Yes, it can be done, as you’ll soon find out once you listen to Michael Rank’s History In Five Minutes Podcast! Learn about the lives of various leaders and rulers, both the ruthless and the charismatic, and find out what they did that earned them their worldwide reputation; from Genghis Khan to Vlad Dracul. Also, find out what major events like the Plague and the Crusades shaped how we have evolved as a society.

You’d be surprised at how much information you can get just from listening to Rank’s 5-minute narratives. He presents his material in such a way that is bound to make you feel like you’d want to explore deeper into the subject matter. If he has already covered a particular subject that you’re currently doing a homework or a project on, then you’re in luck, ‘coz his podcast is perfect to help you get started with more than just a gist.
In this featured episode, Rank talks about the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which he describes as influential as Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin combined. What did he do to make such an indelible mark on history? Well, hit the play button and find out.

You can also check out what he has covered so far by visiting his official website.

The Mickey Miles podcast is hosted by Mike Scopa and Michelle Scribner-MacLean which is focused on runDisney. If you’re into running, then you’ve got to tune in to this podcast because there are many things to learn in each episode.

Episode 66 is a recap of what happened at the Expedition Everest Challenge, and about what the hosts experienced in the event. The current race was family-oriented, unlike the earlier versions of 5K, and presented its own unique challenges and perks as it was more of a laid-back event compared to the previous marathons.

Listen to episode 66 here.

Listen in and join Todd as he interviews various artists and leaders in the field such as Seth Godin, David Allen, Steve Pressfield. In each episode they address problems that people in the creative field encounter in their line work, particularly when it comes to productivity. Find out what their secrets are to stay ‘creatively engaged’ as they share ideas and practical ways for you to become prolific, brilliant, and healthy in both your life and work.

In his last episode, Todd talks about setting artificial limits when it comes to your goals. You can find the complete list of episode in iTunes.

Here are some of the movies (best and worst) to watch.

The Great Gatsby (May 10)

An all-star cast and an all-star movie soundtrack have transformed a boring old-school novel into one of the hottest films of this season. Baz Luhrmann’s theatrical direction also makes for a grand visual feast on screen.

Star Trek: Into Darkness (May 15)

One of the most popular sci-fi series of all time, Star Trek,‘s reboot has received good reviews, and the latest installment could be another hit. But critics may not like how Abrams handled the plot as well as the action scenes.

The Hangover Part III (May 24)

Expect more hilarious misadventures with the gang, though hopefully this installment would bring us something fresh as compared to the first two movies.

Fast and Furious 6 (May 24)

It seems like this series will never end. As long as it keeps racking up at the box office, there would definitely be another installment of Fast and Furious.

Man of Steel (June 24)

This could be the most anticipated film of all the films to be released this summer. We have a new Superman/Clark Kent in James Cavill! Although it’s a new reboot, hopefully this will do justice this time to one of the most influential superheroes of all time as the first remake flopped.

Monsters University (June 21)

It’s the prequel of Monsters Inc., which is said to be the worst Pixar movie to date. This time around, let’s see if it will bounce back as one of the best.

The Lone Ranger (July 5)

It’s good to see Lone Ranger on the big screen because its popularity has long since faded. Newcomer Armie Hamer plays the role of the masked man, and with Johnny Depp in the cast, we might be up for a lot of laughs.

R.I.P.D. (July 12)

In this M.I.B. meets Ghost Rider meets Ghostbusters adventure, Ryan Reynolds plays a cop who gets murdered and joins a police department in the afterlife that hunts down criminals. Jeff Bridges also stars here.

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) Podcast is a show recorded at the gallery that features artists, curators, writers, exhibitors and explores how art shapes and inspires everyone.

Art is one of the things that helps us in relieving stress and this podcast helps enlighten us further about its disciplines.

The featured episode discusses Czech photographer Josef Sudek’s different works. Sudek is regarded as one of the most respected and legendary photographers from the 20th century. Spanning his career for over 60 years, he is popularly known for his photograph works of Prague and his unique take on everyday subjects.

The image above was one of Sudek’s works titled The Window of My Studio, 1940-1954.

Listen to the episode via this link. You can also find other equally interesting podcast topics in the iPodder Podcast Directory, or other topics you want to include in your own podcast in other directories such as usukdir.com.

