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October 17, 2012
Watch The Choice 2012 – Free PBS Frontline Documentary
Each presidential election year PBS produces the Frontline documentary “The Choice”. It premiered last week and you can now watch the 2-hour documentary “The Choice 2012” on YouTube. This documentary goes beyond the talking points of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, and looks at their biographies in order to discover what drives them and informs their decisions. The documentary goes back to the upbringing of both candidates and follows them through their rise in politics and some of their more recent political struggles. It’s a good look at Obama and Romney with insightful interviews from some of the people that have been closest to them. Enjoy this free documentary and maybe it’ll inform your CHOICE!
Watch Frontline: The Choice 2012 on YouTube
Watch Frontline: The Choice 2012 on Frontline Website with Bonus Interviews and Features
September 28, 2012
Best of the LearnOutLoud Free Directory
It’s back to school time for everybody by now. Today in our annual Back to School Extravaganza we have selected the very best of our free directory of over 5000 audio & video titles. In preparation for our new site design (coming in October!) we’ve featured this extensive list of great free titles throughout our free directory.
LearnOutLoud.com Free Audio & Video Directory
But we’ll feature them all here in one place for you to browse through category by category. This time around we’re featuring the top 5-10 free resources from just about every single category on our site.
We’ll start off by featuring titles from some of our most popular categories including our subcategories of Self Development, Business, and Religion & Spirituality. Here’s the best of the best of those categories…
Self Development:
The Aging Brain
A Course on Death Course by Prof. Shelly Kagan
Dan Buettner: How to Live to Be 100+
Generation Ageless: Longevity and the Boomers moderated by Tom Brokaw and featured John Hennessy, Laura Carstensen, Sandra Day O’Connor, Robert Sapolsky, Sheryl Sandberg, and Barry Rand
Immortality Institute: Anti-Aging by Aubrey de Grey
Creativity Free Audio & Video:
Art, Music, Emotion, Love, and Human Evolution by Antonio Damasio, Helen Fisher and Isabelle Peretz
Beyond Genre with Ken Wilber and Rick Rubin
Creative Mind: Conditions for Creative Work with psychologist Rudolf Arnheim, anthropologist Margaret Mead, and philosopher Milton Nahm
Music and the Brain Series
Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Diet & Nutrition Free Audio & Video:
A Conversation about Nutrition with Dr. Andrew Weil
Eric Schlosser on Fast Food Nation
Peter Singer: The Ethics of What We Eat
The Psychology, Biology, and Politics of Food Course by Prof. Kelly Brownell
Sugar: The Bitter Truth by Robert H. Lustig
Emotional Development Free Audio & Video:
A Conversation about the Science of Happiness with Claudia Wallis, Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Alan Krueger
Leading at Google: Andrew Bernstein on The Myth of Stress
The New Psychology of Depression by Danny Penman & Mark Williams
Understanding and Promoting Happiness in Today’s Society by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Zaadz Notes: Authentic Happiness by Brian Johnson
Goals and Motivation Free Audio & Video:
25 Life Purpose Lessons from Sounds True
An Interview with Stephen R. Covey
Joseph Grenny on Change Anything
Zaadz Notes: Writing Your Goals
Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar
21 Self-Healing Exercises from Sounds True
The Alexander Technique by John Baron
Dr. Dean Ornish on Healing
The Healing Power of Mindfulness by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Kelly McGonigal on Yoga for Pain Relief
Health & Fitness Free Audio & Video:
Christopher McDougall on Born To Run
Dr. John Ratey on Spark
Health Matters from UCTV
Nutrition and Physical Activity for a Lifetime by Christina Economos
Tim Ferriss on The 4-Hour Body
Instructional Free Audio & Video:
The Best of Steve Pavlina’s Blog
How to Sing by Lilli Lehmann
Mental Efficiency by Arnold Bennett
Richard Thaler on Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Tim Ferriss: Accelerated Learning in Accelerated Times
Mind & Body Free Audio & Video:
The Alexander Technique
Balance, Stress, and Optimal Health by Emmett E. Miller
Dr. Mark Hyman on The UltraMind Solution
Dr. William Dement on Healthy Sleep and Optimal Performance
Mindfulness, Stress Reduction, and Healing by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Prayer & Meditation Free Audio & Video:
21 Meditation Exercises from Sounds True
Mindfulness as a Foundation for Health by Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zinn
Sharon Salzberg’s Dharma Talks
Shinzen Young: Deep Concentration in Formal Meditation and Daily Life
Relationships Free Audio & Video:
The Brain in Love by Helen Fisher
Communication and Conflict in Families and Couples by Prof. Benjamin Karney
Face to Face: The Science of Reading Faces by Paul Ekman
Marriage: A History by Stephanie Coontz
Understanding Conversations Between Women and Men by Deborah Tannen
Spirituality Free Audio & Video:
23 Intuitive Development Exercises from Sounds True
Contemplative Dimensions of Human Experience by Thomas Keating
Eckhart Tolle on Living with Meaning, Purpose, and Wisdom in the Digital Age
Peace Through Inner Peace by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
A Spiritually Inspired Future: Chopra, Cohen & Huffington
Now for our very best from the categories of Business:
Business:
Business Leaders Free Audio & Video:
Whole Foods Founder Sketches Future of Capitalism by John Mackey
Jack Welch on Winning
Carly Fiorina: Tough Choices
A Discussion about the Future of E-Commerce with Jeff Bezos
Leading at Google: Tony Hsieh on Delivering Happiness
Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform Course by Prof. Douglas Rae
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class by Elizabeth Warren
Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet by Jeffrey Sachs
Financial Markets Course by Robert J. Shiller
Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson
Human Action: A Treatise on Economics by Ludwig von Mises
In Depth with Milton Friedman
SuperFreakonomics by Stephen J. Dubner
The Wealth of Nations, Book 1 by Adam Smith
The World is Flat 3.0 by Thomas L. Friedman
Investing & Finance Free Audio & Video:
Bankrupt: Maxed Out in America
Daniel Solin on The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read
Financial Future of American Youth by Warren Buffett
Peter Schiff on Crash Proof
Suze Orman at Google
Leadership & Management Free Audio & Video:
An Hour with Management Consultant Jim Collins
Leadership Speaker Series at Harvard
Leading at Google: Jim Kouzes on The Leadership Challenge
Seth Godin on the Tribes We Lead
Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright
Sales & Marketing Free Audio & Video:
All Marketers are Liars – Seth Godin speaks at Google
Creating Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki
Marketing by Sharing by Jason Fried
MC Hammer: Role of Social Media in Marketing
Rory Sutherland: Life Lessons from an Ad Man
David Allen: Getting Things Done
Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Introduction to Lean Six Sigma Methods Course
Jack Welch: Create Candor in the Workplace
Leading at Google: Tony Schwartz on The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working
And now for some top selections from Religion & Spirituality categories.
Religion & Spirituality:
Engaging in Bodhisattva Behavior by Shantideva
Lama Surya Das on Buddha Is as Buddha Does
Asia Society President’s Forum with Thich Nhat Hanh
Rick Hanson on Buddha’s Brain
Teaching of the Dalai Lama: Introduction to Buddhism
Christian Living Free Audio & Video:
Charles Colson on How Now Shall We Live?
A Discussion with Pastor Rick Warren about Modern Religion
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Rediscovering Christian Faith by Brian McLaren
Christianity Free Audio & Video:
History of Christianity in America Course by Charles Edward White
Introduction to New Testament History and Literature by Dale Martin
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Quick History of Christianity from Jesus to the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden
Yale Divinity Bible Study Series
Comparative Religion Free Audio & Video:
Bruce Feiler – Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths
The Case for God by Karen Armstrong
The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer
Religion’s View of Good and Evil by Huston Smith
Religious Pluralism: Seeing Religions Again by Marcus Borg
Irshad Manji on The Trouble with Islam Today
Militant Islam with Daniel Pipes
Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong
Muslim Women and Other Misunderstandings
Progressive Islam in America
Other Religions Free Audio & Video:
The Bahai Revelation by Thornton Chase
Christopher Hitchens at Politics and Prose
Real Vodou
The Story of Mormonism by James E. Talmage
The Tao Teh King by Lao Tzu
Prayer & Meditation Free Audio & Video:
21 Meditation Exercises from Sounds True
Contemplative Dimensions of Human Experience by Thomas Keating
A Short and Easy Method of Prayer by Madame Guyon
Sylvia Boorstein’s Dharma Talks
With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
Religious Figures Free Audio & Video:
Billy Graham Videos on C-SPAN
An Hour with the Honorable Dalai Lama
John P. Meier: Jesus the Jew – But What Sort of Jew?
My Life with Paramhansa Yogananda
What Paul Meant by Garry Wills
Spirituality Free Audio & Video:
Huston Smith on MeaningOfLife.tv
Karen Armstrong: 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life
Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness by Evelyn Underhill
Pentecostalism: A Spiritual Tidal Wave
A Talk for World Peace by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Philosophy, Social Sciences, Politics, & History
Now for selections of free audio & video titles from the categories of Philosophy, Social Sciences, Politics, & History.
Philosophy:
Ancient & Medieval Philosophy Free Audio & Video:
A Brief Biography of Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kreeft
The Heroic and the Anti-Heroic in Classical Greek Civilization Course by Gregory Nagy
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Plato’s Republic
Topics in Medieval Philosophy Course by Calvin Normore
Christianity and Ethics Course
Ethics for the New Millennium by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Paul Root Wolpe: It’s Time to Question Bio-Engineering
Peter Singer: The Ethics of What We Eat
Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
Modern Philosophy Free Audio & Video:
Alain de Botton on the Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? by Immanuel Kant
A Course on Death by Shelly Kagan
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Philosophy and the Habits of Critical Thinking by John Searle
Robert Kane: Are All Values Relative?
Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Nietzsche
Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau
What Was the Enlightenment? by Prof. James Schmidt
William James: What Makes a Life Significant? with Louis Menand, Cornel West, & Sissela Bok
Philosophers Free Audio & Video:
The Ayn Rand Multimedia Library
Dante in Translation by Prof. Giuseppe Mazzotta
Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert D. Richardson
William James: What Makes a Life Significant?
Zaadz Notes: Socrates by Brian Johnson
Political Philosophy Free Audio & Video:
Introduction to Political Philosophy by Steven B. Smith
Moral Foundations of Politics by Ian Shapiro
The Origins of Political Order with Francis Fukuyama
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Tocqueville Series on C-SPAN
And if you’re interested in the Social Sciences here are some top titles on psychology, sociology, and more.
