Hacker ApprovedDepartments

The best podcasts, according to hackers

42 podcasts were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 11 earn the Hacker Approved badge.

Top picks

The three most recommended podcasts with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment

  1. Dwarkesh Podcast

    29 recommend, 8 criticize, 78% approval

    Ranked 1 of 42 by recommenders

    Excellent interviewer who asks good questions

    People recommend it for well-researched interviews with AI researchers and experts, where guests often say something new. Critics say the host overstates his expertise, talks too much, and the interviews can feel like hype.

  2. Oxide and Friends

    26 recommend, 3 criticize, 90% approval

    Ranked 2 of 42 by recommenders

    Interesting technical talk and guests

    Tech podcast from Oxide, valued for candid, technical talk and strong guests, though audio quality and heavy AI-coding talk draw criticism.

  3. Acquired podcast

    25 recommend, 0 criticize, 100% approval

    Ranked 3 of 42 by recommenders

    Deep dives into company histories

    Long, deep-dive episodes on the history of individual companies, with a large back catalog that people recommend for learning how businesses work.

All 42 podcasts, ranked

Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.

Podcasts ranked by the number of people who recommend them
Rank
1Dwarkesh Podcast29878%9—Approved
2Oxide and Friends26390%10—Approved
3Acquired podcast250100%11—Approved
Tied 4Behind the Bastards podcast18195%11—Approved
Tied 4Mindscape podcast by Sean Carroll180100%6—Approved
Tied 6Latent Space podcast150100%8—Approved
Tied 6No Agenda Show15575%218 yrs3 owners—
8Damn Interesting140100%5—Approved
Tied 9Odd Lots podcast12380%8—Approved
Tied 9Darknet Diaries120100%5—Approved
Tied 11The Joe Rogan Experience111542%5——
Tied 11TWiT podcasts11192%3——
Tied 13The Ezra Klein Show10283%6—Approved
Tied 13If Books Could Kill podcast10283%6—Approved
Tied 13Lex Fridman Podcast101934%5——
Tied 16Freakonomics Radio9190%7——
Tied 16The Pragmatic Engineer9190%6——
Tied 18Better Offline podcast by Ed Zitron80100%7——
Tied 18This American Life8280%5——
Tied 18Wookash Podcast80100%4——
Tied 18Huberman Lab podcast8850%4——
Tied 22Planet Money podcast7278%7——
Tied 22Pivot by Kara Swisher70100%5——
Tied 22The Rest Is Science podcast7188%3——
Tied 25Sold a Story podcast by NPR60100%5——
Tied 25In Our Time by Melvyn Bragg60100%5——
Tied 25All-In Podcast61233%4——
Tied 25Acquired podcast: Costco episode60100%4——
Tied 25On the Metal podcast60100%3——
Tied 25TBPN61529%1——
Tied 25Debate Chatbots podcast by New Polity6186%1——
Tied 25Reply All episode 158 The Case of the Missing Hit60100%1——
Tied 33Search Engine podcast5183%5——
Tied 33The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast50100%4——
Tied 33Rational Reminder podcast50100%4——
Tied 33Accidental Tech Podcast50100%4——
Tied 33Philosophize This podcast50100%4——
Tied 33Conversations with Tyler50100%3——
Tied 33Software Engineering Daily podcast5183%3——
Tied 33Barbell Medicine podcast50100%2——
Tied 33Knowledge Fight podcast50100%2——
Tied 33Sleep With Me podcast50100%2——

How we rank

Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same podcast in five threads counts once.

The badge goes to podcasts that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.

Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.