#118: Gautam Mukunda - "Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World"

When you vote for president, Gautam Mukunda says you are making the most important decision in the world. With the power presidents wield over the US and the world, picking the wrong person can bring disaster - or wonderful things - to billions of people. On this episode, Gautam Mukunda explains how we can spot candidates that will do well in office, and also ones who are likely to fail. His "filtered vs. unfiltered" test, he says, is a prescription for doing your duty, and doing it right. We walk through some of the history of good choices by the American people, some bad ones, and also how we could change the process to improve our chances of success. This former "Jeopardy!" champion also explained how he wound up on the show, and how an unusual resume led him to presidential history.

Gautam Mukunda's website is at https://www.gautammukunda.com/

Information on his coursework at Harvard can be found at https://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/gautam-mukunda

Information on Gautam Mukunda's book can be found at https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520379992/picking-presidents

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