On The Stand

An interactive program with factual evidence, real experts... and fake lawyers!

We put the fossil fuel industry's own messaging on trial and the people found them guilty.

Presided over by actor Simone Missick, the courtroom featured teams of comedians and writers sparring as prosecution and defense, with expert witnesses Bill McKibben, Saad Amer, Jessie Bluedorn, and Adrian Martinez grounding the chaos in fact. The audience served as jury.

The prosecution built its case across three acts. 

First: how Big Oil spent decades shifting blame onto individuals, from funding Keep America Beautiful's anti-litter campaigns in the 1950s to popularizing the personal carbon footprint calculator, all while lobbying against any real systemic accountability. 

Second: the industry's long-running campaign to sell recycling as a solution, despite internal knowledge that it was economically unviable, with only 8-10% of plastic ever actually recycled. 

Third: how fossil fuel companies have targeted children for generations through branded school curricula, pro-industry children's books, and sponsorships inside games like Fortnite with 650 million users.

The defense was played for laughs, but the facts on screen stayed real throughout.

Judge Missick closed with a reminder that while comedy was the real verdict of the evening, over 32 active lawsuits in the US and hundreds globally are pursuing the fossil fuel industry for climate damages and public deception. And that everyone in that room, as storytellers with cultural influence, has a role in countering the misinformation that billions of dollars have worked to normalize.

The Jury Found The Defendant: Guilty.

We're taking the mock trial format to new topics and we want to know: who should we put on the stand next?