Marvel Studios with Paramount Pictures already gave us Iron Man 3 – much to our delight – and now it’s time for the rest of Hollywood to make us feel good about busting $8-$12 at the theaters. So how many and which one of them are worth one-and-half to two hours of your time? Below is a list of upcoming movies this summer that I’m feeling confident about spending my money on.

Man of Steel (June 14) – I have to admit that I’m still doubtful on this one because of Zack Snyder’s involvement. Don’t get me wrong, with all due respect to Snyder, he can direct and he’s pretty good when it comes to visual presentation (e.g. 300, Watchmen), but writing and producing? Sucker Punch, anyone?

Now I know that some said not to worry because Christopher Nolan produced it, but that’s not what Henry Cavill said in his recent interview with CMB. According to him, it was actually Snyder who was in charge the whole time – not Nolan (which he himself affirmed). Oh well, I guess we’ll just hope for the best as we wait and see.

Pacific Rim (July 12) – Again, just like with the Man of Steel, the reason why I wouldn’t mind spending my money on this one (whether it becomes a huge box office success or not) is because of the ‘man at the helm’, which in this case is Guillermo del Toro.

Whenever this man is put in charge of a film that involves strange creatures, I feel confident that it’s going to be good. Case examples: Hellboy and Hellboy 2, and Pan’s Labyrinth. But writer/director aside, another reason why this ought to be something worth watching is because it is something refreshing. After all, it’s not that often do we get to see giant monster (a.k.a. Kaiju) films, right, especially good ones.

The Wolverine (July 26) – The reason why this is on this list is simple – I enjoyed watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This may not be much of a huge hit, especially when compared to Iron Man and Man of Steel, but it’ll certainly be a fun and worthwhile movie to watch.

Elysium (August 9) – if you love District 9 then you might have high hopes for this one. After all, it is both written and directed by the same person: Neill Blomkamp. Plus, it also features Sharlto Copley, who played as the protagonist Wikus Van De Merwe in District 9. How’s that for a good bonus?

Dressed in his signature light-blue dress shirt, tie, and suspenders, Kenny acts as the Mayor of Storyville who goes around visiting elementary schools and telling K-5th grade students wonderful stories with interesting characters. But it’s not just the kids that get to be entertained; even parents enjoy the tales as Kenny sometimes throws in a little reference to something that adults can relate to. Like in this featured episode shown below, where Kenny does a great impression of Christopher Walken and Thurston Howell III, which the kids aren’t likely to catch but the parents and teachers who are listening surely will.

Aside from its iTunes channel, also be sure to check out the audio romp of Mayor of Storyville: Now This is Fun that contains 42 minutes of songs and stories featured from various episodes of the show.

In this episode, the show features stories of people who feel compelled to go out somewhere for an adventure. Andrew Forsthoefel tells his own story, when he decides to walk across America after losing his job, taking the trip from his home in Philadelphia to San Francisco! And whoa, did he make 4,000 miles!

Along the way, Andrew met a lot of people, and interviewed some of them including Bill Guy of Shady Grove, AL; Therese Jornlin of Chadds Ford, PA; Hacky Pitts of High Point, NC; Ollie Ware of Franklin, LA; Karie Fugett of Foley, AL; Emma Lou Dailey of Beatrice, AL; Otho Rogers of Melrose, NM; Chris and James Paisano of Fort Defiance, AZ.

You may listen to the full episode right here.

Although I personally agree with most of what was presented (especially the part about fighting), there are a couple of examples there that I’d like to beg to differ on. Then again, the video is listed under comedy so one shouldn’t take the material (too) seriously, plus, Ryan did say at the end of the show that the examples he stated are exaggerated so there really ought to be no problem. Right?

Anyway, enough with the details and just watch the video yourself and find out if you’re guilty of immature behavior. If you think that one or few of the examples he has given are debatable (I know I do), feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This episode features comedian Ronny Chieng as guest. His onstage persona is very funny yet relaxed, not at all aggressive. But when he isn’t in the limelight, he’s just as laid-back and easy to get along with. As what Justin emphasizes, there are stand-up comedians that people don’t like when they’re already off-stage, and good thing Ronny Chieng isn’t one of them.

Chieng discusses how he discovers and creates his written material which is narrative in style, entertaining the most ridiculous questions, how he started out being a stand-up comedian from watching Seinfeld, his background (half-Malaysian, half-Chinese), and his other experiences on and off the stage.

Listen now and enjoy more than a couple of laughs with the show!