This is Democracy – Episode 159: Renting Crisis in American Cities

Jeremi and Zachary, with their guest Shoshana Krieger discuss the challenges in finding affordable rent in big cities. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "They Say a House is Just a Metaphor".  Shoshana Krieger is the Project Director of Building and Strengthening Tenant Action (BASTA) at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. BASTA organizes Austin renters to work with their neighbors to ensure that all Austinites have access to safe and affordable housing by facilitating the development of tenant associations and building renter power in Austin. BASTA targets slumlords who profit off of renting substandard properties, the conditions of which negatively impact the health of families. Prior to her work at BASTA, Shoshana was a staff attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County (NLSLA) and a tenants rights organizer at Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES). Shoshana has a J.D. and M.A. in Urban Planning from UCLA. This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Isaiah Thomas and Will Shute.