Top 5 Law and Non-Law Podcasts

Podcasts for Lawyers

I spend a good bit of my time listening to podcasts. They get me through drives to court, distance runs, housework, and yard work. They get me through bouts of insomnia. And they are as big a part of my day as reading and watching television (which consists these day of binging every episode of Billions I can watch in a week). They educate as much as they inform.

And, as I record episodes of my own legal podcasts, The Advocate’s Key,  I use these as the standard. They shape the kind of podcast I want to have. I’ll start out with non-law podcasts before moving to those in the law.

1. The Mac Power Users

I am going to put this one in the category of non-law, though co-host David Sparks is an attorney. And he often refers to his day job in various episodes. MPU was one of the first podcasts I ever listened to, back when I barely knew what a podcast was. MPU is a weekly podcast focused on how to use Macs, iPads, and iPhones to get work done. You might say that MPU geeks out on all things Apple. But all of their content is accessible to the listener who isn’t computer savvy. The format is features two hosts. And most of the time they have a guest who talks about how the guest gets work done in respective careers. I absolutely love MPU. Fair warning, if you have Apple devices, you will end up spending money on things they discuss because they make those things sound so cool. Listen toMPU here.

2. Making Sense

Sam Harris is one of my favorite thinkers and philosophers. Sam Harris is a clear thinker, excellent speaker, and engaging interviewer. Sam Harris engages in ideas and follows them to wherever his thoughts lead him. One week, his podcast may explore the nature of consciousness. The next week he may discuss gun control or corporate governance. He has a knack for offending people on the right as well as on the left. He belongs to no camp in particular. Most episodes challenge my thinking on even the most basic of things. As a lawyer, I like his sense of freedom to explore a range of questions, even if that exploration proves to be iconoclastic. In a world that seems to send us down into siloed news sources, Sam Harris’s podcast is remarkably eclectic. Listen to Sam here.

3. The Great Trials Podcast

Now to podcasts about the law. I love The Great Trials Podcast. It is hosted by two Georgia lawyers. And each episode features an interview with lawyers who have won a significant plaintiff’s verdict in a trial. In each episode, the two hosts interview a trial lawyer who breaks down the case from start to finish. The stories are engaging. And it’s a rare episode when I don’t learn something about trial practice and trial technique. True confession, at one point in time my dream was to argue a case at the United States Supreme Court. And now my dream is to have a Great-Trial-Podcast-Worthy case. Find the latest episode of The Great Trails Podcast here.

 

4. See You in Court

I’m relatively new to his podcast. See you in Court is hosted by two former Georgia State Bar presidents – Robin Frazer Clark and Lester Tate. Their episodes cover a broad range of specialties with interviews with various lawyers. But by far my favorite episode is the one with Kentucky attorney Brian Haara who wrote a book about bourbon and how bourbon-related litigation shaped American law (April 9, 2021). Lester was my guest in a previous podcast. And Lester and Robin do a fantastic job. Listen to See You In Court here.

5. Honorable Mentions

I listen to way more than four podcasts. And I want to mention a few more. There’s Akimbo, Michael Lewis’s Against the Rules, Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, the Tim Ferriss Show, and the Red Agenda, a podcast dedicated to Liverpool Football.

What podcasts do you listen to? Do you have a recommendation for me and others? Send them in using the contact form.