Science lectures for the inquisitive and wondering
Bristol Skeptics Society is delighted to present Skeptics in the P̶u̶b̶… Theatre! Skeptics in the Pub is a regular lecture series, hosting academics from the world of science and skepticism, to share their unique research and insights. The goal is for every talk to delight and inspire, and help us understand our complex world a little better.
January 2026: This Is Your Life. (Sentence) – Surviving a Prison System on the Brink.
The inside of a prison is a place that most of us will never see, yet we rely on it to “fix” as well as punish the people we send there. Almost everyone who goes to prison will return to the community — and we hope they are rehabilitated when they leave.
Over the past few decades, sentences have grown longer and longer, while recent headlines paint a picture of a system on the brink: overcrowding, emergency early releases, mistaken releases, and courts backed up for years. In an environment like this, can we seriously talk about rehabilitation? And if not, what are we doing?
In this talk, prison law solicitor Emma McClure takes a critical tour through the modern prison system: the realities of serving long sentences, the myths we tell ourselves about punishment, and what genuine, evidence-based rehabilitation might look like.
Emma is a solicitor specialising in prison and public law and skeptic. She regularly represents prisoners before the Parole Board with a particular focus on complex and indeterminate cases and was a finalist for Legal Aid Lawyer of the year in 2025. In her limited spare time she enjoys running and boring other people with how much she enjoys running.
Skepticism is the philosophy that we can understand the world better by using evidence and scientific methods. The skeptical community is committed to combating misinformation, and pursuing a better, more compassionate world, through scientific exploration and inquiry – and making some friends whilst doing it! 🔎❤️
Bristol Skeptics Society is a Bristol based non-profit education and advocacy organisation, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking in Bristol, around the UK, and internationally. Founded in 2009, we have hosted hundreds of speakers over the years on a variety of skeptical and scientific topics, and supported local and national skeptical campaigns.
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