July 17, 2024

The Best YouTube Channels for Audiobooks

There are thousands of free audiobooks on YouTube! In fact, there are many channels dedicated to just audiobooks. In this blog post, we’re going to be highlighting some of the best YouTube channels for audiobooks.

Many of the audiobooks on YouTube are illegal or questionable related to copyright. For various reasons, we can’t link to those audiobooks. But there are a number of YouTube channels that feature legally free audiobooks that have been professionally recorded. These are the audiobook channels that we’ll feature below. Most of these free audiobooks are in the public domain.

If you’re familiar with audiobooks online, you’ve probably heard of Librivox.org. The website features public-domain audiobooks that are narrated by volunteers, with varying narration quality. Because these audiobooks have an open copyright license, many channels have re-uploaded these audiobooks to YouTube. Because the quality is all over the place, we won’t list all the channels that link to Librivox audiobooks, but we will list a few of the largest channels that do so:

LibriVox Audiobooks – This is the official LibriVox YouTube channel with over 25,000 videos uploaded!

Audio Books – This channel called simply “Audio Books” features over 10,000 of Librivox’s audiobooks to choose from.

Greatest AudioBooks – This channel features about 1,000 of Librivox’s most popular audiobooks. Their channel has almost 1 million subscribers.

But beyond Librivox audiobooks, there are numerous channels that feature professional narrators reading public domain audiobooks and even some more recent audiobooks that have been licensed out to the channel. Here are some of the best channels we’ve found:

1. Master Key Society – For classic self-improvement audiobooks, it doesn’t get much better than Master Key Society. With over 50 free audiobooks and over a million subscribers, this is one of the most popular audiobook YouTube channels. We’ve recently added most of these audiobooks to our own Free Audiobooks Collection and you can browse them here: Master Key Society Free Self-Help Audiobooks on LearnOutLoud.com. You’ll find classic self-help books from Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, Florence Shinn, and many other pioneers in self-help. One cool feature of these videos is that they provide a visual of the text page-by-page from the book so you can read along while you listen.

2. Aneko Press – Christian Audiobooks – If you’re looking for Christian audiobooks, then Aneko Press is probably the best YouTube channel to find some. They have over 100 professionally narrated Christian audiobooks on their channel. You’ll find numerous audiobooks from famous Christian authors like John Bunyan, Andrew Murray, A.W. Tozer, Charles H. Spurgeon, Dwight L. Moody, and many others. We’ve also added many of these audiobooks to our own Free Audiobooks Collection and you can browse them here: Aneko Press Free Christian Audiobooks on LearnOutLoud.com.

3. LearnOutLoud Audiobooks – Not to toot our own horn, but we have uploaded most of our published audiobooks to our YouTube channel. For all of these audiobooks, we hired professional narrators and recorded them in our own studio. We feature 30 audiobooks that you can listen to which you can find on this YouTube playlist: 30 Free Audio Books on Our LearnOutLoud YouTube Channel. These educational titles are all classics in the public domain.

4. Vox Stoica – This narrator Robin Homer has dedicated his YouTube channel to narrating classics in Stoic philosophy. His popular channel features readings from philosophers like Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus. His narration of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius has over 3 million views!

5. Magpie Audio – Narrator Greg Wagland runs this channel called Magpie Audio, which features mostly Sherlock Holmes stories, along with other classic novels and short stories that he’s read. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes, then this channel is the place to go! Wagland provides excellent British narration to his audiobooks.

And those are really the best channels for legally free audiobooks we’ve found. If we find more, we’ll add them to this blog post.

One other channel that we wanted to point out is the Google Play Books YouTube channel. This recent channel from Google features over 150,000 audio samples of various audiobooks from all the major publishers. The samples have a range of lengths, but many of them are over an hour long, providing you with a great way to decide on your next audiobook listen. And if you go into their “Playlists” section, they even have some free full public domain audiobooks narrated by artificial intelligence voices to try out.

Over 150,000 Audiobook Samples from Google Play Books on YouTube

If you’re looking for some free audiobooks, there are plenty of audiobooks to listen to on YouTube!

June 27, 2024

200 New Free Educational Documentaries in Our Free Documentaries Collection

One great thing about documentaries is that you almost always learn something new while watching them. And with sites like YouTube and Tubi TV there are thousands of free educational documentaries to choose from. We’ve tried to pick out some of the best free documentaries to add to our Free Documentaries Collection, and we now feature over 1,500 documentaries which you can browse in many categories:

Browse Over 1,500 Documentaries in Our LearnOutLoud.com Free Documentaries Collection

And you might also want to check out our YouTube playlist of over 300 of the best documentaries on YouTube:

300 Best Documentaries on YouTube Playlist

We’ve recently added 200 new free educational documentaries to our documentaries collection. About 50 of them are from Tubi TV and 150 of them are from YouTube. We’ll list all these documentaries with some brief descriptions below. Note that if you’re outside of the United States you might not be able to view some of these documentaries. Without further ado, here are 200 free documentaries you can watch. We’ll list them by year, from the latest documentaries to the oldest ones we’ve added.

