{"podcast":{"title":"The Bunker – News without the nonsense","slug":"the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382","podcast_index_feed_id":1209382,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/6a2ad2e9440b9d7bbf6bde6b","website_url":"https://linktr.ee/bunker_pod","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6a2ad2e9440b9d7bbf6bde6b/show-cover.jpg","author":"Podmasters","episode_count":1875,"summary":"News without the nonsense, every weekday morning. In episodes that fit your commute, The Bunker cuts through the noise to make sense of what’s really going on in news, current affairs, politics, economics and culture. We bring you smart explainers, interviews, fresh perspectives and under-reported stories to as a refreshing alternative to repetitive Punch and Judy news coverage. It’s the only way to start the day. From the producers of Oh God, What Now? Our regulars include: Gavin Esler • Ros Taylor • Alex von Tunzelmann • Andrew Harrison • Zing Tsjeng • Jacob Jarvis • Emma Kennedy • Rafael Behr • Seth Thévoz. • Sign up to support the podcast and get episodes ad-free and early: patreon.com/bunkercast • Apple users: Get all of our core shows ad-free and early with the Podmasters Originals super-subscription. The Bunker is a Podmasters production. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-31T12:22:19.814531+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382"},"episode":{"title":"Star Wars – Why our obsession with star ratings is ruining everything","slug":"star-wars-why-our-obsession-with-star-ratings-is-ruining-everything","published_at":"2026-07-14T03:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382/star-wars-why-our-obsession-with-star-ratings-is-ruining-everything","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-bunker/episodes/star-wars-why-our-obsession-with-star-ratings-is-ruining-eve","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6a2ad2e9440b9d7bbf6bde6b/e/6a54e6c93e018503d623656d/media.mp3","summary":"“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.  • Back us on Patreon 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.   www.podmasters.co.uk   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"“Please rate this book.” “What was your experience at Tesco like?” “Did this carrot meet your expectations?”… Star ratings are everywhere and they’re ruin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1606,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382/episodes/star-wars-why-our-obsession-with-star-ratings-is-ruining-everything/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bunker-news-without-the-nonsense-1209382/star-wars-why-our-obsession-with-star-ratings-is-ruining-everything.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}