June 16, 2014

Free Videos Explaining How the Brain Works

The human mind is one of the last great mysteries that science has yet to fully understand. Learn the latest science with this list of free videos explaining how the brain works. Here LearnOutLoud.com has collected lectures from experts on the cutting edge of neuroscience research, including John Searle on freedom and neurobiology, the latest developments in our understanding of consciousness, and what scientists are doing to battle various addictions and mental disorders. Find out more on what makes the brain tick and where neuroscience is leading us in this up to the minute dispatch from the field of the mind:

1. The Origin of the Human Mind

In this streaming video Lecture from UCTV, cognitive scientist Martin Sereno gives us a survey of the brain’s evolution. With thorough visual aids, Sereno examines the difference between the human brain and that of other species, showcasing experiments he has conducted that have helped broaden our understanding of the physical mechanics behind human thought. The biggest question he poses is why our minds are so special, when organically the human brain is 99% similar to that of the primates. Learn why size doesn’t matter when it comes to brain power!

2. John Searle on Freedom and Neurobiology

In a thought-provoking lecture provided by Authors@Google on streaming video, philosopher John Searle discusses the perennial problem of human free will. Starting with the historical arguments associated with free will, Searle then points viewers to how quantum mechanical theories of a chaotic and ultimately indeterminate universe may provide some solution to the problem. Delivered with a sense of fun and respect for the novice, Searle’s lecture is a must for anyone that wonders about the full nature of human choice and whether or not any of our decisions can truly be considered our own. It is available on streaming video through YouTube.

3. The Neuroscience of Consciousness, Perception, and Self

While covering the Iraq war in 2006, TV news Journalist Bob Woodruff suffered a traumatic brain injury after nearly losing his life to a roadside bomb. In this fascinating discussion from the Aspen Institute, Woodruff traces how he rebuilt his ability to comprehend the world step by step; showing the viewers video of his first few days of rehabilitation through to his still ongoing attempts to recover lost brain functions. Woodruff offers a prime case study for scientists that are attempting to uncover the many mysteries of human consciousness. This talk is available on streaming video through FORA.tv.

4. Neuroethics

This MIT World lecture on streaming audio & video is a sort of debate over whether today’s approach to neuroscience is ethical. MIT Professor of Psychology Stephan Chorover derides the notion that all human experience can be reduced to neuroscience and speaks of the dangerous consequences that result from this dogma. Professor of Neuroscience Mriganka Sur agrees with him that there are complexities in human behavior, but still sees great importance in the attempt to determine the scientific ways our brains work. Check it out.

5. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight

In this moving talk delivered at the TED conference, brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor provides a first-person account of her own stroke and the experience of losing control of her bodily functions as well the functions of the left side of her brain. Instead of it being a painful or frightening experience, she said the stroke put her in a intense state of bliss and nirvana. Sharing this experience became her motivation for recovery. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

6. Neuroscience and the Emerging Mind

His Holiness the Dalai Lama recently visited UC-San Diego and gave a series of talks. In one of the talks he sits down with neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran, philosopher Larry Hinman, and brain researcher Jennifer Thomas to talk about the connections between brain science and human consciousness. V.S. Ramachandran asks the Dalai Lama about the importance of mirror neurons which seem interact with the empathy and compassion which the Dalai Lama frequently addresses. Philosopher Larry Hinman asks about emotions like anger and also our increasing ability to control our memories and how this relates to our new knowledge of the brain and mindfulness. The Dalai Lama stresses education and further research above all for the future of relating the science of the brain to powers of human consciousness. This talk is available on streaming video from YouTube and MP3 audio download from the UCTV website.

7. Here we’re featuring two talks from Dr. Louann Brizendine covering her books The Female Brain and The Male Brain:

Louann Brizendine: The Female Brain

Dr. Louann Brizendine authored the book The Female Brain back in 2006. She gave this talk at Book Passage which covered some of her findings from that book. Brizendine focuses primarily on hormones and the role that they play in the brain during various stages of a woman’s life. She clarifies some of the differences between male and female brains and answers a number of questions. Definitely a good listen for parents, couples, and individuals of both sexes.

Louann Brizendine: The Male Brain

Dr. Louann Brizendine also authored the book The Male Brain in 2010. In this talk which she delivered at Dominican University of California, Dr. Brizendine shows some of the differences in the male brain covering the important hormone testosterone. She discusses puberty in males and the changes that take place at that time. In the Q&A she addresses the important nature vs. nuture question when it comes to the differences in the sexes.

