The Curious Professional: How the Best in This Industry Never Stop Growing - Part 2 of 4
The podcasts worth actually putting in your ears
Last week we talked books. Long, slow, sit-down-with-a-highlighter learning.
This week is different.
Because here is the reality of this job: the quiet stretches do not always come. The learning has to happen in the margins – on a morning walk, in the car between client meetings, at the airport gate waiting to board a site visit flight. Some of my sharpest thinking has happened with one earbud in and a parking lot between me and my next obligation.
That is where podcasts earn their place.
This is Week 2 of The Curious Professional, my four-part August series on how to keep growing in this industry. If you missed last week’s book list, find it on the blog – there is a reading recommendation for every stage of your career. This week I am handing you a listen list instead. Next up after this: the conferences and certifications worth your real time and money, followed by the industry involvement move most people overlook entirely.
But first – press play.
Not everything out there deserves your ears. A lot of podcast content sounds good in a title and delivers very little. This list is the opposite. These are the shows I actually return to – the ones that challenge my thinking, sharpen my strategy, or simply remind me why I love this work.
All of these are available on Spotify. Click the title to go straight there.
For the Event and Meetings Professional
These are built specifically for our world - the people who plan, produce, and execute events for a living.
Hosted by Eric Rozenberg, who brings more than 20 years in the event industry and experience planning events for Fortune 100 companies. This show is specifically for independent business owners in the meetings and events space, which means it is talking directly to people like me. It covers the business side of running a planning practice: scaling, client experience, insider tactics, and positioning. Not just how to plan events, but how to build a company around it.
If you are a solo planner or a small shop trying to grow, this one belongs in your rotation.
Hosted by Megan Martin, this show is built around event-led growth - the idea that events are not just a line item in a marketing budget but a genuine business driver. It ditches surface-level logistics for the high-stakes strategy and event marketing your CEO, CMO, and CRO actually care about. The format blends actionable tactics with real backstage stories, which is the combination I find most useful. Anyone can talk theory. Fewer people will tell you what actually happened when things went sideways.
Produced by Smart Meetings, this show positions itself as your shortcut to the top of the events world. The format is simple and consistently compelling: interviews with meeting planners, speakers, and industry experts about the one decision that made all the difference in their careers. The focus on strategic thinking and pivotal moments over logistics-heavy content is exactly the kind of conversation this industry needs more of.
Planner-to-planner, no fluff. This show is built specifically for corporate event professionals who want to have the most impact in their careers. It covers practical strategies, tech integrations, and career-building advice - the stuff that actually moves the needle beyond baseline execution. If you want to get better at the craft, this is a good place to start.
Hosted by Cvent, this show is built for marketers and event professionals seeking fresh insights and a pulse on the latest trends. It covers everything from industry insights and career growth to accessibility, sustainability, diversity, and inclusion - without the filter. If you have been in a budget conversation recently and need to sharpen your case for ROI, this one will help.
For the Hospitality Professional and Business Leader in You
These go broader than events - into hotels, restaurants, and the hospitality industry at large. I listen to these because the best thinking in our industry often comes from adjacent industries. A great hotel GM and a great event planner are solving for the same thing: how do you make people feel exceptional?
Hosted by Lee Cockerell - former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World - alongside show host Jody Mayberry, Lee draws on his experience across Disney, Marriott, and Hilton to share lessons in leadership, management, and customers service. Disney has built the most intentional guest experience operation in the hospitality and tourism industry, and this show breaks down the principles behind it in ways that translate directly to how we design and deliver events.
Hosted by Dan Ryan, Founder and CEO of Agency 967, who brings more than 30 years of hospitality experience to every conversation. The show features one-on-one interviews with the most influential figures in the industry - behind-the-scenes looks at recognizable brands, deep explorations of unique hospitality projects, and honest conversations about what hospitality actually means to the people building it. I find it consistently thought-provoking, especially as I think about bringing hotel-level hospitality mindsets into corporate event environments.
Hosted by Steve Turk, this one dives into the personal stories of some of the world's best hospitality professionals - the ups, the downs, and the wild turns, and what it truly takes to make it in this industry. Raw and real. It is the kind of show that reminds you this industry is full of people who built something remarkable through hard work and not luck. Good perspective on the harder weeks.
A learning and development platform designed to help you elevate your hospitality and customer service skills to the next level. Purpose-driven culture, guest experience, authentic leadership - this one is for the people who believe hospitality is more than a transaction and that how you operate has real downstream effects on loyalty, retention, and business outcomes. It aligns closely with how I think about what we do at BME.
This show journeys beyond today's industry standards to imagine what is next - speaking with hospitality experts across operations, sales, technology, and more. It dives deep into the trends shaping tomorrow while keeping guest experience and operational insights front and center. Each episode offers practical takeaways alongside a fresh perspective on where the industry is headed. How do you protect margins while elevating experience? How do you use technology without losing the human element? These are questions I think about constantly, and this podcast takes them seriously.
From Skift - one of the most respected names in travel and hospitality media - this show delivers top news and topics from industry experts across different hospitality fields. Quick, current, and credible. If you want to stay on top of what is happening in the broader hospitality world without spending hours reading trade publications, this is an efficient way to do it.
Hosted by Josiah Mackenzie, this show delivers daily conversations with interesting people about interesting things - all aimed at helping you stay informed, inspired, and growing your business. Understanding how hospitality leaders think about guest experience and operations make me a better partner when I am sitting across the table from a hotel GM or negotiating a contract. Context matters.
How to Actually Use This List
You will notice this list spans more than just event planning podcasts. Some of them are about hotels, tourism, and guest experiences from industries that sit right next to ours.
The best planners I know are not just consuming content about events. They are pulling ideas from everywhere and bringing those ideas back to work. That cross-pollination is what separates good from exceptional.
Next Monday we are talking conferences and certifications - with my honest, been there take on what is actually worth your time and money and what is not. The week after that, we close the series with the career move most people in this industry overlook entirely.
Four weeks. Four ways to stay sharp.
Pick one show from this list. Start this week. Come back Monday.
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