As a professional commuter, podcasts add greatly to my quality of life. When a podcast is both informative and enjoyable / entertaining, being stuck in traffic can be reduced to a mere inconvenience. Podcasts that are inspiring, and can give musicians of any skill level ideas for their next work transcend entertainment to a near necessity.
I listen to two or three podcasts that may be of interest to those involved in songwriting, recording, or film scoring. The best of these, The Sodajerker on Songwriting, is a series of hour long interviews with highly notable songwriters including people such as: Lamont Dozier, Kenny Loggins, Richard Sherman, Paul Simon, Valerie Simpson, Mike Stoller, and Paul Williams. The interviews are conducted by two songwriters, so the questions are intelligent, and pertinent to the songwriting process. While the interviews are centered on songwriting issues of production, gear, and recording can come up frequently in artists who are well involved in such activities.
A similar podcast, Song Exploder, features 10 to 15 minute episodes where a major band or artist talks about the creation of a single song. Each episode ends with the released version of the song in question. The podcast has had numerous high profile guests, including: Alexandre Desplat, The Lumineers, K. T. Tunstall, U2, and Wheezer. The podcast is much more evenly split between topics involving songwriting versus production.
Finally, a third podcast that I have listened to (although not as extensively) is Sideshow Sound Theatre. This podcast is partially fan oriented, and partially review oriented. The hosts of the show are film music fans who are aspiring film / media composers. The hosts pick a different theme, genre, composer, or franchise for each episode, and discuss the particular scores at hand in depth.
I have listened every episode of The Soda Jerker on Songwriting and Song Exploder. I am currently (very) slowly working my way through Sideshow Sound Theatre. Not every episode is inspiring, or gives me valuable ideas that I can use in my own work. But sometimes it only takes a single idea to completely revolutionize how you approach your art. Hearing from people involved in the same artistic endeavors as you are is perhaps the best way to broaden or advance your own skills. Finding the time to listen to these resources is perhaps one if the best ways you can spend your time in the advancement of your own work.