December 19, 2008

$1 of Every Order to Literacy Bridge Charity

Between now and December 31, 2008, LearnOutLoud is donating $1 from every order placed on LearnOutLoud.com to Literacy Bridge, a nonprofit charity that distributes Talking Book Devices to impoverished rural areas with low literacy levels. Their pilot program is beginning by providing Talking Book Devices to families in the rural north of Ghana. You can learn more about there program here:

LiteracyBridge.org

So feel free to place an order with LearnOutLoud.com before the end of 2008 (even if it’s for a $1 audio book), knowing that $1 from every order you place will be donated to Literacy Bridge. Literacy Bridge is promising that all funds raised by December 31, 2008 will be applied directly to their pilot tests and not to administrative costs. So help the nation of Ghana to learn out loud today, when you place an order on LearnOutLoud.com:

LearnOutLoud.com Sale Section

December 16, 2008

50 Affordable Stocking Stuffers

Still don’t know what to get a friend or family member for Christmas? We’ve got a great (and a bit biased…) suggestion: Audiobooks. Why are audiobooks such great gifts? Because they don’t require the recipient to take any time out of his or her day to listen to. They can just pop the audiobook on while driving to work, exercising, etc. and each time they’ll think of you and thank you for making their commute or workout a
little more interesting.

To help you out in finding an affordable stocking stuffer we’ve put together all of our titles on sale for less than $20 in LearnOutLoud.com’s Audiobook Outlet. Here you can browse titles by category that are Under $5.00, Under $10.00, Under $15.00, and Under $20.00. Find a great affordable gift in the LearnOutLoud.com’s Outlet:

LearnOutLoud.com’s Audiobook Outlet

We’ve also put together this list of the 50 best stocking stuffers available for under $20:

Arts & Entertainment:
New and Not Bad Pretty Good Jokes by Garrison Keillor
How to Ruin Your Life by Ben Stein
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Live in Concert by Douglas Adams
Keyboard Conversations: The Power and Passion of Beethoven by Jeffrey Siegel
David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall

Biography:
This I Believe by Jay Allison
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter
The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats by John Kavanagh
Anne Frank’s Story by Carol Ann Lee

Business:
Richest Man in Babylon and The Magic Story by George S. Clason
Think & Grow Rich: Instant Motivator by Napoleon Hill
Personal Finance for Dummies, 5th Edition by Eric Tyson
The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Stephen R. Covey

History:
Martin Luther King Jr.: We Shall Overcome
Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley
Famous Americans in History by Barnaby Chesterman

Literature:
Horton Hears a Who and Other Sounds of Dr. Seuss
And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
Essential Walt Whitman
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

Religion & Spirituality:
The Word of Promise: Christmas Story
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
More Than a Carpenter Today by Josh McDowell
The Beginner’s Guide to Buddhism by Jack Kornfield
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
The 100 Minute Bible
How to Pray by R.A. Torrey
The Meaning of Life by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Self Development:
Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
101 Ways To Transform Your Life by Wayne Dyer
101 Power Thoughts by Louise L. Hay
Creative Visualization Meditations by Shakti Gawain
As You Think by James Allen
Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
Meditations for Manifesting by Wayne Dyer
Spiritual Progress Through Regression by Brian Weiss
Deep Relaxation by Effective Learning Systems
Meditations for a Miraculous Life by Marianne Williamson
Living a Life of Inner Peace by Eckhart Tolle

Other Notable Releases:
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Rush Hour Express Spanish
The Golfer’s Mind by Dr. Bob Rotella
Marley & Me by John Grogan
Wine Appreciation Freeway Guide by Robin Stark

Get a great little gift for a loved one this holiday season to aid them in their lifelong learning!

December 16, 2008

150 Best New Audio Book Releases from 2008

At LearnOutLoud.com we’ve assembled a list of the 150 best new and most popular audio book releases from 2008. You can view all of our audio book new releases here:

www.learnoutloud.com/New-Releases

To make it easy, we’ve divided this list of 150 new releases into categories:

Arts & Entertainment:
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: Complete Radio Series Box Set by Douglas Adams
Why We Suck by Denis Leary
American Prince by Tony Curtis
The Best of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! by Peter Sagal & Others
Liberty by Garrison Keillor
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Music: An Appreciation by Roger Kamien
Horton Hears a Who and Other Sounds of Dr. Seuss by Dr. Seuss
The History of Opera by Richard Fawkes

Biography:
Call Me Ted by Ted Turner
John Lennon: The Life by Philip Norman
Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
Billy Graham: His Life and Influence by David Aikman
Led by Faith by Immaculee Ilibagiza
Promises to Keep by Joe Biden
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor
Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews
An Hour to Live, an Hour to Love by Richard Carlson
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters
A Remarkable Mother by Jimmy Carter
The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
Life Beyond Measure by Sidney Poitier
The Color of Water by James McBride
It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Business:
The Leader in Me by Stephen R. Covey
50 Prosperity Classics by Tom Butler-Bowdon
Credit Repair Kit for Dummies by Steve Bucci
The Missing Secret by Joe Vitale
Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders
Money, and the Law of Attraction by Jerry & Esther Hicks
The Buffettology Collection by Mary Buffett
Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach
Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell
The Wealth of Nations (Abridged) by Adam Smith
The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
The New Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Think & Grow Rich: The 21st Century Edition by Napoleon Hill

