Music is one of the defining features of what it means to be a human. Music can inspire us, teach us, heal us and brings us together in powerful ways. But how, and why, are we musical? I will explore the science and evolution behind human musicality by presenting engaging evidence from human brain imaging and animal studies to answer these fundamental questions.Dr. John Rehner Iversen, PhD is a cognitive neuroscientist studying the interactions between music and the brain. He recently joined McMaster University as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior after a decade at the University of California San Diego. Iversen (co)directs several studies of the impact of music training on development in childhood and adolescence including the the EARLI project, part of a National Endowment for the Arts Research Laboratory. These projects place the impact of music into a broader neurodevelopmental framework, in which researchers are charting the 'growth curves' of the developing brain to understand how brain development shapes the emerging skills of each individual. After undergraduate studies in Physics at Harvard, he received an MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge and a PhD in Speech and Hearing Science from MIT.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

In her talk, Rachel Rich wants you to question what these most innocuous and ubiquitous of household staples are trying to say about you. Rachel decodes cookbooks past and present to reveal their hidden messages and explains why she thinks you’re safe to ignore them. Dr Rachel Rich is a historian specializing in the cultural history of food in modern Europe, with a current focus on royal dining in Georgian England. She is the Co-Editor of Food and History, a member of the scientific council of the IEHCA and is a Fellow of both the Royal Historical Society and the Higher Education Academy.Rachel’s research explores the intersections of food, gender, class, and national identity, with particular attention to women’s roles as cookbook writers and readers. Her publications include the monograph Bourgeois Consumption: Food, Space and Identity in London and Paris, 1850–1914 and studies on women’s domestic timekeeping and cookbook authorship. Her current British Academy-funded project digitises and analyses menus from the household of King George III.This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

What happens to wind turbine blades once their job is done? In this eye-opening talk, Dr. Paul Leahy explores the overlooked challenge of turbine waste and introduces an innovative solution: repurposing blades into bridges and infrastructure. Through innovation, sustainability, and collaboration, we discover how the end of a blade’s life can mark the beginning of a new purpose—and why this shift is essential for a greener future. Paul Leahy is a Senior Lecturer in Wind Energy Engineering at University College Cork, Ireland, and an Investigator at the MAREI Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine Research. He leads research on sustainable energy and carbon dynamics. As a leader of the international Re-Wind project, he addressed the challenge of decommissioned wind turbine blades by repurposing them into new structures. In 2022, he co-founded BladeBridge, a startup that transforms turbine blades into green infrastructure such as e-bike charging hubs and street furniture. Paul is also a member of the Climate Change & Environmental Sciences Multidisciplinary Committee of the Royal Irish Academy and serves on the Steering Group of the International Energy Agency Wind Task 45, focusing on recycling wind turbine blades. His work is at the forefront of sustainable engineering and environmental innovation. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

What do pirates, air conditioning, and the shuffle button have in common? They weren’t meant to spark revolutions, but they did. In this talk, Daniela and Tatiana explore how small innovations and forgotten stories may have quietly shaped the world we live in today. From early experiments in pirate self-governance, to the political effects of air conditioning, to the way the shuffle button on our playlists may have rewired our generation’s brains. They invite us to reconsider how change happens. Not through grand design, but often through quiet, unexpected turns. My name is Tatiana Gari, and I’m in my final year studying Business Economics at the University of Exeter. As part of my placement year, I spent 12 months at UBS within their Investment Banking division, gaining experience in both the M&A and DCM teams. This sparked a strong interest in finance, which I’m now continuing to pursue with Evercore this summer. I’m a detail-oriented individual with a passion for learning and expanding my knowledge.I'm currently studying biotechnology with a concentration in tissue engineering, having split my academic path between Duke University and the Barcelona Institute of Chemical Engineering. From early on, I was drawn to the problem-solving nature of science; curious not just about how things work in the lab, but how they make their way into the real world. Such curiosity led me to intern at the Synbio Translational Synthetic Biology Lab, where I assisted on research at the intersection of biology and engineering. My restlessness also led me to intern at Asabys Partners, a healthcare-focused VC fund, where I gained a different vantage point that showed me how scientific breakthroughs rely not only on innovation, but also on capital. This perspective has shaped my decision to transition into finance. Currently, I’m excited to be joining J.P. Morgan as an incoming investment banking analyst, where I hope to keep bridging the gap between scientific potential and capital. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Engaging Everyday People through Art and Culture: Authentic Connection and Belonging Founder and Executive Director of Poder NC Action This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx