Plug Into the Electric Vehicle Revolution with the Top Podcasts

Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) has charged up dramatically in recent years. EV sales in 2021 surged over 100% year-over-year to 6.5 million vehicles worldwide. Major automakers plan to invest over half a trillion dollars to electrify lineups in coming years. Exciting new EV startups emerge constantly while technology leaders like Tesla keep pushing boundaries with innovation.

You don‘t need an electrical engineering degree to grasp the monumental, once-in-a-generation shift underway toward vehicle electrification. But making sense of the torrent of news and developments in the rapidly evolving EV arena presents a challenge for anyone not glued to industry headlines daily.

That‘s where EV podcasts come to the rescue. Like having an EV expert tag along in your ear buds, podcasts filter the most important developments into informative, entertaining episodes you can listen to anywhere, any time.

From deeply knowledgeable hosts, to insider guests working directly on cutting-edge EV tech, these podcasts deliver insights you simply can‘t find through conventional news sources. Whether you‘re an EV owner, investor, future buyer, or just generally fascinated by the technology and business developments, EV podcasts enable you to dive as deep as you want while staying effortlessly informed.

Here we‘ll spotlight six of the top podcasts to plug into in 2022 and beyond for expert analysis of the electric vehicle revolution:

But first, let‘s quickly recap why EVs make up one of the most important and fascinating stories in business and technology today.

Surging Mainstream Adoption Charges Ahead

While early EVs date back over a century, soaring investments from legacy and startup automakers have now reached an inflection point. Improving battery densities continue to push ranges beyond 300, 400, even 500 miles per charge for affordable models.

Public charging stations are proliferating rapidly as well. Leading EV network operators like Electrify America and EVgo plan to operate over 2,200 DC fast charging stations with 26,000+ plugs by 2026. That‘s up from just 510 stations nationwide in 2018.

Major market analysts predict EV sales climbing to over 60 million annually by 2040. That would represent over half of all vehicle sales globally by that timeframe.

With such massive growth trajectories ahead, the EV sphere represents an exciting new market bigger than personal computing and smartphones combined. So it‘s no wonder everyone from car enthusiasts, to policy analysts, environmentalists and investors have raced to understand the playbook manufacturers are executing to realize an all-electric future.

1. Ride The Lightning – The Tesla Podcast

When it comes to electric vehicles today, no conversation starts without first discussing Tesla. After pioneering sexy, high-performance EVs starting with the Roadster in 2008, Tesla sits far ahead of all competitors in deliveries and technology innovation.

For deeply informed weekly analysis of all things Tesla spanning back to its founding, Ryan McCaffrey delivers with Ride the Lightning. McCaffrey brings infectious passion rooted in years of hands-on ownership and advocacy. With over 370 episodes produced since August 2015, McCaffrey has cultivated expert-level perspective across:

• Tesla’s past, present and aspirations
• Impressive evolution of Model S, 3, X, and Y
• Software innovation in autonomy and AI
• Manufacturing and supply chain developments
• Elon Musk’s outside-the-box thinking driving the company forward

I particularly enjoyed McCaffrey’s recent takes on AI Day 2022 which showcased Tesla’s radically different approach to autonomous driving. He also delivered an amazing interview with Kim Colaprete, a production engineer who worked on early Model S and X builds providing uncommon insider viewpoint.

If you want to sound smart discussing the remarkable Tesla phenomenon at your next dinner party, add Ride the Lightning to your podcast playlist.

2. InsideEVs Podcast

While Tesla grabs most mainstream headlines, myriad upstarts aiming to carve off EV market share have arrived on scene. Lucid, Rivian, Fisker, Nio, and more seem poised to give even Tesla fierce competition.

For the best industry-wide analysis of EV newcomers and developments, InsideEVs Podcast excels. The site’s editorial team provides readers some of the internet‘s most extensive EV news and reviews. Its weekly podcast often features editor-in-chief Dominick Yoney at the mic interviewing:

• EV startup founder and executives
• Industry analysts
• Policy experts
• Automotive journalists recently logged seat time in new models

I especially enjoyed Yoney’s candid first impressions on driving the Lucid Air and Rivian R1T. He asked probing questions clearly aimed at readers most interested in real-world performance, range, and functionality.