20 Days in Mariupol (2023) – Harrowing documentary from last year covering the the ground-level reality of the siege of Mariupol, Ukraine over the first 20 days of the Russian invasion. The movie won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at the 96th Academy Awards.

The Last Repair Shop (2023) – This 40-minute documentary about a musical instrument repair shop won the best short documentary at the 2024 Academy Awards.

I Have Arrived, I Am Home (2023) – Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh passed away in January of 2022 and this documentary commemorates his life.

Nuclear Now (2022) – Oliver Stone’s recent documentary arguing for nuclear energy to curb the global warming crisis.

A Cloud Never Dies (2022) – A biographical documentary on Thich Nhat Hanh, narrated by actor Peter Coyote.

Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free (2021) – New footage and interviews about the making of Tom Petty’s 1992 album Wildflowers.

The Queen of Basketball (2021) – This 20-minute documentary on female basketball legend Lusia Harris won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.

Mentality (2021) – Documentary on mental health and its treatment in the present day.

Life in a Day 2020 (2021) – Relive the horrors of 2020 in this follow-up documentary to the 2010 version of Life in a Day.

Yogananda and the Kriya Yoga Masters (2020) – Documentary on Paramahansa Yogananda and the masters that influenced him. Yogananda penned the bestselling spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi.

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020) – Sequel to the popular documentary The Corporation from 2003. Documents more corporate misbehavior in the past 20 years.

The Mindfulness Movement (2020) – By now everybody has heard of mindfulness. This documentary covers the movement featuring key figures that helped to popularize it like Deepak Chopra, Dan Harris, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Daniel Goleman, and Sharon Salzberg.

Netflix vs. the World (2020) – Documentary on the rise and rise of Netflix! Based on the 2012 book Netflixed: The Epic Battle For America’s Eyeballs.

Cryptopia (2020) – Documentary on bitcoin and blockchain that makes an attempt to understand this new decentralized web.

Colette (2020) – 25-minute film on the life of 90-year-old French Resistance fighter Colette Marin-Catherine. This film won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.

The Rise of Jordan Peterson (2019) – Public intellectual Jordan Peterson skyrocketed to fame in 2016 with his battle against political correctness and this documentary chronicles that time in Peterson’s life.

The Booksellers (2019) – Documentary on rare book dealers in New York City.

Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019) – Celebrates the great cinemas of yesteryear throughout the United States and how these movie palaces evolved over the last 100 years.

Decoding da Vinci (2019) – PBS NOVA documentary that looks at the science behind Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces.

Armstrong (2019) – Documentary on the life of Neil Armstrong from his humble beginnings in rural Ohio to his famous steps on the Moon.

2040 (2019) – A hopeful look at the year 2040 if we take up solutions to improve our planet.

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael (2018) – Documentary on the life of renowned film critic Pauline Kael, and the influence her opinions had on the movies.

The Panama Papers (2018) – The Panama Papers were leaked documents that exposed widespread tax evasion and money laundering. Director Alex Winter highlights their importance in this documentary.

The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story (2018) – A documentary film about the Nickelodeon Network!

The God Who Speaks (2018) – Documentary examines whether God is real and if He speaks to us in the present day, featuring many respected biblical scholars.

The City That Sold America (2018) – How Chicago came to influence modern advertising at the dawn of the 20th century.

NOVA: Addiction (2018) – PBS NOVA documentary on opioid addiction and the science behind treating it.

Living in the Future’s Past (2018) – Actor Jeff Bridges narrates this documentary featuring scientists that take a look at the future of Earth’s living creatures.

Zig: You Were Born to Win (2017) – The life of motivational speaker Zig Ziglar and those he helped to inspire.

The Soul of Success: The Jack Canfield Story (2017) – The inspirational life of Jack Canfield and his Chicken Soup for the Soul book series.

The Red Pill (2017) – Feminist filmmaker Cassie Jaye examines the Men’s Rights Movement and changes her thinking in the process.

Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo (2017) – Documentary covering a decade of Mission Control as it guided astronauts through the Apollo space missions.

Maximum Achievement: The Brian Tracy Story (2017) – Documentary on the life of self-help author Brian Tracy.

I Am Not Your Negro (2017) – A documentary adaption of James Baldwin’s uncompleted book Remember This House. Narrated by actor Samuel L. Jackson, this film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Fittest on Earth: A Decade of Fitness (2017) – Get motivated to move with this documentary on the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games.

The Occupation of the American Mind (2016) – Documentary examines the propaganda efforts used by Israel to win over Americans for its cause in the occupation of Palestinian land.

The Coming War on China (2016) – Journalist John Pilger looks at the potential coming war between China and the United States.

Sour Grapes (2016) – Documentary about wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan.

Shadows of Paradise (2016) – Documentary on Transcendental Meditation and its new leaders – iconic filmmaker David Lynch and dedicated disciple Bobby Roth.

Score: A Film Music Documentary (2016) – Documentary about film scores featuring many great film composers, including Hans Zimmer, James Cameron, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Quincy Jones, Trent Reznor, Howard Shore, Rachel Portman, Thomas Newman, Randy Newman, and more.

Pet Fooled (2016) – Where does your pet food come from? Find out with this revealing documentary.

