16 essential UX and user research podcasts

As season two of UserZoom’s own podcast series draws to a close (you can listen to the latest episode of UXpeditious here), there’s a strong chance you still have a fierce appetite for more UX and user research content. If so, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s our pick of the very best UX and user research podcasts available today. 

1: NN/g UX Podcast

The hugely influential Nielsen-Norman Group launched its podcast in 2020 and is now 23 episodes old.

Hosted by Senior User Experience Specialist Therese Fessenden, the NN/g UX Podcast covers user experience research, design, strategy, and much more (You can also catch NN/g Group’s Jakob Nielsen on the very first episode of our own UXpeditious podcast). 

🎧 Listen to the NN/g podcast now

2: The UX Podcast

Beginning back in 2011, this podcast from UX designers Per Axbom and James Royal-Lawson has just hit its 300th episode. “It’s not just for UXers, it’s for everyone with a foot in the digital door,” says Per and James on their website. “We hope to move the conversation beyond the traditional realm of User Experience.” You can catch a new episode of The UX Podcast every other Friday. 

🎧 Listen to The UX Podcast here

3: Brave UX with Brendan Jarvis

In each of his Brave UX podcast episodes, New Zealander Brendan Jarvis unpacks a range of topics spanning UX, design, and product management. His aim? To help you to create better products. As Brendan says on YouTube, the Brave UX podcast is not for the faint-hearted—each episode goes deep into each topic, leaving no UX stone unturned.

🎧 Listen to Brave UX now

4: UI Narrative

Anyone in the UX and user research industry knows just how important diversity and inclusion are.

Tolu Garcia's UI Narrative podcast takes the lead, sharing stories of black and people of color that work in the UX, design, and user research industry.

A must-listen recent episode features Eniola Abioye from Meta—plus many more from any of the previous 60+ episodes. 

🎧 Listen now

5: Mixed Methods

Masterminded by Aryel Cianflone, plus an expert team of contributors, Mixed Methods has a laser focus on user experience research. Through interviews with industry experts and hands-on trial and error, we indulge and celebrate curiosity. As the podcast says itself, listeners can look forward to “testing assumptions, examining methods, and engaging in some good-old-fashioned experiments.”

🎧 Listen to Mixed Methods now

6: The Yizzi Research Podcast

Pronounced ‘Yizz-zee’, this podcast neatly bills itself as a “resource for people who research people.”

It’s hosted by New York-based UX researcher Imani Nichols, who has already produced two seasons and more than 30 episodes of insights, tips, and interviews on life as a user researcher.

🎧 Listen to the Yizzi Research podcast

7: Understanding Users

Host Mike Green is a freelance UX researcher based in the UK. Mike’s relaxed and informal chats with fellow UX pros are often on-location, at UX events up and down the UK.

Mike’s background in psychology and affable manner helps him strike up a warm rapport with his interviewees, making for some truly engaging, candid, and insightful conversations. Not to be missed!

🎧 Listen to Understanding Users

8: User Defenders

UX designer Jason Ogle takes us on a journey into the hows and whys of UX design, explaining why UX design and personal growth are so closely related. Starting in 2015, Jason has produced a mighty back catalog of over 100 episodes. At the time of writing, Jason is, unfortunately, taking a break from podcasting for a while (he’ll be back!), but there’s plenty to get your teeth into here. 

🎧 Listen to User Defenders

9: UX Cake 

Host Leigh Allen-Arredondo speaks to leaders from across the globe, offering up practical advice to benefit your own work and career in UX. Previous guests include well-known UX leaders like Don Norman and Indi Young.

🎧 Listen to UX Cake

10: Dear Nikki

The podcast for user researchers looking for personalized advice.

Host Nikki Anderson-Stanier is your problem-solver-in-chief, taking questions from user researchers around the world and giving her expert advice.

Nikki only started the podcast this year, but already it’s shown its value as a balanced, insightful, and well-produced listen for any user researcher. Recent episodes explain how to work cross-departmentally and how to recruit a B2B participant panel. Highly recommended. 

🎧 Listen to Dear Nikki now

11: Design Thinking 101

Dawan Stanford’s Design Thinking 101 is for anyone wanting to solve problems like a designer and apply design thinking to their projects. Each in-depth episode interviews a different design leader, helping listeners learn about design-driven innovation, connect design thinking to strategy and action, and apply design thinking to real-world tasks. Packed full of tips and tricks.

🎧 Listen now

12: Boagworld 

Paul Boag is a veteran podcaster, having run various UX podcasts since 2005. Boagworld’s focus is more UX design than user research, but Paul’s guests and ‘UX school’ format make it an evergreen source of guidance and advice. Although Paul is taking a break from podcasting right now, his Boagworld podcast has a huge library of past episodes available. 

🎧 Listen to Boagworld now

13: 97 UX Things

From Daniel Berlin, the author of the book 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know, comes the podcast 97 UX Things.

Daniel interviews a different UX professional in each episode, discussing what drives them, why they do what they do, and—perhaps most interestingly—uncover essential UX advice and guidance. 

🎧 Listen now

14: We’re Jabbin’

Join product designer Kenji Kaneko UX researcher Licheng Zhu for fun and friendly discussions on all things UX research and design. From tips and advice to book reviews and the week-by-week dramas happening in Kenji and Licheng’s own lives, it’s a great listen. 

🎧 Listen to We're Jabbin' now

15: The Human Show 

The Human Show isn’t your standard user research or UX podcast. User research is (arguably) a branch of social science, and that’s the focus of this podcast series.

You’ll hear interviews with anthropologists, researchers, and industry specialists, all talking about their work in understanding people. Look out for the episode on democratizing UX research. 

🎧 Listen to The Human Show

16: Awkward Silences

This user research podcast comes to you from the good folks at User Interviews, a panel recruitment company. It is hosted by Erin May and JH Hunter—who you can also catch on UserZoom’s own UXpeditious podcast.

Each episode of Awkward Silences interviews a user research pro, going deep on UX research, qualitative data, and how to build better products and businesses. 

🎧 Listen to Awkward Silences

Happy listening!

Did we miss your favorite UX podcast? Let us know and we’ll add it to the list. And don’t forget, there are new episodes arriving on UserZoom’s own UXpeditious podcast every week. Check ‘em out!