Gerrymandering: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN cites it as an entertaining, fact-based explainer of gerrymandering tactics, though one commenter criticizes it as inconsistent.
What it is
A Last Week Tonight episode segment in which John Oliver explains gerrymandering, how lawmakers reshape voting districts to shift political power. It uses humor and examples such as oddly shaped districts.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2017 to 2020.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec tajen · 2018-07 · on “Cities don't have to offer huge subsidies to companies like Apple and Amazon”
For those unfamiliarwith gerrymandering, I highly recommend the John Oliver explanation, a humorist of actual facts, showing maps and tactics of politicians that are borderline criminal. [this video]
Cites cjlarose · 2017-04 · on “Gerrymandering Is Illegal, but Only Mathematicians Can Prove It”
[Illinoi's 4th congressional district][1] was called the "earmuff" district because of its usual shape. It joined two predominately latino communities with a narrow strip of the I-294. But not all weirdly shaped districts are bad. Between the two latino communities in that area, there is a predominately African-American community. By joining two latino communities together into a single district, it ensured that they had a representative serving their interests. This district in particular was featured in [a recent LastWeekTonight episode][2]. [1]: [LINK] [2]: [this video]
Critical aaron695 · 2020-11 · on “Let the Incarcerated Vote”
John Oliver did an anti-gerrymandering special, until he got to a seat where they split apart Blacks and Latinos. Then that was ok -> [this video]