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016) – The first of many Werner Herzog documentaries we added. In this one, Herzog examines the online world with his own unique observations.

Greed: A Fatal Desire (2016) – DW Documentary from Germany on the global impact of greed.

Food Choices (2016) – Looks at the repercussions of the food choices we make.

Dying Laughing (2016) – A look at the lives of stand-up comedians.

Chicken People (2016) – A fun documentary on the competitive world of champion show chicken breeders.

California Typewriter (2016) – Documentary examining the mythology attached to the typewriter.

Betting on Zero (2016) – Investigation of the Herbalife pyramid scheme.

American Street Kid (2016) – A look at homeless youth in Los Angeles.

The Witness (2015) – An in-depth look at the story of Kitty Genovese and the 38 witnesses that allegedly watched her being murdered.

The Brainwashing of My Dad (2015) – We all have some older relatives that have been brainwashed by the rise of right-wing media. This is one of those stories.

The Babushkas of Chernobyl (2015) – Award-winning documentary on 100 women who stayed in the Chernobyl radioactive “Exclusion Zone”.

Racing Extinction (2015) – Documentary investigating the urgent race to save endangered species.

Origins (2015) – How can we coexist with nature? This documentary takes a look.

My Scientology Movie (2015) – British journalist Louis Theroux sets out to explain the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.

Minimalism (2015) – Popular Netflix documentary made free on YouTube about minimalists who live meaningfully with less.

Being Evel (2015) – The life of daredevil Evel Knievel!

All Things Must Pass (2015) – The rise and fall of Tower Records, from its humble beginnings in 1960 to its rapid decline in the 21st century.

The Secrets of Quantum Physics (2014) – Theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili tells the complex story of quantum physics.

The Man Who Saved the World (2014) – Documentary about Stanislav Petrov who prevented a nuclear war.

The Hacker Wars (2014) – A film about the targeting of hacktivists and journalists by the U.S. government.

The Barkley Marathons (2014) – Documentary about a grueling race in Tennessee that has only seen 10 finishers in its first 25 years.

That Sugar Film (2014) – Documentarian Damon Gameau looks at the effects of sugar on the human body.

Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines (2014) – A look at psychedelic medicines and their potential to heal.

Manny (2014) – Documentary on the life of Manny Pacquiao, Filipino politician and former professional boxer.

Life Itself (2014) – Documentary on the beloved film critic Roger Ebert, filmed late in his life by acclaimed director Steve James.

Kindness Is Contagious (2014) – A feel-good documentary about being nice and the benefits of being nice.

Kidnapped for Christ (2014) – Documents a Christian boarding school in the Dominican Republic that isn’t quite what it seems.

Fed Up (2014) – Takes another look at the recommendations for nutrition in America, and how the public has often been mislead.

Citizenfour (2014) – Academy Award-winning documentary about whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Children of the Light (2014) – Tells the life story of Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

Bending the Light (2014) – Acclaimed director Michael Apted takes a revealing look at the art of filmmaking & photography.

An Honest Liar (2014) – The story of renowned magician turned skeptic James “The Amazing” Randi.

Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory (2014) – A documentary examining music therapy and its effects on elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Visitors (2013) – Director Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass continue their non-spoken narrative experience.

Trespassing Bergman (2013) – A group of filmmakers visit Ingmar Bergman’s house on a remote Swedish island to discuss his legacy. Filmmakers interviewed include Lars Von Trier, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Isabella Rossellini, and Michael Haneke.

The Unbelievers (2013) – Richard Dawkins and Lawrence M. Krauss promote their agenda of science and reason.

The Square (2013) – Documentary on the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The Overnighters (2013) – In the time of fracking, job-seekers descend on the tiny oil boom town of Williston, North Dakota. A pastor is there to help them out, but challenges arise.

Our Nixon (2013) – Newly uncovered Super 8 home movies filmed by Richard Nixon’s closest aides.

Narco Cultura (2013) – Documentary on the Mexican drug war and the music it inspires.

Living on One Dollar (2013) – Four young friends set out to live on just $1 a day for two months in rural Guatemala.

LIs the Man Who Is Tall Happy? (2013) – Director Michel Gondry interviews Noam Chomsky mostly about linguistics.

I Know That Voice (2013) – Lovers of audio books might enjoy this documentary that peeks into the world of voice acting.

Desert Runners (2013) – Follows a group of runners as they compete in ultra-marathon races through the desert.

Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013) – Go to a land way down under with this documentary of life in Antarctica and what it’s like to live there.

Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory (2012) – The story of Allegheny Observatory in Pennsylvania.

The Woman Who Wasn’t There (2012) – The story of Tania Head, the 9/11 survivor who wasn’t even there!

The Revisionaries (2012) – The story of the controversial Texas State Board of Education.

The Perfect Human Diet (2012) – Documentary that purports to have found the authentic human diet.

Somm (2012) – Four sommeliers attempt to pass the prestigious Master Sommelier exam, a test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world.

Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012) – A look at the East Coast/West Coast battle for dominance in the world of hip hop, hosted by Ice-T.

Meditation, Creativity, Peace (2012) – Follows filmmaker David Lynch around the globe as he talks about creativity and Transcendental Meditation.

Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (2012) – A close look at Serbian conceptual and performance artist Marina Abramovic.

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance (2012) – Documentary on the Joffrey Ballet company of Chicago.

Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds (2012) – Get in touch with the one vibratory field that connects all things.

Free the Mind (2012) – Professor Richie Davidson studies the effects of Tibetan meditation practice.

Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie (2012) – The inside story of Morton Downey, Jr., the “Father of Trash Television”.

Dinotasia (2012) – Documentary about dinosaurs.

Craigslist Joe (2012) – Remember Craigslist? Throwback documentary to a guy that tries to survive solely on Craigslist.

Children of the Stars (2012) – Documentary on the Unarius UFO Cult in California that created their own sci-fi films.

B.B. King: The Life of Riley (2012) – The great blues musician B.B. King tells his story.

A Place at the Table (2012) – Exposes the growing epidemic of hunger in the United States, and how we can fix it.

You Laugh But It’s True (2011) – Comedian Trevor Noah creates a one-man show in South Africa.

Vince Lombardi: A Football Life (2011) – The story of legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi who took his teams to win numerous championships.

The War of 1812 (2011) – Public television documentary on The War of 1812, when the United States declared war on Britain.

The Loving Story (2011) – HBO documentary on the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, which led to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on interracial marriage.

Samsara (2011) – Great non-narrative documentary directed by Ron Fricke, filmed over five years in 25 countries.

Kumare (2011) – Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi pretends to be an enlightened guru named Kumare and gains disciples.

How to Die in Oregon (2011) – Documentary on Oregon’s controversial Death with Dignity Act, which legalized physician-assisted death for those who are terminally ill.

Hot Coffee (2011) – Documentary about the impact of tort reform on the United States judicial system.

Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (2011) – Tibetan Buddhism is brought to America thanks in large part through the story of Chogyam Trungpa.

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope (2011) – Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock heads to San Diego Comic-Con in 2010 to find out what it’s all about.

Bob Ross: The Happy Painter (2011) – The story of beloved painter Bob Ross and his success on public television.

Blank City (2011) – The story of No Wave Cinema in New York City in the late 1970’s through the mid 80’s.

5 Broken Cameras (2011) – A Palestinian farmer’s chronicles his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.

We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918 (2010) – The story of the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 million people.

The Parking Lot Movie (2010) – Curious documentary about a parking lot and the people that work there.

The Elephant in the Living Room (2010) – Documentary about having dangerous animals as household pets.

Stonewall Uprising (2010) – PBS American Experience documentary on the Stonewall riots that marked a turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement in the United States.

Countdown to Zero (2010) – Explores the current state of nuclear arms around the world with an urgent plea for getting rid of them.

Carbon Nation (2010) – Aims to provide solutions to the current climate change crisis.

Beer Wars (2009) – A look at the battle between large corporate breweries and the smaller producers of craft beer.

Winnebago Man (2009) – The story of viral Internet sensation Jack Rebney, a.k.a. “The Winnebago Man”.

Which Way Home (2009) – Documentary following Central American child migrants and their journey to the United States.

The Cartel (2009) – A hard look at the American public school system.

Tapped (2009) – The story of the true cost of bottled water.

Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue (2009) – Documentary that looks at the appeal of horror films, featuring great directors of the genre like Joe Dante, John Carpenter, and George A. Romero.

Fresh (2009) – A documentary about sustainable agriculture and how to change the American food system.

Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2008) – Documentary on the life of the talented cellist, composer, producer, singer, and musician Arthur Russell.

The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2008) – PBS American Experience documentary on the troubled life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped to bring about the atomic bomb.

I Think We’re Alone Now (2008) – The story of two fans obsessed with the 80’s pop singer Tiffany.

Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008) – The story of the two famous Los Angeles gangs and how they came to be.

Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary (2008) – A documentary on documentaries, featuring many notable documentary filmmakers.

Sicko (2007) – Filmmaker Michael Moore takes on the abysmal American healthcare system.

Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains (2007) – Documentary by Jonathan Demme on former president Jimmy Carter.

Chicago 10 (2007) – Acclaimed filmmaker Brett Morgen makes an animated documentary about the radicals charged with crimes during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? (2006) – Many notable people weigh in about the life of musician Harry Nilsson.

When Stand Up Stood Out (2006) – A look at the Boston stand-up comedy scene in the ’70s and early ’80s.

Lake of Fire (2006) – Outstanding documentary on the abortion issue in the United States directed by Tony Kaye.

Deliver Us from Evil (2006) – Documentary about an Irish priest who molested children, and the lengths the Catholic Church went to cover it up.

The Aristocrats (2005) – 100 renowned comedians attempt to tell the same dirty joke.

The End (2004) – A look at the end of life covering hospice care. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Kirby Dick.

Wheel of Time (2004) – Director Werner Herzog takes a look at Tibetan Buddhism with interviews of the Dalai Lama.

Word Wars (2004) – Fans of the board game Scrabble might enjoy this documentary on a Scrabble convention.

Step into Liquid (2003) – Surfing documentary that seeks out surfing some of the world’s largest waves.

