In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Belfer Center experts shared their perspectives on the future of the international human rights movement as part of the Carr Center's publication, Making a Movement: The History and Future of Human Rights. 

HKS Professor Sheila Jasanoff, a pioneer in the field of Science, Technology and Society studies, says successfully blending science and policymaking requires both an appropriately skeptical society and a scientific community that's responsive to human considerations.

On 7 November 2020, moments before Kamala Harris and Joe Biden began their victory speeches, giant screens flanking the stage proclaimed, "The people have chosen science." Yet, nearly 74 million Americans, almost half the voters, had cast their ballots for Donald Trump, thereby presumably not choosing science. Prominent scientists asserted that "science was on the ballot" and lamented that "a significant portion of America doesn't want science". But before despairing at the loss of trust in science, scholars and policymakers should be sure they are worrying about the right problem. 

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, launching the nuclear age. On the 75th anniversary of that somber event, Belfer Center experts reflect on the event and its aftermath. 

Like the rest of us, Jasanoff, who founded and directs Harvard’s STS program, has been keeping a close eye on the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike most of us, she’s equipped with decades of experience analyzing how democracy and science interact across countries and time periods. In our interview, compiled from two conversations, she explained how she’s been thinking through the crisis.

Sheila Jasanoff, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, speaks to TNM about the need for Science and Technology Studies, policy playing catch-up with the progress of science, data collection in democracies and more.

In a Q&A with Scientific American's Cross-Check blog, Professor Sheila Jasanoff says viewing science and technology with a critical eye can make the world a better place.