Social Sciences:
Cultural Criticism Free Audio & Video
A Dissenting Voice with Christopher Hitchens
Eric Schlosser on Fast Food Nation
Matt Ridley on The Rational Optimist
The Millennials with Mark Bauerlein and Neil Howe
The Myth of the Rational Voter by Bryan Caplan
Neil Postman Videos on C-SPAN
Robert Reich: How Unequal Can America Get Before We Snap?
Slowing Down in a World Built for Speed by Carl Honore
The Ugly Americans: How Not to Lose the Global Culture War
What Prohibition Has Done to America
Current Events Free Audio & Video
Green Rush: Eco-Business
Gun Violence
Islam and the West, with John L. Esposito
Israel and Palestine After Disengagement Noam Chomsky vs. Alan Dershowitz
Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens are Really Doing Online
Gender Studies Free Audio & Video
Andrew Sullivan on Same Sex Marriage
Psychology of Gender Course by Herb Agan
Sheryl Sandberg: Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders
Tony Porter: A Call to Men
Women’s Health Today on UCTV
Multicultural Studies Free Audio & Video
Angela Davis & Toni Morrison on the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Chinese in America: A Narrative History by Iris Chang
A Discussion about Race by Cornel West
East vs. West: The Myths that Mystify by Devdutt Pattanaik
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
The Anxious Brain
Daniel Kahneman: The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory
A Discussion about the Legacy of Sigmund Freud
Dr. Aaron Beck on Cognitive Behavior Therapy
In Depth with Steven Pinker
Introduction to Psychology Course by Prof. Richard Kasschau
Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation by Daniel Siegel
Robert Whitaker: Rise of Mental Illness in America
Stanford’s Sapolsky On Depression in U.S.
Understanding Happiness by Martin Seligman
Global Problems of Population Growth by Prof. Robert Wyman
Global Sociology Course by Prof. Michael Burawoy
History of U.S. Urban Communities Course by Prof. Ryan M. Reft
Introduction to Sociology by Prof. Harvey Molotch
Nonviolence and Social Movements Course by Rev. James Lawson
And for the politically-oriented we’ve compiled this list top free audio & video learning titles in the categories of politics.
Politics:
Conservative Politics Free Audio & Video:
Bill O’Reilly Videos on C-SPAN
The Conservative Movement by William A. Rusher
In Depth with William F. Buckley Jr.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History: Lecture Series by Thomas E. Woods
Q&A with Mark Levin
Contemporary Issues Free Audio & Video:
America’s Drug War
Combating Global Poverty by Paul Farmer
Death Penalty Reflections
The Future of Nuclear Energy
Hans Rosling on Global Population Growth
Israel and Palestine After Disengagement Noam Chomsky vs. Alan Dershowitz
Robert B. Reich: The Next Economy and America’s Future
Shadow of the Iranian Bomb by Dan Schueftan
Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11
The Ugly Americans: How Not to Lose the Global Culture War
Global Politics Free Audio & Video:
Debating the Israel Lobby Bruce Feiler vs. John J. Mearsheimer
Ending Global Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
An Hour with Fareed Zakaria on Post-American World 2.0
An Interview with Benazir Bhutto
Latin American Briefing Series
Nelson Mandela Videos on C-SPAN
Nuclear Weapons: The Greatest Peril to Civilization by Ted Turner
A Talk for World Peace by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Thomas Friedman: The Global Marketplace and the Common Good
The War of the World with Niall Ferguson
Liberal Politics Free Audio & Video:
Arianna Huffington on Right Is Wrong
Bill Maher on When You Ride Alone You Ride with bin Laden
Eric Alterman on Why We’re Liberals
An Hour with the Host of “The Daily Show” Jon Stewart
Howard Zinn on A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present
In Depth with Cornel West
Michael Moore Videos on C-SPAN
Obama, the Middle East, and the Prospects for Peace by Noam Chomsky
Policy Talks at Google: Ralph Nader
Rabbi Michael Lerner: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right
Political Figures Free Audio & Video:
Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands
Henry Kissinger at Google
An Hour with Former President Jimmy Carter
John F. Kennedy Videos on C-SPAN
Lives of Our Presidents by W.A. Peters
Nelson Mandela Videos on C-SPAN
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Q&A with Ron Chernow on Washington: A Life
Teddy Roosevelt by Robert Dallek
Thomas Jefferson by David Saville Muzzey
Political Philosophy Free Audio & Video:
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Francis Fukuyama on The End of History and the Last Man
The History of Political Philosophy: From Plato to Rothbard by David Gordon
Introduction to Political Philosophy by Steven B. Smith
Moral Foundations of Politics by Ian Shapiro
U.S. Government Free Audio & Video:
The Case Against the Fed by Murray N. Rothbard
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
The Constitution of the United States
Franklin D. Roosevelt Speeches
Geography of United States Elections Course by Martin W. Lewis
History of the CIA by Tim Weiner
Jeffrey Toobin on The Nine
JFK Reads the Declaration of Independence
Understanding America’s Terrorist Crisis by Gore Vidal
The White House Series on C-SPAN
History:
American History Free Audio & Video
African-American History: Modern Freedom Struggle Course by Clayborne Carson
The American Revolution Course by Joanne Freeman
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877 Course by David Blight
An Hour with Author David McCullough on 1776
Howard Zinn on A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present
In Depth with Shelby Foote
Martin Luther King Speeches and Sermons from the King Institute
New York City: A Social History Course by Daniel J. Walkowitz
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History: Lecture Series by Thomas E. Woods
A Short History of the United States by Edward Channing
Ancient & Medieval History Free Audio & Video:
Evaluating Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox
Herodotus’ Histories, Volume 1
History of the World to 1500 CE Course by Prof. Richard Bulliet
Introduction to Ancient Greek History Course by Prof. Donald Kagan
The Vikings Course by Prof. Sally Vaughn
European History Free Audio & Video:
European Civilization, 1648-1945 by Prof. John Merriman
France Since 1871 by Prof. John Merriman
Holocaust Lecture Series
A Short History of England by G.K. Chesterton
Understanding the French Revolution by Donald M.G. Sutherland
Military History Free Audio & Video
Hiroshima and the Origins of the Cold War by Prof. David Painter
In Depth with Stephen Ambrose
Perspectives in Military History Lecture Series
War, Globalization, and Terror Course by Robert Buzzanco
World War and Society in the Twentieth Century: World War II by Charles S. Maier
Barack Obama Speeches on AmericanRhetoric.com
Dwight D. Eisenhower: Farewell Address
Harvard University Commencement Address by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
John F. Kennedy Inauguration Speech 1961
Martin Luther King Speeches and Sermons from the King Institute
Newton Minow – “Television is a Vast Wasteland”
Say It Plain: A Century of Great African-American Speeches
Speech Cautioning Americans to Deal Justly with His People by Chief Seattle
The Speeches of Abraham Lincoln
A Time for Choosing (aka “The Speech”)
World History Free Audio & Video
David Christian: Big History
A Discussion about Formative Events of the 20th Century
History of the World to 1500 CE by Richard Bulliet
Jared Diamond on Guns, Germs and Steel
World Civilization 1500 to Present Course by Thomas O’Brien
A&E, Biography, and Literature
If love the arts and literature, or are interested in learning more about prominent figures in history then check out these features.
Arts & Entertainment:
Conan O’Brien Delivers Dartmouth’s Commencement Address
An Hour with Steve Martin
In Depth with P.J. O’Rourke
The Onion: Comedy’s Creative Power to Persuade
Tina Fey on Bossypants
Film, Music, Radio, TV, & Pop Culture Free Audio & Video:
A Discussion of the Music Wars on the Internet with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and rapper Chuck D
History and the Movies with Oliver Stone
Hollywood Movies with Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel
An Hour about the Life and Work of Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick with producer Jan Harlan, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and wife Christiane Kubrick
An Hour with “U2” Frontman Bono
Jane McGonigal: Gaming Can Make a Better World
Newton Minow – “Television is a Vast Wasteland”
Robert Seigel: All Things Considered
Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street
Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination with Neal Gabler
Painting, Architecture, & Sculpture Free Audio & Video:
Art History Time Line by Prof. Jeanne Willette
Creative Mind: The Architect as Creator with Frank Lloyd Wright
Formations of Modern Art Course by Prof. William Norman Bryson
An Hour Panel Discussion about the Most Influential Artist of the Century
Roman Architecture Course by Prof. Diana E.E. Kleiner
Theater, Opera, & Classical Music Free Audio & Video:
Benjamin Zander on Music and Passion
Creative Method: Lee Strasberg on Acting
Listening to Music Course by Prof. Craig Wright
A Remembrance of Playwright Arthur Miller
San Diego Opera Talk
Want to know more about some of the greatest people in history? Here we’ve compiled talks and audio books about some of these folks.
Biography:
C.S. Lewis: My Life’s Journey with David Payne
An Hour about the Life and Work of Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick
In Depth with Tom Wolfe
Mozart: The Man and the Artist as Revealed in His Own Words
Writings of Ernest Hemingway
Autobiography Free Audio & Video:
Author Christopher Hitchens on Hitch-22
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Frank McCourt on Angela’s Ashes
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
Zig: The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar
Entertainers Free Audio & Video:
Alan Alda: Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself
An Hour with Musician Paul McCartney
The Life of P.T. Barnum by Joel Benton
My Life So Far with Jane Fonda
Walt Disney: Triumph of the American Imagination with Neal Gabler
Everyday People Free Audio & Video:
Buffalo Bill Cody by Buffalo Bill
David Isay: Listening is an Act of Love
Simon Winchester on The Man Who Loved China
Studs Terkel Audio Galleries
Witness: Voices from the Holocaust
Military Figures Free Audio & Video:
A Conversation with General Colin Powell
Evaluating Alexander the Great by Prof. Robin Lane Fox
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
One Bullet Away: A Marine’s View from Afghanistan and Iraq by Nathaniel Fick
Remembering the Vietnam War with Neil Sheehan
Political Figures Free Audio & Video:
David Remnick: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama
An Hour with Author David McCullough on John Adams
Life Portrait of Thomas Jefferson
Lives of Our Presidents
Q&A with Ron Chernow on Washington: A Life
Scientists Free Audio & Video:
A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
Fathers of Biology by Charles McRae
Nobel Prize Winner James D. Watson
Oppenheimer’s Shadow: His Nuclear World and Ours by Martin J. Sherwin
And if you want to learn more about classic books or want to start listening to some of the greatest works of literature of all time then look no further.
