This is a page where I share many useful learning resources that I use.

Videos

There aren't many video series I watch on a regular basis, but I can recommend a few.

  • JSConf has some great conference talks
  • OSCon has a lot of great talks on a wide range of subjects. I'm able to access the OSCon videos from previous years on Safari Books Online, which requires a subscription to use
  • FunFunFunction is absolutely my favorite video series. Mattias does a great job of being informative, entertaining, and inspiring, with a healthy dose of silliness mixed in.

Podcasts

I love listening to podcasts. I subscribe to so many, in fact, that I sadly don't have time to listen to all of them, even though they're all quite good.

Technology Podcasts

  • .NET Rocks: despite its name, only about 30-40% of the podcasts are directly .NET-related. The other podcasts range cover a wide range of technologies and concepts from MongoDB, Node.js, Python, C++, Elixir, and React to Angular, PostgreSQL, Docker, automated deployments, cloud services, unit testing, and much more. I think it's worth listening to even if you're not a .NET developer. This podcast has helped me learn about what is out there and when to use it.
  • Developer Tea: This is a podcast that is intended to help motivated developers succeed, and encourages them to have a positive influence on others. The episodes tend to be short and cover topics like testing, documentation, teamwork, learning, mentoring, staying motivated, communication, and general human psychology. This is where I get to learn about the "softer" aspects of working in the field of software development that I don't hear about on other podcasts. The podcast creator is a Ruby developer, but it's completely technology-agnostic.
  • Coding Blocks: this podcast consists of three software developers talking with each other about a variety of subjects such as clean coding, git workflows, Big O, algorithms, software design, and more. This podcast is from the point of view of .NET developers, but much of it is also applicable to other technologies.
  • Security Now: this is a weekly podcast that covers the latest news for all things related to computer and network security. Steve does a great job explaining the concepts around security and what can go wrong. I've learned a huge amount just listening to this show.

History Podcasts

I listen to a lot of history podcasts; so many, in fact, that they're releasing episodes faster than I can listen to them.

  • The British History Podcast: a very entertaining podcast covering the history of Britain, starting in prehistory and slowly working its way forward. The creator is a very good storyteller.
  • The Memory Palace: this podcast takes a story from the history of the United States, usually about a more obscure person or event, and tells it to us in 10-15 minutes. Nate is a fantastic storyteller, and every episode is interesting to listen to.
  • Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: a podcast that dives in depth on a period of history. These episodes tend to be very long (usually several hours) and come out about 5 times a year. Dan, a great storyteller and narrator, goes to great lengths to describe what these historical events were like and how they felt to the people who experienced them.
  • The History of Rome: a series that covers the Rome from its mythical founding to the fall of the western empire in the late 400s AD. This series was one of the earlier history podcasts, and finished up long ago. It's very interesting, and I listened to the whole thing.
  • History According to Bob: a podcast where Professor Bob talks in short episodes (about 10 minutes each) about several topics from history. He has about give or six ongoing topics at any time, and he really goes in depth.
  • The Ancient World: a podcast covering a wide range of topics related to ancient history. We get to hear a lot about peoples like ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, and the archeologists who rediscovered their stories.
  • Stuff You Missed in History Class: a podcast covering a huge variety of historical topics, with one topic per episode. As the name suggests, they tend to cover people and events you may not have heard of.
  • When Diplomacy Fails: a great podcast from an Irish history student, the episodes discuss the diplomacy that led to a conflict and how it failed to prevent the conflict. The emphasis is on the diplomatic aspects rather than the details of the conflict.
  • Tides of History: this podcast by a history professional dives into depth on a variety of topics related to the late Roman Empire, the late Middle Ages, and early modern period. I've learned way more about the late Roman Empire, its economy, and its people from this podcast than I have from any other source.
  • Ö1 Betrifft Geschichte: this German-language podcast talks about a topic from history. It's divided into five episodes and released every weekday. Since it is produced in Austria, it talks a lot about topics from Austrian history and presents an Austrian point-of-view on historical topics in other countries.

I have a bunch of other historical podcasts I subscribe to, but the podcasts mentioned here are the ones I listen to with any regularity.

Other Podcasts

These are podcasts I regularly listen to that don't fit into any of the above categories, but are still very interesting.

  • Here in Holland: an English-language podcast about life in the Netherlands
  • Irish and Celtic Music Podcast: a weekly podcast with around an hour of Celtic music
  • Laura Speaks Dutch: a podcast for people learning Dutch
  • Stuff You Should Know: this podcast takes a topic and dives into it, explaining it to the listeners. Topics range from science, government, history, biology, physics, and a variety of other topics
  • Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me: a humorous podcast featuring the week's news
  • Wort der Woche: a very short weekly podcast (about 2 minutes) that introduces a German word or phrase, often one you won't typically know unless you've lived in Germany for a while
  • Deutsche im Alltag: a weekly German-language podcast intended for people learning German. It talks about a different topic every week, and the narrator will typically speak slower than normal and rephrase things in another way to help learners understand. Even though I can understand a typical German podcast just fine, I still find this one interesting because it talks a lot about German culture and how things work in Germany.
  • SBS Dutch: I started listening to this podcast to help myself learn Dutch. I found much to my surprise that this is actually produced in Melbourne, Australia, and is intended for Dutch speakers living in Australia. So I get to improve my Dutch and learn about Australia at the same time! Very nice.