have failed and walk through our recovery plans, step by step, to make sure they actually work. My thought is, if businesses place such importance on disaster planning and recovery, how much more important is it that we do the same things for our own families? If disaster strikes, to heck with work: I want to make sure my family makes it through unscathed. This is what The Survival Podcast is all about.