We like to think our brains can make rational decisions — but maybe they can’t.

The way risks are presented can change the way we respond, says best-selling author Michael Lewis. In his new book, The Undoing Project, Lewis tells the story of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two Israeli psychologists who made some surprising discoveries about the way people make decisions. Along the way, they also founded an entire branch of psychology called behavioral economics.

Lewis is also the author of Moneyball, which is about trusting statistics over intuition to build a successful baseball team. He tells NPR’s Audie Cornish what Kahneman and Tversky were looking for, and how the Obama administration has put their findings to use. To read more from NPR, click here.