Literature:
American Classics Free Audio & Video
American Literature I: From Beginnings to the Civil War by Prof. Cyrus Patell
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Writings of Emerson and Thoreau
Ancient & Medieval Classics Free Audio & Video:
Aesop’s Fables
Ancient Greek Drama by Peter Meineck
Dante in Translation by Prof. Giuseppe Mazzotta
Man, God, and Society in Western Literature by Prof. Hubert L. Dreyfus
The Odyssey by Homer
Authors Reading Free Audio & Video
Garrison Keillor: Christmas Blizzard
Gertrude Stein Poetry Readings
Margaret Atwood: Lannan Readings & Conversations
A Reading by Seamus Heaney
Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carried
Contemporary Literature Free Audio & Video:
The American Novel Since 1945 by Prof. Amy Hungerford
Anthem by Ayn Rand
A Discussion about The Kite Runner
An Evening with Ray Bradbury
The History of Literary Journalism by Prof. William McKeen
In Depth with Alice Walker
In Depth with Joan Didion
Kurt Vonnegut Videos on C-SPAN
Nobel Prize Winners in Literature Course by Prof. Irving Rothman
Wired for Books MP3 Page Author Interviews
An Appreciation of Playwright Wendy Wasserstein
A Conversation about Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare After All: The Later Plays
European Classics Free Audio & Video
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Cervantes’ Don Quixote Course by Prof. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Introductions to Charles Dickens’ Novels by David Timson
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Masterpieces of British Literature from the Eighteenth Century to the Present by Prof. John McNamara
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Literary History & Criticism Free Audio & Video
American Writers Series on C-SPAN
Development of the Novel Course by Prof. Irving Rothman
Harold Bloom on How to Read and Why
Introduction to Theory of Literature Course by Prof. Paul Fry
Introductions to World Literature by Peter Whitfield
Modern Poetry Course by Prof. Langdon Hammer
Poems by Emily Dickinson
Poetry Out Loud: Audio Guide
Rumi and the Play of Poetry by Coleman Barks
Shakespeare’s Sonnets
Short Stories Free Audio & Video
Aesop’s Fables
A Conversation with Author John Updike on The Greatest American Short Stories of This Century
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
World Classics Free Audio & Video:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature and Culture Course by John R. Wallace
Introductions to World Literature by Peter Whitfield
Nobel Prize Winners in Literature Course by Irving Rothman
Technology, Science, Education & Professional
We’ll close off our massive newsletter of free audio and video learning with titles from our categories of Technology, Science, and Education & Professional learning titles.
Technology:
Biotechnology Free Audio & Video
Aubrey de Grey Says We Can Avoid Aging
Frontiers of Biomedical Engineering Courses by Prof. Mark Saltzman
J. Craig Venter on A Life Decoded
Ray Kurzweil on The Singularity Is Near
Stem Cell Biology, Politics, and Ethics: Teasing Apart Issues Course
The Hundred Dollar Laptop-Computing for Developing Nations by Nicholas Negroponte
An Interview with Bill Gates
Introduction to Computer Science Course from Harvard
iWoz: From Computer Geek to Culture Icon
Ray Kurzweil on The Age of Spiritual Machines
Andrew Keen on The Cult of the Amateur
David Kirkpatrick on The Facebook Effect
A Discussion of the Music Wars on the Internet with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy
A Few Things Learned from Craigslist by Craig Newmark
Free Speech, Free Minds, Free Markets by Jimmy Wales
Inside the Google Machine with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Jeff Bezos on the Next Web Innovation
Salman Khan on the Khan Academy
What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr
World Wide Web: Ten Year Anniversary by Tim Berners-Lee
Technology Leaders Free Audio & Video
Bill Gates on Energy: Innovating to Zero
A Discussion with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter
Guy Kawasaki Presents The Art of Innovation
Inside the Google Machine by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Steve Wozniak on iWoz
The Digital Age Free Audio & Video
The Future of Reading: Books Without Pages? by David Pogue
James Gleick on The Information
Jane McGonigal: Gaming Can Make a Better World
NASA’s Vision for Human Space Exploration by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Online Personas with Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman, Robin Harper
Ray Kurzweil on The Web Within Us
Salman Khan: Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education
Using Audio Technology to Reduce Global Illiteracy, Poverty, and Disease by Cliff Schmidt
William Powers: Hamlet’s Blackberry
The World is Flat 3.0 by Thomas L. Friedman
Hear from top scientists and listen to talks from the cutting edge of our biology, physics, and more with this list of featured free titles.
Science:
A Conversation with Carl Sagan on Pale Blue Dot
Dark Energy and the Runaway Universe by Alex Filippenko
Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics Course by Prof. Charles Bailyn
NASA’s Vision for Human Space Exploration by Neil deGrasse Tyson
What is a Star? by Prof. James Kaler
Human Behavioral Biology Course by Prof. Robert Sapolsky
Darwin’s Legacy
E.O. Wilson on Saving Life on Earth
An Hour about DNA with Nobel Award-Winner James Watson
Human Evolution Symposia convened by Richard Leakey
Introduction to Dinosaurs by Prof. John Kricher
J. Craig Venter on A Life Decoded
Jane Goodall Videos on C-SPAN
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin
Principles of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Course by Prof. Stephen Stearns
Environment Free Audio & Video:
The Book of the National Parks by Robert Sterling Yard
Daniel Goleman on Ecological Intelligence
Environmental Politics and Law by Prof. John Wargo
The Future of Nuclear Energy
Global Warming in Earth’s History by Michael B. McElroy
Mathematics Free Audio & Video:
Game Theory Course by Prof. Ben Polak
Geometry Playlist by Salman Khan
History of Modern Mathematics by David Eugene Smith
Ian Ayres on Super Crunchers
Oxford University Mathematics Lectures
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity Course by Leonard Susskind
Physics I: Classical Mechanics by Prof. Walter Lewin
Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein
Richard Feynman: The Messenger Lecture Series
Science in the Next Millennium by Stephen Hawking
Scientists Free Audio & Video:
Authors at Google: James Watson
In Depth with Edward O. Wilson
An Interview with Carl Sagan on The Demon Haunted World
J. Craig Venter on A Life Decoded
The Life of Charles Darwin by Chandak Sengoopta
And finally get some information about professions like journalism, medicine, law, and creative writing.
Education & Professional:
Journalism Free Audio & Video:
The American News Media: Liberal or Conservative Bias Eric Alterman vs. Tucker Carlson
An Interview with Walter Cronkite
Journalistic Ethics: Communications Course
Secrets: Uncovering Mysteries in the 21st Century by Bob Woodward
Tim Russert on Covering Politics
Catalyst to History: Why Dreyfus Matters by Alan M. Dershowitz
Introduction to Copyright Law Course by Prof. Keith Winstein
Q&A with Antonin Scalia on Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges
The Supreme Court: Home to America’s Highest Court, 2010 Edition
Environmental Politics and Law Course by Prof. John Wargo
A Conversation about Alternative Medicine by Andrew Weil
Critical Condition: Health Care in America by Donald Barlett and James Steele
Ending the AIDS Epidemic with Bill Clinton and Bill Gates
Epidemics in Western Society Since 1600
Health Matters from UCTV
In Depth with Sherwin Nuland
Introduction to Human Anatomy with Prof. John K. Young
Siddhartha Mukherjee: A Biography of Cancer
The Skinny on Obesity with Robert H. Lustig
Stanford Mini Med School
Educational Psychology by Prof. Dov Liberman
Frank McCourt on Teaching in NYC
In Depth with Jonathan Kozol
Salman Khan: Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education
Will College Learning be Transformed by Technology? with Andrew Ng
Discussion on Writing with Stephen King
Everything I Know About Writing by Anne Lamott
William Faulkner at Virginia: An Audio Archive
How to Speak and Write Correctly by Joseph Devlin
William S. Burroughs Class on Writing Sources
August 15, 2012
Book TV’s In Depth Author Interviews
One of the best ways to learn about some of the greatest authors of our time is with Book TV’s In Depth Author Interview Series. These comprehensive, live three-hour interviews cover an author’s work throughout their career. It’s a great way to hear from your favorite authors and to discover the ideas of authors you might not know much about. The show starts out as an interview from one of C-SPAN’s hosts. One of the best aspects of the show is that after the first half hour it becomes a live call-in program so the authors get asked all sorts of questions from different viewpoints of people across the United States. All the programs are available to watch for free from the C-SPAN video library and for the modest price of $0.99 you can purchase each program on MP3 audio download from C-SPAN. This may be the best series Book TV offers and it gives invaluable insights into the greatest authors of our time.
Here are some of the In Depth interviews we’ve featured over the years with write ups of what these interviews cover:
In this In Depth interview Gore Vidal talks about his upbringing with books reading to his his grandfather who was the U.S. Senator Thomas Gore of Oklahoma. He also discusses his 7-part historical novel series “Narratives of Empire” which chronicles the American Empire from dawn to decay starting with the novel Burr about Aaron Burr and other founding fathers and going up to The Golden Age which he published in 2000 and goes into World War II and the start of the Cold War. Through this interview Gore Vidal offers his critique of American Empire and his “populist” viewpoint which speaks against America’s expansive foreign policy, militarism, and corporate rule. It’s an entertaining 3-hour interview with the irascible and irreverent Gore Vidal.
In this streaming video from C-SPAN’s BookTV, Tom Wolfe talks about his career as writer from The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby which he wrote back in the 1960s all the way up to his latest novel I Am Charlotte Simmons which explores the college campus life in the present day. He fields call-in questions from people across the United States and tells us the secrets of his craft. Indeed, no writer today is as fun to listen to as Tom Wolfe.
In Depth with Francis Fukuyama
In this interview with political philosopher and author Francis Fukuyama, he discusses many of his books including America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. Much of the discussion is over Iraq which Fukuyama opposed, and he has since openly criticized Neoconservatives even though Fukuyama is a conservative himself. He fields many questions from callers across the political spectrum. This free interview is available on streaming video from BookTV.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman is full of ideas on globalization, foreign affairs, economics, education, fuel efficiency, and much more and he gets a chance to express a lot of them in this 3 hour interview from C-SPAN’s BookTV. He fields questions from callers all over the world, discussing this new “flat” world we’re living in and what that means for all of us. This title is available as a streaming video.
