Stephanie Wong is an award-winning speaker and product manager who hosts Where the Internet Lives. She leads AI product efforts at Google Cloud, after being the Head of Developer Engagement. At Google, she has created 500+ developer videos, blogs, and podcasts supporting Google Cloud’s entire product portfolio. Outside of work, Stephanie is a former pageant queen, an avid hip-hop dancer, and a fierce supporter of women in tech.
If, like me, you want to understand AI and its implications for society, have a desire to figure out how tech and energy can live in harmony, need a sneak peek at the next big tech innovation, or just like to geek out on anything tech, I have some fabulous tech podcasts to recommend.
As the host and co-host of two Google podcasts (Where the Internet Lives and Google Cloud Platform Podcast, respectively), I love to dive into the topic of tech and listen to stories that are grabbing the attention of not just the industry but the world. There’s a lot to be excited, curious, and even a bit anxious about (AI, while cool, is also a bit of a nail-biter). Give these top-notch shows a listen as they showcase the best in tech news, innovations, and ideas and tackle the important tech questions on everyone’s minds – many with a slant toward business, energy, and climate.
Where the Internet Lives
I am a bit biased about Where the Internet Lives. Yes, I’m the host, but I am always amazed at the curious intersection between data centers, which we all need to keep the internet running, and the people and world around them. We tell deeply personal stories of people who work at and in partnership with data centers to bring solar energy to the masses, to fight for LGBTQ rights, to restore grasslands, to ensure we are using water sustainably, and in so many other ways. Give it a listen for a fresh perspective on energy and tech.
Episode recommendation: From Trauma to Triumph
Pivot
If you follow tech in the media, you’re probably familiar with Kara Swisher. She’s hosted a number of podcasts, including On, Sway, and HBO’s Succession Podcast. But my favorite is Pivot, which she co-hosts with Scott Galloway, an entrepreneur and NYU professor of marketing. They release episodes twice a week, providing timely and insightful knowledge and opinions about the latest news in tech and business. Their hilarious banter is reminiscent of a divorced couple who still annoy – but have everlasting fondness for – each other.
Episode recommendation: They’re all good. Start with the most recent, as each episode focuses on the tech topics of the day.
HBR IdeaCast
Harvard Business Review’s IdeaCast describes itself as a weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management. It is that, and they also focus heavily on tech. Right now they are running a timely series on the effects of generative AI on everything from creativity to productivity to org culture. I also found their conversation with Duke University School of Law professor Nita Farahany fascinating as they discussed brain technology, including wearable brain sensors for workplace surveillance and their pros (increased productivity) and cons (privacy issues).
Episode recommendation: Brain Tech Is Getting Really Good. Here’s What Managers Need to Know
Hard Fork
The term “hard fork” means to take something that isn’t working and make a radical change to improve it. With technology moving so quickly and tech companies large and small disposing of the old and looking for the next new thing at a head-spinning speed, Hard Fork (a tech podcast from The New York Times) arrived at just the right time to break it all down for us. Hosts and tech journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton do a great job explaining what we should be excited about in the world of tech – and where we should contain our optimism.
Episode recommendation: Bluesky Has the Juice + A.I. Jobs Apocalypse + Hard Questions
How I Built This with Guy Raz
How I Built This has more of a business focus, but host Guy Raz does feature interviews with some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs in the tech industry sharing the challenges they overcame to reach the top. As a small example, on the tech and energy side, Guy talks to Syd Kitson about building Babcock Ranch, a solar-powered town; Joe Laurienti about Ursa Major and its use of 3D printing in the creation of rocket engines; and Sara Menker on her company, Gro Intelligence, which provides analytics that offer valuable and actionable insights across agriculture, climate, and the economy.
Episode recommendation: HIBT Lab! Gro Intelligence: Sara Menker
In Machines We Trust
Produced by MIT Technology Review, In Machines We Trust is all about artificial intelligence and its quickly rising presence and far-reaching impact on humanity. AI is all anyone is talking about right now – in tech, business, media, entertainment, etc. This show digs into the topic with the people who are developing new forms of AI, and it places the spotlight firmly on the good, the bad, and everything in between that we can expect – or can only imagine at these early stages. A fun episode is “Harvesting the future with AI and satellites.” It’s easy to assume a farm would be the last place you’d see the latest technology, but far from it. AI is a vital tool for farmers, helping them determine the health of a seed or plant – all the way from space.
Episode recommendation: Harvesting the future with AI and satellites
Volts
Data centers consume energy. And at Google, our goal is to operate our data centers with 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030. So energy, the grid, sustainability, and climate topics and solutions are on our minds constantly. That’s why I recommend Volts, hosted by the insightful David Roberts, who focuses on the fight for clean energy. He talks with politicians, innovators, analysts, and activists like Vero Bourg-Meyer of the Clean Energy States Alliance, who Roberts interviewed about removing barriers to bring rooftop solar to low- and middle-income populations.
Episode recommendation: Getting rooftop solar onto low- and middle-income housing
Catalyst with Shayle Kann
In the same vein as Volts is Catalyst with Shayle Kann, another fantastic energy podcast that focuses heavily on climate tech. Shayle, a partner at Energy Impact Partners, talks with prominent guests in the climate tech world and asks them how we can best decarbonize the planet.
Episode recommendation: Understanding the transmission bottleneck
WSJ’s The Future of Everything
How can tech make our lives better? That’s what the Wall Street Journal podcast The Future of Everything seeks to understand. They look closely at science and technology news and trends, uncovering the breakthroughs that show promise and inspire hope for a brighter future. Some of my favorite episodes: how sensors in football helmets reduce traumatic brain injuries; how scents and virtual reality are used to treat people who have experienced trauma; and how undersea cables are getting broadband internet access to remote areas.
Marketplace Tech
Want your tech podcasts short and sweet? Check out Marketplace Tech. This podcast covers the latest in the digital and tech economy in a succinct, yet engaging, fashion. And it does so in only 10 minutes each weekday.
Episode recommendation: How AI is helping people speak
Pocket Casts Blog 