What to Believe is the story of the global movement promoting the use of research evidence to reveal whether practices work.
In the 1990s, medicine was transformed by the idea that evidence—in the form of randomized controlled trials—was the best way to guide medical practice, rather than doctors’ differing opinions or anecdotal experience. This concept sparked a revolution known as evidence-based medicine, which has become the predominant form of medicine today. Only by rigorous testing can we know whether a therapy helps or harms.
Since then, the idea that research-based evidence should be used to show what works has swept into government policy, education, policing, conservation, international development, management and parenting. What to Believe will relate the important, timely, untold story of this movement. It is the counter-narrative to misinformation’s rise, and a practical guide for anyone seeking a way to make rational decisions in a world of conflicting information.