In this mock trial, it will be debated whether the social sciences, as an area of research, commentary and investigation, has failed society.

With public trust in democracy at the lowest it has been in decades, in a time of mounting social discontent and increasing inequality - particularly between the rich and poor, the healthy and sick, old and the young, the homed and the homeless - who is it that we can look to for help? 

What information and tools can social scientists provide us with in order to tackle some of the complex problems arising in society today?

The prosecution will argue the case on behalf of the people, while the professors will defend their science. The jury (the live audience) will also have the opportunity to question witnesses. 

Oriana Bandiera (@orianabandiera) is Director of STICERD and Sir Anthony Atkinson Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, LSE.

Julia Black is LSE Strategic Director for Innovation and Professor of Law at the Department of Law, LSE.

Richard Blundell (@R_Blundell_UCL) is David Ricardo Professor of Political Economy at the Department of Economics, University College London.

Conor Gearty (@conorgearty) is Professor of Human Rights Law at the Department of Law, LSE.

Rachel Glennerster (@rglenner) is Chief Economist for the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Adnan Khan is Professor in Practice at the School of Public Policy, LSE.

Paul Kirby (@paul1kirby) is CEO and co-founder of Zinc, and Visiting Professor at LSE.

Rachel Middlemass is Research Impact Manager at LSE.

David Halpern is Chief Executive of the Behavioural Insights Team.

Hetan Shah (@HetanShah) is CEO of The British Academy and Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London.

Tony Travers is Associate Dean of the School of Public Policy and Professor in Practice at the Department of Government, LSE.

STICERD (STICERD_LSE) brings together world-class academics to put economics and related disciplines at the forefront of research and policy. Founded in 1978 by the renowned Japanese economist Michio Morishima, with donations from Suntory and Toyota, we are a thriving research community within the LSE. 

The Department of Economics (@LSEEcon) at LSE is one of the leading economics departments in the world. They are a large department, ensuring all mainstream areas of economics are strongly represented in research and teaching.

The Department of Law (@LSELaw) is one of the world’s best law schools. The department ranked first for research outputs in the UK's most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) and was in the top 5 law departments overall in the 2018 Complete University Guide. Our staff play a major role in helping to shape policy debates, and in the education of current and future lawyers and legal scholars from around the world.

The School of Public Policy (@LSEPublicPolicy) is an international community where ideas and practice meet. Our approach creates professionals with the ability to analyse, understand and resolve the challenges of contemporary governance.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSETrial