Top 16 Podcasts Every Software Tester Should Check Out in 2020

Podcasting has been around since 2004, but now in 2020, it’s safe to say that we’ve entered the golden age for podcasting. According to Podcast Insights, there are over one million active podcast shows with over 30 million episodes. As with the growth of vlogging and youtube, podcasting has exploded because it’s one of the easiest ways for anyone to cultivate or reach out to an audience, no big-time contracts or middleman required! 

There’s a podcast out there for absolutely everyone on just about any topic, whether it’s broad or the nichest of niches. Fortunately, the testing community has also entered the podcast sphere to the benefit of anyone who wants to learn and share ideas around software development and testing.

If you’re looking for a good software testing podcast that’s currently active, this list is for you!

Software Testing Podcasts

1. AB Testing

Known for his popular weekly blog posts, “5 for Fridays”, Alan Page, aka “Angry Weasel” and friend, Brent, created this podcast to talk about modern testing including topics like Agile, data, leadership and more. There is a great community around this podcast and it’s a very fun one to listen to. Recently, they started live streaming the podcast on Youtube, so you can catch them chatting there as well! 

Website: https://www.angryweasel.com/ABTesting/

2. The Evil Tester Show

The Evil Tester Show is a software testing show produced by test expert, Alan Richardson. He discusses software testing and related topics from software development like test automation. His reason for creating the podcast? “TLDR; The world needs another Software Testing Podcast. So I created one.” Alan is insanely knowledgeable about testing and views it from a programmer’s perspective, which makes it all the more interesting.

Website: https://www.eviltester.com/show/

3. The Guilty Tester

The Guilty Tester stated the purpose of their podcast very bluntly, “Do you ever feel guilty for not meeting the standards set by others in the Software Testing community? You’re in the right place then.” 

Website: https://theguiltytester.libsyn.com/

4. Let’s Talk About Tests, Baby

The show with perhaps the best name on this list, “Let’s Talk About Tests” is a podcast with over 100 episodes on software testing, QA and Agile. Created by Gem Hill, she decided to start the podcast to help herself learn and become a better tester. 

Website: http://letstalkabouttests.xyz/

5. TestGuild Podcasts

There are three TestGuild weekly podcasts, one for automation, security, and performance hosted by Joe Colantonio, which geek out on all things software testing. In each episode, he has a different guest who brings their perspective to the table. You might recognize Joe as the creator of the online conferences: TestingGuild, PerformanceGuid, AutomationGuild, and SecureGuild. 

Website: https://testguild.com/podcast/

6. The Ministry of Testing Podcast

The Ministry of Testing is a very special community online that is completely dedicated to building up the testing profession and helping testers learn. Its podcast is made of interviews of software testing experts that discusses specific software testing topics. The podcast also delves into non-technical topics such as office culture improvement and diversity and inclusion. 

Website: https://dojo.ministryoftesting.com/dojo/series/podcast-series-ministry-of-testing

7. Perfbytes

Perfbytes is a podcast managed by Leandro Melendez, Brian Wilson, James Pulley, and Mark Tomlinson. All four of whom are experts with impeccable experience in performance and load testing, having worked for large organizations. The podcasts are mainly centered around software testing tools and conferences. A great thing about it is that there is also Perfbytes Español for Spanish speaking listeners. 

Website: http://www.perfbytes.com/

8. Quality Coaching Roadshow

Tune into this monthly podcast hosted by Anne-Marie Charrett and Margaret Dineen to listen to the unique challenges and the context of Quality Coaches from around the world. Anne-Marie Charrett is an internationally recognized expert in quality engineering and Margaret Dineen is Director of 3WestStreet and the founder of Encompass Testing. 

Listen here: https://www.spreaker.com/show/quality-coaching

9. Quality Remarks

This is a podcast about software testing and quality management produced by Keith Klain, which seems to be becoming active after a hiatus. In the latest episodes, you can find guests like Michael Bolton, Rob Lambert or Anne Marie Charrett. Klain is a professional with over 20 years of experience managing enterprise-wide quality programs for financial services and global IT consulting firms, so there is much to learn from his show!

Website: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/quality-remarks-the-podcast-keith-klain-df-EmybMrei/

10. Quality Sense 

Quality Sense was created by Abstracta co-founder and COO, Federico Toledo, with the aim of helping to share knowledge about topics related to software testing through weekly one-on-one chats with different guests and personalities in the field of testing. Listen for insights on today’s most pressing topics and good practices from the creators and collaborators of different software testing tools, methodologies, conferences, etc.

Website: qualitysensepodcast.com 

11. Test and Code

Test and Code is a well-established podcast produced by Brian Okken covering a wide array of topics related to software engineering and testing, especially around the Python language. It focuses on testing and process questions like “How do I know it works?”, “How do I effectively test?”, etc. The podcast even has a Slack community! 

Website: http://testandcode.com/

12. Tester’s Island Discs

What would you do if you were stuck on an island with only five songs and one book to keep with you? That is the idea behind tester’s island, another podcast by the Ministry of Testing community. In each episode, Neil Studd interviews one of the members of the global QA community and asks them that very question. This is a great, light-hearted show which is of course, not purely about testing, yet very insightful.

Website: https://www.ministryoftesting.com/dojo/series/testers-island-discs-podcast

13. Testing One-on-One

This podcast was created by Rob Lambert and Joel Montvelisky wherein each episode, they answer a number of interesting questions from testers and that focus around a number of different areas of the software testing profession. Rob and Joel have decades of combined experience in testing and management and are very well known for their high quality software testing content.

Website: https://qablog.practitest.com/podcast/

14. Testing Peers

The Testing Peers is a newer software testing podcast produced by four like-minded software testers. Initially, they formed a group chat wherein they would discuss certain issues, rant, and ask for advice. The group chat then became a Slack community, but they still wanted another forum for discussion. So, they launched this podcast wherein they come together to support and challenge each other on their journeys as software testers and leaders. 

Website: https://testingpeers.com/

15. That’s a Bug!

In each monthly episode of “That’s a Bug!” the hosts discuss one specific bug. For example, in one episode, they discussed a particular Boeing 787 bug that required the aircraft to be restarted every 51 days or else it could cause a loss of control. If you ever needed a podcast to convince others that there’s tremendous value in software testing, this would surely be it!

Website: https://thatsabug.podbean.com/

16. Women Who Change Tech

The Women Who Change Tech podcast from Women Who Test highlights women who are contributing, trailblazing, and disrupting in the business of technology. In each episode, hosts Alison Wade, president of TechWell and founder of Women Who Test, and Jessie Shternshus, owner of Improv Effect offer a dose of inspiration from some of the most talented and creative women who are changing the face of technology. Many of the episodes center around leadership, creativity, and the soft skills needed to succeed.

Website: https://www.womenwhotest.com/

Let me know, are there any other software testing podcasts worth adding to this list? Leave a comment!

Previously published at https://abstracta.us/blog/software-testing/software-testing-podcasts/