History:
The Mental Floss History of the World by Eric Sass
A Short History of the United States by Robert V. Remini
Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands
A History of the Olympics by John Goodbody
The War Within by Bob Woodward
America’s Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis
Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

Literature:
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
Marley by John Grogan
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
A Mercy by Toni Morrison
A Christmas Carol (Dramatized) by Charles Dickens
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor
On the Road: The Original Scroll by Jack Kerouac
Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
Othello by William Shakespeare
Native Son by by Richard Wright
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut
Pilgrims by Elizabeth Gilbert
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey: A Biography by Alberto Manguel
The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway
The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht
Great Poets: W.B. Yeats by William Butler Yeats
Song Yet Sung by James McBride
Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone
Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey

Politics:
Mike’s Election Guide by Michael Moore
The Way of the World by Ron Suskind
Makers and Takers by Peter Schweizer
An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
The Essential Barack Obama: The Grammy Award-Winning Recordings by Barack Obama
Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Albright
The Great Awakening by Jim Wallis
Out of Mao’s Shadow by Philip P. Pan
Fleeced by Dick Morris
Rights of Man by Thomas Paine

Religion & Spirituality:
The Word of Promise: Next Generation – New Testament features the voices of such world-class young actors as Annasophia Robb, Marshall Allman, Emily Osment, Cody Linley, Sean Astin, Jordin Sparks, and Corbin Bleu
Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment by Deepak Chopra
The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren
Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron
Everything You Know about God Is Wrong, Volume 1
Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
Love Your Life by Victoria Osteen
Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha by Jack Kerouac
Fresh Air: Faith, Reason and Doubt by Terry Gross
Conflict Free Living by Joyce Meyer
The Love Languages of God by Gary Chapman
Buddha’s Teachings by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai
I Don’t Believe in Atheists by Chris Hedges
The Faith by Charles Colson
Conversations with God by Neale Donald Walsch
NKJV: Word of Promise – New Testament
New Birth or Rebirth by Ravi Zacharias
Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren

Self Development:
The Stephen R. Covey 20th Anniversary Collection
ChiRunning by Danny Dreyer
Magnificent Mind at Any Age by Daniel G. Amen
100 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Joyce Meyer
Spiritual Liberation by Michael Beckwith
You: Being Beautiful by by Mehmet C. Oz & Michael F. Roizen
Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges
Leveraging the Universe and Engaging the Magic by Mike Dooley
You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen & Mehmet C. Oz
Making Love Last by David Richo
Law of Attraction Directly from Source: Leading Edge Thought, Leading Edge Music by Jerry & Esther Hicks and Scott Raposa
The 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey
Conquering Procrastination: How to Stop Stalling & Start Achieving! by Neil Fiore
Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection by John T. Cacioppo
The End of Food by Paul Roberts
The Teachings of Abraham by Esther & Jerry Hicks
You Breathing Easy by Michael F. Roizen
Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges
Leveraging the Universe and Engaging the Magic by Mike Dooley
You: Staying Young by Michael F. Roizen & Mehmet C. Oz
The Age of Miracles by Marianne Williamson
Getting Things Done (Unabridged) by David Allen
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill
The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield
Life Visioning by Michael Beckwith
Relieve Anxiety with Medical Hypnosis by Steven Gurgevich
From Fear to Fearlessness by Pema Chodron
Advanced Chakra Wisdom by Cyndi Dale
The Power of Presence by Peter M. Senge
The End of Your World by Adyashanti
Psychosomatic Wellness by Candace Pert
Yoga Wave by Shiva Rea
Living Everyday Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck
The Personal Mastery Program by Srikumar Rao

Other Notable Releases:
The Intellectual Devotional: Modern Culture by David S. Kidder
A Member of the Family: Cesar Millan’s Guide to a Lifetime of Fulfillment with Your Dog
Green Living for Dummies by Yvonne Jeffery
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
This I Believe II by Jay Allison
Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Advanced Spanish
Don’t Know Much about Anything by Kenneth C. Davis
Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough
Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up by John Allen Paulos
Everything You Pretend to Know and Are Afraid Someone Will Ask by Lynette Padwa
Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger

October 28, 2008

Presidential Candidates Audio & Video Resource for Election Day 2008

With only one week left until the United States Presidential Election, we wanted to feature our updated Presidential Candidates Audio & Video Resource page. This page features resources from all the presidential candidates that are on enough ballots to theoretically win the election, along with the Democratic & Republican running mates. So we’ve not only included pages for Barack Obama & John McCain, but also for four other presidential candidates. Listen to and watch audio & video of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Candidates featuring podcasts, speeches, debates, interviews, and more:

Presidential Candidates Audio & Video Resource Page

Here are the individual candidate pages:

Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain (featuring 21 resources)

Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin (featuring 6 resources)

Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama (featuring 23 resources)

Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden (featuring 12 resources)

Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader (featuring 11 resources)

Constitution Party Presidential Candidate Chuck Baldwin (featuring 3 resources)

Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney (featuring 3 resources)

Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Bob Barr (featuring 3 resources)

Here are some highlights of specific titles which you may want to check out before election day:

Ron Paul Hosts Third Party Press Conference – Features candidates Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, and Chuck Baldwin stating their positions and all agreeing on the principles of withdrawing all troops from Iraq and other foreign countries, stopping the increase of the national debt, and opposing taxpayer bailouts of corporations.

John McCain on Charlie Rose: 1997-2007 – Senator John McCain has been interviewed over a dozen times by Charlie Rose since 1997. We selected the 10 most significant interviews and featured them here. This set of videos provides an excellent portrait of McCain over the past 10 years.

2008 Presidential Race Debates Podcast – CBS News presents the three full debates between candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and the one debate between their running mates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. Available audio & video podcasts through iTunes.

FRONTLINE: The Choice 2008 – PBS FRONTLINE documentary on the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. This two hour documentary is available on streaming video through YouTube and free video download through iTunes.

U.S. Senator Barack Obama Podcast – Senator Barack Obama was an early adopter of podcasting as a medium for addressing his constituents. He began podcasting in early 2006 and this is his original podcast before he began his presidential bid. These podcasts provide a more intimate platform to hear Obama address the issues.

If you like these presidential resources and you have a Digg.com account, please Digg them here:

Presidential Candidates Audio & Video Resource on Digg.com

Enjoy these resources and if you’re a U.S. citizen, be sure to vote Tuesday, November 4th!

October 17, 2008

John McCain on Charlie Rose: 1997-2007

NOTE: Google Video is no longer and neither are these interviews. Oh well.

Senator John McCain has been interviewed over a dozen times by Charlie Rose since 1997. We’ve select the 10 most significant interviews and featured them here. This set of videos provides an excellent portrait of McCain over the past 10 years. Here are some of the key interviews:

-In the 06/03/1997 interview, McCain told a riveting story of his experiences as a soldier and POW in Vietnam.

-In the 07/28/1999 interview, McCain laid forth his 2000 presidential campaign platform addressing political cynicism and corruption, and how to rid Washington of the special interests that contribute to both Democratic & Republican parties and control the American political process.

-In the 09/17/2001 interview, McCain discussed preparations for a war with Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.

-In the 09/24/2002 interview, McCain gave his reasons for supporting the upcoming war with Iraq.

-In the 04/19/2004 interview, McCain spoke with Charlie Rose about the difficulties of the Iraq War.

-In the 08/20/2007 interview, McCain laid forth his platform for his 2008 presidential campaign, focusing on fighting Islamic terrorism, winning the war in Iraq, cutting government spending, and dealing with climate change.

These interviews provide an interesting history of the changes in American politics over the past 10 years and how Senator John McCain has confronted these changes. These streaming videos are made available through CharlieRose.com and Google Video.

A discussion with John McCain
06/03/1997

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, speaks to Charlie about his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam and his support for the Head Start program, a federally funded program focusing on providing early stage education for children from low-income families.

A conversation with Senator John McCain
07/28/1999

Senator John McCain of Arizona discusses his run for the Republican nomination for president in the 2000 elections, his main Republican opposition, George W. Bush, and outlines his policy platform. McCain addresses political cynicism and corruption, and curbing the special interests that contribute to both Democratic & Republican parties.

An interview with John McCain
09/13/1999

Senator of Arizona and Presidential candidate John McCain talks about his new book “Faith of My Fathers”, about the significance of his time spent in the military and as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

An interview with John McCain
12/13/1999

An hour with Republican senator from Arizona and presidential candidate, John McCain. McCain responds to the feedback about the recent debates among Republican candidates, discusses formative life experiences that have contributed to his desire to run for the presidency, and shares his policy platform.

A conversation about the preparation for war with Senator John McCain
09/17/2001

A conversation with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona about preparations for war after the 9/11 attacks and President Bush’s plan of action.

An interview with John McCain
09/24/2002

Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona and author of the book “Worth Fighting For”, discusses America’s failure to keep the peace and rebuild in Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion. He also talks about mounting tensions with Iraq.

A conversation with Senator John McCain
04/19/2004

A conversation with Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona about his book “Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life”. McCain also discusses the war in Iraq.

An hour with Republican Senator John McCain
10/31/2005

An hour conversation with Senator John McCain about his views regarding President Bush, the platform and future of the Republican Party and his own possible run for the presidency in 2008.

A conversation with Sen. John McCain
08/20/2007

A conversation with Senator John McCain about his Presidential campaign. McCain talks about combatting Islamic extremism, the rise of China, and other foreign policy issues.

Charlie Rose Special Edition: The Candidate – John McCain
11/27/2007

Charlie Rose Special Edition: The Candidates featuring an hour with John McCain. McCain covers most of the platform upon which he is running in 2008 as he talks about Iraq, health care, education, immigration, and other issues.

July 31, 2008

Guide to Audio Tours

With the proliferation of iPhones, smart phones, iPods, and portable MP3 players, audio tours have become an increasingly popular way to explore new places when traveling to tourist destinations. They’re cheaper, less obtrusive, and often better than taking a guided walking tour or bus tour of a city. We thought we’d put together a comprehensive resource of the audio tours available throughout the world (most of them we don’t have up on the site yet so we’re linking directly to them).

Best & Most Comprehensive Audio Tour Sites:

Over 100 Audio Guides from Tourcaster now featuring numerous Free City Guide Podcasts on iTunes

Over 400 Audio Guides from Heart Beat Guides With 25% of the Tours Available for Free

AudioGuide2go.com Search Portal to Audio Trails Guides and Tours on the Web

So here are all the walking tours we can find, starting with U.S. cities:

U.S. Cities:

Sounds for Sights Audio Tours for New York City covering Lower Manhattan, Rockefeller Center, South Street Seaport, and Times Square

CentralPark.com Audio Tours Podcast

Made in NY: Walking Tours of Film and Television Locations in New York Podcast on iTunes

Frommer’s Audio Tours on Audible.com (Scroll Down to Find These on the Page) Covering New York City & San Francisco and Frommer’s Day by Day Audio Walking Tours Podcast Including a Tour of Greenwich Village in New York City

Sidewalk Guides of Washington, D.C.

Downtown LA Walks Podcasts Covering Downtown LA in the areas of Arts and Culture, Shopping, Historic Downtown, and International Downtown

Scott’s L.A. Audio Driving Tours of Pasadena, Hollywood, and Los Angeles

Stroll San Francisco Audio Tours

CityStoryWalks of San Francisco

The Chicago Poetry Tour Podcast on iTunes

Mp3TravelGuides.com Featuring Tours of Portland and Seattle

Rocky Mountain Audio Guides Tour of Denver

Guided Tours from Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields Covering Antietam, Chickamauga, Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, New Market, Petersburg, Vicksburg, and Spotsylvania

Door Audio Tours Podcast on iTunes Covering Wisconsin’s Door County

Open Road Adventures Features Self-Guided Audio Driving Tours of Scenic Sites in Minnesota

DK Eyewitness Travel Podcasts Covering Miami’s South Beach, Orlando’s Disney World, and New York’s Greenwich Village

CityListen Audio Tours Includes Tours of New York, Chicago, and San Francisco

Cape Treks Cape Cod Audio Driving Tours

Untravel Media Boston Walking Tours

National Park Service Podcasts on iTunes including the Glacier National Park Podcast

Travel Audios U.S. National Park Audio Tours covering Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Glacier National Park in Montana, Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

Waypoint Tours Includes Tours of Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco, Grand Canyon National Park, and Sedona Arizona Red Rock Country

Walkabout Audio Tours Includes Tours of the Grand Canyon, Sedona Area, & Northern Arizona

Acoustiguide Free Audio Tours Covering Cities and Museums throughout the United States with numerous Acoustiguide Podcasts on iTunes

AudioSteps Walking Tours for the Digital Age – Includes Tours of New Orleans, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco, & Washington, D.C.

European Cities:

Rick Steves’ Audio Tour Podcasts Include Free Tours of Paris, Britain, and Italy, and if you have an iPhone you may want to check out Rick Steves’ Audio Europe iPhone App

Soundmap London Audio Walks Includes Tours of Brixton, Camden, Brick Lane, King’s Road, Soho, a free Sweeney Todd Audio Tour

Travel London and Travel Paris by iMinds Audio Each Covering 6 London and Paris Destinations

City of the Soul: A Walk in Rome by William Murray Covering the Coloseum, Villa Borghese, the Piazza di Spagna, the Trevi Fountain, and the Capuchin Church of Santa Maria della Concezione

AudioExplore Walking Tours of Cities in Ireland Includes Tours Dublin & Cork

audiotravel Walking Tours of Cities in Germany Includes Tours of Cologne & Munich

iAudioguide European City Tours Includes Tours of Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris, & Rome

DK Eyewitness Travel Podcasts Covering Paris River Walk, Art Nouveaux Prague, Amsterdam’s Dam Square, and Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica

StrollOn Audio Guides of European Cities Include Tours in London, Paris, Prague, Amsterdam, and Venice

MPTours Includes Tours of Rome & London

noambit.com Tours Featuring Tours of Florence, Prague, Lisbon, the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial, the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, and the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec, Croatia

Helsinki, Finland Sightseeing Tram Audio Guide

Talk of the Town Audio Guides in Stockholm, Sweden

Walk & Talk Series by Gildan Media Includes Walk & Talk Paris, Walk & Talk Rome, Walk & Talk Venice, & Walk & Talk Florence

Footnotes Audio Walks in London

London Audio Tours

Free Audio London Walks Podcast by LondonWalks.org

Free Paris Audio Guide Podcast by CityZeum.com

Frommer’s Audio Tours on Audible.com (Scroll Down to Find These on the Page) Covering Paris, Rome, & London and Frommer’s Day by Day Audio Walking Tours Podcast Including a Tour of DaVinci’s Paris

MP3 City Guides Includes Tours of Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Prague, Rome, Vienna, Venice, and York

AudioSteps Walking Tours for the Digital Age Includes Tours of Bath and Bristol, London, Granada, Florence, Rome, Berlin, Paris, & Prague

Play & Tour MP3 City Guides Includes Tours of Amsterdam, Atenas, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Istanbul, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Marrakech, Paris, Prague, Rome, Seville, Venice, & Venice

Walki Talki Audio Walking Tours Includes Tours of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Edinburgh, Geneva, London, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Prague, Rome, and Venice with short, concise capsules about major European destinations on their Walki-talki Podcast

A History of Scotland Audio Walks Podcast covering Edinburgh, Finlaggan, Stirling, Dunfermline, and Kilmartin Glen

Podtours Includes Tours in Austria, Italy, France, England, Spain, Belgium, Germany and Austria

iJourneys Tours of the Wonders of Italy Includes Tours of Amsterdam, Rome, Barcelona, Florence, Paris, Pompeii, Salzburg, Venice, Vienna, and Innsbruck

Seville Spain Audioguide

Audio Guide of Historical Sites in Palma de Mallorca, Spain including the Palma de Mallorca Cathedral Audio Guide

Acoustiguide Free Audio Tours Covering Cities and Museums throughout Europe with numerous Acoustiguide Podcasts on iTunes

Jane’s Smart Art Guides Covering Art Destinations in Italy

PocketVox Audio Guides and Walking Tours Included Tours of numerous cities in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, and more

Artineraries Includes Tours of Assisi, Edinburgh, London, Ostia, Padova, Paris, Rome, Torino, and the Vatican

CitiesInSound.com Includes Tours of London, Edinburgh, Rome, and Paris

Audio City Tours Includes Tours of London, Amsterdam, Salzburg, Paris, and Oxford

Sound Travel Walking Tours Includes Tours of Florence, London, Paris, Rome, and Venice

Walk Talk Tour Includes Tours of London, Edinburgh, York, and Manchester

Tourist Tracks MP3 Walking Tours Includes Tours of Bath, Brighton, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Ely, Glasgow, London, Manchester, and Oxford

Budapest Audio Guide

ChooseMalta.com Valetta Walking Tour

ZeVisit Free Audioguided Tours Mostly in France

CitySpeaker Audio Guide Includes Tours of Rome, Paris and London

Other World Cities:

Hear Planet: Audio Guide to the World iPhone App

DayOut Audio Guides of New Zealand

Talk ‘N Tours Self Guided Audio Walking Tours Australia and New Zealand

Tours of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico from Tek Trek

MPTours Includes Three Tours of Buenos Aires

Walk The Talk Tours of Hong Kong and Macau

Colombia Audio Tours Includes Tours of Bogota, Cartagena, and Medellin

City Surf Toronto Walking Tours

Isla Mujeres, Mexico: Downtown Self-guided Audio Walking & Learning Tour

Content Creation’s Sounds & The City Audio Tours Includes Tours of Singapore, Mumbai, Beijing, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Dubai

Acoustiguide Free Audio Tours Covering Cities and Museums throughout the World with numerous Acoustiguide Podcasts on iTunes

Sonusland Audio Tours Covering Tours of Puerto Varas, Chile and other Latin American destinations

Museums:

Acoustiguide Free Museum Tours Site and Acoustiguide Podcasts on iTunes Including the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco), the Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth), The National Portrait Gallery (London), and numerous other museums around the World

Artineraries Includes Art Tours in Assisi, Edinburgh, London, Ostia, Padova, Paris, Rome, Torino, and the Vatican
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) on iTunes U

Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Teaching Company DVD Course

Museum of Modern Art (New York) Mobile Audio via the Museum’s WiFi

Museum of Modern Art (New York) on iTunes U

Whitney (Museum of American Art, New York) Focus Video Podcast

American Museum of Natural History (New York) Podcast

Brooklyn Museum on iTunes U

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) – Behind the Scenes Podcast

National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) Video Podcast

National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D.C.) on iTunes U

Slate Audio Tours Podcast Covering Memorials on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Smithsonian American Art Museum Podcast, Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History on iTunes U, and Smithsonian Podcasts on iTunes

The International Spy Museum (Washington, D.C.) SpyCast Podcast

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, D.C.) on iTunes U

Philadelphia Museum of Art: Exhibition Minutes Podcast and all Philadelphia Museum of Art Podcasts on iTunes

