Scholars and authors from the humanities, biology, and spatial sciences will discuss wide-ranging perspectives on life on Earth today—from fascinating discoveries of new types of life on Earth to the urgent realities of climate change. Bridging science, storytelling, technology, and public engagement, the conversation will offer new ways to understand our planet and to create a safer and more resilient world. 

Panelists:

• William R. Handley teaches in the English department of the University of Southern California. He is the author most recently of Horizons of Catastrophe in the American West (University of Nebraska Press). He is past president of the Western Literature Association, co-editor of True West: Authenticity and the American West, and the editor of The Brokeback Book: From Story to Cultural Phenomenon.
• Karen G. Lloyd is the Wrigley Professor of Earth Sciences, and Marine and Environmental Biology at USC. She has contributed to the discovery of strange new types of microbial life inside Earth’s crust. She dives to the deep-sea in submersibles, drills deep into high Arctic permafrost, and descends into the mouths of volcanoes to find the weird microbes that live there. Her work has appeared in leading publications such as Nature and Science. She has given two TED talks and is the author of Intraterrestrials: Discovering the Strangest Life on Earth, published by Princeton University Press.
• Diana Ter-Ghazaryan is an Associate Professor (Teaching) of Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California’s Spatial Sciences Institute. She is engaged in interdisciplinary research and public-facing conversations that bridge academia and broader audiences. Her research and teaching apply geospatial analysis to questions of human security, international relations, and risk. She is a co-editor of Security First: Geospatial Workflows for a Safe and Equitable World (Esri Press), a recent workbook that examines how geographic information systems (GIS) and geospatial intelligence can be used to address pressing global issues such as human rights, environmental justice, disaster response, and security.
• Allison Agsten (moderator) is the inaugural director of USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, where she develops initiatives to bolster public understanding of—and response to—climate change. She is also executive producer of the USC energy transition podcast series, Electric Futures, and the author of a range of reports addressing climate change and the media, corporate sustainability practices, and policy-related issues. In addition to her appointment at the Annenberg School, Agsten provides support to faculty, staff, and students in her work as an eco-chaplain within the university’s Office of Religious Life.

This panel is part of the 2026 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC.