The best AI podcasts for beginners are Built This Week, Everyday AI, Hard Fork, The AI Daily Brief, Practical AI, The Vergecast and Big Technology Podcast. None of them assume you write code, and most explain the news in plain language, so you can pick by how much time you have: a few minutes every weekday or an hour once a week.
Built This Week is our show, so we put it first; here's how we picked the rest.
Built This Week is hosted by Jordan Metzner and Sam Nadler, co-founders of Ryz Labs, weekly since June 2025, with 53 episodes so far. Each episode we build something with AI on air, test new AI tools, interview a founder or operator, and cover the AI news, in about 21-28 minutes. It works for beginners because you watch people learn the tools in real time, mistakes included.
Sam has never written code; his first Claude Code project was Sam's ATS, an applicant tracking system prototype he built in about an hour. If you're choosing a first AI assistant, our ChatGPT vs Claude comparison covers how we use each.
Start with: Episode 13: AI Built My Liver + We 3D Printed Our Podcast (September 2025), a fun mix of builds and news. See all episodes.
Jordan Wilson hosts Everyday AI as a weekday livestream and podcast that helps "everyday people" use AI at work. Episodes mix AI news roundups, how-to episodes and guest interviews, typically in 33-40 minutes. Its numbered "Start Here Series" is the obvious entry point for non-technical professionals; the show is rated 4.7 out of 5 from 148 ratings on Apple Podcasts, as of October 2026.
Start with: Ep 871: Desktop Agent Lingo Simplified: Goals, Loops, Plans, Subagents and how it works in Codex and Claude Code (Start Here Series Vol 30) (September 2026). Read our full profile of Everyday AI Podcast.
Hard Fork is The New York Times' weekly tech news show about "the future that's already here," with heavy AI coverage. Kevin Roose and Casey Newton hosted it from 2022 until both left the show in 2026; per the October 2026 feed, guest host Max Read and Times reporters are hosting for the next few months. The panel format and mainstream-journalist perspective make it a friendly way into tech and AI news; it is rated 4.3 out of 5 from 5.5K ratings on Apple Podcasts, as of October 2026.
Start with: Bing’s Revenge + Google’s AI Faceplant (February 2023). Read our full profile of Hard Fork.
Nathaniel Whittemore (NLW) covers new AI tools, industry moves, the impact on work and the bigger questions about advanced AI every day. Episodes run about 26-31 minutes. If you want to build the habit of following AI without a big time commitment, a daily short briefing is a good way to do it; it is rated 4.7 out of 5 from 864 ratings on Apple Podcasts, as of October 2026.
Start with: What OpenAI and Anthropic Think Happens Next With AI (June 2026). Read our full profile of The AI Daily Brief.
Daniel Whitenack and Chris Benson have hosted Practical AI weekly since 2018, focused on making AI practical, productive and accessible. The show mixes host discussions and guest interviews about real-world implementations, in about 45-50 minutes. It is a step up in technical detail from the shows above, so it suits beginners who want to understand how AI gets put to work.
Start with: Open models and the future of Physical AI with NVIDIA (October 2026). Read our full profile of Practical AI.
The Vergecast is The Verge's flagship show on gadgets, Big Tech and software. Nilay Patel and David Pierce host a Friday news episode, and Verge staffers host Monday through Thursday, with more and more consumer AI coverage. Episodes run about 31-60 minutes, and it suits consumer-tech fans who want context on the AI showing up in their phones and apps; it is rated 4.3 out of 5 from 3.8K ratings on Apple Podcasts, as of October 2026.
Start with: Microsoft's plan to catch up in AI (June 2026). Read our full profile of The Vergecast.
Tech journalist Alex Kantrowitz covers Big Tech and AI about twice a week, with news-discussion episodes and interviews with industry insiders. Episodes typically run 56-62 minutes. It is a good next step once you know the basics and want to understand the business moves behind the headlines; it is rated 4.7 out of 5 from 617 ratings on Apple Podcasts, as of October 2026.
Start with: OpenAI's Bots Hack Hugging Face Autonomously — With Alex Stamos (July 2026). Read our full profile of Big Technology Podcast.
Ready for more? Our full list of the best AI podcasts adds research and engineering shows, and the best AI podcasts for business focuses on what AI means for companies.
Everyday AI is designed to help 'everyday people' use AI at work, and its 'Start Here Series' is a natural entry point. Hard Fork and The Vergecast cover tech and AI news for a general audience.
The AI Daily Brief covers each day's AI news in about 26-31 minutes, and Hard Fork from The New York Times covers the week's tech and AI stories in an accessible panel format.
You can see how it is done. On Built This Week, Jordan Metzner and Sam Nadler build something with AI on air each week; Sam, who has never written code, built his first app with Claude Code in about an hour.