In this generous 3-hour interview provided on streaming video by BookTV, John Updike talks about his life as a writer and observer of the human condition. Last week the literary world mourned the death of Updike who’s literary reputation places him among the likes of Mailer, Vonnegut and Roth as one of the great contemporary American novelists. Here you can watch him as he examines his childhood, discusses his early start with the New Yorker Magazine, and answers questions about his prolific career as an author and literary critic. This streaming video is available through the BookTV website.
In this three-hour interview from BookTV’s In-Depth series, author Temple Grandin discusses her autism and the wide spectrum of autism, and how she has used her insights into autism to help her relate to the inner worlds of animal. Her autism leads to hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli and she correlates it to how animals perceive the world through their senses. She talks about how she has used this correlation to improve animal welfare in the agricultural industry. In the interview Grandin also provides a host of insights into what it is like to live as an autistic person. This talk is available on streaming video from C-SPAN’s BookTV.
One of our favorite free video resources is the C- SPAN BookTV series In Depth. This series features 3-hour long interviews with America’s greatest and most prolific authors towards the latter part of their careers. Included in the interviews are questions from callers across the United States, that always make for interesting discussion. This free video includes the three hour video interview with the late author & activist Susan Sontag. She answers questions about politics, movies, and the many nonfiction & fiction books she has written throughout her career. Watch this free streaming video from BookTV.
And here are all 80+ of the In Depth interviews we feature! This is all of the In Depth programs featured in the C-SPAN video library through the summer of 2011:
In Depth with Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
In Depth with Barbara Ehrenreich
In Depth with Christopher Buckley
In Depth with Christopher Hitchens
In Depth with David Halberstam
In Depth with David Herbert Donald
In Depth with David McCullough
In Depth with Doris Kearns Goodwin
In Depth with Edward O. Wilson
In Depth with Francis Fukuyama
In Depth with Harvey Mansfield
In Depth with John Hope Franklin
In Depth with Margaret MacMillan
In Depth with Michael Eric Dyson
In Depth with Norman Podhoretz
In Depth with R. Emmett Tyrrell
In Depth with Simon Winchester
In Depth with Victor Davis Hanson
In Depth with Vincent Bugliosi
In Depth with William F. Buckley Jr.
Go In Depth with C-SPAN’s Book TV!
July 31, 2012
Charlie Rose Brain Series
One of the best free resources for learning about the brain on the internet is the Charlie Rose Brain Series available on streaming video through CharlieRose.com. For the past two years Charlie has been sitting down with Nobel Prize-winning psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Eric Kandel as they have explored pioneering discoveries of neuroscience. In each episode Charlie and Dr. Kandel sit down with a roundtable of leading brain scientists and researchers to explore an aspect of neuroscience. In the first year of the series they examine the major functions of the brain with special episodes on the emotional brain, the developing brain, the aging brain, the mentally ill brain, and other major areas of study in neuroscience. The 12-episode series works as an introductory course to learning about our brain complete with the latest discoveries and new areas of neuroscience research. In the second year of the series, Charlie and Dr. Kandel are examining neurological, psychiatric, and addictive brain disorders, as they sit down with experts and discuss disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, autism, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other major brain disorders. Learn about your brain and the exciting field of neuroscience with this outstanding series of Charlie Rose special episodes.
Charlie Rose Brain Series – Year One:
Episode 1 – The Great Mysteries of the Human Brain – In this first episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, Charlie sits down with some of the top brain researchers and looks at big questions that brain science is currently addressing. This episode posits a lot of questions that will be addressed in depth throughout the series. Topics discussed include the relationship of genes vs. experience (nature vs. nuture) and how this interplay contributes to the brain in both its proper functions and malfunctions. American philosopher John Searle addresses his interest into how the brain produces consciousness. During this episode you also get a few visual explanations of the brain including a look at the cerebral cortex and the functions of its four lobes, and also a visual description of how neurons work. A lot of information is enthusiastically tossed around in this first episode and hopefully it will get you excited for the rest of the series.
Episode 2 – The Perceiving Brain – In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the brain expert roundtable looks at the sense of sight and visual perception. They show how the brain processes visual information and how it is different than a camera. Brain scientists have determined precise locations where the brain processes facial recognition, landscapes & places, and other objects, and we are shown how brain damage can impair certain types of vision. The panel also looks at the plasticity of sight and how blind people who’ve been given treatments to restore their vision can learn to see in the same way the developing brain does. It’s a good introduction to the key human sensation of sight.
Episode 3 – The Acting Brain – In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the group looks at the motor system which connects to the brain to produce the action of coordinate movement in the physical world. They discuss how movement is conducted in the nervous system in both conscious actions and reflexes. They also ponder the complexity of human movement and how robotics is far behind the human brain in this arena. Finally they discuss a few of the cases where this system of movement is damaged such as in stroke or in Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), and what are some of the latest findings for repairing or overcoming these types of damage to the brain’s motor system.
Episode 4 – The Social Brain – In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the group looks at the importance of social behavior in the human brain. The panel features one of the discoverers of mirror neurons, Giacomo Rizzolatti, and he discusses their importance in social learning and behavior. The panel also looks at autism and how this disorder affects social interaction. They also briefly discuss aggression and what factors contribute to anti-social behavior.
Episode 5 – The Developing Brain – In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, Eric Kandel and company discuss the developing brain focusing on infancy and childhood. They look at the remarkable capacity that children have for learning language and how it differs from the adult brain. They also take a look at numerous learning abilities that come at specific times in development and at some of the developmental disabilities that come along the way. Throughout the discussion they attempt to explain what development in innate and genetic versus what is learned and socialized in infants and children.
Episode 6 – The Aging Brain – In the Aging episode the panel discusses memory and Alzheimer’s disease. 91-year-old neuropsychologist Brenda Milner talks about her work with the famous patient known as H.M. who had surgery on specific brain areas to cure his epilepsy, but then lost his ability to turn short term memory into long term memory. This discovery and other related discoveries helped neuroscientists to learn that there are different types of memory in different areas of the brain such as motor memory, recognition of people and places, and memories involved in phobias. The group then looks at Alzheimer’s disease and its effects on memory, and how it can be prevented through exercise, socializing, and intellectual activity.
Episode 7 – The Emotional and Vulnerable Brain – In this episode the roundtable examines the emotional brain and focuses on the pleasure and reward system that involves the neurotransmitter dopamine. They discuss addiction and how it hijacks the dopaminergic system in the way that the addict needs more and more dopamine to feel normal as addiction progresses. Addiction is now viewed in the brain sciences as a chronic disease requiring ongoing treatment because of the risk of relapse, yet the health care system is reluctant to treat it as such. The panel finishes with pointing out that addictions involving dopaminergic activity aren’t limited to drugs & alcohol, but can also be involved in addictions to gambling, food, sex, and other risky behaviors.
Episode 8 – The Anxious Brain – In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the roundtable discusses fear, anxiety, and aggression and the brain mechanisms behind these phenomena. They look at the fight or flight response which humans share with the animal kingdom, and the unique ways in which human beings have adapted this response to the modern world. Neuropsychiatrist Eric Kandel points out initial insights coming from philosopher William James, in that the sequence of fear comes first with the bodily response and then the conscious feeling of fear. They examine the main brain structures involved in the fear response with emphasis placed on the amygdala. And they discuss anxiety and fear disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and methods for treating anxiety disorders. They close the talk with a look at aggression and the nature vs. nurture questions when it comes to aggression.
Episode 9 – The Mentally Ill Brain – In this special episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, Charlie invites to the table two experts on mental illness that are also sufferers themselves. Elyn Saks is a professor and expert in mental health law, and she suffers from schizophrenia. Kay Redfield Jamison is a clinical psychologist and author who has suffered from bipolar disorder since her early adulthood. These two tell their personal stories of coping with their disease. The rest of the panel joins in to look at the brain science involved in depression, manic depression, and schizophrenia. They discuss the best available treatments including medication and psychotherapy, and ways that the stigma of mental illness can be confronted so that people will seek help more quickly and health care can be provided more adequately for sufferers.
Episode 10 – The Disordered Brain – This episode focuses on neurological disorders which neuroscientists have tremendous insight into including Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, stroke, and spinal cord injuries. The group discusses the localization of neurological diseases and how lesions in the brain can affect human behavior. They examine Parkinson’s disease which involves a dopamine deficiency in the basil ganglia of the brain, and how it has now been discovered that deep brain stimulation can be effective as a treatment.
Episode 11 – The Deciding Brain – This episode focuses on decision making. They look at the famous example of Phineas Gage who lost much of his frontal lobe in a construction accident in the 19th century. After this accident Gage lost much of ability involving practical decision-making which is a primary function of the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The group takes a look at a variety of decisions such as economic decision-making and moral dilemmas. They discuss the famous “trolley problem” and how emotions play a major role in our decisions. It’s another fascinating episode on the role that the brain plays in our everyday decision making.
Episode 12 – The Creative Brain – This episode is probably the least interesting of the series as it has little to say about the brain science involved in creativity. Modern artists Richard Serra and Chuck Close talk about their own artistic careers and creative processes, and museum curator Ann Temkin further elaborates on the works of these two artists. Neurologist Oliver Sacks offers the most interesting insights into creativity and the brain, but the panel concludes that little is known about the neuroscience of creativity.
Charlie Rose Brain Series – Year Two:
And we’ve now watched all of Season Two of the Charlie Rose Brain Series covering neurological and psychiatric disorders. While these disorders and diseases can be devastating, the study of them has led to a much greater understanding of the brain. Watch as Charlie Rose and Dr. Eric Kandel lead us further on this exploration of the human brain.
Episode 1: Neurological, Psychiatric and Addictive Disorders
In the second season of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, they focus on neurological, psychiatric, and addictive disorders. In this first episode, a panel of scientists discuss a variety of brain disorders. They start out by covering the history of brain disorders, from the old perception of viewing them as moral disorders to the modern understanding of seeing these disorders as diseases of the brain. And while brain imaging, animal studies, and other scientific advancements have helped to gain a greater understanding of these disorders, we are still far from fully understanding or curing them. Different scientists on the panel discuss various neurological, psychiatric, and addictive disorders in that order. The panel also talks about how genetic factors influence brain disorders. Many other topics are touched upon in this opening episode of the series that seeks to explain the most complex organ in the body and maybe the universe: the human brain.
