Richard Muller delivers a shocking lecture in his Physics for Future Presidents class.

What should McCain and Obama be reading?

UC Berkeley physicist Richard Muller's new book Physics for Future Presidents is a must-read for anyone with an eye on the Oval Office or for any citizen struggling to grasp the scientific truths behind the headlines.

Muller said he wrote the book because the president should know enough physics to separate the science from the spin when making policy decisions about global warming, nuclear threats and other issues.

"Policy is outside the purview of physics – but policy should be based on facts and understanding," Muller said.

A professor in UC Berkeley's physics department for 30 years, Muller is also an astrophysicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Physics for Future Presidents (Norton 2008) is based on his popular class of the same name, which has gained an international following through the university's free Webcasts. People from 84 countries and 48 states have downloaded the lively lectures, even soldiers deployed in Iraq. On campus, 500 students a semester enroll in the class.
 
A former MacArthur Foundation "genius" award winner, Muller for 34 years was a member of the Jasons, a group of top-level scientists who advised the U.S. departments of defense and energy and NASA. But the level of science advising has declined, he said.

"There used to be a science advisory committee that was in constant contact with the president and was expected to think through technology and make suggestions," Muller said. "There is nothing like that anymore."

Yet it's hard to think of an issue today that doesn't involve science and technology in some way. Muller said he doesn't know if either of the presidential candidates has read his book, but he has managed to get it into the hands of each candidate's senior advisers.