September 4, 2013

Preview Trailers for The Great Courses

At LearnOutLoud.com we love The Great Courses (formerly The Teaching Company). They now have a YouTube channel and they’ve created trailers for many of their Great Courses. Here’s their YouTube channel if you want to check it out:

www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatCourses

You can browse all of The Great Courses through site right here:

Browse Over 300 of The Great Courses

On the course pages for their courses on LearnOutLoud.com we’ve embedded these course trailers. They run a few minutes long and give you a good idea what the course is all about. Here are the courses we feature that have trailers:

Algebra II

Art and Craft of Mathematical Problem Solving

Art of Reading

Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator

Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies

Biology and Human Behavior

Biology: The Science of Life

Buddhism

Classical Mythology

Dead Sea Scrolls

Early Middle Ages

Fall and Rise of China

Foundations of Western Civilization II

From Yao to Mao

Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition

High School Level Chemistry

A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts

A History of European Art

The History of Ancient Egypt

The History of Ancient Rome

How the Earth Works

How to Become a SuperStar Student

Lost Christianities

Meaning from Data

Medieval World

No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life

The Old Testament

Particle Physics for Non-Physicists

Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World

Understanding Complexity

Understanding the Brain

Vikings

Wisdom of History

World War II: A Military and Social History

And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out The Great Courses Plus. You can now sign up for a free one month trial on TheGreatCoursesPlus.com. For fans of The Great Courses it’s overwhelmingly awesome. You subscribe to The Great Courses Plus, and you can then watch 300 great courses and over 6,000 video lectures as much as you want, whenever you want!

After the initial free month, the price is only $19.99/month now! A bargain considering all the great courses you get access to. And if you sign up for a full year the price breaks down to only $14.99/month. We’ve gone through their entire catalog and there are so many courses and individual lectures we want to watch. You can browse all these courses by category on their website as well:

Browse Over 300 Courses Currently Offered Through the The Great Courses Plus
We’ve updated a blog post that lays out The Great Courses Plus in more detail and lists all the current courses:

Watch 300 Great Courses on the Great Courses Plus Updated Blog Post

August 14, 2013

Art History Timeline Free Videos

Art History Time Line

Take a journey through the History of Art with this free video mini-course from the Otis College of Art and Design. This course has great visual accompaniments of the works of art being discussed. It’s a free 2 hour, 27 episode video series called “Art History Time Line”. Professor Jeanne Willette takes you from the Caves to Romanticism in this video course. Each episode lasts about 5 minutes and covers a specific period in Art History. Learn about famous periods such as the Renaissance, the Baroque, Neo-Classicism, and Romanticism.

Art History Time Line

Also check out this other free video course offered by the Otis College of Art and Design, which further extends the Art History Timeline to the History of Modern Art:

Modern Art History

You can also watch 13 lectures from the Modern Art History course which is being offered through YouTube from the Otis College of Art and Design. In these lectures Dr. Parme Giuntini, Director of Art History at Otis College of Art and Design, covers many schools of modern art including Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and more. She also provides the political and social context which these art movements arose from. Enjoy this free, 5-hour introduction to Modern Art from the Otis College of Art and Design.

Modern Art History

For an amusing talk on modern art, listen to author Tom Wolfe in this talk he gave at his 60th class reunion at Washington and Lee University:

Tom Wolfe on Modern Art

In the tradition of his 1975 book The Painted Word, Tom Wolfe skewers the modern art world of the 21st century. He presents slides of the work of famous “deskilled” and “hands off” modern artists such as Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, and Marina Abramovic. He talks about the art world establishment as consisting of about 3,000 people who determine the taste and value of modern art.

Tom Wolfe on Modern Art

March 4, 2013

Forks Over Knives Talk by Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Dr. T. Colin Campbell is a professor of nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University who led a massive study of nutrition in rural China in the 1980s. He published his findings in the now bestselling book The China Study and he was featured prominently in the popular 2011 documentary Forks Over Knives.

Resolving the Health Care Crisis

In this 20-minute TEDx talk, Dr. T. Colin Campbell summarizes many of his findings from his over 40 years of experience at the forefront of nutrition research. He prescribes changes in nutrition instead of prescription drugs for resolving our current health care crisis. Through a plant-based diet that cuts out excess sugar, fat, and salt, along with cutting out excessive consumption of animal protein and dairy products, Dr. Campbell argues that we can prevent and cure many of the diseases that haunt consumers of the Western affluent diet. This talk is available on streaming video along with a visual slide show that Dr. Campbell presents.

And if you’re interested in learning more about Dr. Campbell’s ideas along with nutritional advice from many other doctors, then watch the documentary Forks Over Knives. It will definitely get you thinking about what you eat!

