Top Free Audio Lectures
Top 25 Free Resources from the Past Year
At LearnOutLoud.com we've been offering our Free Resource of the Day Email for three years now highlighting the best free audio & video you can learn from. In this special E-Magazine we're highlighting all 100 of the top free resources we've selected from the past year. For this third of free resources we made a list of the top 25 free resources which we've covered in our daily emailings in the past year. You can view the entire top 50 list with reviews here:
All Top 25 Free Resources
Here's a list of the top ten:
10. Bill Moyers Journal - PBS Podcast
In this podcast provided weekly by PBS, Billy Moyers draws from his deep historical and journalistic experience to get a better handle on what Americans are concerned with most in the here and now. Each hour-long episode features interviews with a wide range of guests as they discuss politics, religion, economics, and prominent social issues. Guided by Moyers unbiased, yet passionate approach to the material, The Journal is a great resource for anyone that wants to see how the headlines are affecting everyday life.
9. Constitutional Conversations Podcast
Listen to dozens of podcasts from the National Constitution Center many of which involve discussing the Constitution and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens. You'll find podcasts from such speakers as Jeffrey Sachs, Valerie Plame Wilson, Newt Gingrich, Bill Bradley, Ken Burns, Tom Brokaw, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay, Tom DeLay, Walter Isaacson, Tavis Smiley, Dinesh D'Souza, John McCain, David Brooks, Gordon Wood, Justice Stephen Breyer, John Bogle, Richard Clarke, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Cornel West, Pat Buchanan, and many others!
8. The Republic
The Republic by Plato is one of the most influential works of philosophy in history. In the form of Socratic dialogue, Plato's teacher and protagonist Socrates sets out to find an answer to the question: "What is justice?". Along the way Socrates discusses the ideal city-state and his theory of forms, which includes his famous allegory of the cave. This is a new, freely available, unabridged edition of The Republic. It is well read by narrator Doug McLeod and is available on MP3 download from ejunto.com.
7. President's Forum with Thich Nhat Hanh
Watch or listen to this talk delivered by Vietnamese-born Buddhist teacher, scholar, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh delivered at the Asia Society with questions from Asia Society President Vishakha N. Desai. The 81-year-old Thich Nhat Hanh begins with a brief meditation followed by an extended talk about his life as a Buddhist monk and teacher, including his recent return trips to Vietnam. Vishakha N. Desai asks some difficult questions such as how to deal with violent terrorists like Osama bin Laden. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from FORA.tv.
6. Barack Obama: Presidential Inaugural Address
Listen to President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address which he delivered today, January 20, 2009. In this speech President Obama sets forth the challenges that America faces and his confidence in the American people to rise to meet these challenges. He clearly states his intention to usher forth a new political era where politicians can "set aside childish things." This 22-minute speech is available on MP3 download and streaming audio & video through American Rhetoric.
5. Tribal Leadership
Zappos.com (a popular online retailer specializing in footwear) is currently offering a free audio download of the book Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright (published by Harper Collins in 2008). The book is a result of an eight-year study of approximately 24,000 people in over two dozen corporations focusing on how tribes (groups of 20 to 150 people in which everyone knows everyone else, or at least knows of everyone else) drive organization's to success. The book examines the five stages of employee tribal development and how an effective tribal leader can drive an organization to success. This audio book is available on MP3 download through Zappos.com. Note: Registration is required on the Zappos.com site in order to download this audio book.
4. AM Focus
Listen to this 13-minute visualization & relaxation process for focusing in the morning from Dr. Patrick Porter. Dr. Porter guides you through positive affirmations for your day. Combined with soothing music, this audio program is a great way to begin your day. This free audio download was published through our TeachOutLoud service and is available on MP3 download through LearnOutLoud.com.
3. The Scarlet Letter
Listen to one of the all-time great works of American literature: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This newly published edition from LoudLit.org is professionally narrated by Mary Woods and available unabridged on MP3 download. Hear the tale of Hester Prynne who is forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom after she commits adultery and becomes pregnant in the 17th-century Puritan village of Boston, Massachusetts. Download and listen to this American classic today!
2. 1 Year Daily Audio Bible Podcast
This podcast will take you through the entire Bible in 365 separate podcasts to be listened to over the next year. Each podcast is read by Nashville, TN based record producer Brian Hardin. Instead of going through the Bible chronologically, he selects four different passages for each podcast, which go through books of the Old and New Testament simultaneously, along with a Proverb and a Psalm. If you'd like to read the Bible more, but can't find the time of day, then try listening to the entire Bible in one year with the Bible In a Year Podcast.
