Software development is a fast moving profession and it’s near impossible to stay up to date with all of the changes, new libraries, and great open-source projects that are coming out on what feels like an hourly basis. That’s where great podcasts come in to keep you not only up to date on your development specialty but also give you an understanding of what is going on in other areas of the industry, so you remain a well rounded technologist. In the interest of fairness, I am going to exclude my own show Coder Radio from this list but I would of course encourage you to give it a shot as well as all of the other great Jupiter Broadcasting productions. So here are my five must listens in no particular order!

Linux Action Show: Though this is more of a general Linux development show, it’s the best source for Linux coverage on the web today. Even developers who aren’t focused on the FOSS / Linux space, should at least listen to LAS to maintain a level of knowledge on the platform to hold up a casual conversation with a Linux-focused developer.

The Bike Shed: Focusing on web development with a specific focus on Ruby, Rails, and all things JavaScript, this show gives a good overall look at the web development landscape from the perspective of developers working at a high-end development consultancy — the show is produced and hosted by members of the Thoughtbot team.

.Net Rocks: This is one of the classic developer shows and it’s still great. Even though I imagine that many of you reading this aren’t work on .Net / Microsoft technologies, this show will still manages to be accessible. This is an absolute must listen for those of you who may have some prejudices or just simply be out of touch with what is going on with Microsoft developers.

Accidental Tech Podcast: ATP is a show hosted by some very deep and thoughtful Apple fans who also happen to be developers. I’m positioning it that way, because like LAS, ATP isn’t designed as a developer show, but they do often showcase development topics. I find this show especially valuable, because I rarely agree with the hosts when it comes to development topics or their general outlook on technology as well as what makes software valuable. It’s this challenge to some of my held beliefs that I find valuable and while my outlook has continued to diverge from theirs, there is still tremendous value in being challenged and I recommend that all of you subscribe to at least one show where your options will be challenged.

One More Thing: OK, so I told you there’d be four but I have a fifth. I just launched a YouTube Channel that focuses on open-source and mobile development tips for the enterprise sector. I hope you’ll check it out!

There you have it – my four must listens and a bonus! Let me know what you think on Twitter and take a look at my company Buccaneer Tech INC!