Jessica Nordell - In Discussion

ABOUT - "The End Of Bias: A Beginning" By Jessica Nordell

“In need of some hope? Start here!” — Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

When it comes to bias and discrimination, what actually changes people and cultures?

Bias robs individuals of their futures, organizations of talent, science of breakthroughs, and communities of justice. The End of Bias: A Beginning explores how we reduce the unexamined biases that wreak havoc from education and healthcare to policing and the workplace. Blending rigorous science and compassionate humanity, Nordell illuminates the approaches that measurably change people’s behavior to be more fair and just. Through startling stories, rich research, and moving reflection, Nordell offers a hopeful, achievable vision for becoming the people we want to be, and creating the world we need.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, The End of Bias: A Beginning reveals concrete steps we can take to create the cultures, organizations, and communities we all deserve.

Jessica Nordell is an award-winning author and science writer known for blending rigorous science with compassionate humanity. Her first book, The End of Bias: A Beginning, shortlisted for the 2022 Columbia Journalism/Lukas Prize for Excellence in Nonfiction, the 2022 NYPL Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the 2021 Royal Society Science Book Prize, is the culmination of fifteen years of reporting and writing on the subject of bias and discrimination and how to solve it, for publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic, and the New Republic. The End of Bias was named a Best Book of the Year by the World Economic Forum, Greater Good, AARP, and Inc and is currently being used by organizations from newsrooms and startups to universities, healthcare organizations, and faith communities to solve some of their biggest cultural challenges.

Deeply engaged with connecting across differences to expand and heal the human experience, Nordell's own early-career experience with workplace bias inspired her passion for tackling discrimination. With degrees in physics from Harvard and poetry from the University of Wisconsin, Nordell often collaborates across disciplines; her work with computer scientists to simulate the real-world impact of workplace bias became a 2021 viral NYT story. 

Nordell is the recipient of a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television, was named a Best New Poet by Tracy K. Smith, and was a 2022 featured speaker at SXSW. She is a direct descendent of the last woman to be tried for witchcraft in the state of Massachusetts, and is an amateur rock drummer.