With over 120 episodes released, you can delve into archived discussions around:

• Battery chemistry innovations
• EV maintenance costs and considerations
• Future mainstream pricing predictions
• Charging infrastructure issues and solutions

If you constantly find yourself thinking “this Tesla coverage is great, but what about Company X?”, InsideEVs Podcast delivers the perfect panoramic lens into the broader electric horizon.

3. Fully Charged Show

For a uniquely global perspective, Robert Llewellyn’s Fully Charged Show serves a must-listen. Llewellyn first captured fans as an actor starring in shows like Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge. In more recent years, he shifted creative talents into smart, hilarious videos sharing his infectious passion around:

• Electric vehicles
• Renewable energy tech
• Battery innovations
• Sustainable transport
• Clean power policy

Tap any video on Llewellyn’s YouTube channel and his giddy-up-go enthusiasm for a cleaner future proves downright contagious. The Fully Charged Show podcast captures his lively essence as he and cohosts talk shop with guests like:

• EV owners
• Industry visionaries
• Innovators across cars, bikes, scooters, planes
• Activists pushing for progressive policy

While earlier episodes tackled Europe’s EV landscape, the show has directed sights increasingly westward as North America charges ahead. Recent installments have spotlighted promising startups like Canoo and ecosystems sprouting up around DIY EV garage builders.

If you want a fun, fast-paced show from EV evangelists as excited as you about the electric future, subscribe to Fully Charged.

4. Electric Autonomy

As Tesla continues supported by enthusiastic brand loyalists, many YouTube channels have emerged from owners sharing first-hand perspectives of life with an EV. One of the most popular comes from host Ben Sullins of Electric Autonomy boasting over 270,000 subscribers.

As a self-described “data geek”, Sullins crunches numbers on topics like:

• EV efficiency and range across conditions
• Charging and maintenance costs over tens of thousands of miles
• Trade-offs between EV model trims and specs
• Viability of solar assistance and battery backups

With reviews of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominating, commentary remains candid and genuine. Sullins excels translating complex technical matters into easily digestible nuggets anyone can appreciate.

Especially useful for prospective buyers weighing factors paramount in an EV purchase decision, Sullins balances unvarnishedreactions behind the wheel with crunching data on costs, functionality and convenience. If you don’t need high budget polish and value homemade perspectives from someone walking your same path, subscribe away.

5. Micromobility Podcast

While conversations typically fixate on Teslas and forthcoming EV crossovers and pickups, Micromobility Podcast zooms its lens on smaller zero-emission people movers gaining traction especially in crowded cities.

Co-hosts Horace Dediu and Oliver Bruce mostly train sights on e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, neighborhood EVs, motorcycles and more purpose-built for zipping around dense urban areas. Episodes journey well beyond mere product reviews and news to explore deeper questions like:

• What role can (and should) networked micromobility fleets versus personal ownership play advancing sustainable cities?
• As populations concentrate in mega-regions, do microvehicles provide sufficient utility to supplant personally owned cars?
• How quickly can micromobility solutions scale to impact mobility markets as substantially as smartphones disrupted telecoms?

Interviews with founders of micromobility startups like Eli Electric Vehicles throw open the curtains on the opportunities and challenges confronting entrepreneurs in this emerging lane.

Micromobility Podcast may focus on the smallest end of the electric mobility spectrum literally. But it tackles some of the biggest questions around designing urban habitats to sustainably support 10 billion human souls someday.

Start Tuning Into the Electric Conversation

Hopefully this breakdown has helped tune your antenna to some of the top podcasts chronicling the electric vehicle revolution underway. As consumer awareness builds around the practicality and eco-advantages EVs provide for daily commuting needs, adoption will only accelerate further.

Whether you already own an EV, have only started seriously kicking tires on prospective models, or just want to monitor an industry destined to transform economies over the next 20 years, these podcasts deliver.

By distilling insights from industry veterans inside automakers, startups, charging networks and more, hosts meet listeners at their point of EV interest and curiosity. As I can personally attest driving my 2021 Mustang Mach E the past year, balancing podcast listening while road tripping passes time enjoyably while effortlessly ramping my EV IQ.

Bottom line – take your knowledge of the electric future to the next level by taking these podcasts along for your next drive!