In this heartfelt TEDx talk, Felony Misdemeanor describes how doing drag became a journey from rejection to radical self-love. Through humor and honesty, she shares how coming out, embracing drag, and building community turned pain into power— and proves that drag doesn’t just entertain, it saves lives. Felony Misdemeanor is a walking contradiction turned living legend — a drag artist, community leader, icon, and activist who once hated drag and now uses it to save lives. Born from resistance and refined through purpose, Felony doesn’t just perform — she transforms. Her story is one of rebellion turned revelation: proof that healing can wear lashes and a crown. With a sharp tongue and a soft heart, she stormed stages, shattered norms, and stood boldly in spaces that weren’t built for her — and made them hers.Through her work with Planned Parenthood and Black Pride Colorado, she’s amplified the voices of the unheard, the unseen, and the unstoppable. Felony Misdemeanor is more than a name — she’s a movement draped in sequins, shaped by struggle, and committed to reminding every soul that growth is gritty, glittery, and gloriously real.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
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- 18:54Reimagining Economies through AI-Powered Innovation | Gary Shiffman | TEDxGreenville SalonIn his TEDxGreenville talk, Gary Shiffman explores the disconnect between Greenville’s impressive GDP growth and its lagging real wages, highlighting South Carolina’s rank near the bottom nationally. Analyzing over a century of economic plans, he reveals the city’s consistent prioritization of growth over wages. Shiffman warns that Greenville’s labor-driven economic path is outdated in an era of AI, where capital increasingly replaces labor. He urges local leaders, educators, and entrepreneurs to act now—by building innovation labs, launching startups, and recruiting AI firms. Greenville, he argues, is ideally positioned to lead the next generation of advanced manufacturing by focusing on building happy employees. I believe that small groups of creative and dedicated people change the world. I seek to work with and to empower others working to help make our communities freer and safer in a complex, coercive, and violent world. I have served in war and traveled the world, studied Economics human behavior, and worked at the pinnacles of power in government and in industry.I co-founded two AI companies when I saw an opportunity join behavioral science with AI innovations coming from computer science to empower those on the front lines of combatting coercion, fraud, and violence in the military, law enforcement, and in financial institutions.I love to teach, write, and engage with curious people. 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
- 9:37We need ugly art — here’s why | MJ Chiao | TEDxUBCWhen we think academia, the comic book and comic form is usually overlooked as a piece of valuable literary scholarship. Comics are often presumed as not academic or critical enough to be a valid source of literary study, and if they are to be taken seriously only a certain kind of tragic, memoir style are considered worth analyzing. By arguing that ‘bad art’, ‘ugly comics’, or ‘juvenile fiction’ are necessary fragments of history to navigate the quickly developing world around us, MJ Chiao advocates for the comics form as a radical form of activism and social remembering. Ugly comics becomes survival. MJ Chiao is a fourth year English Literature student who is passionate about comics and graphic forms. With a love for teaching and writing, MJ wishes to challenge the status quo of English studies and academia to encompass the new medias and technologies of our everyday. 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