The Baltimore Museum of Art on iTunes U

Arab American National Museum (Dearborn, Michigan) on iTunes U

The Cleveland Museum of Art Podcast

Indianapolis Museum of Art on iTunes U

Walker Art Center (Minneapolis) on iTunes U

MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) Audio and Podcasts

SFMOMA (San Francisco) Artcasts Podcast

Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) on iTunes U

The San Diego Museum of Art on iTunes U

Rick Steves’ France Audio Tours Podcast Includes Free Tours Versailles, Orsay Museum, and Louvre Museum

Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre Teaching Company DVD Course

10 Masterpieces of the Louvre

Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France) on iTunes U

The Grand Tour – The National Gallery, London Podcast

The National Gallery, London Podcast

Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London Teaching Company DVD Course

Tate Modern (London) on iTunes U

National Gallery of Victoria (Australia) on iTunes U

Let us know if we missed any at suggestions@learnoutloud.com!

June 11, 2008

2008 Audie Award Winners

The Audie Awards took place on May 30th in Los Angeles. For those of you who’ve not heard of the Audies, they are basically the Oscars for audio books.

Here are some highlights of the winners which we offer through LearnOutLoud.com:

Audiobook of the Year
The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Thriller (Only available on Audible.com)
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Author: Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Lisa Scottoline, Joseph Finder, David Hewson, James Grady, S. J. Rozan, Erica Spindler, John Ramsey Miller, David Corbett, John Gilstrap, Jim Fusilli, Peter Spiegelman, Ralph Pezzullo and P. J. Parrish
Narrator: Alfred Molina

Classics
Treasure Island
Publisher: Listening Library
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Narrator: Alfred Molina

Personal Development/Motivational
Fit to Live
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Author: Pamela Peeke
Narrator: Pamela Peeke

Biography/Memoir
Einstein: His Life and Universe
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Author: Walter Isaacson
Narrator: Edward Herrmann

Business Information/Educational
Words That Work
Publisher: Hyperion Audiobooks
Author: Frank Luntz
Narrator: L.J. Ganser & Frank Luntz

Humor
I Am America (and So Can You!)
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Author: Stephen Colbert
Narrator: Stephen Colbert

Inspirational/Spiritual
Inspired By…the Bible Experience: Old Testament
Publisher: Zondervan
Narrator: Angela Bassett, Cuba Gooding Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and more

Narration by the Author or Authors
Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Author: Garrison Keillor
Narrator: Garrison Keillor

Non-Fiction
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Publisher: British Broadcasting Corporation
Author: Alex Haley
Narrator: Avery Brooks

May 22, 2008

Best of FORA.tv

Sorry, but the FORA.tv video library was taken down as of August 31, 2018, so these videos are no longer available, unless you can find them on YouTube.

FORA.tv offers over 2000 free videos from over 115 different partners covering the world’s most interesting political, social and cultural issues. Their partners include bookstores, think tanks, colleges, institutes, and many other public forums (the word fora is simply the plural of “forum”). At LearnOutLoud we combed through these free resources and picked out 500 of the top titles that FORA.tv offers.

We’ve added these 500 free titles to our site and have embedded the videos onto our pages so you can watch them directly on LearnOutLoud.com. FORA.tv has also provided the ability to download the audio of their videos on MP3 for almost all of their titles, making it easy to take FORA.tv programs with you. On our product pages we’ve provided links to the FORA.tv pages where you can download the MP3 files.

We’ve divided the FORA.tv titles up according to their providers. Here are the top providers you can browse with some highlights of the titles they offer:

Asia Society:

Henry Kissinger

Joseph Stiglitz: The Economics of Information

President’s Forum with Thich Nhat Hanh

Aspen Institute:

The Clash Between Faith and Reason by Sam Harris

A Conversation with Lance Armstrong

A Conversation with Richard Branson

Karl Rove in Conversation with Walter Isaacson

Book Passage:

Death Experiences: Stan Grof and Scott Eberle

John Gray: Why Mars and Venus Collide

Joyce Carol Oates: The Gravedigger’s Daughter

Madeleine Albright: The Mighty and The Almighty

Books Inc.:

The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong

Calvin Trillin

Made to Stick by Chip Heath

A Portrait of Harper Lee

Brookings Institution:

Immigration Reform: Prospects and Possibilities

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:

A World Free of Nuclear Weapons?

