Nermeen Shaikh is a broadcast news producer and weekly cohost at Democracy Now! in New York City. She was previously managing editor at the Asia Society. She has interviewed hundreds of figures from the academic, foreign policy, business, activist, and arts communities. She has also worked at nonprofit organizations in London, Islamabad, and Tehran. She has an M.Phil. in politics from Cambridge University, and is the author of The Present as History: Critical Perspectives on Global Power published by Columbia University Press. She currently serves on the editorial board of the Romebased journal Development.


In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, selforganized events that bring people together to share a TEDlike experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, selforganized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are selforganized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)