8 must-listen creative podcasts to inspire, inform and entertain you

An Ofcom report into audio listening in the UK revealed that 1 in 5 adults listen to podcasts each week. Are you one of them?

Podcasting isn’t just about celebrities or established media brands either. When it comes to the creative fields, there is an ever-growing number of podcasters offering insight and inspiration to help fuel and sustain your creative career.

Our roundup includes podcasts covering creative careers, photography, illustration, and how to be seen and heard on social media. There's also an animation podcast in there, which has some great interviewees.

All these podcasts inform, entertain, and stand out in their own way. If you are new to some of the podcast themes below, you could check out articles such as photographer Rankin’s top tips for creatives or for help bringing animation ideas to life, the best laptops for animation.

The podcasts below are a mix of audio and visual (or both), and some have websites, courses, or other resources attached to inspire and entertain you.

01. The Good Ship Illustration Podcast

• Listen to the Good Ship Illustration podcast on Spotify
• Recommended episode - Get more illustration work, a pep talk, some tips, a tiny rant (16 May 2025)

The Good Ship Illustration is a friendly and insightful podcast hosted by three ladies with many years of combined experience as designers, illustrators, and educators. Between them, Helen, Katie, and Tania cover advertising, branding, illustrated maps, live illustration, retail murals, and illustration for the likes of the New York Times. They also run courses on live illustration, picture books, and the business side of illustration.

This podcast stands out because of the range of experience these ladies have, both professional and teaching, and their thoughts on how things have changed for them and in the industry as a whole.

Many of their episodes answer submitted questions or pose their own, and this is where the genuinely useful content can be found. Example episodes include chats on pricing illustration work, the difference between an illustrator and an artist, and getting your SEO and shopfront right everywhere you are online.

A podcast in this format means you’ll come away with plenty of talking points and questions to answer about your creative projects as you move forward.

02. Creative Boom Podcast

• Listen to the Creative Boom Podcast on Spotify
• Recommended episode - 127 Creativity, leadership, and hard truths about the design industry, with Lisa Smith

Katy Cowan is a host who's built a community, with her platform also offering resources, tips and news from the creative industries. Creative Boom is for a broad range of creatives, so there should be something for everyone, whether you are a designer or filmmaker.

The approach to every episode is to encourage a fulfilling, sustainable career, and she invites people at the top of their game to give insight to help you do just that. There’s a genuine sense of delivering insight, but also informing about the challenges you may face as a creative and how to overcome them.

This podcast delivers full-length and bonus episodes, that have a more entertaining vibe, as Katy goes in-depth with her podcast guests. So far, discussions have covered filmmaking and Hollywood, reinvention, social media and marketing, and AI, a particularly hot and sometimes controversial topic for creatives.

If you’re looking for a podcast with themed episodes that also delves into company cultures, trends, and personal experiences, then Creative Boom could be worth a listen.

03. Creative Compass for Creatives

• Listen to Creative Compass For Creatives on Spotify
• Suggested episode - The Attention Dilemma, how to create in a world of social media and constant distraction. Episode 13 (12 May 2025).

Nicolette Wilson-Clarke runs Creative Genius, a coaching and wellbeing consultancy for creatives, and her podcast is an extension of that. Nicolette talks at a level anyone can relate to, with thoughtful, practical advice on themes many of us deal with in our personal or working lives as a creative.

Topics covered so far include managing stress and conflict, re-igniting creativity, overcoming being self-conscious, and mindful ways to use social media. All hot topics that have never been more important, presented with practical exercises or things to think about to help you reset, change habits, and be more productive, while looking after your wellbeing.

Creative Compass for creatives ends each episode with key takeaways, and some homework (don’t worry, nothing like school) if you want to try out some exercises and put her advice into practice. With this ethos, it was hard to choose a recommended episode, as I think they will all prove useful for anyone in or launching a creative career.

04. The Photography Pod

• Listen to The Photography Pod on Spotify
• Suggested episode - Tesni Ward - Wildlife photographer and OM system ambassador (27 October 2024)

Hosted by Nick Church (a commercial and wedding photographer) and Steve Vaughan (a wedding photographer), The Photography Pod is advertised as a podcast for enthusiasts and pro-workers alike.

It stands out because of the diverse range of guests it attracts from all different backgrounds and genres of photography. You’ll enjoy the stories of how their guests pivoted from other jobs and where their passions came from.

Although the techie gear chat is more for the pros, there’s plenty of content for everyone, including those ‘where would you start if you wanted to get into’ and ‘how did you get to work with major brands’ type questions.