8. Music and the Brain Video Series on YouTube
Music and the Brain Audio Podcast

Watch or listen to this great series from the Library of Congress on streaming video or audio podcast. Project chair Kay Redfield Jamison convenes scientists and scholars, composers, performers, theorists, physicians, psychologists, and other experts to talk about cognitive neuroscience and music. Here are some of the lectures in the series:

“The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature”: In this short talk, author Daniel Levitin suggests that in human history music came before language, and that throughout history music has almost always been accompanied by movement.

“Depression and Creativity Symposium”: Kay Redfield Jamison, Dr. Terence Ketter, and Dr. Peter Whybrow take a look at depression and bipolar disorder and their possible connection to creativity. They specifically discuss artists like Vincent van Gogh, Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn.

“The Mind of an Artist”: Cognitive psychologist Michael Kubovy and composer Judith Shatin suggest that language and music are very closely related in the brain, and Kubovy shows findings on the brain’s reaction to different types of music in comparison to the cognition of language.

“Music, Criminal Behavior, and Crime Prevention”: Norman Middleton of the Library of Congress Music Division starts the lecture with providing examples of how music has been used in regards to preventing crime and treating criminals. Then Dr. Jacqueline Helfgott talks about ways of discouraging criminal activity and anti-social behavior through the use of music in different environments.

“Wellness and Growth: Acoustic Medicine and Music Therapy”: Jayne Standley, director of the Music Therapy Program at Florida State University, introduces music therapy and the many ways it has been applied in the medical profession while showing video examples of successful music therapy.

Enjoy these and many more lectures on “Music and the Brain” in this series of talks from the Library of Congress.

9. Drugs, Addiction, & Mental Disorder: PSYC 179 – UCSD Course
Impulse Control Disorders: PSYC 188 – UCSD Course

UC San Diego is offering two podcasted courses on addiction with Professor George Koob. Koob is Chair of the Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders at The Scripps Research Institute and has been doing research on addictions for over 40 years. He is also the author of the book Neurobiology of Addiction with his colleague Michel Le Moal. In his course “Drugs, Addiction, & Mental Disorder”, Koob covers legal and illegal drugs as well as prescription and non-prescription drugs and the addiction potential of various drugs. He looks at the ways certain drugs affect the brain including lectures on opiods, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine, LSD, steroids, and many drugs used for the treatment of mental illness. In the course he also provides info on the treatments available for addictions to these drugs. In his course “Impulse Control Disorders”, Koob turns his focus to other addictions including pathological gambling, alcohol abuse, nicotine dependence, compulsive sex, compulsive eating & bulimia, computer addiction, and other addictions and impulse control disorders that can hijack one’s self control. After covering these addictions, Koob looks at the best treatments now available. These two courses provide a great introduction to understanding the various types of addiction and the brain mechanisms involved in addiction, with lectures delivered by one of the leading researchers in the field of addiction and neurobiology.

10. Vilayanur Ramachandran: A Journey to the Center of Your Mind

In this TED talk, neurologist Vilayanur Ramachandran provides some neuroscientific explanations for puzzling psychological and physiological phenomena. He covers why after certain brain injuries patients cannot visually recognize their mother, how to amputated patients can overcome the pain of phantom limbs for only $3, and why certain people see colors when they look at numbers and letters. This talk is available on streaming video and MP3 download from the TED.com website.

11. Human Behavioral Biology

Certainly one of the best courses we’ve added into our new Free Courses Collection is Stanford University Professor Robert Sapolsky’s course on “Human Behavioral Biology”. Sapolsky is an award-winning professor, superstar lecturer, and author of numerous books including Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: A Guide To Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping. His course on “Human Behavioral Biology” is so good that The Great Courses (formerly The Teaching Company) invited him to teach the course for their customers in an audio & video course entitled Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality. We’ve purchased and listened to that course in its entirety and it’s incredible! Now the course is being offered for free on video from Stanford University and it seems like basically the same course except more! The Teaching Company course runs 12 Hrs. and the free video edition at Stanford runs 36 Hrs. The course comprehensively covers human behavior from the perspective of biology from an in-depth look at the nervous system, limbic system, and hormones to the latest discoveries in neuroscience, genetics, and human evolution. Sapolsky attempts to give you a well rounded picture of the biology of human behavior today. And after that, he then takes a look at certain human behaviors which can be examined from this perspective including lectures on human sexual behavior, aggression, language, schizophrenia, and what makes up for the individual differences in humans. This 25-lecture course is available on video on YouTube.

