The 17 Best Hr Podcasts (2026)

HR Happy Hour has been running since 2009, making it the longest-running and most downloaded HR podcast out there. Co-hosts Steve Boese, who co-chairs the HR Technology Conference, and Trish Steed, CEO of H3 HR Advisors, bring a combined depth of knowledge that comes through in every conversation. With over 870 episodes under its belt, the show covers workforce technology, employee engagement analytics, AI in talent management, and the real struggles of middle managers. Recent episodes have tackled caregiving support programs, Gen Z workplace expectations, and how organizations can build adaptability into their culture. Each episode runs about 30 to 45 minutes, long enough to get into substance without dragging on. The show also operates as a broader network under the "At Work in America" banner, with related programs like HR Means Business. Rated 4.1 out of 5 from 83 reviews, the show's massive back catalog makes it a reliable resource for anyone working in HR, people ops, or workforce planning. If you want a steady, experienced source of practical conversation from hosts who have been in the industry for decades, this is the benchmark show that others measure themselves against.

Produced by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Honest HR lives up to its name by tackling the messy, uncomfortable side of the profession that most corporate communications carefully avoid. Hosts Nicole Belyna and Monique Akanbi bring their SHRM-SCP and SHRM-CP credentials, respectively, but the tone stays conversational rather than academic. Since 2018, the show has put out 160 episodes covering everything from navigating workplace romances and their legal risks to managing the sandwich generation of employees caring for both aging parents and young children. Episodes run 25 to 35 minutes on a biweekly schedule, and many qualify for 0.5 professional development credits toward SHRM certification recertification. Recent topics include AI coaching for employee development, freelance workforce integration, and how political expression plays out in corporate settings. With a 4.4 rating from 202 reviews, the show pulls from real-world HR scenarios and listener questions, which keeps it grounded in the kinds of decisions HR professionals actually face on a Tuesday afternoon rather than in some theoretical framework.

HR Besties launched in 2023 and has quickly become one of the most popular HR podcasts, racking up 142 episodes and a near-perfect 4.9 rating from 586 reviews. Hosts Leigh Henderson (known online as @hrmanifesto), Jamie Jackson (@humorous_resources), and Ashley Herd (@managermethod) bring three distinct professional perspectives to the table, creating a dynamic that feels like eavesdropping on sharp, funny friends who happen to know employment law inside and out. New episodes drop every Wednesday with full-length discussions, plus Friday "Happy Hour" episodes where the trio celebrates surviving another week in corporate America. Topics range from ghost job postings and overemployment trends to workplace emotional outbursts, AI anxiety, and the ethics of fear-based management cultures. The show mixes business and personality in a way that feels fresh -- these are not scripted corporate talking points but genuine reactions from people who have lived through layoff announcements, awkward exit interviews, and the slow creep of meeting culture. Their audience skews younger than most HR podcasts, and the community extends to active social media followings where listeners send in workplace horror stories that fuel future episodes.

I Hate It Here is the podcast that says out loud what most HR professionals are thinking but would never put in a Slack message. Host Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer at Workweek, brings a candid, often funny take on the absurdities and genuine frustrations of working in people management. Now in its eleventh season with 117 episodes, the show typically runs 50 to 60 minutes, giving Hebba room to really dig into a topic rather than skim the surface. Recent episodes have tackled toxic leadership myths, the death of traditional career ladders, generational friction in the workplace, and how grief shows up at work in ways most employee handbooks completely ignore. The conversations get personal -- this is not a show that hides behind corporate language or sanitized case studies. Hebba draws on her own experience leading people teams and brings in guests who are equally willing to be honest about what is broken. Rated 4.6 from 55 reviews, the show has built a strong community through an associated newsletter and YouTube channel with exclusive content. If you are burned out on polished HR content that pretends everything is fine, this podcast will feel like a relief.

