From Trump, to Johnson, and Truss – are politicians really stupid? Or are they just pretending to be so that we’ll vote for them? Siân Pattenden delves into the state of our political psyche with Dean Burnett, neuroscientist and author of The Idiot Brain, to find out the science behind why we vote for stupid politicians.

• “Calling politicians ‘idiots’ defangs them. It makes us feel reassured instead of terrified.” 
• “Sounding clever doesn’t connect politicians to the electorate.” 
• “Politics really suffers when it becomes the reserve of the rich and powerful, because it becomes a game.”

Written and presented by Siân Pattenden. Lead Producer: Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold, Jelena Sofronijevic and Alex Rees. Assistant producer: Kasia Tomasiewicz. Audio production by Jade Bailey. Music: Kenny Dickinson. Group editor: Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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