Wondrium

Once upon a time, I got a catalog for something called The Great Courses. Sounded very fancy and suitably scholarly and with my absolutely starving brain, I indulged.

A box of a guide book and several CDs, that’s right, CDs in a case with several leaves of disks to pop in a player and listen to a lecture by an expert in the field recorded… years before.

And boy did they cost. Woof. But for an introductory course on Japanese history and culture? $50 plus shipping and handling was a lot better than trucking to some community College to listen to a weeb who's never been there.

Over the next few years it looked like someone was hauling this library of lectures into the modern age kicking and screaming. Even though it was one-dimensional, the reputations of the teachers and the content was solid. Once streaming services became a thing, a wide spread thing, it seemed a logical option for it.

But the first version, and I watched for that first version to roll out, I was already a fan and wanted more, was a STEEP price. It stayed there awhile. Then I started to hear ads on my podcasts. Great Courses Plus, with a free month.

I didn't want to take the plunge. I'd had sticker shock too bad. But I did find a whole bunch of courses for free though my public library system. Freeeeeee… oh, it was beautiful and I loved it! I squeezed that source for all it was worth.

Finally, running low, I checked the cost again. Great Courses Plus. But what I found wasn't that. Some brave and bold as brass revitalizer got the whole streaming branding switched up! I wanted to cheer for them!

Wondrium. The new streaming service for The Great Courses, partnered with other documentary services, online course content, and all with the flexibility of the most popular entertainment channels.

I'm a fan. And a subscriber. And I've been gulping down these courses like a parched fish. Running these behind my brain in the work day? Nothing better. Listening while playing the stereotypical Animal Crossing session to unwind? Love it. Flip it on while trying not to mess up a recipe? Also a good fit.