HR Superstars comes from 15Five, the continuous performance management platform, and features conversations with strategic people leaders who are willing to share what actually works rather than what sounds good in a keynote. Launched in 2021, the show has built up nearly 200 episodes with a perfect 5.0 rating from 118 reviews, which tells you something about how its audience feels. Host Adam Weber, VP of Community at 15Five, guides discussions that range from 35 to 42 minutes, with occasional shorter minisodes around 10 minutes. The topics skew toward the strategic side of HR: manager enablement, data-driven decision making, psychological safety, conscious leadership, and how to handle high-performer burnout before it tanks your retention numbers. Guest appearances from CHROs and VP-level people leaders keep the conversation grounded in executive-level thinking. What sets this show apart is its focus on connecting HR practice to business outcomes. Episodes frequently circle back to how people strategies translate into measurable results, making it particularly useful for HR professionals who need to justify their initiatives to the C-suite.

Drive Thru HR has been serving up quick, sharp HR conversations since 2010, and hosts Michael VanDervort and Robin Schooling have developed a rhythm that makes complex workforce topics feel accessible. The show's name captures its format perfectly: these are brisk 25- to 35-minute episodes that get straight to the point, running as part of the WRKdefined Podcast Network. Over 16 years of production, the show has earned a reputation for mixing genuine expertise with an informal, sometimes tongue-in-cheek delivery. Recent episodes have covered AI applications in management, durable skills development for frontline managers, changes to labor law, and employee relations trends heading into 2026. VanDervort brings deep labor relations experience while Schooling comes from an HR operations background, and the interplay between their perspectives is what gives the show its energy. The guest roster regularly includes employment attorneys, HR tech founders, and senior people leaders from large organizations. Rated 3.9 from 28 reviews, the show is a no-nonsense option that respects your commute time and still manages to cover real substance on every topic it touches.

Transform Your Workplace has been running since 2012 and has stacked up 580 episodes, making it one of the most prolific HR and leadership podcasts available. Host Brandon Laws, backed by the HR services firm Xenium HR, brings on industry experts, authors, speakers, and entrepreneurs for weekly conversations that typically run 30 to 47 minutes. The show holds a 4.9 rating from 140 reviews, which for a podcast with that many episodes signals real staying power with its audience. Topics span the full range of workplace concerns: compensation planning and pay equity, burnout and mental health support, hybrid work model design, DEI strategy, meeting effectiveness, and leadership coaching. What keeps the show grounded is its connection to Xenium HR's day-to-day client work, which means the conversations tend to reflect problems that actual mid-market companies are dealing with right now. Brandon is a skilled interviewer who asks follow-up questions that push guests past their talking points and into practical territory. Recent episodes have addressed perfectionism in teams, return-to-office strategy, and people-first leadership in retail.

People Managing People is hosted by David Rice and positions itself squarely at the intersection of people leadership and AI adoption, which makes it particularly relevant right now. Since launching in 2020, the show has produced 175 episodes on a semiweekly schedule, with each conversation running 35 to 40 minutes. David brings on innovators, executives, and people leaders who share real-world insights about reshaping teams, systems, and organizational strategy while keeping the human element intact. Recent episodes have zeroed in on AI adoption challenges at the team level, workplace readiness assessments, and how performance systems need to change when the nature of work itself is shifting. The show carries a perfect 5.0 rating from its reviewers, and it is backed by the PeopleManagingPeople.com editorial team, which gives it access to a wide network of practitioners. What makes it distinctive is its refusal to treat technology and humanity as opposing forces -- the show consistently explores how better tools can lead to more human workplaces rather than less. It is a strong pick for managers and HR leaders navigating the practical realities of organizational change.

Jessica Miller-Merrell has been hosting the Workology Podcast since 2014 under the tagline "The Art & Science of Work," and with over 430 weekly episodes, she has built one of the most consistent resources for HR and recruiting professionals. Rated 4.8 from 27 reviews, each episode runs about 25 to 40 minutes and features Jessica interviewing guest experts on topics that range from succession planning and payroll system implementations to global employment compliance and workplace wellness programs. The show specifically targets what Jessica calls "disruptive workplace leaders" -- people who want to push their organizations forward rather than just maintain the status quo. Recent episodes have covered talent acquisition strategies that account for remote-first hiring, retention approaches that go beyond compensation, and practical steps for adopting HR technology without overwhelming your team. The show's longevity is its strength: there is a deep archive covering virtually every HR challenge you might encounter, from the tactical (how to run a performance review cycle) to the strategic (how to build a talent pipeline for roles that do not exist yet). It is particularly strong on recruiting and talent management topics.

