Beyond Belief: How medicine embraced evidence - and what comes next | 2 June 2026

At a moment when health systems face mounting pressure to do more with less, and when trust in institutions and expertise is increasingly fragile, the question of how we know what actually works has never felt more urgent. LSE Health welcomed science journalist and author Helen Pearson to discuss her acclaimed book, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works, which charts the remarkable rise of evidence-based thinking: from its roots in medicine to its growing influence across public policy, government, education, and beyond. From randomised controlled trials that upended decades of received medical wisdom, to the slow but steady spread of rigorous evaluation into criminal justice, welfare reform, and public health, Pearson's book traces how a quiet revolution in evidence has reshaped the way we make decisions, and why it matters enormously that we defend and deepen it. For students and scholars of health policy, the book raises questions that sit at the heart of the discipline: How do we translate evidence into practice? What happens when robust findings collide with political realities? And how do we build systems — and cultures — that are genuinely committed to learning what works? Speaker: Helen Pearson Discussant: Deborah Cohen Chair: Huseyin Naci