MIT – which was ranked the world’s top university by QS University Rankings earlier this week – has led the way in making its course work freely available on the internet. Ideas talks to Rebecca Griffiths, an expert on online learning from the United States, about why elite universities are offering some of the courses for free; we hear about Chalkle, a new start-up that has seen Wellingtonians flocking to courses covering everything from longbow making to cooking the perfect paella; and Dr Robin Williams recalls attending WEA lectures by the philosopher of science Karl Popper in 1930s Canterbury.