Recent statistics suggest that nearly two-thirds of Americans regret not planning properly for retirement. We tend to underestimate the key factors of retirement planning: our total lifespan; the probable length of our retirement; and, perhaps most significant, how much money we’ll need to fund those years in retirement. In fact, retirement planning can feel so overwhelming that many of us put off thinking about it at all until it’s too late to make the necessary changes. 

Learn how to invest with skill and confidence to attain your financial goals with the 24 timely and informative lectures of Understanding Investments. Economist, Professor Connel Fullenkamp explains the fundamentals of investing to those new to the subject while broadening and deepening the knowledge of more experienced investors. He clearly explains the various kinds of financial markets, the different kinds of investments available to you, and the pros and cons of each - and tells you how to evaluate each of these in terms of your own financial situation and goals.

We have never before in human history been able to share so much about ourselves so quickly. Neither have we ever been so exposed to forces that want to take advantage of that capability. Taking Control of Your Personal Data will open your eyes to the surprising extent of that exposure and will discuss your options for keeping your personal data as safe as possible. Your instructor, Professor Jennifer Golbeck of the College of Information Studies at University of Maryland, College Park, will show you what really goes on behind the scenes with the data you share all day long.

Join Professor Horton for an accessible introduction from contract essentials, including offers, acceptances, counteroffers, and options and defenses, to contract enforcement, such as fraud, duress, and unconscionability. In lectures that demystify concepts and terms that can often seem intimidating to individuals outside of legal fields, you’ll better understand (and navigate) the contracts of everyday life.

Money and finance play a deeply fundamental role in your life. Now, let an expert professor lead you in a panoramic exploration of our monetary and financial systems, their inner workings, and their crucial role and presence in your world. As a guiding theme of these 36 content-rich lectures, you observe the ways in which economies require efficient and evolving financial institutions and markets to fulfill their potential.

Changing Body Composition Through Diet and Exercise presents the latest scientific research about changing your body composition, along with diet and exercise recommendations in incremental steps that men and women of all ages and fitness levels can follow. Led by Professor Michael Ormsbee, Assistant Professor and Interim Director of the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine, you will gain access to cutting-edge research that demonstrates what does - and doesn’t - work.

In the 24 compelling half-hour lectures of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Daily Life, Professor Jason Satterfield will help you build your cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) toolbox, giving you the skills you need to change those stories that hold you back and that keep you from experiencing your fullest life possible.  

With its up to 500 trillion synaptic connections, your brain is easily the most powerful machine in the world. Even more incredibly: This amazing machine is constantly changing through a process known as brain plasticity. And you can take advantage of this process to improve and enhance your brain’s jaw-dropping powers - at any age. 

A relatively recent addition to more traditional law school topics like torts and contracts, legislation and regulation have become more and more of a mainstay in some of the country’s top law schools. Over the course of 12 nuanced and balanced lectures, examine a host of topics including the nature of regulation, the merits of lawmaking by legislation, the challenge of interpreting statutes, and the role of federal agencies in our legal system.

This course teaches you how to be an entrepreneur and how to think like one - skills that are essential whether you are starting a business, expanding an existing business, boosting your career as an employee, pursuing a social cause, or seeking to increase your impact as a teacher, coach, minister, or other professional. Packed with fascinating lessons from legendary entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, and Henry Ford, these 24 lectures are entertaining as well as practical.

The power of an effective speech is undeniable. It has the capacity to engage, inform, motivate, and create change in an audience - and in the world. In this compelling 24-lesson course, How to Speak Effectively in Any Setting, taught by Molly Bishop Shadel, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, learn the fine art of speaking clearly, effectively, and persuasively in contexts across the spectrum, from the board room to the bar room and everywhere in between. 

These 12 lectures answer questions about a high-stakes, ever-evolving area of the American legal system. Recreating a traditional law school course in corporate law, Professor Geis guides you through the foundations of corporate law, the history of corporations, the problems that can plague corporations (including insider trading and bribery), and more. In clear, accessible language, Law School for Everyone: Corporate Law introduces you to the inner workings of corporate law.

Taught by award-winning Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, The Philosopher’s Toolkit: How to Be the Most Rational Person in Any Room arms you against the perils of bad thinking and supplies you with an arsenal of strategies to help you be more creative, logical, inventive, realistic, and rational in all aspects of your daily life. 

Recent years have seen the introduction of concepts from the new and exciting field of complexity science that have captivated the attention of economists, sociologists, engineers, businesspeople, and many others. These include tipping points, the wisdom of crowds, six degrees of separation (or Kevin Bacon), and emergence. Complexity science can shed light on why businesses or economies succeed and fail, how epidemics spread and can be stopped, and what causes ecological systems to rebalance themselves after a disaster.

