Ballot Talks: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics

Listen 00:48:45

Guest: Rick Shenkman

We might like to believe that the policy proposals and intelligence of political candidates determines their electability, but there are many irrational factors that determine who gets their lever pulled in November. Today, we talk with author RICK SHENKMAN, who uses history, politics, and science to examine why people vote for the people that they do – and what he’s found isn’t the most flattering portrait of the American electorate. His forthcoming book is Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics.

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