The Great Courses

Chocolate is one of the most popular food items around the world. While most of us today consume it in the form of candy, desserts, and sugary drinks, chocolate has taken many forms as it traveled from its ancient Mesoamerican roots to the 21st century.

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

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

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

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

The human brain is one of the most complex entities in the universe. With 86 billion neurons communicating through an intricate symphony of synaptic connections and neurochemicals,….

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

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....

Deep in the swampy heart of ancient Mexico, the Olmecs built a grand and influential civilization between 1800 and 400 BCE. The archaeological remains raise more questions than answers about the origins and legacy of this captivating Mesoamerican culture.

Even if you have listened to many of these illustrative pieces throughout your life you will never hear them the same way again after experiencing these lectures....

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history....

These lectures consistently deliver a fresh level of understanding about medieval England, its rulers and subjects, and their significance....

Step into the real world of the spy with this detailed and unforgettable tour of the millennia-long history and enduring legacy of espionage and covert operations....

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....

The stuff of conspiracy theories makes for great, entertaining stories in movies, books, and television. And there is no shortage of subjects: from who really killed JFK to the truth behind 9/11...

You’d think for a book as widely known, studied, and distributed as the Bible, the question of authorship would have been sorted out by now. But the question is more complex (and fascinating) than it seems....

The Art of War, also known as the Sūnzǐ, is a classic Chinese text on competitive strategy. It has influenced modern military and political strategists, East and West, and is considered a major landmark in the history of strategic thought.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a collection of techniques for managing moods and modifying behaviors. Build a robust self-improvement toolkit with this expert guidance....

For the past few hundred years, most of what we’ve been taught about the native cultures of North America came from reports authored by the conquerors and colonizers who destroyed them....

How the Earth Works takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space. In 48 lectures, you will look at what went into making our planet - from the big bang, to the formation of the solar system, to the subsequent evolution of Earth....