BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN URL:https://lectures.london/london-school-of-economics/why-evidence-matter s/calender.ics NAME:Lectures London X-WR-CALNAME:Lectures London TIMEZONE-ID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:9f473da2-70b0-4fc6-b08e-6049bffae859 SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20260618T073531 DTSTART:20260620T130000 DTEND:20260620T140000 SUMMARY:Why evidence matters LOCATION:London School of Economics: In-person and online public event (Ma rshall Building) DESCRIPTION:Saturday 20 June 2026 2pm - 3pmSpeakersJohn Burn-MurdochHelen PearsonDavid ShukmanChairProfessor Emily JacksonHow can scientific evidenc e help us in an age of “alternative facts”?As chief data reporter for the Financial Times\, John Burn-Murdoch uses statistics and graphics to di g into the most pressing issues of the day\, covering everything from the economy to climate change\, social issues and healthcare. His high-profile use of visualization and data science helped audiences around the world u nderstand the complexities of the coronavirus pandemic. He helps to inject data and evidence-based argument into what can be very polarising topics. In her new book\, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works\, sc ience journalist Helen Pearson tells the story of the global movement cham pioning the idea that evidence\, not opinions\, should guide our decisions . For many years\, most medical advice was based on doctors’ opinions an d conventional wisdom\, not solid science. Helen Pearson describes how evi dence-based medicine swept the world in the 1990s—becoming the predomina nt form of medicine practiced today—and how the idea that evidence shoul d guide decisions is quietly transforming a host of other fields as well. At a time when science is under attack and questionable claims run rampant \, Pearson underscores the importance of evidence in all facets of our liv es\, empowering each of us to sift fact from falsehood and misinformation from the truth.From the start of his reporting on climate change more than twenty years ago\, David Shukman sought to convey the scientific evidence about it as clearly as possible - to try to give audiences a sense of wha t’s known about the risks and what isn’t. Key to that has been finding the right language to explain complex research in intelligible ways\, a t ask he’s continued in his new book\, The Response: A Story of Fire and F lood in Britain’s New World of Extremes\, published in May 2026. The BBC ’s first Science Editor\, David now works as a speaker and consultant. S ir David Attenborough described him as ‘a leader in raising awareness of the climate emergency’.Meet your speakers and chairJohn Burn-Murdoch is a columnist and the chief data reporter for the Financial Times\, for whi ch he writes the weekly Data Points column. He is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Data Science Institute at LSE.Helen Pearson is a journalist and ed itor for Nature\, the world’s leading science journal. She has more than 20 years’ experience in science journalism\, including five years as Na ture’s Chief Magazine Editor. She has won multiple awards\, including Eu ropean Science Journalist of the Year 2025 and Editor of the Year 2022 at the Association of British Science Writers’ awards. She is an Honorary P rofessor at University College London\, where she teaches science writing. Her first book\, The Life Project\, was named best science book of the ye ar by The Observer and was a book of the year for The Economist. Her secon d book\, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works\, was publish ed in April 2026. She has a degree in natural sciences from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in genetics from the University of Edinburgh.David Shukman began in journalism while studying for a BA in Geography at the U niversity of Durham\, later working in local newspapers and then the BBC i n 1983. He reported from Northern Ireland during The Troubles\, worked as Defence Correspondent and then Europe Correspondent\, based in Brussels. H e went on to lead the BBC’s coverage of climate change and other environ mental issues\, first as Environment and Science Correspondent from 2003-2 012 and then as the BBC’s first Science Editor from 2012-2021. David set out to help the public understand the state of climate science\, the impa cts of climate change and possible solutions\, with broadcasts from as far afield as the Antarctic and the Amazon. After nearly forty years as a co rrespondent for BBC News\, David is now working as an independent consulta nt\, writer and broadcaster. He is a Visiting Professor in Practice in th e Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE .Emily Jackson first joined the LSE in 1998. After graduating from Oxford University\, she worked as a research officer at the Centre for Socio-Lega l Studies in Oxford. Her first teaching position was at St Catharine’s C ollege\, Cambridge\, and she has also taught at Birkbeck College and Queen Mary\, University of London. Emily’s research interests are in the fiel d of medical law. She has served as a member of the British Medical Associ ation Medical Ethics Committee (2005-2022)\, Deputy Chair of the Human Fer tilisation and Embryology Authority (2008-2012) and a Judicial Appointment s Commissioner (2014-2017). She is a Fellow of the British Academy\, and i n 2017 was awarded an OBE for services to higher education.More about this eventThis event is part of the LSE Festival: How to save the planet runni ng from Monday 15 to Saturday 20 June 2026. This year's Festival explores how existential threats including the climate crisis\, conflict and AI are affecting all parts of the world\, transforming the way and where we live \, and how our societies function. With a series of events asking what can we be doing to save the Earth\, its people and environment? Booking for a ll Festival events will open on Monday 18 May.There will be book sales bef ore or after this event in MAR.1.10. Helen Pearson and David Shukman will be staying after the event to sign books.For any queries relating to this event please email events@lse.ac.uk.Hashtag for this event: #LSEFestivalLS E Blogs Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs\, which prese nt research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Foll ow LSE British Politics\, the Business Review\, LSE Impact\, LSE European Politics and the LSE Review of Books to learn more about the debates ou r events series present.Live captions If the event is live streamed\, auto mated live captions will be available. Please note that this feature uses Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology\, or machine generated trans cription and is not 100% accurate.Photography and filming Photographs are regularly taken at LSE events both by LSE staff and members of the media a nd events are routinely filmed. 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Existing LSE staff and s tudents are encouraged to use eduroam instead.From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to att end this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.LSE holds a wide range of events\, covering many of the most controversial iss ues of the day\, and speakers at our events may express views that cause o ffence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the p osition or views of the London School of Economics and Political Science. URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.lse.ac.uk/events/lse-festival/2026/why-evidence- matters END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR