Episode

6/12 Colluded Rent is Too Damn High & GOP Cash Flooding Dem Primaries w/ Judd Legum, Usamah Andrabi

June 12, 2024

It’s Hump Day! Sam speaks with Judd Legum, proprietor of the Popular Information newsletter on SubStack, to discuss his recent piece entitled “Feds raid corporate landlord, escalating nationwide criminal probe of rent increases.” Then, he speaks with Usamah Andrabi, communications director & spokesperson for Justice Democrats, to discuss Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s upcoming primary in New York and AIPAC’s spending efforts against the Squad. First, Sam runs through updates on the UN’s ceasefire proposal, continuing carnage in Gaza, GOP primary results, the conviction of Hunter Biden, slowing inflation rates, the US’ disregard for Leahy law, more Alito-family leaks, North Carolina’s mask ban, the permeation of microplastics, and Chiquita’s liability for paramilitary action in Columbia, before watching the GOP attempt to spin the Hunter Biden conviction as yet ANOTHER attack on Donald Trump. Judd Legum then joins, diving right into the story, originally broken by ProPublica a few years ago, of RealPage’s rent-pricing algorithm for landlords, and how the prevalent usage of RealPage in housing markets allows corporate landlords to eschew direct conspiracy yet reap all the benefits of collusion, from raised and fixed rents to artificial market constraints. After unpacking some of the finer elements of RealPage’s “property management” software, Legum looks to the development of multiple major lawsuits against RealPage, including class-action suits in Atlanta and DC, unpacks the evidence that has come through discovery, and tackles the FBI’s recent raid of a corporate landlord’s offices in a major development to a criminal anti-trust case against RealPage, before wrapping up with a brief assessment of landlord liability in a federal criminal case. Usamah Andrabi then joins, jumping right into the incredibly Manchin-esque campaign of conservative “Democrat” George Latimer, and how his AIPAC-funded run to unseat Jamaal Bowman has gone well beyond just unconditional support for Israel, with AIPAC’s pro-Trump funders pushing a full rejection of Bowman’s progressivism. After expanding on the astoundingly bigoted and anti-democratic campaign being run by Latimer, Andrabi and Sam tackle the need for Democrats to step up for their colleagues in the face of overwhelming amounts of right-wing money, and what to make of the recent Emerson poll showing a major gap between the two candidates, before touching on what those of us outside of New York can do to help.

And in the Fun Half: Sam unpacks the sustained anti-PC delirium in comedy, aided by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ recent response to Seinfeld’s anti-woke ramblings, Brian from LA tackles the Daily Wire’s new animated show and the arrested development of right-wing humor, and Maryellen from Newark explores the sale of West Bank properties in the US. Sam also unpacks dropping inflation rates with little-to-no impact on the continuing housing crisis, Kett from Portland gives some timely Latimer gossip, the Alito-family leaks keep coming, and Morning Joe has a guest on to ponder the validity of civilian deaths in Gaza, plus, your calls and IMs!

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