Best Quant Finance Podcasts 2026: 12 Shows Every Quant Should Follow

Why Podcasts Are Underrated for Quants

Podcasts won't replace textbooks. They will, however, give you exposure to current industry conversation, founder stories, and methodologies that aren't easily found in books or papers.

This guide covers 12 podcasts that consistently produce content valuable to quant traders, researchers, students, and engineers in 2026.

For book recommendations alongside these podcasts, see our best quant finance books and machine learning for finance guide.

---

1. Flirting with Models (Corey Hoffstein, Newfound Research)

Best for: Systematic and quant equity strategies, factor investing, portfolio construction

Corey is one of the most thoughtful interviewers in systematic investing. He goes deep on methodology with practitioners. Episodes range from trend-following details to ML in markets to risk parity vs alternative risk premia.

Start with: Episodes with Cliff Asness (AQR), Adam Butler (ReSolve), and Roberto Croce.

---

2. Top Traders Unplugged (Niels Kaastrup-Larsen)

Best for: Trend following, CTAs, systematic macro

Niels has been recording for over a decade. Two main streams: the "Top Traders Roundtable" (panel discussions on systematic strategies) and one-on-one interviews with managers running real money. Strong CTA/managed-futures bias.

Start with: Any of the Jerry Parker (Trend Following with Jerry Parker series) episodes.

---

3. Chat with Traders (Aaron Fifield)

Best for: Day traders, prop traders, market microstructure stories

Less academic than Flirting with Models; more about real traders' war stories and how they actually got started. Excellent series of interviews with founders and key personalities.

Start with: The early episodes with Brett Steenbarger and Tom Dante.

---

4. Odd Lots (Bloomberg, Joe Weisenthal & Tracy Alloway)

Best for: Market plumbing, current macro, "what's actually happening" in markets

Not strictly quant but indispensable for understanding current market structure, microstructure, and macro context. Joe and Tracy talk to actual practitioners (not just talking heads) about how markets are functioning.

Start with: Their treasury market plumbing episodes, the SVB collapse coverage, and the GameStop/January 2021 retrospectives.

---

5. Trillions (Bloomberg, Joel Weber & Eric Balchunas)

Best for: ETFs, indexing, market structure of passive investing

Less directly relevant to alpha-generating strategies but essential context for understanding how flows work in modern equity markets. Eric Balchunas is the foremost ETF analyst on the planet.

---

6. Macro Voices (Erik Townsend)

Best for: Long-form macro analysis, oil/energy markets, macro investing

Long episodes (often 90+ minutes) but high signal density. Erik interviews macro practitioners across asset classes. Particularly strong on oil, rates, and gold.

---

7. The Acquired Podcast (Ben Gilbert & David Rosenthal)

Best for: Company deep-dives that include trading firms

Acquired primarily covers tech companies but has done deep-dives on Renaissance Technologies, Berkshire Hathaway, and other relevant firms. Episodes are 4-6 hours, intensely researched, and worth the time.

Start with: The Renaissance Technologies episode (essential listening).

---

8. The Quant Cycle (Antoine Falck, Yves Lemperiere)

Best for: Practitioner conversations on quant strategy details

A relatively new podcast specifically focused on quant practitioner conversations. Coverage spans equity factors, cross-asset strategies, microstructure, and execution. Less polished than some of the established shows but high signal-to-noise.

---

9. The Investors Podcast Network (multiple shows)

Best for: Macro, value investing context

The TIP Network includes "We Study Billionaires" (long-form value investing interviews) and the more macro-focused shows. Less technical/quant than others on this list but useful broader context.

---

10. Animal Spirits (Michael Batnick & Ben Carlson)

Best for: Light, weekly market context

Weekly conversation between two registered investment advisors covering current market topics. Less technical than Flirting with Models but a good "stay current" podcast for your morning commute.

---

11. Bloomberg's Money Stuff (Matt Levine)

Best for: Wry, sharp commentary on market quirks and events

Matt Levine doesn't have a podcast - he writes the famous Bloomberg newsletter - but his audio narrations and occasional appearances on other podcasts are essential. Subscribe to the newsletter.

---

12. Conversations with Tyler (Tyler Cowen)

Best for: Broader intellectual context

Not a quant podcast, but interviews with mathematicians, economists, AI researchers, and occasionally finance practitioners that broaden your thinking. Tyler is a remarkable interviewer.

Start with: Episodes with Cliff Asness, Tyler's interviews of mathematicians like Reid Hoffman and Marc Andreessen, and the AI safety episodes.

---

Honorable Mentions

• Bloomberg Surveillance (Tom Keene's morning show) - market context, daily
• The Compound and Friends (Josh Brown / Michael Batnick) - more retail/RIA-focused
• The Long View (Morningstar) - long-form interviews with notable investors
• Bloomberg's Big Take - daily news analysis
• Lex Fridman - AI/ML/CS interviews; relevant when ML is the topic
• All-In Podcast - tech/VC commentary; sometimes covers macro
• The Diff (Byrne Hobart's newsletter) - text-only but a "must subscribe" for any quant
• Marginal Revolution (Tyler Cowen + Alex Tabarrok blog) - text-only

---

How to Get Value from Podcasts

1. Pick 2-3, not 12. You'll never listen to all of them. Pick the ones aligned with your specific interests (microstructure, macro, ML, factor investing) and stick with them.

2. Take notes. The best ideas don't stick from passive listening. Keep a notes file open during longer episodes.

3. Read companion materials. Most quant podcasts mention papers, books, and frameworks. Bookmark and follow up.

4. Cross-reference with research. When you hear a methodology, look it up in our best quant finance books or in academic papers (SSRN is the most useful aggregator).

---

Newsletters Worth Pairing

If you're going to commit to podcast listening time, also consider:

• Money Stuff (Matt Levine, Bloomberg) - the most-read newsletter in finance
• The Diff (Byrne Hobart) - capital allocation and finance
• Net Interest (Marc Rubinstein) - bank and financial sector deep-dives
• Calculating Risk (Bill McBride) - macro housing/economy
• Prudent Tax Practitioner - if you care about tax-aware portfolio construction

---

Continuing Your Quant Education

Podcasts are excellent supplementary content but shouldn't replace structured study. For the actual technical foundations:

• Best quant finance books - the core reading list
• Machine learning for finance guide - ML-specific
• Best online quant finance courses 2026 - structured learning paths
• MFE vs MFin vs CQF - which programme might suit you
• How to become a quant - the full roadmap

For interview-specific prep:

• Quant probability interview questions
• Quant coding interview questions
• Quant finance interview prep guide 2026