The Great Courses (Firm)
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
One of the most epic engineering failures in history was the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. Nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," the bridge undulated so strongly that thrill-seekers came from all over just to drive across it. Explore the inherent structural inefficiency of the suspension bridge, and why this bridge failed spectacularly only four months after its opening.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Few terrestrial organisms can be as comfortable in the water as insects. Look at the unique respiratory physiology and fascinating adaptations that make it possible for them to maintain oxygenation underwater, as well as the adaptations that allow water striders to take advantage of water's surface tension to skim along its surface.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
On April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh's bomb demolished almost half of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. Explore details of the building's design and specific ways in which various structural elements responded to the blast. Is it possible that modest changes to the steel reinforcement might have allowed the building to survive with only localized damage?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
This lecture takes you into the world of Athenian women, who were subjugated to males all their lives and who rarely left the home except for festivals and funerals. You'll also look at the hetaerae - or female companions - whose lives were relatively independent.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Before it was settled, around 65% of Iceland had vegetation. Now, only 0.5% of the country is forested. So, what happened to the forests? Get a closer look at the dangers of steep-slope erosion, as well as some of the natural difficulties currently challenging Iceland's century-long effort to reforest the country.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
In 1978, a developer chose to build a hotel in Kansas City using a management technique called fast-tracking, in which construction begins before the design is complete. What can happen when each principal assumes that someone else has designed a critical structural connection? Explore the series of mistakes that led to the tragic collapse of two suspended walkways and the deaths of 114 people.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
Unpack the term "Crusade" and situate it in its cultural context. When Pope Urban said it was the Christians' duty to take up arms against the "infidels," ordinary people were swept up in the idea that they were fighting to save Christianity and their own souls against the advance of Islam.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Beyond capturing the hearts and minds of photographers, geologists, and mountaineers, Iceland's glaciers are deeply rooted in the country's culture and history. First, look backward in time to learn how Iceland came to have so much, well, ice. Then, plunge into a world of ice tunnels, ice caves, and other extreme features.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
Celebrity is not a modern phenomenon. Politicians, criminals, actors, and even ordinary citizens in ancient Rome strove for recognition. Here you'll chart the lives of some of Rome's celebrities, including gladiators, charioteers, and the emperor Nero. You'll also look at women who knew how to hog the limelight, including Cleopatra and Theodora.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
The Vikings have always been on the "other side" of history, their deeds recorded only by their victims. In this lecture, you'll get at the truth of this enigmatic culture. While a small number were the raiders we know from other accounts, the Vikings had a vibrant trading culture based on the sea.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
Professor Garland takes you deep inside the lives of an ordinary Egyptian family, from marriage, fertility, and the rights of its women, to social gatherings a couple might host or attend. You'll experience the house, its furniture, and even the cosmetics - all the elements of everyday life.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
The flooding of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, was the costliest engineering failure in American history, and one of the deadliest. Discover the economic development decisions over two centuries that contributed to the disaster. And, learn how the disaster has stimulated a more sustainable approach to flood protection.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2012.
Language
English
Description
An ancient Greek faced death head on. You would die in the home, surrounded by family, and afterward women would tend to your body and sing dirges in your honor. Your corpse would be tainted with miasma - pollution - and would be buried outside the city. Meanwhile, your spirit would be carried across the River Styx to Hades, where life among the shades of the dead awaited you.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
What would the Tower of Pisa be if it weren't leaning? Certainly not as attractive to tourists. That was the issue faced by the late-20th-century engineers who devised a way to reduce the tower's angle of tilt. Take a journey through the centuries to explore how various engineers tried to stabilize the leaning tower, but only succeeded in making the problem worse.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Reflect on the legacy of President Kennedy as a flawed King Arthur in a mythical Camelot. After the shooting, the actions of Lyndon Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy prepared America for the next chapter of history. The series ends by revisiting the beginning and the question that intrigues us still: Who was John F. Kennedy?
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
The waters hugging Iceland's coasts play an important role in the country's culture and economy. Investigate some of the many lakes, rivers, lagoons, waterfalls, hot springs, and geysers to be found. Among them are the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon; Gullfoss, the most visited waterfall in the country; and the thriving business of the Blue Lagoon.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Discover the properties of insects that distinguish them from mammals and all other animals. They all have exoskeletons for strength and protection, six legs to propel their movements, compound eyes, antennae, and even more attributes in common with one another. But within this framework, their astonishing variability has allowed them to live in almost every ecological niche on the planet.
18) Why Insects Matter: Earth's Most Essential Species: Episode 3,Insect Life Cycles and Reproduction
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Insects have contributed to the human economy since the beginning of our civilization. Consider the humble silkworm moth creating its cocoon from one continuous thread of silk. Discover how this caterpillar creates one of the strongest and most durable materials in nature, and explore the fascinating lifecycle and migration journey of the beautiful monarch butterfly.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
Mighty glaciers have carved the landscape of western and eastern Iceland into beautiful, scarred fjords. First, visit Westfjords, where you'll find the oldest site in Iceland and one of the largest bird cliffs in Europe. Then, continue to Eastfjords: home to an artsy community in the heart of reindeer country and 286 square miles of forest.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2022.
Language
English
Description
In 1976, the American Institute of Architects presented an Honor Award to Helmut Jahn for his innovative design of the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. Three years later, a 43,000-square-foot section of the roof collapsed. Follow the forensic engineers as they painstakingly analyze the arena's innovative design and identify four major factors that contributed to the roof's collapse.