Tap into the power of effective writing by developing the fundamental critical and analytical skills that transform your writing from "good" to "great." Regardless of your subject, goal, or occasion, these skills will help you organize your thoughts into a coherent piece, make a persuasive argument rooted in facts, and make responsible use of research materials.

Recent statistics suggest that nearly two-thirds of Americans regret not planning properly for retirement. We tend to underestimate the key factors of retirement planning: our total lifespan; the probable length of our retirement; and, perhaps most significant, how much money we’ll need to fund those years in retirement. In fact, retirement planning can feel so overwhelming that many of us put off thinking about it at all until it’s too late to make the necessary changes. 

Learn how to invest with skill and confidence to attain your financial goals with the 24 timely and informative lectures of Understanding Investments. Economist, Professor Connel Fullenkamp explains the fundamentals of investing to those new to the subject while broadening and deepening the knowledge of more experienced investors. He clearly explains the various kinds of financial markets, the different kinds of investments available to you, and the pros and cons of each - and tells you how to evaluate each of these in terms of your own financial situation and goals.

Money and finance play a deeply fundamental role in your life. Now, let an expert professor lead you in a panoramic exploration of our monetary and financial systems, their inner workings, and their crucial role and presence in your world. As a guiding theme of these 36 content-rich lectures, you observe the ways in which economies require efficient and evolving financial institutions and markets to fulfill their potential.

The Art of Investing: Lessons from History's Greatest Traders profiles over 30 men and women at the pinnacle of the investing field, including Warren Buffett, Ray Dalio, John Bogle, Peter Lynch, George Soros, T. Rowe Price, Jr., Linda Bradford Raschke, David Dreman, Michael Burry, and others involved in such ventures as value stocks, growth stocks, mutual funds, index funds, hedge funds, commodity futures, private equity, sovereign wealth, distressed assets, and more.

We have never before in human history been able to share so much about ourselves so quickly. Neither have we ever been so exposed to forces that want to take advantage of that capability. Taking Control of Your Personal Data will open your eyes to the surprising extent of that exposure and will discuss your options for keeping your personal data as safe as possible. Your instructor, Professor Jennifer Golbeck of the College of Information Studies at University of Maryland, College Park, will show you what really goes on behind the scenes with the data you share all day long.

Join Professor Horton for an accessible introduction from contract essentials, including offers, acceptances, counteroffers, and options and defenses, to contract enforcement, such as fraud, duress, and unconscionability. In lectures that demystify concepts and terms that can often seem intimidating to individuals outside of legal fields, you’ll better understand (and navigate) the contracts of everyday life.

Game theory is the study of strategic decision-making in politics, sports, diplomacy, and a host of other areas, but especially in economics, where game theory flourishes. Understanding Economics: Game Theory introduces you to this fascinating field, which combines the fun and challenge of games with the logic of brain teasers. In 12 engaging half-hour lessons, Professor Jay R. Corrigan of Kenyon College analyzes such classic games as the prisoner’s dilemma and the hawk-dove game.

From spirituality to politics and science, the occult has had an astonishing influence on the human experience across the centuries. It may surprise you to learn that everyday activities like attending church services or reading your daily horoscope all fit the broad definition of the occult. As you will see in the 24 illuminating episodes of Secrets of the Occult, the mystic and obscure are threaded through our ordinary lives in more ways than you may realize.

Thinking of starting a consulting business? Knowing how to craft an effective business plan is the first step. What’s next? Finding clients and knowing how much to charge. Plus, the consultancy must be properly marketed. And don’t forget other aspects of consulting, from answering an RFP to knowing when to walk away from a problem client. This business course from The Teaching Company and lecturer Dr. Allison Friederichs delivers all this and more. 

What is a contract? How can you make one binding? How can you avoid being prematurely bound by one? What remedies are available if someone breaches your contract? These questions and the other important issues of legally enforceable promises are covered in these eight lectures. As you'll learn in these eight lectures, contractual agreements are one of the principal mechanisms for ordering life in society. Professor Cross lays a comprehensive foundation in the practical and intricate body of law that governs contracts.

A must-have course for corporate leaders, design professionals, marketers, and anyone else who communicates visually, How Colors Affect You tells you everything you need to know about the science of color and its impact on all aspects of human experience. These lectures will give you a beautiful new perspective on color - one rooted in credible scientific knowledge and not popular myth.

Since the end of World War II, groups such as the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Union, and G-20 have sprung up with a variety of missions, including promoting trade, ensuring financial stability, eradicating poverty, and advancing sustainable economic growth. Behind these worthy goals is the ultimate aim: preventing the kind of global economic instability that can easily lead to war.

The brain is an astounding organ, and today neuroscientists have more insights than ever about how it works - as well as strategies for helping us live better every day. These 24 practical lectures give you a wealth of useful strategies for improving your well-being. By presenting evidence-based "hacks" for your brain, Professor Vishton empowers you to take charge of your life and perform better all around.