10 interview-based episodes that take ancient designs and applies them to modern lives. Your expert is Prince EA, an artist and inspirational speaker who’s spent the greater part of his career thinking about the ancient world.

Renowned interviewer David Barsamian showcases his unique access to Chomsky's thinking on a number of topics of contemporary and historical import. Chomsky offers insights into the institutions that shape the public mind in the service of power and profit. In an interview conducted after the important November 1999 "Battle in Seattle", Chomsky discusses prospects for building a movement to challenge corporate domination of the media, the environment, and even our private lives.

Thought experiments are “what if” scenarios that invite us to look carefully at how we think and view the world. They’ve been used throughout history by philosophers and other thinkers to explore our intuitions and ways of reasoning, to find solutions to problems, and to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the world. In these 24 eye-opening lectures, Professor Breyer takes you deeply into the historical tradition of thought experiments, shining a light on both the purpose and the outcomes of these compelling mental voyages.

Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication.

In Tibet: History, Culture, and Religion, Professor Constance Kassor, will show you the real, multi-dimensional Tibet and its people who live on the “Roof of the World,” the highest and largest plateau on Earth. In 24 fascinating lectures, you will learn how Tibet’s history was shaped by kings and kingdoms, power struggles, religion, traditions, wars, peace, and the lifestyles that developed in response to living on the world’s highest plateau.

As an award-winning host of NPR’s All Things Considered, Ari Shapiro knows the power of storytelling better than most. And the longer he’s worked in the field, the more convinced he’s become of storytelling’s primal importance. In 12 fascinating lessons, this master of the craft reveals the storytelling secrets he’s learned over the course of his career as a reporter and performer, from finding a good story and choosing the right characters to conducting interviews and even delivering a story effectively out loud.

In the 10 episodes of The Real History of Dracula, folklorists Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman, of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, will shine a light into the dark recesses of our cultural obsession with vampires. Using folklore, literature, history, television, film, and more, Sara and Brittany will show you how—and why—vampires are a potent metaphor for what matters most about the human condition.

Hannibal Barca is famous for marching an eclectic mix of troops across the Alps and into the Roman heartland during the Second Punic War. But how much do we know about the world Hannibal was born into and came of age in? In Hannibal: The Military Genius Who Almost Conquered Rome, get to know one of history’s most impressive generals from the political and military conflicts that defined his adolescence to the battles that made him famous. These 15 lectures will paint a portrait of not only Hannibal, but also his enemies and allies.

Imagine a Museum of Lost Art. If this imaginary museum contained just the artwork we knew was lost— whether from theft, purposeful destruction, vandalism, war, or the forces of nature—it would still contain more masterpieces than those in all the world’s current museums combined. Imagine that! In Lost Art: The Stories of Missing Masterpieces, art historian Noah Charney guides you through just such an imaginary museum. In 12 fascinating lectures, you will hear the stories behind the theft and/or destruction of some of the world’s most famous pieces of art.

Epigenetics is the science of living DNA, charting the chemical pathways that spur DNA into action by turning genes on and off. While the Human Genome Project of the early 2000s was hailed as the key to understanding human heredity and disease, that historic effort was just the beginning. It has taken epigenetics to fill in the picture, explaining how the fixed code of our genome is implemented in countless living processes.

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.

The United States Navy has played an essential role both in resolving conflicts and in peacekeeping throughout the entire history of the United States. Today, the US Navy, the world’s most powerful naval force, remains a critical tool of American foreign policy, and a key player in preserving geopolitical stability throughout the world. In The History of the United States Navy, Professor Craig L. Symonds brings alive the extraordinary saga of America’s naval forces, from the first naval shipbuilding on Lake Champlain in 1775 to the present age of nuclear-armed submarines.

In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.

Cyberspace is the 21st century’s greatest engine of change. Telecommunications, commercial and financial systems, government operations, food production - virtually every aspect of global civilization now depends on interconnected cyber systems to operate; systems that have helped advance medicine, streamline everyday commerce, and so much more.

For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the

Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the

Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.

In the 12 fascinating lectures of Warping Reality: Inside the Psychology of Cults, you will learn about some of the most widely known cults of modern times. But unlike any standard news reporting or documentary about the Peoples Temple, The Manson “Family,” The Branch Davidians, Heaven’s Gate, Children of God, the Unification Church, and NXIVM, your expert, Dr. Wind Goodfriend, will help you explore the psychology of these cults. How could these cult leaders have committed such heinous crimes under the guise of “helping” members in their development?

