Education audiobooks

How do you make the benefits of pre-K education last?

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

A study suggesting the benefits of pre-K may not be long-lasting has sparked debate in Tennessee, where proposals for state-funded, universal programs are an issue in this year's governor's race. What’s behind the finding, and what are the keys to quality early education? John Yang reports from Memphis. Read more

Political Philosophy

By: Grahame Lock

Narrated by: Grahame Lock

Length: 3 hours 56 minutes

Abridged: No

This audio course examines the major periods in the history of Western political thought and questions the political and social order. It considers the ways in which thinkers have responded to the particular political problems of their day, and the ways in which they contribute to a broader conversation about human goods and needs, justice,... Read more

Wetenschap versus Godsdienst

By: Herman Philipse

Narrated by: Herman Philipse

Length: 9 hours

Abridged: No

Wanneer men de wording van onze moderne westerse cultuur wil begrijpen, is er nauwelijks een fascinerender onderwerp te bedenken dan de verhouding tussen wetenschap en godsdienst. Herman Phlipse behandelt aan de hand van enkele individuele denkers uit de wetenschapsgeschiedenis, van Copernicus en Galilei, tot Darwin en Dawkins, de vraag hoe deze... Read more

Adicciones y algo más

By: Oslos Molina

Narrated by: Oslos Molina

Length: 47 minutes

Abridged: No

Las Adicciones son una enfermedad crónica y recurrente del cerebro. Las Adicciones se basan en la búsqueda de alivio a través del consumo o uso de sustancias u otras conductas similares. El desarrollo de esta conducta implica para la persona adicta la incapacidad de controlarlo, dificultad para abstenerse, deseo del consumo, disminución del... Read more

Estrés Postraumático

By: Oslos Molina

Narrated by: Oslos Molina

Length: 37 minutes

Abridged: No

Las experiencias a las que se enfrenta una persona o una comunidad con la muerte o la destrucción es realmente aterrador y cambia la vida; el estrés postraumático muchos pacientes lo describen como ”algo único que sucede donde vi mi vida parpadearen en un segundo” y eso provoco una conmoción espiritual, biológica y mental que técnicamente... Read more

Students Build Biological Machines

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

Scientists in the growing field of synthetic biology use basic biological "building blocks" -- snippets of DNA -- to engineer useful living organisms, like bacteria that can break down plastic. Tom Bearden reports on a do-it-yourself biology competition for college students. Read more

Getting a B.A. Behind Bars

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

What college is tougher to get into than Harvard, Princeton or Yale? Bard College. Not the campus in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., but the one behind bars in five Empire State prisons. The privately funded Bard Prison Initiative is putting convicts through a rigorous B.A. program that would challenge even the smartest Ivy Leaguers. Read more

Reinvention of Chicago City Colleges

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Just 20 percent of community college students complete a degree in the United States. Cheryl Hyman, chief of City Colleges of Chicago, is reshaping her school system not only to provide wide access to higher education, but to put students on the fastest track to relevant credentials. Hari Sreenivasan talks to Hyman, whose reforms have come with... Read more

Many pre-school teachers are scared of teaching STEM

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Everyone knows that 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds ask a lot of questions. But that unrestrained curiosity can unsettle preschool teachers who feel they lack sufficient understanding of science, technology, engineering and math, often referred to as STEM. Hari Sreenivasan reports from Chicago on efforts to boost science learning among some of the... Read more

Individual coaching demystifies college

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Final deadlines for college applications are looming this week, and students who are first in their families to attend college are far less likely to have help navigating the application system. The College Advising Corps aims to change that by recruiting college graduates to advise first-generation applicants. Hari Sreenivasan visits two New... Read more

Online university skips class to be more accessible

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

College for America, an online degree program, has no classes, professors or credit hours. It's been cited as an innovative way to make college more affordable. But how do its students qualify for a degree? Hari Sreenivasan reports from New Hampshire on a university that gives credit based on competency at the student's own pace. Read more