December 11, 2012

Best Science Videos on YouTube

We’ve been browsing YouTube lately for some of the best videos we don’t yet have on our site. Today we’re featuring some of the great science videos we’ve found and have now added onto our site. We’ll start out with this great video from theoretical physicist Richard Feynman:

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out

In this 50-minute video Richard Feynman looks back on his life and discusses his approach towards science. He reflects on times with his father that instilled his curiousity in the scientific world. Feynman also talks about his work on the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb towards the end of World War II. He then examines some of the contributions he made to physics in the second half of the 20th century (which earned him the Noble Prize), and he describes his chaotic method of teaching science which proved to be very popular.

And here are some of the other amazing science videos we added:

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage the thirteen-part television series written and hosted by Carl Sagan

God, The Universe, and Everything Else discussion featuring Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, & Arthur C. Clarke

An Even Shorter History of Nearly Everything talk on the history of science with author Bill Bryson

The Genius Of Charles Darwin three-part television documentary written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins

The Origin of the Universe talk by Stephen Hawking

Isaac Asimov in Conversation interview with the popular science author

And check out these three debates from the American Museum of Natural History moderated by Neil deGrasse Tyson and featuring panels of leading scientists:

2010 Rose Center Anniversary Isaac Asimov Debate: Is Earth Unique?

2011 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Theory of Everything

2012 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: Faster Than the Speed of Light

We hope you enjoy these great videos we discovered on YouTube! Many more to come.

For more free science videos and audio books check out our Free Science Audio & Video section:

Free Science Audio & Video

November 24, 2012

Free Sounds True Videos

One of our favorite audio publishers has always been Sounds True. They began as a conference and lecture recording service back in 1985 and continue to release many titles by famous authors and teachers which are not normally available in print. Sounds True focuses on titles about spiritual traditions, meditation, psychology, creativity, health and healing, self development, and relationships. They specialize in audio, but they have also made some video courses throughout the years. In fact Sounds True now has a YouTube channel now:

Sounds True YouTube Channel

They’ve uploaded free video samples of many of their audio & video courses and we have now embedded many of those videos onto our site. Also many of these courses are now available on video download through the Sounds True website. We link to Sounds True for both the DVDs and the video downloads. Here are some of their courses which now feature free video samples on our site:

African Healing Dance by Wyoma

Sun Salutations by Shiva Rea

Good Medicine by Pema Chodron

The Flowering of Human Consciousness by Eckhart Tolle

Yoga Shakti by Shiva Rea

The Energetics of Healing by Caroline Myss

Awakening Through Sound by Chloe Goodchild

Mindful Movements by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Breathing Box by Gay Hendricks

The Wave by Gabrielle Roth

The Inner Wave by Gabrielle Roth

The Power Wave by Gabrielle Roth

Qigong: Traditional Chinese Exercises by Ken Cohen

Mindfulness and the Brain by Jack Kornfield and Dan Siegel

Develop Qi Strength and Power by John P. Milton

Tibetan Energy Yoga by Lama Surya Das

Yoga for Your Eyes by Meir Schneider

Meditation for Beginners by Jack Kornfield

Finding Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Living Your True Purpose by Eckhart Tolle

Cleanse & Build Inner Qi by John P. Milton

The Energy Medicine Kit by Donna Eden

Cultivate Longevity by John P. Milton

And you can browse over 700 Sounds True courses (500 that are available on audio download on LearnOutLoud.com), right here:

Browse Over 700 Sounds True Courses

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

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 Depth with Gore Vidal

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 Depth with Tom Wolfe

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.

In Depth with Thomas Friedman

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 Depth with John Updike

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 Depth with Temple Grandin

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.

