East Street Arts member & studio holder Rose George appeared at TED 2013 in Long Beach (California) last week.

Rose is a journalist and author who has published two books and numerous articles for the Financial Times, Guardian and the New York Times amongst others.

A trip to a public bathroom stall several years ago inspired her to write The Big Necessity: Adventures in the World of Human Waste. In her TED talk she remarked: “I asked myself the question: Where does this stuff go? With this question, I found myself plunged into the world of sanitation, toilets and poop. And I have yet to emerge.”

This event was the fifth and final TED conference in Long Beach before moving to Vancouver next year. TED addresses a wide range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can. Past presenters include Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.

You can find out more information about Rose’s recent talk on the TED blog