Previous guests include Kris Kirkham a London based food photographer who makes interesting points about developing your own style, but doing that by learning from multiple photographers. He also spoke about the range of food photography projects you could work on from ready meal packaging to in-store recipe cards.

One of their other guests was seascape photographer Emily Endean, whose photographer life includes personal projects, training others, and commercial work. She spoke insightfully about years of process, about getting her DSLR camera and starting by figuring out how to do one thing, in her case capturing sunrises, and do it well.

Whatever your interest in photography, hearing what inspires these guests, how they transitioned into full-time photography, and the types of projects they’ve worked on is sure to entertain.

05. Social Media Marketing Podcast

• Listen to Social Media Marketing Podcast on Spotify
• Suggested episode - Instagram content strategy - attracting quality leads and sales (12 June 2025)

Social media: that ever-changing beast that today we all need to try and master to be seen and heard. It can be hard to know where to start, what the latest changes are and how to adapt to them, and why your content might not be resonating with your target audience. The Social Media Marketing Podcast was formed in 2012 and aims to demystify and inform small business owners and marketers alike.

Across the current ream of episodes there’s talk on buyer psychology and how that applies to messaging on social media, how to attract the right kind of followers and optimise your Instagram page, and networking on LinkedIn. The topics covered really resonated with me, as a creative who often wonders if I am doing social media right and what I could do better, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

The stories of how people started in their various areas of social media and marketing illustrate how many different ways there are to get started and pivot towards marketing careers. Also listen out for the brand examples and stories of how they came to light. There’s lots to digest and learn from in this podcast.

06. Art Juice Podcast

• Listen to Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers on Spotify
• Recommended episode: Magic of Mixed Media - Episode 269 (29 October 2024).

Hosting, or leading the conversation with special guests, are artists Louise Fletcher and Alice Sheridan. These two artists produce episodes that make great evergreen content, aimed at artists, creatives, and art lovers alike. Through their conversations, they tackle subjects such as open call exhibitions (a somewhat controversial topic), studio spaces, developing ideas, how best to showcase your art, and where to find creativity when life is tough and overwhelming.

One of their guests, Daren Todd, interacted with the podcast on the social media platform Threads and credits Alice and Louise for giving him the impetus to start painting. His story includes practising his art on a Reddit live stream, which at one point attracted 7,000 people. His journey as a muralist started with ‘connection’, a topic that should resonate with all creatives.

The suggested episode above stood out to me because of the possibilities that surround mixed media art, and the challenges of mixing materials, textures and techniques. Including episodes around types of art in amongst the conversations and personal stories gives a good balance to this podcast.

07. Animation Addicts Podcast

•  Listen to Animation Addicts Podcast on Spotify
• Recommended episode: 339: A Goofy deep dive - interview with the 'Not Just A Goof' filmmakers

We love animation at Creative Bloq, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to highlight a podcast that is pure escapism for fans of Disney, Pixar and more. Hosted by animation fans Rotoscopers, this podcast works on 3 different levels.

First, it delivers entertaining discussions to lose yourself in on various animation films from Sonic The Hedgehog 3 to the outstanding (and award-winning) Wallace and Gromit film Vengeance Most Fowl. Second, it expands on that with deep dives into live-action versions of the film, a look into animation companies such as Skydance, and reviews of plays like Anastasia.

The team also have access to some great interviewees, like the special guests in our suggested episode that were involved in the Goofy Movie, and Disney+ documentary ‘Not Just A Goof’. Whatever your interest in animation, hearing those involved talking about the challenges and what’s involved in getting things over the line, along with initial slow burners becoming cult classics, is a must-listen.

08. You're A Better Artist Than You Think Podcast

• Listen to You're A Better Artist Than You Think on Spotify
• Recommended episode: Season 3, Episode 1 - 12 tips for finishing ambitious creative projects (April 2025)

Host Chris Oatley stood out before I’d even clicked on the play button. He describes himself as a visual development artist, character designer, and illustrator, name-dropping clients such as Disney, DreamWorks, and Sony Pictures Animation. He also has a clear passion for teaching, educating, and encouraging other animators and illustrators, running mentorship schemes alongside his work and podcasting.

You’re a better artist than you think (a title aimed at increasing confidence), hopes to provide content for beginners to seasoned pros, and those sandwiched in between.

Episodes include deep dives into Jim Henson’s legacy, professional networking, pitching to publishers, dealing with rejection, and a legendary Disney animation strike.

Our suggested episode has a useful chat about being consistent while still looking after your wellbeing, dealing with personnel changes at agents and publishers, and managing a creative work-life balance. The tips and takeaways that come from personal experiences, and the additional episodes on animation companies, make this podcast an interesting find.

For more podcast recommendations, see our podcasts for freelancers roundup.