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.

Hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear about someone committing a violent, reprehensible, even evil, act. And each time it happens, before we know anything about the circumstances, we are already sure of one thing: We are nothing like that perpetrator. But how can we be so sure? After all, we are all human. In Understanding the Dark Side of Human Nature, Professor Daniel Breyer takes us on a fascinating philosophical journey into many of the deepest and darkest questions that have engaged humanity for millennia.

Thought experiments are “what if” scenarios that invite us to look carefully at how we think and view the world. They’ve been used throughout history by philosophers and other thinkers to explore our intuitions and ways of reasoning, to find solutions to problems, and to expand our knowledge of ourselves and the world. In these 24 eye-opening lectures, Professor Breyer takes you deeply into the historical tradition of thought experiments, shining a light on both the purpose and the outcomes of these compelling mental voyages.

Renowned interviewer David Barsamian showcases his unique access to Chomsky's thinking on a number of topics of contemporary and historical import. Chomsky offers insights into the institutions that shape the public mind in the service of power and profit. In an interview conducted after the important November 1999 "Battle in Seattle", Chomsky discusses prospects for building a movement to challenge corporate domination of the media, the environment, and even our private lives.

For millennia, philosophers and scientists have been trying to unlock the secrets of the mind with only limited success—until now. Today, with modern technologies including the best in neuroscience, medical imaging, and recent advances in artificial intelligence, we are making more progress than ever before. In Introduction to Cognitive Science, Professor Thad A. Polk takes you on a fascinating tour of the latest discoveries in the relatively new field of cognitive science. In 24 exciting lectures, Professor Polk shares dozens of the most challenging questions in cognitive science today.

In the 12 fascinating and action-oriented lectures of Treating Anxiety, Dr. Ellen Hendriksen describes the causes and symptoms of numerous anxiety disorders—from generalized anxiety disorder to social anxiety to panic. In her calming manner, and always backed by rigorous scientific studies, she will give you numerous tools and exercises you can employ immediately to help treat your own anxiety. After all, few of us are in danger of being eaten by a bear these days and, as Dr. Henricksen points out, we don’t want to spend our lives hiding in the metaphorical cave.

From spirituality to politics and science, the occult has had an astonishing influence on the human experience across the centuries. It may surprise you to learn that everyday activities like attending church services or reading your daily horoscope all fit the broad definition of the occult. As you will see in the 24 illuminating episodes of Secrets of the Occult, the mystic and obscure are threaded through our ordinary lives in more ways than you may realize.

Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.

10 interview-based episodes that take ancient designs and applies them to modern lives. Your expert is Prince EA, an artist and inspirational speaker who’s spent the greater part of his career thinking about the ancient world.

Throughout the 24 lectures of Banned Books, Burned Books: Forbidden Literary Works, author and book critic Professor Maureen Corrigan of Georgetown University will take you on a tour of some of the most challenged and controversial works of literature, from the plays of Shakespeare to 21st-century best-sellers—even including the dictionary and classic fairy tales. You will trace the history, in the United States and Great Britain, of the challenges to books, the censoring of books, book bans, and even burnings.

What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.

“Who are you?” Chances are you’d answer this question by describing the highlights of your personality and life experiences. But if you’d been asked this same question yesterday, you might have responded with a slightly different description. Does that mean you are a particular person today but were a different person yesterday? And what about tomorrow? Welcome to the slippery, shape-shifting nature of memory. As Professor Gabrielle Principe reveals, “you” are the conglomeration of the often-unreliable information your brain decides to feed you at any given moment.

In a field known for startling ideas, the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics may take the prize. It holds that parallel to our own world are a large number of other universes, almost identical to ours but with small variations. Copies of each of us inhabit a myriad of these worlds. But they are not us exactly; they share our past history, but they are different people who have unique futures. Although these realms are invisible and can’t communicate with each other, prominent physicists are convinced they must exist.

Sophie Largen has made it her passion project to help motivate and encourage others by providing tips for efficient cleaning, organizing, and productivity. This practical guide will walk you through decluttering your spaces step by step. It will help you work through common pitfalls, and it will provide you with a plan for success for achieving a simplified—and more joyous—life.