Nicholas Rogers

Connector, Entrepreneur, Producer, Startup, Writer/Editor

Nick Rogers is a producer, writer and community builder who creates ambitious live events around ideas, history and storytelling. He is the co-organizer and Director of Speaker Curation of TEDxOrlando and the former founder and chairman of TEDxKingstonUponThames. A lifelong TED fan, Nick is driven by the belief that great ideas shared well can genuinely change communities. He spent more than two decades in public service, including serving as a councillor and as a Member of the London Assembly, where he worked on city-wide policy and political campaigns. Originally from a background in railway operations, Nick has spent ten years as an Incident Controller with Network Rail, combining calm crisis management with big-picture thinking. Alongside TEDx, he is an airship historian and host of Up Ship! The Airship History Podcast. With his husband, Liam (Organizer of TEDxOrlando), he is now launching Story Circle, an events company bringing ambitious live storytelling experiences to Central Florida.

My greatest passion is airships and the overlooked potential they represent. I’ve been fascinated by them since I was eight years old, when a blimp drifted over my school and completely grabbed my attention. That moment sparked a lifelong interest that’s grown into serious research, podcasting, writing, consulting and other projects of my own. What draws me to airships isn’t just the history, fascinating though that is. It's the possibilities they offer for the modernage. They are a quieter, lower-carbon, more thoughtful solution to moving people and goods, connecting remote places, easing pressure on roads and runways, and reshaping how we think about distance and access. For me, they are a practical solution that also happens to feel a little bit magical.

Airships as a means of passenger and freight transport - the technology is there, it's been done before and would be amazing! Green, quiet and efficient... This is the subject of my 2024 TEDx talk.

Airships, Coaching, Events, Management, Operations, Podcasting, Presenting, Public speaking, Railway, Transport

The idea to start TEDxKingstonUponThames came to me in 2015 on an ordinary train ride to work. We’d just moved to Kingston in south-west London and I wanted a way to feel more connected to my new home. I remember thinking, “Why not start a TEDx?” So we built a team and took a leap. Our first gathering, in 2016 at Kingston University, filled a small room of 100 people. It felt electric. My husband and I are not very good at thinking small, though. The next year we booked the largest theatre in town, and sold it out. Then we did it again. And again. Over nearly a decade we developed the programme, even navigating the pandemic to keep the momentum alive. We assumed our 2024 show would be the finale. Instead, while we were preparing to relocate to Florida, Liam spotted that the TEDxOrlando licence was available. It felt like fate. Now, with a brilliant new team, we’re building our biggest stage yet in a new city, with the same goal we started with back on that train: bring interesting people together and share ideas that matter. Onwards!

Video games. I don't necessarily fit the classic 'gamer' stereotype, but I love to while away an hour or two with a map-based strategy game, moving my armies around like a latter day nerdy Napoleon. I’ve learned a surprising amount about history, politics and diplomacy from them, and I think games are one of the most underrated tools in the educator’s toolbox. I may even be even creating one of my own...