HR Leaders stands out for sheer volume and guest caliber. Host Chris Rainey has produced over 830 episodes since 2017, releasing new content nearly every day, and his guest list reads like a who's-who of Chief People Officers and CHROs from major global organizations. Episodes tend to be concise -- most recent ones run 13 to 16 minutes -- which makes them easy to fit into a busy schedule. The show covers strategies, trends, and innovations shaping the HR function at the enterprise level: skills intelligence platforms, AI governance in hiring, neurodiversity programs, pay transparency legislation, and organizational transformation at scale. Rainey has a talent for getting senior executives to speak specifically about what they are implementing rather than staying at the theoretical level. The daily publishing cadence means you can cherry-pick episodes by topic or guest without worrying about falling behind. With a 4.7 rating across 61 reviews, the show has found a loyal audience among HR professionals who want exposure to how the world's largest organizations are thinking about people strategy. It is particularly valuable for mid-career HR professionals who want to understand what enterprise-level HR leadership looks like in practice.

Everybody Hates HR describes itself as "a HR podcast with some seasoning," and hosts Lola and Velisa deliver exactly that. Running since 2022 with 137 weekly episodes that clock in at 38 to 52 minutes each, the show takes a refreshingly unconventional approach to human resources topics. The format centers on three things: responding to anonymous listener dilemmas submitted via email, breaking down employment news that affects worker rights, and sharing their own HR war stories with the kind of honesty that would make most compliance teams nervous. Recent episodes have covered workplace discrimination tribunal cases, the rise of Gen Z managers, the reality behind anonymous employee surveys, and what quiet cracking looks like in practice. Based in the UK, Lola (who runs the Adulting by Lola platform) and Velisa (from The Haus of HR) bring their own professional HR backgrounds while deliberately avoiding the buttoned-up tone that dominates most HR content. They maintain active communities on Instagram and TikTok, where their audience regularly sends in the workplace dilemmas that fuel each episode. The show is at its best when tackling the grey areas of employment law and workplace conduct that textbooks gloss over.

HR Coffee Time is hosted by Fay Wallis, a career coach and founder of Bright Sky HR, and the show focuses on something most HR podcasts ignore: the career development and personal wellbeing of HR professionals themselves. With 165 biweekly episodes since 2021, Fay alternates between solo episodes (typically 12 to 24 minutes) where she shares practical frameworks, and longer guest interviews (47 to 63 minutes) where she brings in specialists on topics like mediation skills, OKR implementation, and building confidence for C-suite presentations. The show specifically addresses how to prepare for Chief People Officer and CHRO roles, how to develop business acumen that earns you a seat at the leadership table, and how to speak up effectively in senior meetings. It also tackles burnout prevention head-on, which is critical given that HR teams have been stretched thin since 2020 and many professionals in the field are running on fumes. Fay's coaching background comes through in how she structures advice -- everything is actionable and broken into steps you can actually follow. The show carries a perfect 5.0 rating and listeners frequently mention that it feels like having a supportive mentor who gets the specific pressures of an HR career.

The CIPD podcast comes from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, the UK's professional body for HR with over 160,000 members, and it has been running since 2006 -- making it one of the oldest HR podcasts still in active production. With 267 episodes hosted primarily by David D'Souza (CIPD's Director of Profession) and Nigel Cassidy, the show runs biweekly at 20 to 37 minutes per episode. The content reflects CIPD's position as a standard-setting body: episodes cover internal mobility strategies, AI in recruitment processes, workplace conflict resolution frameworks, compensation and reward design, and employment law developments. The show alternates between the "HR People Pod" series, which tends toward broader conversations about the profession's direction, and numbered episodes that focus on specific tactical topics. What gives the CIPD podcast weight is the research backing -- many episodes reference CIPD's own survey data and workforce studies, which adds an evidence base that opinion-driven shows cannot match. The UK focus is strong, but the principles translate well internationally. It is essential listening for anyone interested in how the HR profession is evolving at an institutional level.