This educator is guiding Liberian girls toward school

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Liberia has had more than its fair shares of challenges, and is trying to rebuild after enduring a devastating Ebola epidemic and civil war. Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro meets an American woman who has made her home in Liberia, started her own school and now provides education and scholarships for girls. Read more

Innovative program evens the playing field for poor students

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

For Georgia State’s Tyler Mulvenna, a $900 grant from an innovative retention program let him live on campus, work less and do what he came to do: study. The school, worried about abysmal graduation rates for poor students found, a full course load, commuting and holding a job was just too much for many. The NewsHour's April Brown takes a look... Read more

Harnessing Boys' Strengths and Passions to Improve Academic Achievement

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

Increasingly, boys appear to be falling behind girls academically. Test statistics, grades and college degrees are part of the story, but experts are also concerned about the messages young men get about masculinity. Gwen Ifill talks with Michael Thompson, author of Raising Cain, Ever Forward Club founder Ashanti Branch and Christina Hoff... Read more

Learning computer coding opens up "endless world" for these kids

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 2 minutes

Abridged: No

In our NewsHour Shares moment of the day, a nationwide computer science immersion program sets up shop at a couple Virginia elementary schools. The NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs has the story. Read more

Personalized learning can put college in reach for nontraditional students

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

A program in Arizona supports nontraditional students who want to pursue degrees at their own speed. Much like a Netflix subscription, the new program lets students pay a flat fee for a personalized curriculum that works within their schedules. Hari Sreenivasan reports on how Northern Arizona University is putting bachelor's degrees within reach... Read more

Why So Many Students from For-Profit Schools are Left in Debt Limbo

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 5 minutes

Abridged: No

Students who attend for-profit college and training programs are more likely to borrow, borrow more and struggle to repay their loans. Not only that, but the overall graduation rate at for-profit institutions is just 27 percent. Meanwhile, a number of schools have shuttered, leaving former attendees with debt and no way to pay it back. Special... Read more

Math Wiz

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

From his home in the San Francisco Bay area, Salman Khan is using the Web to teach math and science to millions. Spencer Michels reports on how the non-profit Kahn Academy is providing educational materials through its YouTube video library. Read more

Inmates get federal grants for higher ed

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

In a pilot project announced this summer, the Department of Education will partner with dozens of colleges to provide higher education to prisoners who can't afford to pay; eligible inmates will be able to apply for federal grants under the experimental trial. Hari Sreenivasan explores what both advocates and critics are saying. Read more

Wisconsin group wants to turn student borrowers into activists

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Through the recession, college tuition skyrocketed at public universities to make up for flagging state funding. Some students who borrowed to keep up with rising costs face crushing debt repayments. Hari Sreenivasan travelled to Wisconsin to report on one group hoping to turn the state's student borrowers into a powerful voting bloc. Read more

Students Write Hip-Hop to Learn Science

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

In a New York City classroom, teachers use rap songs to teach complex science. Playlists are used as a metaphor to convey natural selection, and students compose raps songs to reinforce concepts. Ray Suarez reports on the effectiveness of this strategy and interviews hip-hop legend (and science geek) GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Read more

Colleges and Universities See Graying Workforce

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 10 minutes

Abridged: No

In academia, many professors remain working and teaching long past traditional retirement age, leaving younger potential professors shut out from highly coveted full-time, tenured positions. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports on how institutions deal with aging faculty. Read more

San Francisco's Exploratorium

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 8 minutes

Abridged: No

San Francisco's Exploratorium, one of the nation's most successful science and technology centers, has just opened its brand new location. Spencer Michels reports on how the center's hands-on teaching approach peaks the imaginations of children and adults alike. Read more

Male elementary school teacher

By: PBS NewsHour

Narrated by: PBS NewsHour

Length: 6 minutes

Abridged: No

Men are a rarity in early education, a fact of which second grade teacher Harold Johnson has taken full advantage: In a job traditionally held by women, Johnson’s gender has been an asset. Economics correspondent Paul Soloman talks to him about why he became an elementary school teacher despite the cultural stigma. Read more