Season 1, Episode 6 —Tracey Brown on evidence, accountability, and the public interest
Evidence is often treated as something produced by experts and delivered to the public. Tracey Brown argues that the relationship works in the opposite direction as well: citizens have a responsibility to question, scrutinize, and demand the evidence behind decisions that affect their lives.
In this conversation, Brown, director of Sense about Science and founder of the Ask for Evidence campaign, reflects on two decades of efforts to strengthen transparency, accountability, and public access to scientific evidence. Drawing on campaigns ranging from clinical trial transparency to independent scientific advice in government, she discusses why evidence matters, how institutions earn trust, and what happens when uncertainty is manipulated for political purposes.
The conversation explores the limits of evidence in public decision-making, the dangers of polarization, the weaponization of uncertainty, the role of journalism as part of society’s evidence infrastructure, and the growing challenge of maintaining public trust when competing claims to evidence dominate political debate.
Themes covered:
Evidence, accountability, and public trust
Transparency in government and policymaking
The weaponization of uncertainty
Journalism, scrutiny, and public-interest information
Clinical trial transparency and institutional reform
Polarization, authority, and competing claims to evidence
Recorded on June 24, 2026.
Co-hosted by Amna Habiba, Bupe Chikumbi and John Heilprin.