In Depth with Susan Sontag

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 Alice Walker

In Depth with Angela Davis

In Depth with Ann Coulter

In Depth with Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

In Depth with Barbara Ehrenreich

In Depth with Bernard Lewis

In Depth with Bill Ayers

In Depth with Bill Bennett

In Depth with Bob Woodward

In Depth with Charles Murray

In Depth with Christopher Buckley

In Depth with Christopher Hitchens

In Depth with Cornel West

In Depth with David Halberstam

In Depth with David Herbert Donald

In Depth with David Horowitz

In Depth with David McCullough

In Depth with Dinesh D’Souza

In Depth with Doris Kearns Goodwin

In Depth with Edmund Morris

In Depth with Edward O. Wilson

In Depth with Francis Fukuyama

In Depth with Garry Wills

In Depth with Gary Gallagher

In Depth with George Will

In Depth with Gordon Wood

In Depth with Gore Vidal

In Depth with H.W. Brands

In Depth with Harold Bloom

In Depth with Harvey Mansfield

In Depth with Helen Caldicott

In Depth with Howard Zinn

In Depth with Hugh Hewitt

In Depth with Jacques Barzun

In Depth with James McPherson

In Depth with Jimmy Carter

In Depth with Joan Didion

In Depth with John Dean

In Depth with John Hope Franklin

In Depth with John Keegan

In Depth with John Lukacs

In Depth with John Updike

In Depth with Jonah Goldberg

In Depth with Jonathan Kozol

In Depth with Ken Auletta

In Depth with Kevin Phillips

In Depth with Lewis Lapham

In Depth with Margaret MacMillan

In Depth with Mark Bowden

In Depth with Martha Nussbaum

In Depth with Martin Gilbert

In Depth with Michael Eric Dyson

In Depth with Michelle Malkin

In Depth with Michio Kaku

In Depth with Milton Friedman

In Depth with Newt Gingrich

In Depth with Niall Ferguson

In Depth with Noam Chomsky

In Depth with Norman Podhoretz

In Depth with P.J. O’Rourke

In Depth with Pat Buchanan

In Depth with Peggy Noonan

In Depth with R. Emmett Tyrrell

In Depth with Ralph Nader

In Depth with Ray Kurzweil

In Depth with Richard Rhodes

In Depth with Robert Caro

In Depth with Robert Kaplan

In Depth with Robert Remini

In Depth with Ron Powers

In Depth with Salman Rushdie

In Depth with Shelby Foote

In Depth with Shelby Steele

In Depth with Sherwin Nuland

In Depth with Simon Winchester

In Depth with Stephen Ambrose

In Depth with Steven Pinker

In Depth with Studs Terkel

In Depth with Susan Sontag

In Depth with T.R. Reid

In Depth with Tammy Bruce

In Depth with Taylor Branch

In Depth with Temple Grandin

In Depth with Thomas Friedman

In Depth with Tom Clancy

In Depth with Tom Wolfe

In Depth with Toni Morrison

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.

Episode 3: Agnosias

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.

Episode 5: Schizophrenia

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.

Episode 6: Autism

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.

Episode 7: Depression

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.

Episode 9: Multiple Sclerosis

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.

Episode 10: Disorders of Motor Neurons – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

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.

Episode 11: Pain

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 2: Hearing Loss

Episode 3: Blindness

Episode 4: Aggression

Episode 5: Gender Identity

Episode 6: Sports-Induced Brain Trauma

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

Gore Vidal Discusses His Life

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

An Interview with Fred Rogers

An Interview with Terry Gross

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

January 8, 2012

Free Lecture Samples from The Great Courses

This is a dated blog post. Check out our latest comprehensive blog post on The Great Courses:

Check Out Our Blog Post Covering Over 70 Free Great Courses Lectures

The Great Courses (formerly The Teaching Company) has made many upgrades in the past year including a newly designed site, user reviews for every course, and the addition of video downloads for almost all of their video courses. You can check out all these additions on their site:

www.TheGreatCourses.com

And now they are starting to add some samples of their video lectures for certain courses to further aid their avid fans in deciding the next course to buy. They’ve launched a YouTube channel which contains all these videos samples:

www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatCourses

On the course pages for their courses on LearnOutLoud.com we’ve embedded these sample video lectures for each course. The free video samples generally run 5-10 minutes long and cover a specific point from a lecture in the course. Here are the courses that have samples on them. Note: You’ll need to scroll down below the course description to see the video sample.

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning

Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer’s Craft

Change and Motion: Calculus Made Clear

Chaos

Economics

Einstein’s Relativity and the Quantum Revolution

The Everyday Guide to Wine

Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond

History of Christian Theology

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music

Joy of Mathematics

Late Antiquity: Crisis and Transformation

Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre

Nature of Earth: An Introduction to Geology

The New Testament

What Are the Chances? Probability Made Clear

Enjoy these free video lecture samples. We’ll keep adding more here as The Great Courses keep releasing them. Hopefully they’ll help you decide which Great Course to buy next!

And if you haven’t yet, be sure to check out The Great Courses Plus. You can now sign up for a free one month trial on TheGreatCoursesPlus.com. For fans of The Great Courses it’s overwhelmingly awesome. You subscribe to The Great Courses Plus, and you can then watch 300 great courses and over 6,000 video lectures as much as you want, whenever you want!

After the initial free month, the price is only $19.99/month now! A bargain considering all the great courses you get access to. And if you sign up for a full year the price breaks down to only $14.99/month. We’ve gone through their entire catalog and there are so many courses and individual lectures we want to watch. You can browse all these courses by category on their website as well:

Browse Over 300 Courses Currently Offered Through the The Great Courses Plus
We’ve updated a blog post that lays out The Great Courses Plus in more detail and lists all the current courses:

Watch 300 Great Courses on the Great Courses Plus Updated Blog Post