Profit Over People: The Housing Crisis

11/24/24 • 56 min

Summary:

In this episode of [F]Law School, hosts Haley Florsheim and and Mirei Saneyoshi examine the systemic roots of the affordable housing crisis with guests Sofi Scotti, David Hernandez, and Steven Rome, each of whom have written about this critical issue for The [F]law magazine.

From Boston to Newark to Miami, they explore how corporate landlords and developers are driving housing inequality, pricing out vulnerable communities, and wielding political power to shape laws in their favor.

Drawing on personal and community stories as well as as scholarly and legal analyses, the conversation unpacks the stark difference between small landlords and corporate entities, the importance of tenant organizing and advocacy, and some of the ways law students can get involved in this vital work.

Tune in to learn why housing is a human right—and how we can fight to make that right a reality.

Guest Bios:

David Hernandez is a student at Harvard Law School in the Class of 2025. He is also a graduate of Harvard College. Before law school, David worked with the Robin Hood Foundation’s Early Childhood team

Sofi Scotti is a 2024 graduate of Harvard Law School. In her time at Harvard, she was the Co-Practice Area Head of Housing at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau. She is passionate about housing justice in her hometown of Miami and beyond.

Steven Rome is a member of the Harvard Law School Class of 2025. He studied history and political science at Yale University, graduating in 2020. Before law school, he was a sixth-grade teacher.
For more information and complete show notes, go to the episode's webpage: https://theflaw.org/?post_type=articles&p=4467&preview=true.
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Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
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Summary:

Tune in to learn why housing is a human right—and how we can fight to make that right a reality.

Guest Bios:

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform:

Previous Episode

Corporatization of Drag - Part 1

In this two-part episode on the corporatization of drag, hosts, Sam Perri and Pragnya Vella, interview Grayce Burns, a Harvard Law student, to discuss the rising popularity of drag as both a hobby and profession -- and as a form of both personal and political expression.

In Part 1 Grayce explains how corporate control over drag queens is reshaping drag, undermining unique local drag cultures and harming queens who go on popular shows like Drag Race through restrictive non-disclosure agreements -- or NDAs (as they’re called in the biz) -- and meager pay. Grayce explains how, despite those challenges drag persists as a vibrant form of queer visibility and artistic expression for queer identities.

In Part 2, the conversation continues, as Grayce sheds light on how some queens are pushing back to reclaim the activist roots of drag culture and offers ideas for how we can support local drag performers outside of the Drag Race monopoly.
Guest Bio:

Grayce Burns is a student at Harvard Law School in the Class of 2025 and a Linthicum, MD native. She’s interested in international litigation and arbitration, and enjoys examining issues at the intersection of law, philosophy, and economics. When the Law School lets her go outside, she enjoys hanging out with her hairless cat, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and cheering on any and all Maryland sports teams.
For more information and complete show notes, go to the episode's webpage: https://theflaw.org/?post_type=articles&p=4409&preview=true.
Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform:

If you enjoyed this episode of [F]law School, please leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts! Class dismissed!

Next Episode

Selling Harvard Law Students

Summary:

In this episode of [F]law School, guest Samara Trilling joins hosts Reya Singh and Sam Perri to pull back the curtain on big law recruitment at Harvard Law School. Samara describes the commodification of law students access to whom is sold by the law school and purchased by Big Law firms. Meanwhile, many students feel unduly pressured to move toward career paths they never signed up for. From the white shoe law firms that pay Harvard thousands of dollars for access to the student pipeline to the recruitment timelines that have been moved up so early that students barely know what a tort is, this episode dissects how the system sets students up to serve corporate interests—not justice.

Editors:

Very special thanks to Madeleine Kapsalis and Giovana de Oliveira for production and editing assistance.

Guest Bio:

Samara Trilling is a 3L at Harvard Law School interested in strengthening anti-monopoly law, building worker power and regulating AI. In her seven years as a software engineer prior to law school, Samara built anti-eviction tools at Justfix, city master-planning software at Sidewalk Labs and tools addressing the digital divide and supporting democratic news reporting at Google. Samara has a degree in computer science from Columbia University with a specialization in AI and a concentration in history.

Music:

Our theme music is "I Been Waiting" by Crystal Squad, and you'll also hear segments of "Palms Down" by Blue Dot Sessions.
For more information and complete show notes, go to the episode's webpage: https://theflaw.org/?post_type=articles&p=4467&preview=true.

Listen, rate, and subscribe!

Podcast Home: Our podcast episodes can be found at flawschool.org
[F]law Website: Find more articles and content from The [F]law magazine at theflaw.org
Systemic Justice Project: All [F]law content is a product of the Systemic Justice Project at systemicjustice.org
Newsletter Sign-Up: Subscribe to receive curated content from The [F]law here.
Contact Us: Have questions, comments or feedback? Reach out to us at [email protected].
Listen to [F]law School on Your Favorite Platform: