7 Podcasts to Boost Your Workday

If you’re someone whose Airpods are a semi-permanent feature while running errands, commuting, or trying to find zen in Trader Joe’s, then we bet you’re already a podcast connoisseur. Luckily for anyone interested in upgrading your Monday to Friday, there are a bunch of options out there to inspire, improve, and enhance work life for you and your team. We’ve rounded up our favorites below.

WorkLife with Adam Grant

As an organizational psychologist (e.g. someone who focuses on the science of human behavior at work), Adam Grant is an expert on what makes people in the workplace tick. In this podcast, he speaks with a wide range of professionals—top execs, Olympic athletes, a server-turned-CEO—to explore the science of how to make your workplace healthier and function better.

→ Try this episode: “The 4 Deadly Sins of Work Culture”

Brown Table Talk

There's a whole lot of leadership and business advice out there to read, listen to, and scroll (and scroll and scroll) through—but not much of it focuses on hard truths facing women of color in the workplace. Each episode of Brown Table Talk addresses challenges like racial gaslighting, having your name mispronounced by a coworker, or being addressed as the most junior person in the room… when you’re the boss. Hosts Dee C. Marshall and Mita Mallick share insights from their own careers, and give practical tips along the way on how to thrive at work.

→ Try this episode: “Can You Help Me Put On A Sari?”

How I Built This with Guy Raz

Each week, host Guy Raz interviews the world’s best-known entrepreneurs on the story behind their instantly recognizable brands. All the big names are here: from TaskRabbit to Telfar, Jetblue to Casper. For an open conversation with the best in the biz about navigating challenges in business, leadership, and how to bounce back from failure—you can’t go wrong.

→ Try this episode: “S'well: Sarah Kauss (2020)”

Marketplace

Keeping up with the onslaught of news breaking every day and maintaining some sort of peace in your notifications can be challenging—particularly when some of that news could be critical to your work. To manage the onslaught, we like this daily rundown of top business stories. Recent eps covered inflation, the gig economy, and those losing out in the job-market recovery. Plus, episodes are a digestible 25 to 27 minutes.

→ Try this episode: “Inflation may be losing steam … here and there”

Work Appropriate

Have you ever wanted an agony aunt for all your weird and wacky workplace questions? Author Anne Helen Petersen’s recently launched podcast delivers practical workplace advice in response to real listener questions. For example: “What do I do when my company thinks our toxic culture can be fixed with Taco Tuesdays?” Inspired by her popular newsletter, the pod will feature similar deep dives on workplace conundrums like calendar etiquette, flexible WFH policies, and the concept of lunch (important!). Listen for validation that you’re not the only one overthinking Slack, and submit your questions here.

→ Try this episode: “Big Office Feelings with Josh Gondelman”

Side Hustle Pro

Looking for practical steps to kick-start your entrepreneurial side, or just want to add some inspiring success stories to your vision board? On Side Hustle Pro, Nicaila Matthews Okome interviews Black women entrepreneurs (like Myleik Teele of CurlBox and Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter), who share their strategies, challenges, and wins on their way to building profitable businesses. Along the way, Nicaila shares real, practical steps for building your own success story—from financing and funding, to finding a retailer, to knowing when it's time to hire.

→ Try this episode: “321: How Shontay Lundy Got Black Girl Sunscreen in Every Target in America”

Getting to Yes, And

Are you thrilled when someone suggests kicking off the meeting with a round of icebreakers? If so, you might like this podcast by famous Chicago improv theater, Second City. Getting to Yes, And applies the art of improv to the workplace. Featuring conversations with writers and experts who are challenging conventional business approaches, host Kelly Leonard, Executive Director of Learning and Applied Improvisation at Second City, explores how improvisation practices can impact your work life and your business.

→ Try this episode: “Kathryn Finney – Genius Guild – Investing in amazing Black founders”