What Makes us Human?

Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University's Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Chair of Psychology, examines the impact of inequality on psychological well-being.

Linda Shi, assistant professor of city and regional planning, discusses how efforts to adapt to climate change can also worsen inequality.

Ziad Fahmy, associate professor and chair of Near Eastern studies at Cornell University, looks at what the Nile River means to Egypt.

Prabhu Pingali, director, Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, and professor of applied economics and policy and nutritional science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, explains the impact of clean, piped-in water on women and girls in India.

Jonathan Lunine, astronomy professor and director, Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science at Cornell University, examines the origin of our planet’s water.

Athena Kirk, assistant professor of classics in the College of Arts & Sciences, examines Odysseus’ complex relationship with water.

Charles Geisler, professor of development sociology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, explores the critical question of who owns our planet’s water.

Eric Tagliacozzo, professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, explores the critical role the oceans have played in Southeast Asia.

Taryn Bauerle, associate professor in the School of Integrative and Plant Science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, explores the critical role trees play in the earth’s water cycle.

William Kennedy, Avalon Foundation Professor Emeritus in the Humanities, explains the influence of water on European Renaissance culture.