UX research podcasts

We’re always impressed by the generosity of the Lyssna community, and your survey responses were instrumental in putting together this article on the nine best UX research podcasts. 

We hope you find some shows that will help you take in new perspectives, inspire you, and learn things you can apply to your work.

Let’s dive right in to the best nine UX research podcasts – as recommended by you!

1. Awkward Silences

Awkward Silences from User Interviews is one of the most well-regarded UX research podcasts around. Describing itself as a show where “we interview people who interview people”, hosts Erin May and JH Forster lead their guests through thoughtful conversations that cover many different facets of UX research. Awkward Silences stands out in terms of the caliber of people they feature, and it delivers a lot of knowledge and insights with each episode. 

Recommended listening

This conversation with Kat Zhou, Senior Product Designer at Epidemic Sound, delves into ethics and empathy. Whether it’s considering the needs of marginalized groups in the research and development process, or how to make digital products more inclusive and welcoming, companies need to keep people at the center. We’re happy to see UX research podcasts addressing ethics, and this particular episode covers the significance of this topic.

2. UX Research Geeks

Hosted by senior UX researcher Tina Ličková, UX Research Geeks from UXtweak features interviews with a wide range of designers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and others working in UX. The show covers a different topics that will surely capture your interest, whether it's exploring the impact of AI on healthcare or delving into the essential components of effective market research. We’re huge fans of UX research podcasts that stay on top of current developments in the field, and UX Research Geeks is one you’ll want to regularly tune into. 

Recommended listening

This is a fascinating conversation with Sina Schreiber, UX Researcher and Content Strategist at Condens, a user research repository platform. Sina’s background is in communications, and this episode explores how this influenced her to pursue UX research, and how this knowledge helps her in her present role. This episode offers valuable insights on UX research that you won't want to miss, given the speaker's position at Condens and the company's focus. 

3. The Yzzi Research Podcast

The Yzzi Research Podcast caters to those in the field of UX research, providing valuable insights and practical career guidance for anyone interested in starting or progressing in the industry. The best UX research podcasts tend to have hosts who have worked extensively in the field, and Imani Nichols runs her own UX research consulting business, which gives her an informed perspective, as well as plenty of stories to share.  

Recommended listening

Michele McDonald is a mentor to Imani, and this familiarity leads to an easy and upbeat conversation between the two. We learn much about Michele’s career trajectory from teaching to market research, as well as tips and advice for doing user research and interviewing. We always like hearing UX research podcasts featuring people who have made career changes, and Michele’s story is really relatable.

4. Anthro to UX Podcast with Matt Artz

We’ll admit that the Anthro to UX podcast holds a specialized niche, featuring interviews with people who have studied anthropology and found their way into UX. But when you think about it, this type of transition makes sense. Anthropology involves understanding cultures and human behavior, which shares similar principles with UX. We like UX research podcasts that cross disciplines, and the intersectionality between design and anthropology makes Anthro to UX a captivating listen. 

Recommended listening

Kathi Kitner has the esteemed role of Lead UX Researcher at Google. In this episode, the conversation starts with how she got interested in anthropology as an undergrad, what led her down the path of getting a PhD in cultural anthropology and Latin American studies, and her current research on how socioeconomic factors and technology play a role in determining people’s spending habits.

5. UX Research Rundown

Though they’ve only been around since 2022 and appear to be on hiatus since May 2023, we’re hoping that the UX Research Rundown returns. You’ll find in their backlog of interviews with people holding a variety of different roles working in UX, with a focus on SaaS. We love hearing about how to better collaborate, and the entire first season is dedicated to talking about teamwork.

Recommended listening

Patti Carlson studied psychology in college, and an internship led her into the realm of UX research. Since then, she's held the role of Director of Research and Insights at Dropbox, as well as worked for Mailchimp, State Farm, and Cox Media. She's been involved right from the beginning when UX took hold as a formal discipline and discusses its evolution, along with stories of how her career in UX developed.

6. The Optimal Path

The Optimal Path from Maze covers the strategies and decision-making that go into building products, with UX research being a big part of what informs the development process. With guests from a variety of UX-related roles from companies like Patreon, Spotify, and Miro, this podcast delivers episodes that offer plenty of real-world insights about what goes into building products.

Recommended listening

Melanie Buset, Senior User Experience Researcher at Spotify, discusses the ethics of UX research, covering topics like data privacy, meeting the needs of people from diverse backgrounds, and other facets of UX research and design that keep users’ wellbeing in mind.

7. Dear Nikki: A User Research Advice Podcast

Dear Nikki: A User Research Advice Podcast has a great premise, with host Nikki Anderson-Stanier taking an anonymous listener's question and dedicating an entire episode to fully exploring and answering it. 

With questions like, 'How do you write research questions and choose methods?', 'Do research repositories make sense?', and 'How do you collaborate across departments?', Nikki’s answers are based on her expertise and real-world experience working in UX. We love how listeners are an active part of the podcast experience, and Nikki’s expert advice makes this one of the best UX research podcasts around.

Recommended listening

In Nikki’s first job as an intern, she was the lone UX researcher. Without any outside support or feedback, she had to figure out on her own how to be a UX researcher. For anyone who's found themselves lost in a new role, this is an uplifting and inspiring listen, with Nikki offering lots of practical advice. 

8. User Defenders

Jason Ogle not only knows his stuff, but is a funny and energetic guy, and you won’t encounter any dead air in User Defenders. Although production is currently paused, there's an impressive library of 80 episodes to listen to, all with interesting guests and lots of laughs.

Recommended listening

Steve Portigal, author and UX research consultant, has plenty of personal anecdotes as well as comedic takes, especially when roasting things like Forrest Gump and the Broadway play Cats. Along with having a bit of fun, this is also a fascinating listen about what has informed him as a designer, and the challenging experiences he’s had as a researcher.

If you like this episode, you’ll also want to check out the Dollars to Donuts podcast that Steve produced in 2020, where he interviews UX researchers from big-name companies like Udemy, IBM, and GrubHub.

9. Scaling Research

Though short short-lived, Roy Opata Olende, head of UX research at Zapier, put out twelve solid episodes of Scaling Research, centering on research ops and how it helps companies scale. His easygoing and amiable demeanor, combined with his depth of knowledge, make Scaling Research a great podcast experience.

Recommended listening

Self-described as being, "On a research team but not a researcher,” Annie York discusses her journey from being a theater major to entering the field of research ops. She also gets into her role in supporting the research team at Figma and what they do to optimize their UX research efforts. If you’re not well-versed in the role of research ops, you’ll find this an informative listen that explains its relationship with UX research. 

Jeff Cardello is a freelance writer who loves all things tech and design. Outside of being a word nerd, he enjoys playing bass guitar, riding his bike long distances, and recently started learning about data science and how to code with Python.

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