Podcasts are very clearly on the rise.

A study done by Marketing Podcasts revealed that iTunes has over a quarter of a million podcasts on it, up from 200,000 in 2010. In fact, iTunes boasts of a billion subscriptions to various podcasts via its app.

What’s more, roughly 30% of all Americans have listened to a podcast, and 15% have listened to at least one within the past month.

So evidently, podcasts are fast becoming a preferred way to digest content — and the trend is no different in the WordPress industry. Not only are there many different podcast networks to choose from, but there’s also a very high demand for them (myself included).

In this post, I’ve listed five of the very best WordPress podcasts. They cover different niches within the WordPress industry — from news to interviews to business and more — and there is sure to be at least one here that you’ll personally find enjoyable.

WPWeekly

WPWeekly is a WordPress podcast created by WP Tavern. It’s hosted by Jeff Chandler and Marcus Couch. The podcast typically covers news and related events — a few of the most recent episodes cover the coming of WordPress 4.4 (due this December) and, sadly, the passing of Alex King, a stalwart in the WordPress community and founder of Crowd Favorite.

Jeff and Marcus are also frequently joined by notable WordPress business owners. For example, September 24th’s issue featured Jason Lemieux and Dylan Kuhn, two of the guys responsible for bringing us Postmatic.

It’s a great podcast to listen to if you want to keep up on the latest WordPress news and trends. The environment Jeff and Marcus create is quite friendly and down to earth.

Apply Filters

Apply Filters is hosted by two notable WordPress plugin developers, Brad Touesnard and Pippin Williamson. The podcast mainly covers WordPress development and code; a new episode is usually released at least once every two weeks.

In their own words, Brad and Pippin “love talking about code and not worrying about annoying the non-developer listeners in the audience,” so if you work in web development this could be a great place to help you keep your development knowledge up to snuff.

Brad and Pippin also frequently talk about the plugin projects that they’re working on (episodes 47 and 45, for example). Other developers are often featured in the podcast — James Laws, co-founder of WP Ninjas, being the most recent.

If you’re looking to get the word out about your WordPress business, then you can also choose to sponsor an episode — it’s $300 a pop for a short, 1-2 minute slot and $800 for a longer, interview-style slot.

Last, but not least, you can even submit a topic idea, and Brad and Pippin might get to it on the next episode.

BlogAid

If, on the other hand, you’re not well-versed in developer lingo and you’re just trying to make the most WordPress as a non-developer listener, then you should try listening to the BlogAid podcast.

BlogAid is hosted by MaAnna Stephenson, who describes herself as “a geek who can still speak plain English.” MaAnna makes an effort to connect with the everyday blog owner, and in the podcast she comes across as a great personality and a knowledgeable instructor.

The podcast’s topics aren’t limited to WordPress — MaAnna also frequently discusses social media, blog marketing, and her own projects.

Interviews are once again common. The last interview featured David Kutcher, co-owner of Confluent Forms — a web development and design company.

A new episode comes out every Tuesday, so block out 10 minutes in your calendar and have a listen!

Matt Report

Matt Report is hosted by WordPress developer Matt Medeiros. He runs things along with his father, Mark, at Slocum Studio (a WordPress design and development company). Matt has spoken several times at various WordCamps over the years.

Matt Report is actually one of my personal favorites on this list since the podcast mainly covers one of my best-loved topics: building a successful WordPress business.

Take, for instance, Season 2 Episode 2 of the podcast. In it, Matt talks about overcoming your fears and launching a product (plus there’s also a bit on growing your list) and features Troy Dean of WP Elevation.

Since Matt has founded several WordPress businesses himself, including Conductor Plugin and more recently Julep, he’s able to speak from personal experience.

Unfortunately, this podcast is a little more sporadic than the others, with quite a few weeks between episodes. However, each episode is from 40-60 minutes long and well-worth the listen. I’d highly recommend that you check this out if you’re either a WordPress business owner or thinking about becoming one.

WordPress Plugins A to Z

WordPress Plugins A to Z is a podcast that covers (you guessed it!) WordPress plugins. It’s hosted by John Overall and Marcus Couch — as you might have noticed, Marcus also co-presents the first podcast we discussed, WPWeekly.

In each episode, John and Marcus review a few plugins that each fulfill a different function. The most recent episode explored plugins for front page sliders, quizzes, popups, visual theme customization, and Magento and WooCommerce migration.

The WordPress Plugins A to Z archives are quite sizeable. 232 episodes have already been broadcasted, and a new one is added every 1-2 weeks.

Wrapping Up

WordPress podcasts can be a great way to stay on top of the industry and even pick up a few new tips and tricks to sharpen your WordPress skills.

Do you currently listen to any other WordPress podcasts not mentioned in the list above? Do you perhaps host a podcast yourself? Feel free to make some mentions in the comments below.