Matt Alder has spent over 25 years studying talent acquisition, and Recruiting Future reflects that depth with 840 weekly episodes produced since 2015. Each runs about 20 to 30 minutes and features interviews with TA practitioners and subject matter experts who are actively reshaping how organizations find and hire people. The show's sweet spot is the intersection of recruiting and technology: AI-driven candidate sourcing, recruitment marketing automation, skills-based hiring frameworks, and how assessment methods need to change when resumes tell you less and less about a candidate's actual capabilities. Matt also regularly covers employer branding, internal mobility programs, bias reduction in hiring pipelines, and the transformation of talent acquisition teams themselves. With a 4.7 rating across 76 reviews, the show has established itself as the go-to podcast specifically for recruiting and talent acquisition professionals. The weekly cadence and tight episode format mean you can stay current on TA trends without a massive time commitment. While this is primarily a recruiting show, the strategic workforce planning angles make it valuable for generalist HR leaders who want to understand where talent acquisition is headed.

The HR Uprising Podcast is hosted by Lucinda Carney, who brings a rare combination of credentials to the show: she is a chartered business psychologist, an experienced HR change agent, and the CEO of Actus Software, an HR technology company. Since 2019, Lucinda has produced 278 weekly episodes using two distinct formats. The "In Focus" episodes take a deep look at specific topics like data protection compliance, learning culture design, or performance management overhauls. The "Conversations With" series features interviews with HR and L&D professionals who share their experiences with succession planning, organizational culture shifts, and employee development. Episodes range from quick 5-minute updates to full 50-minute conversations. Recent shows have tackled employee mental health (including sensitive topics like suicide prevention in the workplace), alcohol and workplace culture, emotional intelligence in leadership, and how to build authenticity into corporate communications. The psychology background gives Lucinda a different lens than most HR hosts -- she tends to explore the behavioral science behind why certain approaches work or fail, rather than just describing what companies are doing. The show also has an active LinkedIn community where listeners continue discussions between episodes.

HR Works comes from HR Daily Advisor and has been a steady presence in the HR podcast space since 2016, with 500 biweekly episodes that deliver practical, actionable guidance on the topics HR professionals deal with every day. Episodes run on the shorter side -- typically 17 to 27 minutes -- which makes them easy to fit into a lunch break or commute. The show features a mix of audio and video episodes covering AI applications in HR, manager development programs, skills-based hiring implementation, return-to-office policy design, and entry-level workforce challenges with Gen Z employees. HR Daily Advisor's position as a major HR publishing platform means the show has access to a deep bench of expert guests and can tie episodes to breaking employment law changes and regulatory updates. The content skews practical and immediate: these are not theoretical discussions about the future of work, but specific guidance on problems you might be handling this quarter. With 109 ratings and a 4.2 average, the show has a large, established listenership that values clear and relevant information over production polish. The massive archive means nearly any HR topic you can think of has been addressed at least once.

HR Mixtape is hosted by Dr. Shari Simpson and powered by Paylocity, one of the major cloud-based payroll and HR software providers. With 161 weekly episodes and a 4.9 rating from 37 reviews, the show blends thought-provoking interviews with industry leaders, compliance updates, and casual coffee-chat segments with HR trendsetters. Dr. Simpson brings an academic grounding that keeps conversations precise without making them dry, and her guest list includes specialists in talent development, organizational psychology, and employment law. Recent episodes have covered building effective HR functions in manufacturing environments, skilled trades retention, results-based approaches to DEI, and the role of cognitive blind spots in leadership decisions. The Paylocity backing gives the show credibility on HR technology and payroll topics that many podcasts treat as afterthoughts. Episodes run 25 to 40 minutes and the mix of formats -- long-form interviews, quick compliance tips, and trend roundups -- keeps the listening experience varied from week to week. The show is particularly useful for HR generalists who need to stay current across multiple domains, from employee experience and workplace culture to the nuts and bolts of payroll compliance and benefits administration.