About this episode

This episode explores the intersection of gerrymandering and big data, featuring insights from Emily Pabst on how electoral lines are drawn and manipulated.

What happens when the constitutional baseline of "one person, one vote" collides with highly sophisticated geographic software? In this bonus deep-dive of Whereabouts Tales , we pull back the curtain on the invisible architecture of American political power. Emily Pabst, who previously managed redistricting data for the Kansas Legislative Research Department, joins us to explain exactly how electoral lines are drawn—and how they are manipulated. We trace the evolution of redistricting from hand-drawn maps to the deployment of complex GIS software capable of slicing demographic data down to the city block. We explore the reality of gerrymandering, the loss of professional innocence when data is weaponized for political gain, and how institutions can implement high-reliability design to survive human flaws. Finally, Emily issues a challenge to our listeners: finding media that maps an optimistic, aspirational future instead of a dystopian one. [Chapters] 00:00 - The Architecture of Power (Cold Open) 01:24 - What is Redistricting & "One Person, One Vote"? 07:43 - Inside the Room: GIS Software & City Blocks 12:24 - Wiggle Room: Population Limits &amp…

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