Technologist — Podcaster — Inventor
Dan Benjamin is a technologist working across leadership, software, and audio. He is an inventor credited with multiple patents, and an avid keynote speaker who has appeared at conferences on technology, design, and the craft of podcasting.
In 2009 he became a full-time podcaster with 5by5, a network its listeners called “NPR for Geeks.” He hosted and produced dozens of shows, among them Back to Work with Merlin Mann and The Ihnatko Almanac with Andy Ihnatko, and helped launch the careers of many podcasters. 5by5 grew into one of the most influential independent tech networks, drawing many millions of downloads and multiple Apple Podcasts “Best of” awards. In 2011, Fortune named him The King of Apple Talk Radio.
In 2016 he founded Fireside, a hosting, analytics, and distribution platform built on everything he had learned running his own network. It became one of the most widely used and trusted platforms of its kind before being acquired by Very Good Software in 2024.
Today he’s most interested in how AI can expand human creativity, building tools and ideas at the edge of software, audio, and craft. He lives in Colorado, shoots street photography, and writes The Unusual Newsletter.
Selected Work
2016
Fireside — podcast hosting, analytics & distribution
One of the most trusted platforms of its kind · acquired by Very Good Software, 2024
2009
5by5 — the tech podcast network, “NPR for Geeks”
Home of Back to Work & The Ihnatko Almanac · millions of downloads · Apple Podcasts “Best of”
2009
Playgrounder — product reviews for parents
Acquired by Uncrate
2006
Cork’d — a social network for wine lovers
Acquired by Gary Vaynerchuk
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Patents — multiple issued inventions
Writing
The Unusual
Newsletter
Dispatches on technology, curiosity, and the odd corners in between — written and published by Dan Benjamin.