Episode 2: Consciousness and the Brain
In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, a group of scientists discuss some of the most challenging and important questions in neuroscience related to consciousness. They explore the range of consciousness from coma to sleep to ordinary waking consciousness. They touch upon the interplay between conscious and unconscious processes. It is noted that many aspects associated with consciousness also involve unconscious behaviors. References are made to Sigmund Freud and his essential contribution to understanding the unconscious. They point out the malleability of children’s brains, which can learn language much more effectively than adults or even adolescents. Charlie leads the roundtable, asking many interesting questions about consciousness in this free-ranging conversation.
In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the group of neuroscientists led by Dr. Eric Kandel take a look at the brain disorder known as agnosia. This rare disorder affects a person’s ability to recognize certain things visually or audibly. It is often brought about by brain injury or stroke. The curious aspects of agnosia have helped neuroscientists greatly in understanding the brain regarding sight and sound and how they are processed. The painter Chuck Close is part of the panel to explain his experiences with prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness.
Episode 4: Alzheimer’s Disease
In this hour of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, a roundtable of scientists examines Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. As the population ages, these diseases become increasingly common. The group analyzes the symptoms of these diseases, such as loss of memory and decline of inhibition. They discuss what is happening to the brain as these diseases progress. Charlie asks about treatments for these devastating diseases, and some progress has been made in identifying genes responsible for the diseases and also drugs that may help in their treatment. As more people live longer and more develop these diseases, the costs of treating this epidemic are enormous.
In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the roundtable focuses on the complex mental disorder of schizophrenia. They start out summarizing the devastating symptoms of schizophrenia, which can include hallucinations and delusions that are often of a paranoid nature. Schizophrenia affects a little less than one percent of the population worldwide, and the onset is typically when an individual is in their late teens or twenties. A person living with schizophrenia is on the program to detail the story of his life before and after the disorder. Certain antipsychotic medications have been helpful in reducing symptoms like hallucinations. The panel of scientists also discusses the importance of genetics in predicting the disorder and in terms of potential treatments. This episode is an informative overview of a mental disorder that is often stigmatized and misunderstood.
This episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series tackles autism. It was observed in children in the 1930s and has since risen to now be diagnosed in about 1 in 100 children. The panel discusses the autism spectrum, how it affects social interaction, and its relation to theory of mind. One of the panelists, Alison Singer, is now president of the Autism Science Foundation. She has a daughter with autism, and she describes the significant toll that raising a child with severe autism takes on the parents and the family. The panel also examines the genetic components of autism and the role genes play in the disorder. They also discuss some of the treatments available for dealing with autism.
In this episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series, the panel of guests covers one of the most common mental illnesses in the world, which is depression. Neuroscientist Dr. Eric Kandel delivers a brief history of how the illness was viewed, from the Greek physician Hippocrates calling it melancholia, which in Greek means black bile, up to our contemporary understanding of major depressive disorder related to biology in the brain dealing with mood. The group does an excellent job of summarizing the symptoms of depression, separating unipolar from bipolar depression. Author Andrew Solomon, who wrote The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, describes his personal experience with major depression and the anxiety that often accompanies it. The neuroscientists weigh in on the areas of the brain involved with depression and some of the drugs that can be used to treat it. They also emphasize the importance of psychotherapy, which has proven effective in treating the disease. It’s an excellent hour-long look at a mental illness that afflicts an estimated 300 million people around the world.
Episode 8: Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease
This episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series deals with Parkinson’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease. These diseases affect the motor system, often leading to tremors and other motor symptoms. They can also affect non-motor systems in the brain sometimes leading to dementia. The panel of scientists discusses the genetic component of the diseases, particularly Huntington’s disease. While neither disease is curable, there are treatments. For Parkinson’s disease, treatments related to dopamine have been effective. One of the guests on the panel has Parkinson’s disease, and another has Huntington’s disease, and they describe their experiences of living with these motor disorders. At the end of the program, the scientists are hopeful about how far they’ve come in understanding these diseases and that there may one day be a cure.
This episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series covers multiple sclerosis. The panel of scientists covers the basics of this autoimmune disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain. They go over the symptoms of the disease, which can cause both physical and mental issues. A person who has multiple sclerosis is on the panel, and she discusses her experiences with it over the years. Much attention is paid to the treatments for multiple sclerosis, which have made significant progress in recent years. Early detection of the disease combined with current therapies can lead to significantly reduced symptoms, though the treatments also present their own risks. The panel ponders the mystery of why incidents of this disease are increasing and why it is more common in women than men.
This episode of the Brain Series focuses on two motor disorders: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in the United States. Baseball player Lou Gehrig developed this neurodegenerative disease at the height of his career, which forced him to retire at age 36 and led to his death a year later. On the Charlie Rose panel is another baseball player who has ALS, and he describes his experiences with the disease. Also on the panel is a boy who suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), which is another disease that affects motor neurons and usually has its onset in the very early years of life. SMA is passed on through genes, while the causes of ALS are primarily unknown. Strides have been made in understanding and managing these diseases, but there are currently no known cures.
One hundred million Americans suffer from chronic pain every year. In this episode, Charlie Rose and a group of scientists discuss pain and the brain. They start by pointing out the importance of pain in bodily injury. This inflammatory pain allows for reparative processes to take place. The program also focuses on neuropathic pain, which can spread to other parts of the body after an initial injury. The scientists discuss how pain is processed through the brain and often involves emotions. A college gymnast, Laurie Klein, joins the panel to describe her experiences with inflammatory pain and neuropathic pain and the many treatments she received before she got her pain under control. The panel discusses various treatments regarding the future of pain. While this program was recorded in 2012, the scientists weren’t able to predict the astonishing opioid epidemic that was about to skyrocket across the United States in the coming decade caused by the over-prescription of opioid medication.
Episode 12: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
This episode of the Charlie Rose Brain Series covers Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD as it is known. Neuroscientist Dr. Eric Kandel introduces the disorder and how it came to be recognized by psychiatry in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. It is now more widely acknowledged in the military and also encompasses traumatic events that happen in civilian life. The scientists on the panel take a look at the brain regions involved in PTSD and the fear response that accompanies it. After a traumatic event, an individual may become fearful of reliving the event, and this learned fear response may dominate their lives. Psychologists treating the disorder focus on unlearning the fear response through exposure therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. A U.S. Army Lt. Colonel is present on the panel to describe his battle with PTSD after serving several tours of duty in the Iraq War.
And after Season Two they did some ongoing episodes that you can access directly on Charlie Rose’s site below:
Charlie Rose Brain Series – Ongoing Episodes:
Episode 1: Obama’s BRAIN Initiative
Episode 6: Sports-Induced Brain Trauma
May 30, 2012
TED Talks Top 10 Business & Economics Talks
For your viewing pleasure TED Talks Top 10 Business & Economics Talks. The first two here are great to watch together:
1. Malcolm Gladwell: What We Can Learn From Spaghetti Sauce
In this interesting talk delivered by bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, he explores how the food industry went from looking for the perfect single spaghetti sauce recipe to a more diverse approach of creating a variety of spaghetti sauces to suit the desires of shoppers. He examines this trend through one of its main proponents Howard Moskowitz who used the field of psychophysics to create a variety of original sauces for Prego in the 1980s. Once this variability was proven to be successful it spread to the rest of the food industry, and Gladwell feels we are all happier for this increase in choices.
2. Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice
Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, discusses some of the observations he makes in his book in this talk from the TED conference. He argues that the vast explosion of choices in advanced capitalist societies has led to increased paralysis in terms of decision making and ultimately decreased satisfaction. He provides a number of examples to back up his thesis that more choice and individual freedom is not always best.
3. Jason Fried: Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work
37signals co-founder and Rework author Jason Fried makes some provocative suggestions regarding why work doesn’t get done in the workplace. He suggests that interruptions are the key component contributing to the lack work accomplished in the workplace and that managers and meetings are to blame. He relates the stage of work to the stages of sleep and in order to get the best work done one needs to go through these stages without interruption. This talk was delivered at the TEDxMidwest Conference.
Seth Godin feels that days of status quo marketing through the television industrial complex are coming to an end. People are too busy to pay attention to the nonstop advertising of average products for average people. What grabs people’s attention is something remarkable, or rather something worth making a remark about. And their remarks spread the ideas or products to the world and make it a success. Learn about the cutting edge of spreading ideas with this talk by Seth Godin.
5. Rory Sutherland: Life Lessons from an Ad Man
Ad man Rory Sutherland takes a look at his profession and shows how advertising makes regular things valuable and that this perceived value is often just as satisfying as what we consider “real” value. He makes many telling jokes about this matter such as why don’t we sell placebos as medication if they’re actually shown to work in the perception of the ailing person. Throughout the talk he makes his point that advertising can often do a better job at spreading an idea or a product than rational problem solving.
6. Johanna Blakley: Lessons from Fashion’s Free Culture
Johanna Blakley delivers an eye-opening talk on copyrights in the world of fashion. Because the courts have deemed garments as too utilitarian to be copyrighted, the fashion industry has a complete lack of copyrights when it comes to their designs. They do have trademarks over their brands, but when it comes to the design anyone can copy it. This has led to the fashion imitations we are familiar with, but Blakley points out this hasn’t really hurt the industry because the customers who are buying the fakes are not the same as the customers who buy the real thing. If anything Blakley feels this has spawned creativity in fashion as designers are able to mix and match with any designs throughout history and they increasingly try to make designs that can’t easily be copied. Blakley points to other industries where items can’t be copyrighted and she feels that the struggling industries of movies, books, and music might need to update their ideas on copyright in this new digital age.
7. Steven Levitt Analyzes Crack Economics
In this humorous sketch provided by TED Talks, Steven Levitt analyzes what it takes to make a living selling drugs. Taking America’s crack epidemic as a template, Levitt discusses how inner city gangs developed a corporate structure that consolidated power, left little room for promotion, and was incredibly dangerous to boot. In the end Levitt argues that selling drugs on the street is about as lucrative as working at McDonald’s, but that this fact hasn’t diluted its mystique.
8. Chip Conley: Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile
While businesses are obsessed with measuring the tangible elements for their business, hotelier and author of Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow Chip Conley makes a strong case for businesses to measure the intangibles of business such as the feelings of customers or the whether the employees find their work meaningful. After studying the “hierarchy of needs” developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow, Conley realized that there was a lot more to his business than making sure his customer’s basic needs were met. He set out to measure and improve the metrics of intangible benefits to his customers and employees and his hotel business boomed to become the second largest boutique hotelier in the world.