Overnight (2003) – Incredible documentary on egomaniac filmmaker Troy Duffy as he makes The Boondock Saints (1999).

Bonhoeffer (2003) – Documentary on German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who resisted the Nazi regime.

Bowling for Columbine (2003) – Filmmaker Michael Moore points his camera at the gun violence problem in America.

My Best Fiend (1999) – Werner Herzog’s documentary on the crazed actor Klaus Kinski, who he collaborated with many times.

Genghis Blues (1999) – Documentary on blind American singer Paul Pena who pursues his interest in Tuvan throat singing. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) – The third film in Penelope Spheeris’s Decline of Western Civilization trilogy covers homeless teens in Los Angeles living as gutter punks and doing what they can to survive.

Trekkies (1997) – Classic documentary covering the devoted fans of Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek.

The Long Way Home (1997) – Documentary about Jewish refugees after World War II that contributed to the creation of the State of Israel. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam (1996) – Nick Broomfield’s documentary on Heidi Fleiss and her infamous prostitution ring.

Trinity: Getting The Job Done (1995) – PBS documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first atomic detonation.

Lessons of Darkness (1992) – Werner Herzog’s apocalyptic documentary covering the burning oil fields of post-Gulf War Kuwait.

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992) – Nick Broomfield’s first documentary on serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

Echoes from a Sombre Empire (1990) – Werner Herzog’s documentary examining Jean-Bedel Bokassa’s rule in the Central African Republic.

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) – Tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988) – The second film in Penelope Spheeris’s Decline of Western Civilization trilogy covers the Los Angeles metal scene often with hilarious results.

Heaven (1987) – Diane Keaton’s directorial debut is a documentary about heaven and what people think heaven is.

What Happened to Kerouac? (1986) – Portrait of poet Jack Kerouac, who was considered the father of the Beat Generation.

The Last Moguls (1986) – This is a priceless document of Cannon Films at the height of their power in 1986.

Distant Harmony: Pavarotti in China (1986) – Documentary covering Luciano Pavarotti’s 1986 trip to China to perform La Boheme.

The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1985) – Werner Herzog follows mountaineers Hans Kammerlander and Reinhold Messner during their dangerous expedition.

Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) – Werner Herzog documentary about children soldiers in Nicaragua.

The Chicken Ranch (1983) – Nick Broomfield’s documentary about this legal brothel in Nevada.

Fun to Imagine (1983) – Documentary featuring physicist Richard P. Feynman.

Flamenco at 5:15 (1983) – Documentary on a flamenco dance class at the National Ballet School of Canada. The film won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) – The original film in Penelope Spheeris’s Decline of Western Civilization trilogy covers the Los Angeles punk scene at its peak.

God’s Angry Man (1981) – Werner Herzog covers the controversial televangelist Gene Scott.

Genocide (1981) – Documentary on the history of the Holocaust, narrated by Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor. The film won the Oscar for for Best Documentary Feature.

Nuclear Nightmares: The Wars That Must Never Happen (1980) – Documentary on the world’s nuclear weaponry, made at a heightened point in the Cold War.

The War at Home (1979) – Oscar-nominated documentary about the increasingly violent Vietnam War protests from 1963 to 1973.

From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China (1979) – Portrays the famous violinist and music teacher Isaac Stern as the first American musician to collaborate with the China Central Symphony Society. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Budo: The Art of Killing (1979) – Learn about martial arts in Japan with this classic documentary.

Hollywood on Trial (1976) – Documentary on the history of the Hollywood blacklist in the mid-20th century.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1975) – Documentary about Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese alpinist who skied down Mount Everest in 1970. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Marjoe (1972) – Documentary about preacher Marjoe Gortner who returns to the ministry to make a living, even though he’s no longer a believer. The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) – Early Werner Herzog documentary on an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence.

Fata Morgana (1971) – Experimental Herzog documentary on mirages in the Sahara and Sahel deserts.

Chariots of the Gods (1970) – The only ancient aliens documentary we will feature on our site because it was the original! And it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Saul Alinsky Went to War (1968) – Documentary on radical activist Saul Alinsky.

The Decision to Drop the Bomb (1965) – An old NBC News documentary on the decision to drop the first atomic bomb.

David Susskind Archive: Interview With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963) – An extended interview with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963.

Mondo Cane (1962) – Italian mondo documentary designed to shock you!

Sky Above and Mud Beneath (1961) – French documentary on a trek into Dutch New Guinea in 1959. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Plenty of popular and award-winning films to choose from! Hopefully you found one that sparks your interest!