Cato Institute:

Andrew Sullivan: The Conservative Soul

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War without End

John McCain: The Myth of a Maverick

Chatham House:

Ban Ki-moon: Why the UN Matters Today

Chautauqua Institution:

Boosting the Brain’s Power Into Old Age by Dharma Singh Khalsa

Music: Heart, Soul and Dollar – Robert Greenberg

Nutrition and Physical Activity for a Lifetime by Christina Economos

City Arts & Lectures:

Chris Elliott in Conversation with Dave Eggers

Eric Schlosser, Author of Fast Food Nation

Jared and Susan Diamond in Conversation

Cody’s Books:

Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood

Ralph Nader: The Good Fight

Shelby Steele on Why Barack Obama Cannot Win

Council on Foreign Relations:

A Conversation with Benazir Bhutto

Hillary Rodham Clinton at Council on Foreign Relations

C-SPAN:

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Gay Marriage Debate with David Blankenhorn & Evan Wolfson

The Joke’s Over: Ralph Steadman on Hunter S. Thompson

Noam Chomsky: Hegemony or Survival

President George W. Bush at the NAACP

Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion

Tom Wolfe: What’s Southern Today?

Heritage Foundation:

The President, The Pope and The Prime Minister by John O’Sullivan

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: U.S. Policy in Northeast Asia

Hoover Institution:

Harvey Mansfield: Anger and Self-Importance

Norman Podhoretz: World War IV

Steps Toward a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

Institute of Ideas:

Battle of Ideas: Debating Darwin

Debating Matters: Human Genetic Engineering

LinkTV:

$100 Laptop – NetSquared 2006

Sen. Barbara Boxer

Long Now Foundation:

Bruce Sterling on The Singularity

Francis Fukuyama: The End Of History Revisited

Will Wright and Brian Eno

New School:

An Evening with John Pilger and Amy Goodman

Film Historian David Thomson on Hollywood

Politics and Prose:

Dave Barry’s History of the Millennium (So Far)

Tom Brokaw: Boom! Voices of the Sixties

Transatlantic Institute:

Hamas and the National Unity Government

World Affairs Council:

A Conversation with Ted Turner

George Lucas

Histories of Burma by Thant Myint-U

Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem

Journeys of a Passionate Traveller by Frances Mayes

And about 120 titles from their other providers we’ve consolidated under the publisher FORA.tv:

FORA.tv:

The 20th Century on Trial: Norman Mailer

Al Gore: The Global Environmental Crisis

Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens Debate

Bill Clinton: A Call to Action

Dan Gediman: This I Believe

Free to Choose by Milton Friedman

Fritjof Capra: The Science of Leonardo

Garrison Keillor on Life, Cheerfulness and Aging

Khaled Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Malcolm X: Address to the Ford Hall Forum

Mind Set! Reset Your Thinking and See the Future by John Naisbitt

Oliver Sacks: Musicophilia

Salman Rushdie

Vietnam and the Rise of the New Left by Michael Medved

Enjoy the offerings from this brilliant ideas network for discourse and debate.

April 24, 2008

Top 50 Free Resources

We’ve been sending out our Free Resource of the Day Emails for two years now. If you’ve not subscribed yet, we highly encourage you to do so. Who knows what magnificent free audio & video learning resources we’ll dig up in the next year!

Here’s a top 50 list we put together of the best of the best that we’ve featured in the last year:

50. CWU Counseling Center (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)

The Central Washington University Counseling Center offers nine free mindfulness and relaxation exercises to listen to through iTunes U. These short exercises are conducted with a soothing voice and most feature relaxing music.

49. The Fundamental Principles of Personal Wealth

Listen to this free audio book entitled The Fundamental Principles of Personal Wealth. This motivational, one-hour audio book examines the methods for gaining wealth in all aspects of one’s life. It covers how to shape one’s thoughts and emotions in order to thrive in the area of wealth. This audio book is available on MP3 download from TFPPW.com.

48. Parts of a Whole

In this downloadable audio program conducted by New Dimension’s Michael Toms, physicist David Bohm discusses how Quantum Physics has the potential to expand our understanding of human consciousness. Bohm observes here that at the quantum level, matter moves in an erratic manner similar to the way the brain moves from thought to thought. The deep implications of these findings led Bohm to work for many years with J. Krishnamurti in the study of how science can help broaden our spiritual horizons. Could the brain’s functions mirror a wider universal law that connects the human race? This interview is offered by New Dimension Media and is available on MP3 download through LearnOutLoud.com.

47. Thinking Out Loud Podcast

Listen to over twenty philosophical dialogues with everyday people covering a new topic in each podcast. Host Steve Donaldson is joined by about ten other citizen philosopher guests as they spend an hour talking about topics such as “What is Love?”, “What is Evil?”, “Is Free Will an Illusion?”, “What is Mysticism?”, and many other intriguing topics. These philosophical round table discussions really get one thinking about the topic and they’re entertaining as well. Currently they’re allowing internet guests to join in the discussion through VoIP technology. The audio quality of these podcasts varies, but the content is so consistently compelling that you’ll want to listen to them all.

46. Peter Singer

Peter Singer’s controversial views on biological ethics are openly debated by a panel of experts on this downloadable audio program released by the University Channel. Singer starts by stating his case on the welfare of animals, which leads more controversially to his views on euthanasia and the ethical treatment of the severely disabled. His argument is examined point by point by a varied panel of experts hailing from both religious and scientific backgrounds. This program is a probing examination of how we must treat one another in a civilized world. It’s available on streaming audio and MP3 download.

