“Please rate this book.” “What was your experience at Tesco like?” “Did this carrot meet your expectations?”… Star ratings are everywhere and they’re ruining the world. You can’t order a curry, watch a film or buy a kettle without having to check what others said about it – and being pestered to give your review. 

We’ve turned the entire planet into a customer satisfaction survey, but how did it happen? With a limitless choice on offer, are star ratings more help or hindrance? Can we trust them – and how can you spot a scam write-up? Benji Wilson, author of Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World, tells Emma Kennedy what the pressure to review and rate everything is doing to our minds.  

 • Buy Benji’s book Rate This Book: How Star Ratings Took Over the World from our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund the podcast by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. 

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Written and presented by Emma Kennedy. Producer: James Liddell. Audio production: Jade Bailey. Managing Editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

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