9 business podcasts you need to listen to
9 business podcasts you need to listen to
Looking for inspirational and engaging business podcasts to keep you at the top of your game and help prepare you for future business success?
Don’t spend hours trying to find a great series that'll hook you. We’ve taken the liberty of finding the best of the best (listed in no particular order) so you can dive straight in. Tried and tested by UQ Business School staff, you know these will be good!
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1. Acquired
Acquired is a long‑form business podcast featuring three‑hour, deeply researched episodes that explore the strategies, histories and decision‑making behind the world’s most influential companies. Known for its depth and rigour, it has been described by The Wall Street Journal as “the business world’s best podcast.”
Recommended by Professor Shaun Bond
2. ABC’s This Working Life
This Working Life explores everything about work and workplace culture. Topics include hybrid and remote work, employee wellbeing, organisational change, diversity and inclusion, and the impact of AI and surveillance. The focus is on the people behind the work – their challenges, opportunities and stories.
Recommended by Associate Professor Chad Chiu
3. Think Fast, Talk Smart
A podcast that helps leaders strengthen their communication skills under pressure, from speaking clearly in the moment to crafting messages that cut through. Host Matt Abrahams draws on real-world scenarios and expert insights to offer practical guidance for leaders who want to communicate with confidence and impact.
Recommended by Professor Marta Indulska
4. The Rest is Politics: US
This is a regular podcast on the business of politics and the politics of business. Hosted by BBC’s Katty Kay and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci, it offers an insider, bipartisan take on US politics. It is a useful lens on how political decisions and business interests shape the economy and business.
Recommended by Professor Stan Karanasios
5. The Conversation Weekly
Each episode features leading Australian and international academics who break down the stories behind the headlines and share fresh research shaping our understanding of how the world works.
Recommended by Professor Nicole Hartley
6. TED Business
TED Business covers a variety of topics and interviews for business leaders. Every week, the host shares a TED Talk on navigating and making an impact in the business world, followed by a mini-lesson on how to apply the idea in your own life.
Recommended by Professor Marta Indulska
7. WorkLife with Adam Grant
Adam Grant is an organisational psychologist, best-selling author and professor at the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania. His podcast provides evidence-based recommendations for a variety of workplace issues, including leadership, human motivations and team building.
Recommended by Associate Professor Chad Chiu
8. Me, Myself and AI
A series that showcases how leading companies are turning artificial intelligence into real business value. Through conversations with executives at organisations such as Hugging Face, YouTube and Cisco, MIT Sloan explores what effective AI adoption actually looks like.
Recommended by Professor Marta Indulska
9. Hard Fork
Hard Fork, by the New York Times, is a weekly tech podcast hosted by journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton. It’s a sharp, fun way to keep up with what companies like xAI, Tesla and OpenAI are doing, and it tackles bigger questions like where AI is actually driving scientific progress. It also dips into Australia-relevant issues, such as the social media ban.
Recommended by Professor Stan Karanasios
There are so many informative and inspirational business podcasts out there with advice and tips to help you get started on your own business endeavours and learn more about business and emerging industries.
Whenever you choose to listen to them, incorporating these series into your everyday life will help you stay in the know and ahead of the game.
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About the contributors
Nicole is the Director of the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program and Executive Education at UQ. As a service marketing expert, she’s passionate about healthcare, technology and leadership. Nicole is also involved in the Queensland Digital Health Centre, Centre for Enterprise AI and Centre for the Business and Economics of Health.
Chad is a behavioural scientist specialising in leadership and organisational behaviour. He’s the Management discipline lead at UQ Business School and teaches into the MBA program. Chad’s research has helped organisations build more inclusive, sustainable workplaces and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, ABC News (Australia), Forbes, The Sydney Morning Herald, Management Today, and HR Daily.
Marta is the Director of Research at UQ Business School and is an expert on business information systems. She has published over 100 fully refereed articles in internationally recognised journals and conferences and has worked with organisations in the retail, consulting and non-profit sectors to provide guidance on Information Technology topics. Marta is the Director of Research for the ARC Centre for Information Resilience (CIRES) and also holds affiliate positions at the UQ Cyber Research Centre and Centre for Enterprise AI.
Stan is a professor in information systems and the Director of HDR Students at UQ Business School as well as an affiliate of the UQ Cyber Research Centre and Centre for Enterprise AI. His research draws and expands on activity theory, holds a visiting position at the University of Leeds as well as editorial positions on several Australian and International journals.
Shaun is a Deputy Head of the UQ Business School, working across accounting, finance and business information systems, and holds the Frank Finn Professorship in Finance. His research spans real estate finance and financial economics, with contributions to understanding property cycles, asset pricing, investment strategies, and the evaluation of real estate risk and return.
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