The Downside to Middlemen (ft. Kathryn Judge, author & Columbia Law professor)

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a supply chain crisis that has disrupted peoples’ lives in every corner of the globe and continues to unfold. But the current crisis is just the tip of the iceberg of a much broader, pernicious, and long-term problem: the dark side of the “middleman economy.”

In her new book DIRECT: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source, on sale now! financial expert and Columbia Law professor Kathryn Judge reveals the surprising and insidious ways that middlemen rule our economy and our lives. While Amazon and Walmart are probably the most vivid examples of all-powerful middlemen, there are middlemen in domains beyond retail, like real estate, food, cars, cbanking, and even philanthropy. Obviously middlemen have gained their power for a reason – they have given consumers unprecedented choice, convenience, and lower costs—but as Kathryn discusses in her work, the benefits come at a steep cost to people, the economy, and our planet, so I’m excited to discuss her work with her now.

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