45. Authors@Google: Elizabeth Gilbert

In this free half-hour talk delivered for the Authors@Google program, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, reads an excerpt from her bestselling book which gives a background to the quest she undertook to Italy, India, and Bali, to explore her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. After the reading she fields questions about her experiences traveling and writing the book. This free video is available to watch through YouTube.

44. Eleonora

A classic short story by Edgar Alan Poe is given a dramatic reading in this digital download provided by Voices in the Dark. In what many observers have suspected is a semi-autobiographical tale, Poe’s hero recounts his memory of a lover taken prematurely from him in youth and how he must later come to terms with a promise he made to her before she died. Ending on a note of rare optimism for the author, this reading showcases Poe at the height of his poetic talent. This title is available on MP3 download from Voices in the Dark.

43. NPR: StoryCorps Podcast

The StoryCorps Podcast features Americans across the country telling their own stories as they are interviewed by family and friends. The StoryCorps organization was established in the hopes of creating an oral history through the tens of thousands of interviews that are conducted in their StoryBooths everyday. The stories are typically only 2-3 minutes in length so they’re a great way to learn about the variety of American life in a short period of time.

42. An Evening with Ray Bradbury

Renowned science fiction author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles) gives aspiring writers some encouraging insight in this short lecture provided on streaming video by UCTV. Beginning with a list of essential practices he feels all writers should adhere to, Bradbury then demonstrates how events and people in his personal life fed his classic stories. Inspiring, funny and delivered with irreverent wisdom, Bradbury’s account of his career is a sincere argument for “writing what you know”. This talk is available on streaming video through Google Video.

41. Commonwealth Club Radio Program Podcast

The Commonwealth Club of California has been bringing fascinating speakers to their forum since 1903. Their podcast feed currently features almost two years of speaking events. Many of the podcasts feature authors such as actor Alan Alda on his book Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself, humorist P. J. O’Rourke on his book On the Wealth of Nations, and author Barbara Ehrenreich talking about her book Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy. This forum also features panel discussions on a variety of topics such as the Summer of Love, America’s Budget Crisis, Religion in U.S. Culture and Society, Moving Forward in Iraq, Capitalism 3.0, The Politics Of Food, Health of Africa, and Digital Health. Scroll down the list of their podcasts and you’re sure to find something that interests you.

40. Case of the Negro & Awakening of the Negro

Download two of Booker T. Washington’s most famous essays “Case of the Negro” (1896) and “Awakening of the Negro” (1899). Confronting the New South after the Civil War, Washington argues with eloquent prose for African Americans to embrace self reliance, hard work, and education in order to advance toward a better future in their communities. He opposed violent and confrontational protesting and felt that angry mobs could not overcome racism in the long run. Download these two essays on MP3 from LearnOutLoud.com, courtesy of FreeAudio.org.

39. Extra Tips for The Freeway Guide to Maximizing Your Money

In this downloadable offering from the The Freeway Guides, financial expert Peter Bielagus gives tips to maximize your money. He covers ways to improve your credit score, to pick your financial advisor, to choose the right loan for a home. and how to get the most out of applying for financial aid. This title is available on MP3 download directly through LearnOutLoud.com.

38. Dare to Live Without Limits: The 10 Basic Principles

Bryan Golden, author of the book Dare to Live Without Limits, offers his ten basic principles for living a limitless life. These principles are:

April 11, 2008

Top 12 Free University Podcasts

You can take your education anywhere you go when you tune into a free educational podcast. These podcasts should appeal to traditional students, distance learners, and anyone else who wants to study on the go. From pop culture to advanced physics, your options are vast. The following free university podcasts should be very enlightening:

Stanford

1. Quantum Mechanics – Discusses the theory of relativity and other physics-related topics.
2. Geography of World Cultures – This should help anyone who is taking a class in world cultures and anyone who travels regularly.
3. Ben Franklin and the World of Enlightenment – Learn about Ben Franklin’s life and achievements.
4. The Literature of Crisis – From Socrates to Shakespeare, this podcast discusses existential literature.

UC Berkeley

5. General Biology – Those learning the fundamentals of biology will benefit from this podcast.
6. Issues in Foreign Policy After 9/11 – A heated discussion from the politically charged campus of Berkeley.
7. Human Emotion – The science and psychology of human emotion.
8. Introduction to Human Nutrition – This is a helpful podcast for anyone, not just students.

Duke

9. Nintendo: A History of Innovation – Discusses the history of the company and its many innovations.
10. Italiano 2.02 – Learn all about the Italian culture, from language to cuisine.
11. Game2Know Focus IDC – Topics related to online gaming and more.
12. Business Ethics – General discussions on business ethics.

As you can see, there is a wide variety of topics being covered by some of the most famous universities in the country. One can almost receive a completely free college education just by tuning into podcasts like the ones above.

By-line:

Heather Johnson is a freelance writer, as well as a regular contributor for OEDB, a site for learning about online education. Heather invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.