For those of us interested in learning about best practices in local government and the city, town and county managers who work with their teams to make communities better, it’s worth checking out Local Gov Life. This is a pilot initiative developed by ICMA. The first six episodes are based on feature stories from Public Management magazine, which has been around almost as long as the organization itself. The inaugural episode (download and/or listen here) builds on a June story about how local governments use volunteers, looking at several cities and a City Manager who carves out time for volunteering in a very demanding schedule. The team at ICMA is looking for feedback and ideas so have a listen and share your thoughts using #LocalGovLife.

A couple of other ideas for podcasts focused on local government

• GovLove – An eclectic podcast from the folks at ELGL, the latest episode looks at Open Streets a community engagement program from the City of Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The Urbanist – Monocle’s guide to making cities better covers topics ranging from planning to technology and always with an eye toward innovation.

Do you have a favorite podcast that focuses on public service? We’d love to hear from you.