The Great Courses

Barbara Millicent Roberts was born in 1959. Her image is instantly recognizable almost anywhere in the world. Who is this remarkable woman? Well, you might know her better by her nickname: Barbie.

The Years That Changed History: 1776 invites you to take a uniquely different look at the events of this famous year, in a brilliant and surprising excavation of world history.

Hidden treasures. Secret societies. War and plunder. You’ve heard the stories, seen the movies, pondered the conspiracy theories. You know that the Knights Templar are said to be connected with the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, the Freemasons—even Oak Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia.

The Great Villains of History takes you into the riveting world of charisma and crime, evil and opportunity, ambition and bloodshed.

Homer’s Odyssey has become a foundational text of the Western literary canon. At first, its focus on the heroic journey of Odysseus appears to fit the mold of other ancient Greek e….

This series of lectures offers detailed analyses of the strategic and tactical dimensions of the Civil War's most important campaigns....

What happened before the Big Bang? Why does time flow only forward? Do we live as part of a multiverse? Could the universe vanish in an instant? These questions and more are at the forefront of physics, cosmology, and quantum theory.

The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens....

Whether you’re looking for proof of alien life or seeking the meaning of life here on Earth, you’ll find that the domain of philosophy and the realm of the weird converge in surprising ways via the six lectures of From Aliens to Bigfoot: A Philosopher’s Guide to the Strange.

While the lectures cover an enormous range of key thinkers and ideas, they always focus on the most important ideas....

In shedding light on core questions about the Bible’s writing, Who Wrote the Bible? Searching for Its Origins and Authors offers you a provocative and enlightening look at the creation of this beloved book—a foundational document of our culture and civilization.

Think you know chemistry? Think again. In How Chemistry Surrounds You, award-winning University of Utah professor Janis Louie reveals the surprising science behind the everyday world—no lab coat required.

In Understanding Artificial Intelligence: Of Minds and Machines, philosopher Patrick Grim traces the story of AI from ancient legends to the neural networks behind today’s breakthroughs. You see how modern systems became so powerful so quickly.

Approximately 66 million years ago, an asteroid struck the Earth, triggering a chain of events that would end the reign of the dinosaurs and usher in the age of mammals. Despite its colossal scale, this incident was not the only event of its kind—in fact, it wasn’t even the first.

Here, 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....

Most people picture archaeologists digging through dirt in search of ancient artifacts and lost cities. And sometimes that’s exactly right—as at the mound of Troy, where excavations suggest there may be truth behind Homer’s tales. But archaeology is much more than excavation.

The Declaration of Independence was a history-changing document, calling for a new form of government resting on a radical philosophical framework. It has inspired over 100 other declarations of independence over the last 250 years.

Even after deciphering its hieroglyphs, and marveling at its scarabs, mummies, obelisks, and sphinxes, Egyptian civilization remains one of history's most mysterious....

Was King Arthur a real person? What about Robin Hood? Is the Holy Grail a cup, or something else altogether? Did Europeans really burn millions of people at the stake for witchcraft? These are just a few of the questions you will explore with the help of medieval scholar Dorsey Armstrong....

While American history spans not much more than two centuries, it is filled with a wealth of leaders, wars, movements, inventions, and ideas....