Press Releases

Audible and The Great Courses Team Up to Create Original Audio Courses

Three audiobook covers for The Great Courses sit side-by-side with the names of their titles on their yellow, orange and blue covers.

Audible Inc. announced a production deal with The Great Courses to create audio-only, non-fiction content for Audible’s millions of listeners. The first three titles were released today and are currently available at audible.com/greatcourses.

David Blum, Editor-in-Chief of Audible Originals, commented, “Our listeners have been learning from and loving The Great Courses for years, valuing the opportunity to hear from world class subject matter experts hailing from the most reputable academic institutions. We are thrilled to collaborate with this revered brand to identify fresh professorial voices and produce compelling original lectures designed for audio, ushering in a new era of lifelong learning.”

Jason Smigel, Vice President of Product Development at The Great Courses stated: “This collaboration marks a new chapter in our nearly 30-year history of producing high-quality, nonfiction content for lifelong learners. The synergy between Audible and The Great Courses was self-evident: deepening our relationship, leveraging our individual expertise, and bringing high-quality, nonfiction content to lifelong learners worldwide. Through Audible Originals, we have the exciting, dual opportunity of creating additional courses for topics that our listeners have come to love while also expanding the boundaries of our content coverage to reach new audiences, altogether.”

The first three Audible Originals that released today were:

  • Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories: What We Should Believe - and Why, from world-renowned social scientist and historian Michael Shermer. This myth-shattering content tackles history’s greatest and widespread conspiracy theories, carefully deconstructing them on the basis of available evidence.
  • Medieval Myths and Mysteries, from award-winning medieval historian Dorsey Armstrong. This illuminating course examines the realities behind common medieval myths, and in doing so, it sheds light on some of the medieval world’s greatest mysteries.
  • No Calculator? No Problem!: Mastering Mental Math, from Arthur Benjamin, a leading expert at teaching mental math to people of all ages and mathematical backgrounds. Learn tricks for adding and subtracting numbers as high as four digits, and multiplying two-digit numbers—all in your head—to apply to shopping, banking, tipping, cooking, and more.

Additional Audible Originals with The Great Courses, releasing this October, include:

  • The Life & Times of Beethoven, from music historian Robert Greenberg. Ludwig van Beethoven was a deeply damaged man of genius whose health brought him to the brink of suicide in 1802 at the age of 31. Despite his dysfunctional upbringing, poor mental health, gastric problems, and encroaching deafness, he found a way to funnel his personal demons into a music, the likes of which had never been heard before. Learn about Beethoven’s Enlightenment-inspired notion of music as a mode of self-expression.
  • Falling in Love With Romance Movies, from Emmy award-winner and screenwriter Eric Williams. In this short series, explore one of the most endearing film genres: the romance film. Examine the ups and downs, the ins and outs, of romance films throughout the history of film production.
  • Raising Curious Kids, from award-winning expert in children’s education and high school teacher Nicholas Provenzano. Learn numerous easy and fun ways to help engage your children’s natural inclination toward curiosity and help them to develop creative-thinking skills through project-based learning involving words, art, movement, and crafts.
  • 10 Big Questions of the American Civil War, from director of the Nau Civil War Center Caroline Janney. No period of time in U.S. history has been as intensively studied and debated as the Civil War; yet, after 150 years of obsessive examination, many crucial questions remain contested. In 10 dramatic discussions, get a compelling perspective on the nation’s most profound crisis.

Further, upcoming Audible Originals will include titles such as: The History of Bourbon, The Surprising Origins of Holiday Traditions, The Power of Self-Compassion, American Heiresses of the Gilded Age, Great Figures of the Civil Rights Movement, and many more!

ABOUT THE TEACHING COMPANY:

The Great Courses provides lifelong learning and personal enrichment opportunities on a range of media platforms, including popular streaming audio and video services. The Great Courses proprietary library has more than 11,500 video and audio lectures featuring the world’s most accomplished and engaging professors and experts, chosen exclusively for their ability to teach. Available as a streaming service through The Great Courses Plus, the company’s content inspires learners across a broad spectrum of categories, including science, literature, history, music, philosophy, theology, economics, mathematics, business, professional advancement, and personal development. The Great Courses, The Great Courses Plus, and The Great Courses Daily are the premier brands of The Teaching Company of Chantilly, Virginia, which was founded in 1990 to create unique learning experiences and is owned by Brentwood Associates. Please visit www.thegreatcoursesplus.com to learn more.

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