9. William Ury: The Walk from “No” to “Yes”
Master negotiator and Getting to YES author William Ury tells stories of successful negotiations he has conducted throughout his life often in heated political arenas. He talks about the Abraham Path Initiative which he conducted as a way of getting to the root of the conflicts in the Middle East by having people walk the path Abraham walked and practice Abrahamic hospitality along the way. This talk was delivered at the TEDxMidwest Conference.
10. Richard Branson’s Life at 30,000 Feet
TED’s Chris Anderson sits down with multibillionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson to discuss his some of the over 400 companies he’s started in his Virgin Group. Branson gives some advice and tells of his adventures along the way. He talks about his Virgin Galactic which is now booking sub-orbital spaceflights to the paying public. And he tells of his philanthropic efforts around the world.
April 11, 2012
15 Best Psychology TED Talks on Happiness, Motivation, & More
Today we present our picks for the 15 best TED talks covering the topics of psychology and neuroscience. With talks on positive psychology, autism, behavioral economics, electroshock therapy, and more you’ll hear some very interesting insights from thinkers on the cutting edge of ideas about the mind and brain.
1. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight
In this moving talk delivered at the TED conference, brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor provides a first-person account of her own stroke and the experience of losing control of her bodily functions as well the functions of the left side of her brain. Instead of it being a painful or frightening experience, she said the stroke put her in a intense state of bliss and nirvana. Sharing this experience became her motivation for recovery.
2. Martin Seligman on Positive Psychology
In this TED talk Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology and the author Authentic Happiness and Learned Optimism, looks at ways healthy people can lead happier, more engaged, and more meaningful lives. While Seligman acknowledges that psychology has done a pretty good job over the past 50 years of making miserable people feel less miserable, he shows that there is a whole other realm of positive psychology which he and a group of other psychologists are only beginning to study. Seligman tells some of his findings on what contributes to healthy states of mind and what fosters genius. Going beyond the conventional pleasure seeking form of happiness, Seligman points to practices that truly give life meaning.
3. The Surprising Science of Motivation
Learn how to better motivate yourself and others in this recent popular TED Talk. In this talk writer Daniel H. Pink lays out the facts about what drives the best results in business. In study after study any work that requires creative problem solving does not benefit from external rewards such as money. Only mechanical tasks benefit when there is reward and punishment, but when creative solutions are required, workers are more motivated when they feel there is intrinsic value to what they are doing. Pink lays out some of the ways businesses have benefited by implementing policies to encourage the best in right brained, creative thinking.
4. Helen Fisher: The Science of Love, and the Future of Women
In this TED talk, anthropologist Helen Fisher discusses a study she was involved in which examined the brains and biochemistry of people in love. She points out the ways in which we have evolved in order to trigger love, lust, and attachment to a mate. She also examines the changes of women’s roles in society and how she feels this will ultimately lead to the happiest marriages.
5. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on Flow
Check out this TED talk from psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who authored the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Csikszentmihalyi talks about how he became interested in psychology after World War II when he heard a lecture by Carl Jung. Csikszentmihalyi eventually began his psychological study of how average people become extraordinary which he attributes to the idea of “flow” when one become completely involved in an activity for its own sake. Csikszentmihalyi provides many examples of individuals who have tapped into this “flow” state.
6. Matthieu Ricard: Habits of Happiness
Biochemist turned Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard examines happiness and well-being in this TED talk. He differentiates between pleasure and happiness as pleasure if fleeting and reliant upon circumstance. He feels that true happiness is found by training the mind to be happy regardless of the situation we find ourselves in and to tap into the deeper happiness of the awareness that we are more than our fleeting emotional states.
7. Vilayanur Ramachandran: A Journey to the Center of Your Mind
In this TED talk, neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran provides some neuroscientific explanations for puzzling psychological and physiological phenomena. He covers why after certain brain injuries patients cannot visually recognize their mother, how to amputated patients can overcome the pain of phantom limbs for only $3, and why certain people see colors when they look at numbers and letters.
8. Temple Grandin: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds
In this TED Talk, Animals in Translation author Temple Grandin discusses her autism and the wide spectrum of autism, and how she has used her insights into autism to help her relate to the inner worlds of animal. Her autism leads to hypersensitivity to noise and other sensory stimuli and she correlates it to how animals perceive the world through their senses.
9. Dan Gilbert: Why Are We Happy? Why Aren’t We Happy?
Check out this TED talk from Harvard psychologist and the author of Stumbling on Happiness, Dan Gilbert. Gilbert provides info from studies that reveal that what we often think will make us happy is the opposite of the case. He shows that because we have the ability to consider the future, we are much better prepared for the results and can usually be happy regardless.
10. How Ordinary People Become Monsters… or Heroes
Renowned social psychologist Philip Zimbardo talks about the ideas in his book The Lucifer Effect which explores how good people turn evil. He looks at Abu Ghraib prison scandal which he was called as a witness to, and he compares it to the influential Stanford prison study which he conducted in the early 1970s. In both these circumstances normal individuals were given power without oversight over the prisoners. Zimbardo emphasizes the importance of circumstance when it comes to the potential evil, indifference, or heroism in all of us. Note: Zimbardo shows some graphic imagery of Abu Ghraib in this video.
11. Why We Think It’s OK to Cheat and Steal (Sometimes)
In this TED talk Dan Ariely, author of the bestselling book Predictably Irrational, talks about his experiments in cheating in an attempt to understand the economic cheating that happened during the Enron scandal and later the Wall Street financial crisis. At MIT Ariely tested students at various activities and he details the many findings him and his colleagues discovered such as that most people like to cheat a little bit but not so much that it gives them negative impression of themselves as a “cheater”.
12. Nancy Etcoff on the Surprising Science of Happiness
In this fast-paced talk from cognitive researcher Nancy Etcoff she looks the science of happiness and the many ways in which it is achieved along with the ways that it eludes us. She describes in basic terms the neuroscience of happiness including the importance of neurotransmitter dopamine and the hormone oxytocin. She also talks about the rise of stress, depression, and anxiety in the modern world. It’s an interesting overall view of some of the recent findings in the science of happiness.
13. Daniel Goleman: Why Aren’t We All Good Samaritans?
In this brief TED talk, psychologist and author of Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman discusses his research into the psychology of compassion and being a “good Samaritan”. He suggests that our emotional response to be compassionate towards others is an automatic response when we see people suffering, and it is only by turning this emotion off through the busyness of our daily lives that we suppress this desire to help others. He then provides some inspirational stories for how we might all work towards being good Samaritans.
14. Sherwin B. Nuland on Electroshock Therapy
In this TED talk American surgeon, author, and Yale professor Sherwin B. Nuland talks about the history of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for treatment of severe major depression and other mental illnesses. He then proceeds to tell about his own recovery from major depression through electroshock therapy back in the 1970s. After his first marriage failed he fell into a deep depression until he could no longer function. When no other treatments worked the doctors attempted electroshock therapy which led to a remarkable recovery.
15. Oliver Sacks: What Hallucination Reveals About our Minds
Neurologist Oliver Sacks talks about Charles Bonnet syndrome where visually impaired people experience lucid hallucinations. Sacks points out that about 10% of visually impaired people experience these hallucinations, but few mention it because they are often frightened that they are losing their minds. Sacks gives examples of many of his patients who have had these hallucinations and what they often consist of. Through brain scans scientists have actually been able to identify which parts of the brain are activated when such hallucinations occur.
March 29, 2012
Best Charlie Rose Guests
Charlie Rose has conducted over 4000 hours of interviews of guests to his Charlie Rose show which has aired on PBS stations since 1991. Charlie has interviewed many other great authors, entertainers, political figures, business leaders, and more. We’ve gone through Charlie Rose’s entire video archive on CharlieRose.com and picked out what we thought were the best guests and the best interviews. There are so many great ones to that we encourage you to go through all of the 350 interviews we’ve added:
350 of the Best Charlie Rose Guests on LearnOutLoud.com
He has interviewed many great film directors and actors which we featured in a previous blog post:
Top 10 Charlie Rose Interviews of Film Directors and Actors
We’ll now feature some of the best of the best guests that Charlie has interviewed over the years. We’ve separated these by Personal Growth Experts, Business Leaders, Political Figures, Writers, and Entertainers:
Personal Growth Experts:
A Conversation about Nutrition with Dr. Andrew Weil
A Conversation about the Science of Happiness with Martin Seligman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and others
A Conversation with Anthony Robbins
An Interview with Steven R. Covey
A Conversation about Health and Disease Prevention with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen
Business Leaders:
An Hour with Jack and Suzy Welch
An Hour with Management Consultant Jim Collins
A Conversation with Business Guru Tom Peters
A Conversation with Lee Iacocca
A Conversation with Michael Milken & Muhammad Yunus
A Conversation with Jeff Bezos on Amazon.com
The Future with Eric Schmidt, Marc Andreessen, and Bill Gates
An Exclusive Conversation with Warren Buffett (at the start of the 2008 financial crisis)
Political Figures:
An Hour with Illinois Senator Barack Obama on Nov. 23, 2004
A Conversation with Guest Host Judy Woodruff and Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
A Conversation with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
An Hour with Mikhail Gorbachev
A Talk with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
A Discussion on Abortion with Arianna Huffington and Laura Ingraham
A Conversation with Noam Chomsky
An Appreciation of William F. Buckley
Two Conversations with Filmmaker Michael Moore
A Conversation with Bill O’Reilly
Writers:
A Conversation with Author David McCullough
A Conversation with Author Tom Wolfe
A Conversation with Carl Sagan on Pale Blue Dot
An Interview with David Foster Wallace
A Conversation with Author John Updike on The Greatest American Short Stories of This Century
Author Christopher Hitchens on Hitch-22
A Remembrance of Hunter S. Thompson
A Remembrance of Intellectual Susan Sontag
Entertainers:
A Conversation with Opera Singer Luciano Pavarotti
A Conversation with Radio Personality Garrison Keillor
A Conversation with Basketball Legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, and Bill Russell
A Conversation with Musician David Bowie
A Conversation with Comedian George Carlin
A Conversation with Rapper Kanye West
A Conversation with Julia Child
A Discussion of the Music Wars on the Internet with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy
An Interview with Conan O’Brien on October 20, 1993
A Conversation with Mick Jagger
Also at the turn of the century Charlie Rose conducted a series of interviews about some of the most important things in the 20th century with all-star guest panels discussing the most formative events, the most important person, the greatest minds, the most influential artists, and the greatest athletes of the 20th century. Here are those specials:
A Discussion about Formative Events of the 20th Century
A Panel Discussion about the Idea of the Most Important Person of the 20th Century
An Hour Panel Discussion about the Greatest Minds and Breakthroughs of the 20th Century
An Hour Panel Discussion about the Most Influential Artist of the 20th Century
A Discussion about the Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century
Enjoy these and many, many more great shows from the modern master of interviews, Mr. Charlie Rose:
350 of the Best Charlie Rose Guests on LearnOutLoud.com
February 23, 2012
Top 10 Charlie Rose Interviews of Film Directors and Actors
We have a confession to make that at LearnOutLoud.com we are huge movie buffs! And with the Oscars coming up on Sunday we had to feature some free videos on the movies. Recently we added over 350 of the best interviews from Charlie Rose show:
350 of the Best Charlie Rose Interviews on LearnOutLoud.com
Lucky for us Charlie Rose is a huge movie buff and he conducts the best interviews with film actors and directors. Charlie’s interviews go beyond the generic interviews that actors and directors usually do to promote their movies, and he asks the great questions that film aficionados want to hear. We’ve picked out 10 interviews of the most popular movie actors along with 10 interviews of the most popular film directors and have watched these interviews and given you the inside scoop on what they’re all about. Enjoy these interviews and Hooray for Hollywood! Here are the ten actor interviews we picked:
1. An Interview with Sylvester Stallone
In this interview with actor, writer, and director Sylvester Stallone, Charlie Rose traces the action icon’s career; from humble origins making Rocky to his peak as one of the highest paid actors of all time. This discussion catches Stallone at a point when he was seeking out work that went against the macho typecasting that came to dominate his screen persona for over 30 years. We also get insight on what attracted him to the arts at an early age, how luck played an instrumental role in his success, and why he can’t help controlling a set.
