Top 5 Free Podcasts on Big Data

A podcast is file which can be downloaded to a computer or mobile device, usually for free. Podcasts are downloaded as individual episodes that usually make up a series. Typically, podcasts are audio files, but they can also be video or other file formats, and are created by a wide variety of individuals, businesses, nonprofit groups, research firms, news and media outlets, and government agencies, on a broad range of topics.

The largest collection of downloadable podcasts currently exists on iTunes, but they can also be found elsewhere. Podcasts can be a great resource for individuals and organizations to keep up with all the news, trends, and buzz in their industry, and the ease of access in acquiring them make them a perfect listen on the subway ride to work.

Here are the top 5 podcast episodes on big data (non-industry specific), according to popularity on iTunes (with each series title linked):

1. Big Data Solves Problems (Audio)  Harvard Business Review, HBR IdeaCast

“Kevin Boudreau, London Business School professor. A weekly podcast featuring the leading thinkers in business and management from Harvard Business Review.”

2. Big Data (Audio)  McKinsey High Tech, MicKinsey on High Tech Podcasts

“McKinsey on High Tech Podcasts featuring interviews with leaders and experts from McKinsey & Company’s High Tech Practice. The podcast offers insights and perspectives on High Tech industry related topics, based on original business research developed by McKinsey’s High Tech Practice.”

3. Kenneth Cukier: Big Data is better data (Video)  TED Conferences LLC, This Year in Ideas: TED Talks in 2014

“What were the most powerful ideas of 2014? Dive into 48 great talks from the past year. Self-driving cars were just the start. What’s the future of big data-driven technology and design? In a thrilling science talk, Kenneth Cukier looks at what’s next for machine learning — and human knowledge.”

4. IBM Big Data & Analytics Hub Podcasts (Audio)  IBM Big Data Hub

“The Talking Big Data Podcast provides the latest thinking on big data and its implications for the enterprise from a range of experts.”

5. Opportunities Abound in the Big Data Space – Mike Olsen, Ping Li (Cloudera) (Audio) Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders

“The DFJ Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar (ETL) is a weekly seminar series on entrepreneurship, co-sponsored by BASES (a student entrepreneurship group), Stanford Technology Ventures Program, and the Department of Management Science and Engineering. Cloudera Co-Founder Mike Olson shares his insights on the present landscape and possible future of big data and the data management industry. In conversation with Ping Li of Accel Partners, Olson also discusses the advantages of building a business on top of open source technologies and the many surprising benefits of competition.”

There you have it! Podcasts can fuel business insights and help solutions reach larger audiences. Maybe listening to one of these will inspire you to create one for yourself or organization.