He has been a lawyer, an instructor at the F.B.I. Academy, the owner of a frozen-yogurt chain, and a winner of the TV show Survivor. Today, Kwon works at Google, but things haven’t always come easily for him. Steve Levitt talks to Kwon about his debilitating childhood anxieties, his compulsion to choose the hardest path in life, and how Kwon used game theory to stage a victory on Survivor.

• SOURCES:
  • Yul Kwon, vice president of product management at Google.

• RESOURCES:
  • Teacher Application for ASU Prep Tempe.

• EXTRAS:
  • "Are Our Tools Becoming Part of Us?" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
  • "Yul Kwon: 'Hey, Do You Have Any Bright Ideas?' (Part 2)," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
  • "Robert Axelrod on Why Being Nice, Forgiving, and Provokable are the Best Strategies for Life," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).