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Student Insights

10 of the best… podcasts

Author: ICAEW Insights

Published: 30 Jun 2022

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Whether it’s keeping up to date with the global economic picture or finding a better work/life balance, podcasts are a great way to stay informed and inspired. Here are a few of our favourites.

1 FT News Briefing

Perfect for even the shortest morning commute, this bite-sized briefing from the Financial Times covers the day’s top business stories around the world. Some episodes can feel a little US-biased – it’s hosted by New York-based Marc Filippino, with input from FT journalists – but each offers a concise and upbeat look behind three of the day’s headlines.

2 Economist: Money Talks

This weekly podcast is a great way to keep up with current issues in the world of global economics. Each episode is only around 30 minutes long, but offers a surprisingly in-depth, well-informed and balanced look at a timely topic, from the threat of a stock market bubble burst to the environmental impact of our culinary choices.

3 AccountingWEB

The No Accounting for Taste podcast distils AccountingWEB’s award-winning content into an easy-listen format, with insight from its journalists along with special guests. As well as rounding up three of the biggest stories from the past week, it takes a deep dive into a particular topical story in each half-hour episode.

4 Humanise The Numbers

Billed as ‘a podcast for ambitious accountants’, this is a regular series of hour-long interviews with owners, directors and managers of UK accounting firms of all shapes and sizes. Though it’s mainly aimed at practice leaders, it nevertheless offers a fascinating insight for all into the best-practice skills and habits that lead to success.

5 WorkLife With Adam Grant

Author, organisational psychologist and TED Talk favourite Adam Grant (“I study how to make work not suck”) hosts this series on improving work life. With wide-ranging topics such as making the hybrid working model work, the importance of emotional intelligence, and why employers should allow ‘sad days’, it’s insightful and entertaining.

6 The High Performance Podcast

This weekly podcast attracts high-flying names from the worlds of sport and business – from Joe Wicks and Sir Jason Kenny to author Lee Child and Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur – all with inspiring success stories to tell. Most are an hour long, but look out for the Bitesize episodes for a quick inspiration fix. 

7 The Diary of a CEO

Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett chats to fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders in this no-holds-barred (and often headline-hitting) weekly podcast. It’s honest, inspiring and addictive – so luckily there are over 150 full-length episodes to catch up on, as well as a series of short Moments episodes and regular themed compilations.

8 The Big Green Money Show 

Another Dragon, Deborah Meaden, is on a mission to find out what businesses big and small are doing to tackle climate change and lower their impact on the planet in this new weekly podcast. Launched in March, topics already covered include electric vehicles, fast fashion and green pensions. (Co-host Felicity Hannah also presents another great BBC Radio 5 Live offering, Wake Up to Money.)

9 Digi-Tools in Accrual World

Another relatively new offering, this is the UK’s answer to the popular Cloud Accounting Podcast in the US, and aims to be the go-to place for all things cloud accounting and digital tech. As well as regular roundups of the latest app news, it features some great interviews with trail-blazers such as Inflo’s Mark Edmonson and GoProposal’s James Ashford.

10 The Happiness Lab

The Happiness Lab is based on a course its host, psychology professor Dr Laurie Santos, teaches at Yale University – which quickly became the most popular in the college’s history. With the help of special guests, she explores a variety of concepts such as embracing sadness, seeing emotions as data, and why social media can be bad for our mental health.

Check out ICAEW’s own regular Insights podcast, which offers in-depth analysis of the biggest business, finance and accountancy issues with the help of expert guests. And listen back to the More Than A Number series, a look at the stories behind some of the world’s most important headline figures.

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