May 19, 2024

Listen to 250 of the Best Public Radio Interviews from Terry Gross and Studs Terkel

Before Joe Rogan or Marc Maron or any of the dozens of popular interview podcasts currently available, there was Terry Gross hosting Fresh Air on National Public Radio. Since 1975, Gross has been interviewing authors, artists, and entertainers about their latest works, along with many other notable people. She’s interviewed thousands of people in the past 50 years, and these interviews have been collected on the Fresh Air Archive Website. We recently went through the entire archive and picked out over 200 interviews from some of her most notable guests to feature on LearnOutLoud.com in our Free Audio & Video Directory. You can browse all the interviews we added here:

Over 200 of The Best of Fresh Air Interviews

And before Terry Gross and Fresh Air, there was veteran radio broadcaster Studs Terkel. Studs had his own public radio program out of WFMT in Chicago from 1952 to 1997. In his one-hour radio show, The Studs Terkel Program, he also interviewed thousands of people, from everyday working people to notable authors, artists, entertainers, and more. In 2016 the Studs Terkel Radio Archive was created, which features the high-quality digitization of more than 1,000 audio tapes of Terkel’s programs. We recently went through this entire archive and picked out about 40 of the best radio interviews he conducted to add to our Free Audio & Video Directory. You can browse them here:

Over 40 of The Best Studs Terkel Radio Interviews

These two high-quality radio archives provide an incredible history of voices from the past 60 years. It’s quite a time capsule to listen to these recordings and get into the minds of notable figures from yesteryear with the help of incredible interviewers like Terry Gross and Studs Terkel!

April 19, 2024

3,000 Best Free Movies on YouTube Playlist

I’ve created a massive YouTube playlist of over 3,000 of the best free movies on YouTube on our LearnOutLoud YouTube Channel. You can browse the entire playlist at the link below:

3,000 Best Free Movies on YouTube Playlist

Now, this took a lot of time, so let me explain. Besides LearnOutLoud.com, I also started a free movie website, which has been a failure to date, so much so that I won’t even mention its name. But all along, I’ve been gathering this huge playlist of the best free movies on our YouTube channel. So this playlist is literally over five years in the making, and I’ve decided to organize it and make it public.

Now there are hundreds of thousands of free movies on YouTube, so let me tell you some of the criterion by which these movies were added to this playlist. First, the movies had to be legally free on YouTube either from YouTube’s official Movies and TV channel, from a YouTube channel legally distributing the movie, or from a movie on YouTube that is in the public domain. I’ve done my best to pick out highly rated and reviewed feature-length movies from a variety of genres throughout film history, going back to the silent movies and up to the best new movies on YouTube.

Almost all of these movies are free with ads on them. If you subscribe to YouTube Premium, you won’t have to watch ads on any of them, and you can download them for offline viewing. Also, note that if you are outside of the United States, you’re not going to see over 3,000 movies on the playlist. Because of territory restrictions, all of the movies on YouTube’s official Movies and TV channel won’t show up on the playlist for those outside of the USA. But there still should be hundreds of movies with worldwide rights that you can see on the playlist and watch for free. And, like any streaming service, the rights to these movies change frequently, especially on YouTube’s official Movies and TV channel. So if you see a movie you really want to watch, then check it out soon!

I’ll do my utmost to keep updating the playlist with the best newly added movies as they become available. I’m subscribed to dozens of free movie channels, and I also check YouTube’s official Movies and TV channel frequently for new movies. If you have a YouTube account, YouTube also allows you to save a playlist. So feel free to save the playlist so you can go back to it when you’re looking for a movie to watch.

Also, here are a few notes on browsing the playlist. I’ve sorted the playlist by “Date published (newest)”, which means it is sorted by the movies that were added to YouTube most recently. I’ve found that the YouTube mobile app only allows you to browse up to about 2,000 of the movies on the playlist. So if you want to browse the full playlist you’ll need to do so on your laptop or desktop computer.

And more related to LearnOutLoud, I’ve also created a YouTube playlist of over 300 of the Best Documentaries on YouTube in 2024. You can check out that playlist here:

Best Documentaries on YouTube in 2024 Playlist

And check out our blog post about these documentaries here:

300 Best Documentaries on YouTube in 2024 Blog Post

Hopefully, gathering all these movies together will help you find some free movies worth watching!

April 11, 2024

Audio & Video Learning Bibliotherapy for Depression & Anxiety

In this blog post, I’m going to talk about the potential benefits of audio & video learning as a therapy for dealing with depression & anxiety. Having experienced several episodes of major depression & anxiety in my lifetime, I wanted to share this method of coping with depression that has been very helpful to me since it ties in with our site LearnOutLoud.com. If you’ve heard of the psychotherapy term bibliotherapy or book therapy, then audio & video learning therapy is basically the same thing. It just combines listening to self-help audio books with listening to other sorts of audio programs, podcasts, and videos on the topic of depression & anxiety. I’ll be highlighting many of the very best audio books, podcasts, and videos I’ve listened to that deal with topics of depression & anxiety in this blog post.

There are unlimited methods for dealing with depression & anxiety: medication, talking therapy, exercise, meditation, diet & supplements, etc. The list goes on and on. Bibliotherapy has been shown to be one effective method in treating depression & anxiety, and it basically is the therapy of reading self-help books and books that deal with depression and anxiety. One of the great benefits of this type of therapy is that it is very affordable and can be implemented immediately. One challenge that I have with bibliotherapy when I’ve been in a depression or feel an episode of depression coming on is that I find it very hard to sit in a chair and read a book. I’ve found that listening to audio books or podcasts or videos while I’m walking outside or working out at the gym or driving to be much easier at these times than sitting down and reading a book.