1. Poetry Out Loud: Audio Guide
The Poetry Out Loud audio guide hosted by Dana Gioia offers a valuable educational overview of the art, history and overwhelming social importance of poetry. Throughout the series, Gioia collects crucial insight from writers, teachers and actors that can help the student gain a better understanding of how to understand and appreciate a given poem. In what is perhaps the most satisfying treat of this collection, listeners are given the chance to hear famous voices such as Anthony Hopkins and Angela Landsbury as they recite classics from Shakespeare, Yeats, Frost to Eliot and many more. Download and listen to this series of MP3s from the National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Out Loud program.
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Over 250 NAXOS Literature Downloads
NAXOS AudioBooks is one of the finest publishers of classic literature offering exceptional narrations with classical music interludes from the Naxos Records catalog. They feature both abridged and unabridged editions of timeless classics, and they also offer some of the best contemporary literature. The literature downloads continue with over 250 downloadable titles from NAXOS AudioBooks:
Browse Over 250 NAXOS Classic Literature Downloads
Here's some of the classic titles we're offering on download:
Beowulf
Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes (abridged)
Great Poets of the Romantic Age by William Blake, William Wordsworth, and more
Hamlet: John Gielgud's Classic 1948 Recording by William Shakespeare
The Odyssey by Homer
Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
And here's some downloadable titles geared towards a younger audience:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
The Story of Jesus by David Angus
Tales from the Greek Legends by Edward Ferrie
And here's a few of their contemporary literature offerings:
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami
The History of the World Cup, 1930-2002 by Brian Glanville
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
In the coming weeks we will be adding NAXOS AudioBooks entire catalog including hundreds more audio titles on MP3 download. We'll keep you updated! Enjoy!
All NAXOS AudioBooks Downloads
Some other top NAXOS titles we're offering on download are as follows:
Dracula - Bram Stoker's undisputed masterpiece of horror writing.
Hamlet - This production features the voice of Anton Lesser as Hamlet along with a full cast.
Youth and Heart of Darkness - Join Marlow as he tells tales of seaman voyages in these two magnificent novellas.
Les Miserables - An abridged edition of Victor Hugo's masterpiece of adventure, rebellion, and human redemption.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Hear James Joyce describe the early life of Stephen Dedalus.
The Iliad - Homer's great poem of the Western world, available abridged & unabridged.
And here are some more highlights from their library which we've recently added:
Ancient & Medieval Classics:
-The Aeneid by Virgil
-The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
-The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
-The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
-The Iliad by Homer
Shakespeare Dramatizations:
-Hamlet by William Shakespeare
-King Lear by William Shakespeare
-King Richard III by William Shakespeare
-The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Classics for Kids:
-Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
-Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
-Famous Americans in History by Barnaby Chesterman
-Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
-Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
-Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
-The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Unabridged Classics:
-Dubliners by James Joyce
-Emma by Jane Austen
-Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
-The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Nonfiction Titles:
-A Guide to Wine by Julian Curry
-The History of English Literature by Perry Keenlyside
-The History of Opera by Richard Fawkes
-They Saw It Happen
-Walden by Henry David Thoreau
And we could go on pointing out the great offerings from NAXOS, but why don't you take a look for yourself:
Browse Over 250 NAXOS Classic Literature Downloads
Top 50 Free Resources from 2007
Check out the top 50 highlights from year two of our Free Resource of the Day Emails. For this second year of free resources we made a list of the top 50 free resources which we've covered in our daily emailings in the past year. You can view the entire top 50 list with reviews here:
Full List of Our Top 50 Free Resources
Here's a list of the top ten:
10. American RadioWorks presents Say It Plain: A Century of Great African-American Speeches
9. 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire Podcast
8. Oprah and Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth Online Class Podcast
7. U.S. Presidents Podcast
6. Wired for Books MP3 Page
5. Alpha Break
4. The Bhagavad Gita (Unfortunately this is no longer available, but stay tuned for a new free version of The Bhagavad Gita)
3. The Value of Philosophy
2. I've Been to the Mountaintop
1. Lit2Go (Unfortunately this is no longer available through our site as iTunes U will not allow us to link to them, but you can search it in iTunes U)
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Top 25 Free Resources from 2006
Check out the top 25 free resources from our first year of Free Resource of the Day Emails highlighting best free audio & video you can learn from. You can view the entire top 25 list with reviews here:
Top 25 Free Resources
Here's a list of the top ten:
1. Extraordinary Leadership
2. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Harvard University Commencement Address
3. The Origin of the Human Mind
4. The King James Version Bible
5. History According to Bob Podcast
6. Introduction to Your Mind: Two Guided Meditations
7. Tolstoy On Death: The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Master Man
8. TEDTalks Podcast
9. The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson Podcast
10. I Have a Dream Audio and Video
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