The following video programs are previously recorded OLLI courses. Learn at your own pace, on your own time and at your convenience. Over 40 hours of programming is available for a single cost of $30. After registration, you will receive an email with a “Join Code” and instructions on how to access programming.
All programming originates from OLLI at UNL.
Unmatched and Unequaled: America’s Contributions to Victory in World War II – 6 sessions
Enjoy listening to Thomas Berg describe how Americans significantly impacted the outcomes of World War II. When Americans discuss World War II, they rightfully recall how its economy, manpower, transportation, and military innovations contributed to victory. What they do not realize is that all these elements took decades to develop, from the initial idea to the ultimate application. We will examine America’s crucial innovations that Allied or Axis belligerents could not match or equal. America’s creation, development, and use of the Marine Corps’ amphibious assault, the Army Air Force’s strategic bombing, and the Navy’s carrier aviation as well as the home front’s skilled manpower, powerful economy, and dynamic transportation all combined to achieve victory far sooner and with fewer lives lost. America’s investment of time, lives, and money in these innovations over several decades before the nation’s entry into the war paid the ultimate dividend: Allied victory. If America had not developed these innovations, our world would be severely different and doubtfully for the better.
Free Speech Under Attack in Nebraska – 4 sessions
Is freedom of speech in Nebraska at risk, or are people just exercising it now more than ever? Join four experts who delve into some of today’s hottest topics. Learn about the basic concepts related to the First Amendment, as well as how banning books has impacted Nebraska learners and families. Also learn about the dissolution of the journalism program in Grand Island Northwest High School and critical race theory and freedom of speech in the classroom.
Wanted: 100,000 Young Women to Go West! – 4 sessions
From the 1880’s to the 1950’s, Fred Harvey dining rooms along the Santa Fe Railroad line went through eight western states and offered weary travelers gourmet food, served in 30 minutes, and provided with high standards of service in 65 different towns. The “Harvey Girls” were courageous young women who wanted to be independent and self-sufficient. Join Lynn Roper, who discusses how and why more than 100,000 young women left their homes for a job, an adventure, and a new life out West.
American Government: What You Want and What You Get – 6 sessions
When Alexander Hamilton was asked about the United States’ new form of government, he responded, “Here, sir, the people govern.” Do we know as much as we think we know about how we rule ourselves? This is not your typical American government course. Retired history instructor Gary Timm will use real life events to help explain how all the moving parts mesh together to get us to where we are today.
Can Congress Be Fixed? – 1 session
Congress is broken. Bitter partisanship has taken over and made it nearly impossible for Congress to function. Two former congressmen, Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, and Republican Representative Doug Bereuter, who served Nebraska honorably for many years, discuss the current state of Congress and what might be done about it.
Everything You Need to Know about Electric Vehicles – 1 session
This presentation focuses on the ins and outs of electric vehicles. Learn about safety, cost, recharging, heating and cooling systems and more. Also learn what Lincoln Electric System and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Energy are doing to support the use of electric vehicles in Nebraska.
Historical Uses of Native Plants – 1 session
Nebraska’s native wildflowers and grasses have a rich history here on the Great Plains. These plants were not only beautiful but were also useful to the Native Americans and prairie pioneers. Most every plant had a purpose, whether it was used for ceremony, food, medicine, shelter or for play. Learn about our native wild fruits, nuts, seeds, and other edible plants which grow wild in our region or in your own yard.
Conservation Easements: A Critical Voluntary Tool – 1 session
The permanent conservation of private land through voluntary agreements known as conservation easements or agricultural land easements has grown tremendously in the last 30 years. Dave Sands, Executive Director of Nebraska Land Trust, looks at easements’ conservation goals, flexibility to meet goals, and touch on economic and property tax aspects of easements. He focuses on agricultural land easements designed to assure the conservation of working farms and ranches.
Weather Extremes: Tornadoes, Thunderstorms, and More – 1 session
Severe weather comes to us through our senses, whether it’s the sound of thunder, the feel of high winds and driving rain, the view of storm clouds, or the soreness in your joints when bad weather is predicted. KOLN/KGIN TV meteorologist Brad Anderson details severe weather statistics, safety and terminology, and shares stories, pictures, and videos of historic storms and tornadoes.
Women at Work: Nebraska, 1880-1940 – 1 session
Anne Diffendal, retired archivist, reflects upon the work of Nebraska women in time past. Through photographs from the collections of History Nebraska, view women at work in a wide variety of settings: home, field, shop, office, restaurant, factory, and others.
Reading the New Media: Digital Literacy – 1 session
The modern media environment is a continuously evolving landscape challenging traditional views of truth. In this environment facts, data, opinions, disinformation, misinformation, and marketing are muddled together. A 2017 study by the Pew Research Center found only 17 percent of Americans are considered skilled and able enough to actively participate in and navigate the modern digital media environment. UNL associate professor of Communication Studies, Aaron Duncan, discusses the need for media literacy and the challenges we face in our current environment while offering steps for practicing digital literacy.
Meyer v. Nebraska: Will It Fall Like Roe v. Wade – 2 sessions
The Constitutional right to abortion was eliminated in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case. The basis of that right was found in a Nebraska case, Meyer v. The State of Nebraska, decided 100 years ago. At least one Supreme Court justice has written that Meyer, like Roe, was wrongly decided. OLLI member Randy Moody discusses Meyer and the loss of personal liberties should it fall.
The Battle of Britain: How Upstream Thinking Saved a Nation – 3 sessions
The famous air war known as the “Battle of Britain” pitted German air forces against British defenders over British skies in 1940. Winston Churchill acknowledged the brave British pilots by his words “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” But the story behind how the aircraft, radar systems, and communications network performed so perfectly at the right moment is even more fascinating. Retired Major General Roger Lempke focuses on how over a decade, key elements came together under great technical uncertainty and opposition, just in time to defeat the German Air Force.