While listening to audio books or talks about depression and anxiety might sound depressing, I’ve found it to be quite supportive in helping to learn about what I’m experiencing and to gain perspective on the situation. If you’ve experienced one or more episodes of clinical depression, you really owe it to yourself to become an expert on depression (especially your own). And by learning about it, you’ll know that you’re very much not alone (approximately 20 million Americans will experience depression this year), and you’ll learn more about how your depression is similar or different to others who experience the disorder. When I’m in an episode of depression, I find I can hardly focus on anything else, so I might as well learn as much as I can about depression and anxiety! Depression usually gets better with time, and an audio & video learning method of bibliotherapy can help to cope with the slow and painful passage of time in depression. As I’ve grown older (I’m in my 40s now), I’ve become fairly skilled at preventing depressive episodes, coping with my depression, and making depressive episodes last as short as I possibly can. Combining bibliotherapy with audio & video learning has been one tool in my toolbox for helping to manage this complex mood disorder.

Over the course of my adult years I’ve listened to dozens of audio books on depression & anxiety and hundreds of talks whether they’re videos, podcasts, or audio programs of recorded talks. As with all self help audio books, podcasts, and videos, some of them were very helpful and some were mostly garbage. I’ll highlight some of the best of these titles that I’ve listened to over the course of my lifetime, starting with audio books. Not all of these are necessarily considered self help, but I generally consider all books on the topic of depression & anxiety to be self help, if they are helping you to learn more about the disorder.

Best Audio Books on Depression & Anxiety:

1. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Abridged) and The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (Unabridged) by Andrew Solomon – One of the most comprehensive books on depression ever written is Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon. I’ve listened to both the abridged version, which is narrated by Andrew Solomon, and the unabridged version. The unabridged version is 22 hours long, so if that is too daunting, maybe start with the 6-hour abridged version. The book won the 2001 National Book Award and covers depression from many cultural, scientific, and historical angles. But most importantly, it covers Andrew Solomon’s own intimate struggles with his severe major depressive episodes. Solomon is a great writer and he’s able to articulate the experience of depression in ways that few other writers have. For the book, he interviewed countless individuals on their struggles with depression, and you’ll come away with a great many insights into the experience of the disorder.

2. Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You by Dr. Richard O’Connor – I’ve listened to this audio book multiple times and return to it frequently. This self help book on depression is written by Dr. Richard O’Connor who is a practicing psychotherapist. Dr. O’Connor is a suicide survivor (his mother committed suicide when he was 15) along with a sufferer of depression himself, and he knows depression from the inside out. This book is a guide to depression and ways to treat it. It also focuses a lot on the many ways to prevent episodes of depression, which is as important, if not more so, than learning ways to treat yourself while in depression. First published in 1997, it has a new 2021 audio book version that is revised and updated for life in the 21st century.

3. Darkness Visible: A Memoir of Madness by William Styron – The great American writer William Styron (he wrote Sophie’s Choice published in 1979) suffered a major bout of depression when he was 60 years old in 1985. After recovering, he wrote this short memoir of his descent into depression, which was published in 1990. This audio book is narrated by William Styron himself, and in two short hours Styron vividly portrays the experience of a major depressive episode. It’s a must-listen for anyone who has experienced depression and is highly recommended for everyone to listen to for a greater understanding of what clinical depression is.

4. The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without Drugs by Dr. Stephen S. Ilardi – Very bold to call your book The Depression Cure. I like it! This audio book has some good alternatives to medication that Dr. Ilardi prescribes, which he calls Therapeutic Lifestyle Change. Drawing from research that modern-day hunter-gatherer groups have almost no incidence of depression, Dr. Ilardi compared their lifestyle to our modern-day lifestyle and came up with some major differences that have led to today’s epidemic of depression. He guides us through his program, which involves goal-oriented exercise, fish oil supplementation, plenty of natural sunlight, ample sleep, social connections, and participation in meaningful tasks that leave little time for negative thoughts. He may oversimplify things in his “cure,” and his suggestions might work more for people with milder depressive episodes, but it’s good advice. If you want to watch a 1 Hr. 45 Min. talk he gave on the audio book you can check it out here: Stephen Ilardi: Therapeutic Lifestyle Change for Depression.

5. Depression: What Everyone Needs to Know – This is a recent primer on depression written by Professor of Psychology Jonathan Rottenberg and published in 2021. It’s not a bestseller but I found it to be a very straightforward up-to-date introduction on the causes of depression and what to do about it.

6. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari – This very popular audiobook written and read by Johann Hari deals with depression at more of a societal level confronting the epidemic of loneliness and lost communal connections we face. It reads more like an anecdotal 9-hour TED Talk than a science-based examination of depression. Nevertheless it has some interesting ideas in it that can help us out as individuals and as a society to deal with depression.

7. My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind by Scott Stossel – Episodes of depression often come with the comorbidity of anxiety. And author Scott Stossel has had his own struggles with anxiety disorders throughout his life. Much like Andrew Solomon’s The Noonday Demon, Scott Stossel sets out to explore the biological and cultural factors that contribute to anxiety, along with exploring the history of this affliction. If your depression comes with a hefty dose of anxiety, as mine does, then I recommend this audio book. If you wanna hear a talk about the book, then watch this YouTube video: Scott Stossel: My Age of Anxiety Book Talk.

8. Beat Depression – 50 Things You Can Do Today: An Easy Self-Help Guide by Paul Vincent – This is a short 2-hour audio book by a British fellow who suffered from depression named Paul Vincent who started a website on ways to beat depression and he’s compiled many of the things you can do in this little audio book. It’s not necessarily groundbreaking, but I found it to be practical and insightful. Some of the ideas you might find goofy, but some might be worth trying out. The weird thing about this cognitive-involved disorder known as depression is that the placebo effect often works. If you think that you feel better, then you often are better!

Best Audio Programs on Depression & Anxiety:

The Mindful Way Through Depression – This popular Sounds True audio program by Zindel Segal, Mark Williams, John Teasdale, and Jon Kabat-Zinn presents Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for dealing with and preventing depression. If you’d like a free 3-hour audio introduction to some of the ideas in this audio program check out The New Psychology of Depression by Danny Penman & Mark Williams who are co-authors of the book Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World. The New Psychology of Depression is offered free as a podcast from Oxford University.

Pema Chodron Audio Programs – If you’re open to Buddhist wisdom on dealing with suffering, then I can’t recommend highly enough the teachings of Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. She’s written many bestselling books that are on audio book, but I really recommend her original audio programs recorded at her retreats. When it comes to dealing with destruction emotions like fear, anger, grief, pain, guilt, anxiety, and depression, Pema Chodron is a master at conveying Buddhist wisdom on dealing with these forms of suffering. I’ve listened to almost all of her audio programs many times and a few of my favorites are Don’t Bite the Hook and Getting Unstuck. You certainly don’t have to be a practicing Buddhist to gain benefit from Pema’s teachings. Pema’s calming voice and teachings have helped me through many difficult days.

Hope and Help for Your Nerves, Pass Through Panic: Freeing Yourself From Anxiety and Fear, and Freedom from Nervous Suffering by Dr. Claire Weekes – Australian Dr. Claire Weekes wrote several books on dealing with anxiety disorders including the bestselling Hope and Help for Your Nerves (1962). While none of her actual books are on audio book, she did record these audio programs based on her books which are just as good. Even though they’re older recordings, they still ring true today with no-nonsense advice on dealing with nervous illness. These short audio programs are helpful to anyone suffering depression with anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, or generalized anxiety disorder.

Stress and Your Body Course from The Great Courses Taught by Stanford Professor Robert Sapolsky – Stress is obviously related to depression, and American neuroendocrinology researcher Robert Sapolsky is an expert on the biology of stress. He’s the author of the book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: The Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. Sapolsky is also a very engaging lecturer and back in 2010, The Great Courses released his course Stress and Your Body which covers the effects of stress on the body and the mind. The 12-hour course contains many of the ideas from his book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, and two of the lectures cover depression and another lecture covers anxiety. If you want to get a taste of Professor Sapolsky as a lecturer, check out his popular video lecture from Stanford University: Stanford’s Sapolsky On Depression in the U.S..

Best Videos on Depression & Anxiety:

Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Body Scan Meditation on YouTube – If you’ve suffered from depression and anxiety and you want to suffer less, then you’re probably gonna want to learn how to meditate. Regular meditation is a good thing to do in general, and if you’re in depression, it’s one of the easiest ways to slow down your mind and ease your constant negative thought patterns. I won’t go into all the audio programs that teach meditation (I’ve listened to dozens, and they’re not hard to find). However, I will present this guided meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. When in depression, I find it helpful to listen to guided meditations as opposed to just trying to meditate in silence. And this particular 45-minute body scan meditation works through focusing on all different parts of your body, I’ve listened to hundreds of times. It’s free on YouTube, but if you want to buy the audio program that this meditation is on along with some other meditations by Jon Kabat-Zinn you can get it here: Guided Mindfulness Meditation Series 1. There are thousands of other guided meditations out there, but I always return to this one. Kabat-Zinn sounds like actor Richard Gere soothingly guiding you through the most relaxing body scan of your life.

Charlie Rose Brain Series – Depression is a very complex mental illness. If you want to learn about the latest insights into it, you might as well learn about the brain as a whole and introduce yourself to the latest knowledge in neuroscience. 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. About ten years ago Charlie Rose sat down with Nobel Prize-winning psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Eric Kandel as they explored the pioneering discoveries of neuroscience over the course of over 20 episodes. In each episode Charlie and Dr. Kandel were joined by a roundtable of leading brain scientists and researchers to explore an aspect of neuroscience. All of the episodes are worth watching but a few ones related to depression are The Mentally Ill Brain, The Anxious Brain, and their episode dedicated specifically to Depression.

For some more free audio & video resources dealing with depression check out our blog post:

Help with Depression on Free Audio & Video

I hope this blog post helps you find some good audio & video learning resources to learn more about depression and anxiety and ways you prevent and cope with this mood disorder. Obviously bibliotherapy is no substitute for talk therapy or medication when it comes to depression & anxiety. If you think you’re in an episode of depression you should talk to a healthcare professional, psychiatrist, and/or psychotherapist.

I’ll keep adding to this blog post as I find more and better audio & video resources relating to depression & anxiety!