2. An Hour Remembrance of Actor Jack Lemmon
In this hour-long remembrance of Jack Lemmon, Charlie Rose shares two interviews he conducted with the beloved actor of stage and screen. Here Lemmon shares memories of films such as Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, and Days of Wine and Roses, and he reflects on his onscreen chemistry with real-life friend Walter Matthau. He also talks candidly about his acting method, the turbulent relationship he had with his father, his love of the piano, and what he learned from failure.
3. A Conversation with Meryl Streep
In this Charlie Rose special featuring Meryl Streep, she talks about her entire acting career. This special presentation features clips from many of the movies she has been in along with comments from interviews with director Mike Nichols and prominent film critics praising her roles. Streep discusses the many roles she has inhabited along with her thoughts on drama vs. comedy. It’s a very enjoyable interview with one of cinema’s most beloved and honored film actresses.
4. An Interview with Harrison Ford
Actor Harrison Ford talks for an hour about a lucrative screen career that blew up with Star Wars in the late 70s and made him one of the biggest box-office draws in film history. Hailing originally from Chicago, Ford flunked out of college and moved out West, where he meandered for a few years taking bit TV roles while moonlighting as a carpenter. After early key roles for George Lucas, he was catapulted to fame on the strength of a heroic mold that he later found hard to shake as he took on more complex pet projects.
5. A Conversation with Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington talks with Charlie Rose about his prolific movie acting career in this interview, from his winding path to become an actor all the way up to his 2000 Golden Globe win for the film The Hurricane. Washington talks about The Hurricane and what he put into the role. He also discusses the variety of roles he has picked and the many great directors he has worked with. His films have opened doors for him to become good friends with Nelson Mandela and many other prominent figures.
6. An Hour with Actor Sean Penn
Charlie Rose flies out to California to sit down with actor Sean Penn for an hour. Penn talks about his love/hate relationship with acting and why he prefers writing. He reveals some of the film artists he admires such as John Cassavetes, Marlon Brando, and Jack Nicholson. Penn expresses what he feels cinema should do as an art form and why he is frustrated with the state of commercial movies in America. He also talks about his disdain for paparazzi and the invasion of privacy they present for people in the public eye. Throughout the interview Charlie and Sean have some good laughs.
7. An Hour with Filmmaker Robert Redford
Actor, director, and activist Robert Redford rose to prominence in the 1970s as both a leading man and progressive advocate. Here he talks about his early origins in theatre, the key movies that led to his success, and how his acting career opened up other paths for him as a director and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. Throughout his career, Redford has been notable for leveraging his star-power to help raise visibility on a wide range of concerns, such as environmentalism, Native American rights, and political corruption.
8. A Conversation with Actor Bill Murray
Actor Bill Murray sits down with Charlie Rose and talks about his career in comedy films including the one he had just made Rushmore. Murray talks about his selection process for picking his next role and how certain scripts including Groundhog’s Day and Rushmore were so good that he had to do them. Bill Murray discusses how the great directors are usually soft spoken on set and the bad ones are loud and obnoxious yelling out things like, “Do it again and don’t scratch your noise this time!”
9. An Hour with Actor Michael Douglas
As part of an acting legacy, Michael Douglas found it hard at times to define himself outside of the long shadow cast by his father, screen legend Kirk Douglas. After achieving early Oscar recognition at age 30 for producing with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, it wasn’t until a later, career-defining turn in Fatal Attraction that Douglas gained momentum as an actor. Here he talks about the different hats he’s worn on both sides of the camera, reflects on his changing relationship with his father, and digs into a hard period where he was admitted into rehab.
10. An Hour with Actor Michael J. Fox
This one isn’t much about acting but it’s a great interview. In 2002 Michael J. Fox sat down with Charlie Rose for an hour. Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991 and went public with his condition in 1998. In this interview Fox talks about the whole process of accepting his disease to his eventual creation of the Michael J. Fox Foundation which is seeking a cure for Parkinson’s disease. He relays many stories that he wrote in his 2002 memoir Lucky Man including his acting attempts to cover up Parkinson’s which eventually he could no longer hide. He provides words of wisdom for people diagnosed with any disease and tells a truly inspirational story.
Next up we’re featuring 10 great interviews that Charlie Rose has conducted with film directors. A few interviews are conducted with people who knew the filmmaker closely for the great directors Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick. Enjoy these interviews with some of cinema’s great artists.
1. An Hour with Filmmaker George Lucas
George Lucas sits down for an hour long conversation with Charlie Rose in this interview and chronologically goes through his moviemaking career from his days at USC film school up to creating the Star Wars prequels. He talks about his financial and technological struggles to get his visions on the big screen and how he has finally attained financial independence as an artist to create the movies he wants to make without having to answer to anyone. George also passes on his wisdom about storytelling, education, artistry, and parenting.
2. A Conversation about Alfred Hitchcock
As the undisputed “Master of Suspense”, Alfred Hitchcock left behind a large body of work that continually explored the darker depths of the human heart. Here, Charlie Rose talks with the director’s daughter Patricia along with noted film director/historian Peter Bogdanovich on the centennial of his Hitchcock’s birth. Topics include Hitchcock’s dogged attention to detail, his writing methods, which films of his own he preferred best, and where he ranks with the great masters of cinema history.
3. An Hour with Filmmaker James Cameron
Known as “Iron Jim” to friends and critics alike, James Cameron rose from humble beginnings as a truck driver to become the “King of the World” with his mega-blockbuster Titanic. Here Charlie Rose talks with the director at length about what went into making the most expensive film ever made, and how he managed to balance historical fact with romantic fiction. Cameron’s talent for managing complex productions that still strike a chord with a broad audience has made him one of the most successful filmmakers in the modern era; a feat no less incredible when you consider how much his ambition grows from picture to picture.
4. A Discussion with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter
Capturing a key moment in history, this interview with Steve Jobs and John Lassetter catches both visionaries at the birth of what would become the most successful animation studio in recent history. After purchasing Pixar in 1986, shortly after his initial ouster from Apple, Jobs helped shepherd Lassetter and his team towards the first digitally animated movie, Toy Story, a box-office success that was followed by a string of hits that has not let up to date. Watch for an interesting moment near the end where Jobs tactfully dodges Charlie Rose’s question about a possible return to Apple; and even that actually did come to pass later that same year!
5. An Interview with Quentin Tarantino
Coming off the wild success of his independent film breakout hit Pulp Fiction, super cool film director Quentin Tarantino sits down with Charlie Rose and talks about his craft and where his career is going to go from here. Tarantino talks about his childhood watching movies and his days as a video store clerk. He discusses his unorthodox way of storytelling, his method of writing, and his love of following the careers of film directors of which he mentions his favorites. Finally he talks about his first two films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Watch film geek Tarantino enthusiastically riff on his love of movies.
6. An Hour about the Life and Work of Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick
With a photographer’s eye, a philosopher’s curiosity, and a searing intellect, Stanley Kubrick’s films have cut a distinctive path through cinematic history with a scope that is still hard to estimate. Here Charlie Rose talks with the late director’s widow Christiane, his lifelong friend Jan Harland, and adds modern master Martin Scorsese into the mix to round out the table. Christiane Kubrick provides heartwarming insight on their marriage, while Harland and Scorsese weigh in on why Kubrick’s films such as 2001, The Shining, and Dr. Strangelove continue to provoke, compel, and stimulate new generations of filmgoers.
7. A Conversation with Roman Polanski
In this interview, filmmaker Roman Polanski speaks about filmmaking, personal tragedy, and the legal trouble that has kept him from returning to the United States. Charlie Rose does not shy away from confronting the director of such classics as Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown on why he hasn’t faced the legal ramifications of a rape charge that made him flee for Europe in 1977. Polanski also reflects on the loss of his mother at Auschwitz, his lonely childhood in war-torn Poland, losing his wife in the Manson family murders, and his current life as a French citizen.
8. An Interview with Oliver Stone
Director Oliver Stone is known for his political and historical films and in this interview with Charlie Rose, Stone talks about his film Nixon. Stone gives us his interpretation of the man Nixon and covers some of the more controversial aspects of his film. He also gives us his philosophy on drama and its ability to convey the shadow side of history which is often not the version put into the history books. Get a history lesson from Oliver Stone with this hour long talk about Nixon.
