When you’re an innovator, you’re constantly looking for inspiration. This is because a big part of being an innovator is being a researcher — someone with continuous learning on their mind. You’re looking for opportunities in adjacent spaces, emerging trends, testing out new technologies, etc. A great place for inspiration and information is the podcast realm where people are constantly publishing content around different parts of the innovation world: ideas about creativity, about how to make space for innovation in work life, how to think about new technologies and what makes an innovation program successful. To jumpstart your thinking, we’ve provided a list of our top ten innovation podcasts as well as a recommendation on a favorite episode to get started with.
What It Is: Every episode, IdeaScale interviews one champion of innovation — an innovation manager, an intrapreneur, a leader of transformation and asks them about their program: how it’s organized, the challenges that they’re having, the best practices they’ve adopted and some examples of some results from their effort. It’s a chance for other innovation leaders to get some real insight into the mechanics of a corporate innovation discipline.
Favorite Episode: Yamaha: Crowdsourcing Innovation in R&D, Shining Lights into The Blindspots
Why We Like It: If you’re starting your own innovation program, it’s helpful to hear from others who have already done so. Because IdeaScale Nation proactively asks about challenges or even failures it offers practical advice to anyone who might want to sidestep those problems or replicate these practices in their own initiative.
What It Is: Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world’s best known companies.
Favorite Episode: Instagram: Kevin Systrom & Mike Krieger
Why We Like It: You really get a sense of how many different ways there are for an idea to grow. Some companies have success due to collaboration, sometimes it’s due to someone’s singular vision, sometimes it’s because of dogged persistence and sometimes it’s luck. Hear a range of stories from inspiring entrepreneurs.
What It Is: A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management.
Favorite Episode: Become a Better Listener
Why We Like It: Well, apart from the fact that their name has interstitial capitalization, they also feature big ideas that are flourishing in the workplace.
What It Is: Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.
Favorite Episode: Rebel with a Cause
Why We Like It: This type of in-depth psychology gives us ideas for how to better engage the crowd, inspire creativity, and drive innovative thinking.
What It Is: Explores innovation and entrepreneurship concepts being studied at Stanford where Tina Seelig empowers students to be more confident, creative and entrepreneurial in life.
Favorite Episode: Breakthrough Ideas Require Advance Planning
Why We Like It: Tina Seelig is an inspiring personality, but she has some very practical approaches to creative thinking that can be applied by anyone.
What It Is: A podcast from VC funder, Andreessen Horowitz, which covers business best practices, emerging technology, inspirational entrepreneurs, and more.
Favorite Episode: From Jobs to Flying Cars
Why We Like It: A great podcast if you want to think about the future of technology.
What It Is: Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside some of the world’s most unusual workplaces to discover the keys to better work.
Favorite Episode: The Daily Show’s Secret to Creativity
Why We Like It: We loved Adam Grant’s originals and his approach to presenting psychology concepts with practical case studies makes it seem like you could apply these great ideas anywhere.
8. Global Innovation Management Institute Game Changers
What It Is: Each Game Changers podcast features a conversation about great innovations and great innovators with the goal of finding out how those innovations got started, how they were achieved, and what made them special.
Favorite Episode: Beyond Luck: Persistence And The Successful Woman Innovator
Why We Like It: Not only do you get insight into some familiar and unfamiliar case studies, but they also look at issues that cut across industries and geographies, like women in innovation or innovation in cities.
What It Is: Radiolab investigates the tension between the certainty of science and mysteries that inspire wonder.
Favorite Episode: CRISPR
Why We Like It: Radiolab is one of the most popular podcasts out there so it doesn’t need an introduction, but looking at concepts (both new and old) from the peculiar intersection of ethics, science, civics, philosophy definitely encourages complex pondering after every listen.
What It Is: A journey through fascinating ideas: astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, new ways to think and create.
Favorite Episode: The Meaning of Work
Why We Like It: It’s a great way to get a sampling of TED talks around themes that might help you solve problems (new and old).
This article was originally published on the IdeaScale blog here.
