What I'm Listening To: 4 Podcasts Making Me Smarter About AI and Business

I don't really get quiet time. I get car time. Fifteen minutes to school, twenty to the office, the long way home when I need a minute. Somewhere in there I became a podcast person. Not the true crime kind. The "teach me something about AI and business while I drive" kind.

If you're anything like me, your listening time is stolen time, so a show has to earn its spot. Here are the four in my rotation right now, why I listen, and which mom each one is for.

1. Silicon Valley Girl

Marina Mogilko, a founder and investor in Silicon Valley, interviews the CEOs actually building AI. LinkedIn, GitHub, Perplexity. What's coming, and what to do about it.

Why I listen: it's AI with the jargon stripped out. Just the part you can use. Her episodes on which skills stay valuable are the ones I keep repeating at dinner.

For the mom who keeps hearing about AI at work, at school pickup, everywhere, and wants to actually understand it. No tech background required.

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube

2. Notes From the Executive

Mina Amso gets founders and CEOs to share the stuff nobody posts: real numbers, cash flow, hiring, the mistake that cost seven figures.

Why I listen: most business podcasts are a highlight reel. This one is the blooper reel with the lesson attached.

For the mom running her own business who is tired of guru advice and wants to hear how it actually went for real founders.

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube

3. The Calum Johnson Show

Calum Johnson quit his 9 to 5 to go all in on this podcast. Every episode is someone who took the untraditional path and won, and lately there's a heavy AI thread, including guests running entire businesses on AI tools.

Why I listen: bet-on-yourself energy plus genuinely practical AI episodes. Rare combo.

For the mom with a side project she keeps calling "just a little thing." It's not a little thing.

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify

4. Iman Gadzhi

Iman Gadzhi has documented his whole journey since 2015. Short, intense episodes on mindset, discipline, and building from nothing.

Why I listen: his world is monk mode and private jets. Mine is carpools and a calendar that looks like air traffic control. The discipline translates even when the lifestyle doesn't. Take the useful 20 percent, leave the rest.

For the mom whose motivation is at zero this week and coffee isn't cutting it.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Steal this prompt

Want your car time to actually add up to something? Paste this in, or just say it out loud in voice mode on the drive:

Act as my personal learning curator. I get about 20 minutes of listening time a day, mostly in the car. Ask me one question at a time: what I want to get smarter about this month, what I already listen to, and the thing I keep meaning to learn but never do. Then build my two-week listening plan: which shows and episode types in what order, what to listen for in each one, and one question to answer out loud after each drive so it actually sticks. End by telling me how you'll quiz me at the end of the two weeks.

The quick version

Silicon Valley Girl to understand AI. Notes From the Executive for honest business lessons. The Calum Johnson Show to bet on yourself. Iman Gadzhi for the push.

Podcasts are how I learn in the margins of the day. The sit-down version lives here. Start with how moms are actually using AI or steal something from the prompt collection.