9. A Talk with Director Tim Burton
Director Tim Burton talks with Charlie Rose about his recent film and art exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. In the first 10 minutes MOMA’s exhibit curators talk about putting on the exhibition. Then Burton discusses some of his sketches and talks about how he went from being a weird and quiet teenager to a filmmaker extraordinaire. Burton talks about his love of masks and how they bring out new aspects in his performers such as with Jack Nicholson made up as the Joker in his film Batman or Johnny Depp in the wide variety of outfits he has suited up for in many Burton films. Burton feels that all kids are artists and doodlers up to about age 12, but then for various reason these creative instincts are suppressed as people get older, and both Tim and Charlie find this unfortunate.
10. A Conversation with German Film Director Werner Herzog
German film director Werner Herzog sits down with Charlie Rose in this 23 minute interview and discusses his prolific filmmaking career. Herzog gives some insight into the making of his film Fitzcarraldo about which he recently published his personal diaries in a book called Conquest of the Useless. He talks about his philosophy of filmmaking and his search for the “ecstatic truth” when it comes to the many documentaries that he has shot over the years. Herzog also addresses his talent for bringing out the best in actors such as his unique gift for harnessing the talent of German actor Klaus Kinski.
Enjoy these and many, many more great shows from the modern master of interviews, Mr. Charlie Rose:
350 of the Best Charlie Rose Interviews on LearnOutLoud.com
January 30, 2012
Best Commencement Speeches on Audio & Video
Get inspired with this list of the 10 best commencement speeches available on audio & video. While college commencement addresses are aimed at graduates, the wisdom they contain can be inspirational for everyone, no matter what stage of life you’re at. Since colleges have been putting out more videos in recent years there are now many commencement addresses available on YouTube. And we’ve also discovered that the C-SPAN video library also features many great commencement addresses from the past twenty years or so.
We’ve selected these top 10 best commencement speeches mixing some historic commencement speeches with some great modern commencement addresses as well:
1. 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University by Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs delivered this commencement address at Stanford University and it’s one of the more inspiring commencement addresses we’ve ever had a chance to hear. Jobs tells three stories of endurance through his education, his career, and his diagnosis with cancer, and through it all his advice is: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” This title is available on streaming video.
2. 1963 American University Commencement Address by John F. Kennedy
In this famous address delivered a few months before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy spoke of peace. Delivered at the height of the Cold War, Kennedy expressed his goal for peace that wasn’t a “Pax Americana” based on American weapons of war. He spoke of the U.S. intentions around the World and against many of the policies of the Soviet Union. Many of Kennedy’s words on peace still ring true today such as his statement: “For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.”
3. J.K. Rowling Speaks at the 2008 Harvard Commencement
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling delivers some wise words of wisdom during her Harvard Commencement address in 2008 which she entitled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination”. She talks about how failure in her life after a divorce and when she was living in poverty helped her to eliminate everything that wasn’t most important to her. And she talks about what she learned of human good and evil in her work for Amnesty International. She points out how fortunate the graduates of Harvard are and encourages them to succeed and fail and live rich lives.
4. 2001 Harvard Commencement Address by Bono
Rock star Bono addresses Harvard graduates in this 2001 Commencement Address. He talked about his journey with economist Jeffrey Sachs to encourage debt cancellation in Africa in the Jubilee 2000 campaign. He encouraged graduates to rebel against indifference and create an America where anything is possible. The address is full of inspiring words from the U2 frontman and activist.
5. Oprah Winfrey’s 2008 Stanford Commencement Address
Oprah Winfrey packs as much advice as she can into this 30 minute Commencement Address which she gave to the Stanford graduating class of 2008. Through stories in her own life, she relays life lessons like: “Grow into being more of yourself”, “Listen to your gut”, “If it doesn’t feel right don’t do it”, “If you’re not sure what to do, get still”, “If you struggling, then help others who are struggling”. And there are many more lessons relayed here in Oprah’s wonderful speech.
6. 1978 Harvard University Commencement Address: A World Split Apart by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
In one of the most ambitious commencement speeches ever delivered, the Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn accessed the Western political and cultural situation in the year 1978 and many of his criticisms still hold true today. While in exile from the Soviet Union, he spent a number of years in the United States and this address is his analysis of the Western predicament. In this comprehensive one hour speech he discusses Western politics, the media, our role in Vietnam, the lack of courage in our leadership, Soviet communism, commercialism and materialism, and the spiritual state of Western man. He delivers the speech in Russian and it is simultaneously translated into English. This speech is offered on streaming audio through Google Video.
7. 1990 Commencement Address at Wellesley College by Barbara Bush
First Lady Barbara Bush imparted some words of wisdom in her well received Commencement Address at Wellesley College back in 1990. She emphasizes what’s most important in life, provides some humorous anecdotes, and even quotes Ferris Bueller. In this brief 10 minute speech she receives thunderous applause.
8. Randy Pausch Inspires Graduates at the 2008 Carnegie Mellon Commencement
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch is famous for his “Last Lecture” which he delivered shortly after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A few months before his death he delivered this brief and inspiring speech at the Carnegie Mellon commencement on what’s really important when you look back at your life.
9. 2000 Boston University Commencement by Tom Wolfe
Watch this turn of the century commencement address from the great American author Tom Wolfe. While most commencement address speakers urge students to go out and change the world and fight the system, Tom Wolfe reminds graduates to keep up the current greatness of America and of our tremendous wealth and openness as a country. He praises our middle class virtues and laughs at movie actors and rock stars and other “intellectuals” who tear down the ordinary virtues of America with satire and cries of indignation. Throughout the talk Wolfe gives some of his own hilarious observations on America at the turn of the 21st century. It’s a unique commencement address from one of America’s most keen observers and most entertaining writers.
10. Conan O’Brien’s 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement Address
And for some comic relief in a commencement address, Conan O’Brien delivered a rapid fire comic routine at Dartmouth College last year. After many jokes to warm the crowd up he gets a little serious about his failure at hosting the Tonight Show and the importance of having your greatest fear realized. Through it all he learned that dreams do change and that can lead to a much more exciting life than was previously imagined.
In addition to this top ten you might also want to check out NPR’s list of “The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever” with videos available for many of the speeches:
The Best Commencement Speeches, Ever
And here are some other good commencement addresses we listened to that have proven to be popular. Here are over dozen other commencement addresses in historical order. We’re linking directly to these ones for the most part:
1941 Winston Churchill Address To Harrow School
Delivered in the midst of World War II, Churchill’s speech to the Harrow School contains the lines: “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
George C. Marshall Introduces The Marshall Plan at the 1947 Harvard University Commencement
George C. Marshall introduces the Marshall Plan to rescue Europe after World War II.
1999 George Washington Commencement Address by Desmond Tutu
Archbishop Desmond Tutu preaches for a new world and asks graduates to work for it.
1999 Agnes Scott College Commencement Address by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut gives a freewheeling and funny commencement address with some gems of wisdom for the graduates to remember.
2000 Antioch College Commencement by Mumia Abu-Jamal
Mumia Abu-Jamal gives a politically charged taped audio address from death row for the Antioch College commencement.
2001 California State University at Fullerton Commencement by Nicholas Cage
Actor Nicholas Cage spreads his passion for movies and acting and art and life.
2001 Vassar College Commencement Address by Stephen King
America’s Boogie Man Stephen King says life is short and then you die so give away what you have to the poor.
2004 Commencement Address at The College of William & Mary by Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart praises the youth generation and encourages them to fix what the previous generation has broken.
Ellen at Tulane Commencement 2009
Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres talks about how she overcame some of the tougher setbacks in her life.
2011 Commencement Address by Denzel Washington
Actor Denzel Washington tells graduates to not have something to fall back on, but instead fall forward and keep getting back up.
Dr. E.O. Wilson at the 2011 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Commencement
Biologist E.O. Wilson encourages us to rescue the biodiversity of the plant.
Tom Hanks Addresses the Yale Class of 2011
Actor Tom Hanks talks about the “ying yang thang” of life and how our faith can grow bigger than our fears.
January 16, 2012
20 Free Famous Speeches by Martin Luther King
Happy Martin Luther King Day! Celebrate the life and legacy of this great leader by listening to some of his speeches.
Stanford University’s King Research and Education Institute now freely provides streaming audio of over 20 of Dr. King’s most famous speeches and sermons:
Martin Luther King Speeches and Sermons from the King Institute
Here are the speeches you can listen to there:
1954:
28 February 1954 – Rediscovering Lost Values
1955:
5 December 1955 – Address to the first Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) Mass Meeting
1956:
4 November 1956 – “Paul’s Letter to American Christians”
1957:
7 April 1957 – The Birth of a New Nation, Sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
17 May 1957 – “Give Us the Ballot,” Address at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom
17 November 1957 – “Loving Your Enemies,” Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
1963:
16 April 1963 – “Letter From Birmingham Jail”
23 June 1963 – Speech at the Great March on Detroit
28 August 1963 – I Have a Dream, Address at March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
18 September 1963 – Eulogy for the Martyred Children
1964:
10 December 1964 – Acceptance Speech at Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
1965:
25 March 1965 – Address at the Conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March
4 July 1965 – “The American Dream”
1966:
5 June 1966 – “Guidelines for a Constructive Church”
1967:
4 April 1967 – Beyond Vietnam
9 April 1967 – “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”
11 June 1967 – “A Knock at Midnight”
16 August 1967 – “Where Do We Go From Here?,” Delivered at the 11th Annual
SCLC Convention
27 August 1967 – “Why Jesus Called A Man A Fool”
1968:
4 February 1968 – “The Drum Major Instinct”
3 March 1968 – “Unfulfilled Dreams”
31 March 1968 – “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution”
3 April 1968 – I’ve Been to the Mountaintop
And if you’ve not yet listened to these speeches by Martin Luther King that we’ve featured in the past we highly encourage you to do so:
I’ve Been to the Mountaintop Speech
And for our comprehensive collection of audio & video resources about Dr. King check out:
MLK Out Loud Audio & Video Resources
Some of the new free resources we’ve added there this year:
African-American History: Modern Freedom Struggle – Stanford course taught by Professor Clayborne Carson who is the author of many books on Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement, and the director of the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Memorial Dedication – C-SPAN’s video coverage of the dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial on the national mall which took place October 16, 2011 and features speeches by Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, Dan Rather, and many others.
And also in the past year we added our Martin Luther King, Jr. audio & video author page which features all of the audio & video titles we have that are directly by Martin Luther King including audio of his speeches and writings.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Audio & Video Resources Page
Plenty of great resources to help you celebrate the holiday!