My least favorite part of making is the busy work that comes with it. Even when executing the most thoughtful designs, thereโs often a lot of mindless work that has to happen. Although some makers might think itโs an unsafe distraction, Iโve always loved listening to the radio through those moments. While I was never at a loss for great podcasts, I had a little more difficulty finding great podcasts about making. Here are 5 of my favorites that Iโve stumbled upon over the years:
Cool Tools is one thatโs been around for a long time โ itโs something like Whole Earth Catalogโs successor. Each episode,ย Kevin Kelly (who edited Whole Earth Catalog and founded Wired) and Mark Frauenfelder (who founded Boing Boing and was a founding editor for both Wired and Make: magazine) interview someone interesting about their favorite tools.
The Prepared: Spencer Wright and Zach Dunham talk us through a Kickstarter campaign theyโre doing โ in real time. Spencer Wright also has both a tool guide and really great newsletter about manufacturing that go by the same name. They also work at making their inclusivity policy realย โ something that makers everywhere need to double down on.
Looking Sideways: Andrew Sleigh does really great interviews with different makers. While there are plenty of other maker interview podcasts out there, Looking Sidewaysโ guests always offer new perspectives and thoughtful commentary. Itโs coming back in the next few months under a different name โ focusing more specifically on innovations in craft.
The Digital Factory is hosted by Formlabsย โ in line with their mission, the podcast is all about โExploring the future of manufacturing, engineering, design, and creationโ and bringing together cool people who are โreinventing the factory floor.โ There are several cool new technologies that I heard about first from the Digital Factory, eg. Desktop Metal.
The Things that Make Us: Each episode, Zoe Laughlin invites someone on to talk about objects that have โinspired, delighted, provoked, or influencedโ them. Most of her guests donโt consider themselves makers, but Zoe brings her wealth of maker experience from her work as the director of the Institute of Making at UCL.
For five more, check out Make: magazine’s previous list of maker podcasts.
Just because you make things doesnโt mean you should only listen to podcasts about making though. Cool Tools put together a reader-recommended list of the best factual podcasts (using the word factual loosely). Itโs already two years old, but in line with the Cool Tools ethos, its recommendations are evergreen. Stanfordโs D school has a few audio resources online too, such as this audio guide for helping makers get โunstuck,โ and a few playlists they recommend for different kinds of creative work.
What do you listen to while you work? Leave a comment or let me know.
Feature image by Maggie Walton
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