Category Archives: The Virtual University

The Prodigal Sons: Nietzsche and Dostoevsky (Video)

This speech was written and delivered by Darryl Cooper at the Novitate Conference in Washington, DC, in November 2023. The Novitate Conference celebrates the work of French author Rene Girard, and explores the power of his theories in a variety of domains. The conference was founded and built by Luke Burgis, the author of Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life.

Communism and the World — Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution (Video)

Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is hosting the “Communism and the World”, a biweekly series to complement VOC’s curricular resource, Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, and Its Legacy.

STEPHEN KOTKIN – THE WORLD IN PIECES (Video)

In this talk, one of the greatest geopolitical thinkers of today, author of groundbreaking books on the history of the Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, and most recently the monumental biography of Joseph Stalin, STEPHEN KOTKIN, will set out a series of propositions to help us understand the contemporary world order, the key trends, the inflection points, and the ways that policymakers could intervene to shape the direction in which the world will go. In conversation with IWM Permanent Fellow IVAN KRASTEV, he will look at the current geopolitical moment in historical perspective.

CARTA: Lucy’s Contribution: Understanding the Sequence of Steps Leading to Human Uniqueness (Video)

Humans are a spectacular outlier among the millions of species of life on planet earth, with incredibly unique biological success. Slowly, scientists have begun to understand the traits that interacted to make us unique, such as cumulative culture, unique scales of cooperation, cognitive abilities, language, and a unique life history and mating system.

Lee Berger – New discoveries in human origins | Porto | GLEX ignition 2024 (Video)

“Exploration isn’t just about going where no one has gone before—it’s also about being the first to understand the past”

The Timeless Truth About Tyranny According to Aristotle (Video)

Is your government slowly becoming tyrannical? Aristotle warned us 2,300 years ago. In this eye-opening exploration of Aristotle’s analysis of tyranny, we delve into the timeless insights of one of history’s greatest political thinkers. Drawing from Aristotle’s great work “Politics,” we uncover the mechanisms of tyrannical rule that are as relevant today as they were in ancient Greece. Discover how Aristotle’s experiences with the Thirty Tyrants of Athens and his personal relationship with the tyrant Hermias shaped his understanding of unjust rule.

Pat Buchanan – Churchill, Hitler, and The Unnecessary War – First 3 Parts (Video)

Did Hitler want war?

The History & People of Oceania (Melanesians, Micronesians & Polynesians) – Video

Who are the people of Oceania and what is their history? Today we’ll be looking at the native people of Oceania, the many islands of the Pacific and where they come from, including the Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians as well as the people who came before that have since largely been washed away by subsequent migration from East Asia, that being the indigenous inhabitants of Sundaland; a unique race of people related to both native Oceanians such as Papuans as well as indigenous tribal Adivasi peoples of South Asia. Over time, various waves of migration and colonization has created a very unique demographic situation in most of Oceania with connections to people groups in Asia, Europe and even the Americas.

Secrets of the Neanderthals – Documentary

A unique excavation unravels the complex and creative nature of Neanderthals, shattering preconceptions through the lens of a landmark discovery – the best-preserved Neanderthal skeleton found in over 25 years.

Click here to watch Secrets of the Neanderthals.

Jews & 1917 Russian Revolution (Video)

Professors Gary Saul Morson (Northwestern U), Gabriella Safran (Stanford U) and Kenneth Moss (Johns Hopkins U) discuss aspects of Jewish culture surrounding the 1917 Russian Revolution. A program of YIVO at the Center for Jewish History in NYC.