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In his daily work in genetics Josef Penninger plays on the piano of life from studying everything from curing the common cold to helping develop a cure for osteoporosis. In this talk Josef updates the audience on his most recent breakthroughs and calls for medicine and art to work together to form a beautiful tree of life.

Hot off the heels of his 2015 Nobel Prize win in Physics Art McDonald from the Sudbury SNO lab returned for his second ideacity talk on the mysterious world of Neutrinos. In his talk Art breaks down exactly what a neutrino is and why it is so important for us to lean about them. Make sure not to miss this talk and learn all about the basic building blocks of the world of physics.

Ric Bienstock has been making investigative documentaries for about 20 years. She is drawn to "the dark side", topics like porn, Ebola, sex trafficking and the human organ trade. Listen, as she takes us through the documentaries she's produced and shares some of the most revealing moments from those she's interviewed.

“For the same reasons we need to profoundly change to save our planet, we need to profoundly change to save our businesses.” These are the words of advice from long time ideacity friend and alum Jim Harris. Jim, who is one of North America’s foremost thinkers on disruptive innovation, change, leadership and sustainability joined us this year to discuss business and how many industries need to re-think their business model before they become out of date. In this thought provoking talk Jim discusses disruptive innovation and why being on the forefront of technology is only the beginning of it.

Author and feature writer Ian Brown has recently turned 60. This recent life change has led him to wonder: is this the beginning of the end or just the beginning of a new phase of life. In this humorous talk Ian discusses his recent life, body and mental changes and advocates for us all to slow down, keep a diary and pay attention to all the small details of life.

Are the most of us eating our way to an early grave with our North American style diet? Doctor, nutrition specialist and author Michael Greger says yes! In his rally cry of a talk, Dr. Greger outlines why switching to a plant based diet can not only help improve overall health but can also reverse effects of common diseases such as heart disease, a number one killer among North Americans. Drawing parallels between how we dealt with smoking in the past to how we are dealing with nutrition today this talk will have you reaching for more plant based food options and not asking ‘where’s the beef?’

Imagine a tree that produces 40 different varieties of stone fruits including peaches, plums, cherries and almonds. This was the dream of Sam Van Aken when he decided to graft together his passions of art, conservation and gardening to create the Tree of 40 Fruit. The trees which there are currently 21 of in the world, began their life as an art project to create a beautiful tree that blossomed pink, white and crimson. What Sam never imagined was that he would be diving deep into the world of grafting and conserving both heirloom and antique fruits. Make sure to watch this talk and learn why fruit conservation is so important and how old the oldest plum is!

Born in Canada but an American citizen by choice, author and political science expert F.H. Buckley believes that Canada’s political system is getting things right. In his second ideacity talk Buckley explains why Donald Trump might win the presidential election by giving an overview of how the concept of upward mobility has changed for the United States and how corrupt the political system in the United States really is.

Inspired by watching Star Trek as a kid Dr. James Delgado decided that he too wanted to explore new and exciting worlds… just not in space. Acting as the Director of Maritime Heritage in the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Dr. Delgado oversees heritage programs and active research in the United State’s waters, as well as outreach and education on America’s underwater and marine heritage. In his talk Dr. Delgado outlines why ocean research is important and how not only do our oceans hold the key to our past but also our future, we just need to boldly go where no person has gone before.

Described as a solo act with a band in her throat, beatbox and jazz musician Butterscotch helped us open the third day of ideacity 2016. In this emotional performance Butterscotch touches on her childhood depression, the recent shootings in Orlando and shares the message that we have to love and accept each other. You don’t want to miss this mind blowing performance and find how she is connected to the song Summertime by Gershwin.

Ron James left Canada to find the American dream however once he arrived he decided to head back to Canada and found the Canadian dream instead and is loving it. Listen to Ron’s second day closing performance in which he pokes fun of topics such as the recent presidential election, his Maritime up bringing and the Royal Family.

Joining us again after a 9 year gap (which felt like only a minute!) Canadian Jazz, Pop and Soul musician Nikki Yanofsky performs some traditional standards and gives us a sneak peek of her latest album. And back for a second time at ideacity Cuban-Canadian singing sensation Alex Cuba gave the performance of a lifetime with his unique style. Alex, who describes his music as being a fusion between a mango seed and an apple seed with get you in that chilled out island mood for the rest of your day. So sit back and watch this performance because we’re sure it will put a smile on your face.

Our relationship with pork is a story of both love and loathing. These thoughts from pig historian Mark Essig could not ring more true as he guides so through the history of pigs and the pork industry from ancient times up until today. Mark, who begins his talk with the analogy of the three pigs, describes to the pork industry and explains our move away from consuming pork in certain cultures. He also encourages us to take a closer look at current pig farming and insight change into the practices to ensure this fairytale has a happy ending.

In this episode of IDEACITY ON THE AIR, we feature performances by the very talented Daniel Clarke Bouchard, Colette Baron-Reid and Justin Gray.

We feature a debate on whether or not we could initiate contact with Extraterrestrial beings. This debate features Astrobiologist and President of METI - Douglas Vakoch and Scientist and Author of Science Fiction - David Brin.

A debate on ‘Sex with Robots’ featuring AI Expert - David Levy and Roboethicist - Kathleen Richardson.

Author and Zoologist Jules Howard has a love affair with slugs. While working on his most recent book Jules made a vow to himself to be a deviant and try to capture as many animals having sex on film as he could. He never dreamed that it would lead him down a road into the unknown learning about slugs, mites and other invertebrates which are practically unknown to our world. Follow along with Jules adventure and remember that not everything has been discovered already.

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz comes to ideacity to talk about his research on Google search data. Through his findings he has narrowed in on matters of sex, relationships, and all they encompass. Find out the “most Googled” questions from men and women (hint: most queries are related to genitalia).

Bat expert and founder of the Organization for Bat Conservation Robert Mies joined us at ideacity to educate and debunk many of the myths about our nighttime friends bats. Bats, which are found on almost every continent in the world are important to our ecosystems and not only eat insects such as mosquitos but also help pollinate plants such as avocados, agave and bananas. Make sure not to miss Robert's talk and learn why it is important for us to protect our bat population for the greater good of our economy.

“We’re not invincible, we’re all mortal and that is what we have in common with each other.” -Barbara Alink. The Alinker is for everyone who wants to maintain an active life regardless of their movement abilities/disabilities. Find out how the Alinker is changing the lives of people all over the world... Next, After a series of tragic personal losses singer-songwriter Christa Couture picked herself back up again and began making music. In this deeply personal performance Christa explains why she has entitled herself a ‘cyborg’ and has chosen to live by the phrase “if you can’t hide it decorate it!”