It’s hard to imagine a more uncertain time for public media. In a year filled with challenges and unknowns, many of us are craving clarity, stability, and answers. But what if certainty isn’t what we need most right now? What if learning to navigate uncertainty is actually the key to moving forward? Drawing on her acclaimed book Uncertain, journalist and social critic Maggie Jackson explores the new scientific discoveries that are upending our outdated notions of unsureness as weakness. Productive uncertainty fuels agility, curiosity, resilience, and creativity, the skills most needed in volatile times. In this session, Maggie explores three key modes of uncertainty-in-action, plus proven strategies for wielding unsureness to boost decision-making, team performance, and personal well-being.
Learning to Harness Uncertainty
July 10, 2025
Panelists
Maggie Jackson
Maggie Jackson is an award-winning author known for her prescient writings on social trends. Her latest book, Uncertain, was named a Top 25 Nonfiction Book of 2024 by the Next Big Idea Club led by Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Dan Pink and Adam Grant. Uncertain also was chosen as a best book of the year by Library Journal, Greater Good magazine, the Artificiality Institute, and the Independent Publishers of New England. A former Boston Globe columnist and past AP foreign correspondent in Asia and Europe, Jackson contributes to major publications including The New York Times. Her acclaimed book Distracted (2nd ed., 2018) sparked a global conversation on the costs of fragmenting our attention. Jackson has advised leading executives, scientists, educators, and change-makers worldwide and her work has been translated into multiple languages.