Gone are the days when we’d browse a local store if we needed a new air purifier or oven mitt. Now, many people don’t dare make a purchase without first Googling “best kitchen mixer” and browsing lists of top-tens on recommendation sites.

How did these sites come to dominate our shopping carts? And if you’re not a fan of that humidifier you got off a top-ten list, are there other ways to shop?

GUESTS:

• Inger Stole is a professor emerita at the University of Illinois
• Michael Zhao was the first employee and a former deputy editor at Wirecutter
• Mark Frauenfelder is a co-editor of Recomendo

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