Uncertainty is Not the Enemy
- Today’s episode is about learning to sit with uncertainty. The episode opens with a discussion of listener questions on how to handle risk, the ingredients of a great apology, and why people stay loyal to relationships and organizations that quietly drain them. Then Brené and Adam turn to uncertainty – how our brains are wired for a threat response, what intolerance of uncertainty actually is, and why it can drive people toward authoritarian leaders. You can find The Curiosity Shop on YouTube and Instagram (@thecuriosityshop).
- Capabilities, Cognition and Inertia: Evidence from Digital Imaging – Tripsas and Gavetti, 2000, Harvard Business School (Polaroid Study)
- The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth – Amy Edmondson, 2019, Book
- Is it Safe to Speak Up at Work? – Adam Grant and Amy Edmondson, July 2021, Worklife with Adam Grant Podcast
- Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending Bullsh*t and Transforming Our Lives and Work (Foreword by Brené Brown) – Aiko Bethea, 2026, Book
- Exit Voice Loyalty and Neglect – Withey and Cooper, 1989, Administrative Science Quarterly
- Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States – Albert Hirschman,1970, Book
- The Decision Lab: System Justification Theory – The Decision Lab
- The Secrets of a Great Apology – Adam Grant and Beth Polin, 2025, WorkLife with Adam Grant Podcast
- The Dance of Anger: A Woman’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships – Harriet Lerner, 2025, Book
- I’m Sorry: How to Apologize and Why It Matters, Part 1 of 2 – Brené Brown and Harriet Lerner, 2020, Unlocking Us with Brene Brown Podcast
- Conclave – Robert Harris, 2016, Book
- A Comprehensive Analysis of COVID-19 Misinformation, Public Health Impacts, and Communication Strategies: Scoping Review – Kisa, 2024, Journal of Medical Internet Research
- Into the Unknown: A Review and Synthesis of Contemporary Models Involving Uncertainty – Carleton, 2016, Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Conceptual Models of Generalized Anxiety Disorder – Fisher and Wells, 2011, Psychiatric Annals
- The Other Side of Change: Who We Become When Life Makes Other Plans – Maya Shankar, 2026, Book
- Aftereffects of Stress on Human Performance and Social Behavior: A Review of Research and Theory – Cohen (Includes the work of Glass and Singer), 1980, Carnegie Mellon Research University
- Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions on Uncertainty Avoidance – Geert Hofstede
- Compensatory Conviction in the Face of Personal Uncertainty: Going to Extremes and Being Oneself – Mcgregor et al., 2001, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Are Needs to Manage Uncertainty and Threat Associated With Political Conservatism or Ideological Extremity? – Jost et al., 2007, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- The Causes and Consequences of a Need For Self-esteem: A Terror Management Theory – Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986, Book chapter
- Foolproof: Why We Fall for Misinformation and How to Build Immunity – Sander van der Linden, 2023, Book
- Utterly Humbled by Mystery – Richard Rohr, 2006, NPR Morning Edition
