<p>Even before Uber and Lyft pulled into town, NYC yellow cabs were having a rough ride. Reckless lending practices and inflated taxi medallion prices racked up profits for the city and debt for drivers. Then, the bubble did what bubbles do. </p><br/><p><strong>Our sponsors this week:</strong></p><br/><p><strong>Policy Genius -</strong> <a href="http://policygenius.com" class="default">policygenius.com</a></p><br/><p><strong>Betterhelp - </strong><a href="http://betterhelp.com/spectacular" class="default">betterhelp.com/spectacular</a></p><br/><p>Sign up to receive our brand new newsletter, featuring weekly recommendations from Lauren and the rest of the team at <a href="http://spectacularfailures.org/newsletter">spectacularfailures.org/newsletter</a>.<br><br>Read the transcript of the episode at <a href="https://www.spectacularfailures.org/" class="default">spectacularfailures.org</a>.<br><br>You can follow Spectacular Failures on <a href="https://twitter.com/FailureShow">Twitter</a> at @failureshow and like us at Facebook.com/failureshow. We're <a href="https://www.instagram.com/failure_show/">@failure_show on Instagram</a>. Follow Lauren Ober on <a href="https://twitter.com/oberandOut">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oberandout/">Instagram</a> at @oberandout.<br></p>