May 20, 2014

5 Syrian War Documentaries from Frontline

Watch 5 free documentaries on the Syrian War from Frontline:

Syria Behind the Lines

Watch this recent PBS Frontline documentary to get an up close view of the ongoing Syrian civil war. Award-winning filmmaker Olly Lambert attempts to show both sides of the conflict by following a Sunni rebel soldier and a Syrian Army soldier serving in President Bashar al-Assad’s army. It’s a pretty horrific documentary depicting graphic imagery of the ongoing violence in this bloody conflict with a death toll surpassing 100,000. But, in light of recent events, it is definitely worth watching to get a glimpse into what is happening in Syria on the ground level. Note: It seems that only U.S. viewers can watch this for free. Sorry to our international users.

There are a four more short Frontline documentaries on the Syrian uprising that you can watch:

The Battle For Syria & The Regime

Syria Undercover & The Regime Responds

These two documentaries on Syria were aired in November 8, 2011. In the 30-minute documentary “Syria Undercover” reporter Ramita Navai goes undercover to see what is happening to protesters during the Syria uprising. She seems to enter one dangerous scenario after another as the Syrian army cracks down on the protests. In the second 20-minute documentary “The Regime”, Frontline takes a look at the history of the rule of the Al-Assad family over Syria since 1970. They examine the rule of the current President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and how his reforms may have led to the Syrian uprising during the “Arab Spring” movement, which President Assad is now trying to suppress.

Two of these are on Frontline’s audio podcast if you want to listen to them:

“The Regime” & “The Regime Responds” on Frontline Audiocast – PBS Podcast

December 11, 2013

Free Nelson Mandela Documentary

After the passing of Nelson Mandela last week, we’ve put together this tribute page of Nelson Mandela speeches, interviews, documentaries, and audio books:

Nelson Mandela Audio & Video

If you don’t know about Nelson Mandela’s amazing life story, we highly recommend today’s free resource:

The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela

This 2-hour PBS FRONTLINE documentary covers Nelson Mandela’s amazing life story, from his radical political activism in Johannesburg as a youth to his over 20-year imprisonment, and then to his remarkable rise as the President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 in which he presided over the dismantling of apartheid. This documentary features excellent footage from all periods in Mandela’s life along with interviews of the people closest to him. It’s a story that must be heard to be believed. Watch this superb documentary from PBS online.

The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela

A few other free resources we’ll point out:

Mandela’s 1993 Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Over 30 Nelson Mandela Videos on C-SPAN

An Hour-Long Interview With Nelson Mandela on Charlie Rose

November 29, 2013

LearnOutLoud YouTube Playlists

We’ve been adding a lot of videos to YouTube of audio recordings we’ve made in the past. Now we’ve neatly organized them into playlists so you can listen to them according to subject matter.

The first playlist we offered was our “Art History” playlist which covers over 20 of the greatest paintings from the Renaissance to 19th century Art. You can view the paintings and learn about them on this playlist:

Art Masterpieces

We’ve also created a playlist of motivational videos. This is a list of some of the best motivational videos on YouTube pulled from our list of the “Top 100 Free Motivational Speeches, Lectures, & Podcasts”:

Best Motivational Videos

Our next playlist features 10 free audio books published by LearnOutLoud.com. The are full audio books which you can listen to in their entirety:

Free Audio Books

The rest of the playlists are pretty much related to what they are called, and here they are:

Philosophy Classics – Excerpts from classics of Western philosophy.

Greek Gods – Descriptions of all the major Ancient Greek gods.

Spiritual Classics – Excerpts from key texts from a wide range of religious traditions throughout human history.

Great Speeches – Playlist is devoted to the great thinkers, statesman, and other public orators that have graced us throughout history with their words.

Great Poetry – A collection of recorded, classic poems.

Biographies – A collection of brief biographical sketches of notable people throughout history.

Founding Documents of the United States of America – An audio collection of Founding Documents and speeches that trace the origins of the United States of America.

Enjoy these educational YouTube playlists of free videos.

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