Episode 2: The Last Gerrymander

The Royal Cannon Podcast with Cathy Cannon & Royal Webster

What do you get when you mix voter suppression, partisan power grabs, and some delightfully squiggly lines?

A democracy held together by duct tape and court cases.

In this episode, Cathy and Royal crack open the chaotic world of gerrymandering — the shady practice of redrawing political maps to rig elections without ever breaking a single law. From its messy colonial beginnings to the modern maps that look like abstract art projects on fire, we’re breaking down how this “totally legal cheating” works… and why it’s making your vote worth less (or maybe not count at all).

We go full civics teacher meets political therapist on:

• Where gerrymandering came from (and why it’s still here)
• The landmark cases (hello Baker v. Carr, Shaw v. Reno, Rucho v. Common Cause)
• How racial and partisan lines keep getting blurred — and who benefits
• Why the Supreme Court pretended this wasn’t their problem
• What happens if this is the last fair map we ever get?

This isn’t just about weird shapes on a map — it’s about power, people, and the future of representation in America. And spoiler alert: If you think your vote still counts the way it should… you might wanna listen twice.

If you’re into spicy history, no-bullshit breakdowns, and political tea with constitutional receipts — hit that follow button and subscribe. New episodes drop weekly, and trust us… this ride is just getting started.

Just Buy Less Coffee Presents: the premiere episode of Royal Cannon, a coffee shop deep dive on key historical events and figures that continue shape our world today. This podcast features the perspective of two snarky educators from two different generations. A duo famous for ruining parties with their hours-long conversations attempting to out nerd each other.

On this episode, hosts Cathy Cannon and Royal Webster talk about how the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs in three days — and why people still can’t agree on whether it was justified.

They dig into the context behind Hiroshima and Nagasaki, what Truman was thinking, and whether the bomb ended the war… or just started the next one. Then things spiral (in classic fashion) into everything from FDR’s internment camps to war crimes, religion, and how history gets sanitized in school. It’s spicy, it’s sobering, and yes — there’s a metaphorical punch bowl somewhere in there.

Cathy and Troy cathartically explore our millennial rage at the prospect of another war in the middle east based on eliminating "weapons of mass destruction" merely 4 years after we celebrated on this very show the end of the 20 year war in Afghanistan. When that war started, Troy was 19, Cathy was 20. When it ended, Troy was 39 and Cathy was 40. Here we go again.

World War 3? Sure. Why not. Add it to the list of once in a lifetime world events Millennials have seen. Fuck Donald Trump.

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

Troy and Cathy break down the United States rapidly devolving into an apartheid state, guilty of crimes against humanity, as America's gestapo, the Department of Homeland Security, considers participating in a reality tv game show where undocumented migrants are thrown into the Hunger Games– competing in challenges in order to get the right to stay in the country.

Meanwhile, a black nurse in Georgia dies pregnant and past the abortion cut off– so the state mandates her body be kept functioning with machines to incubate the non-viable fetus, in an episode of the Handmaid's Tale come to horrifying reality.

And wealthy white South Africans are fast tracked for refugee status in the United States by Donald Trump and Elon Musk because of their racist fears of living in a majority black nation, while actual refugees facing actual genocide in Sudan, Congo, and Afghanistan are left to rot by Trump who banned them from entering the country.

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

This episode was recorded hours before news broke of President Biden's cancer diagnosis. Our hearts and prayers go out to Joe, Jill, his children and grandchildren.

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Cathy and Troy break down the new American Pope, Leo XIV, after Troy called it in the last episode. Was this an absolutely stellar political move on the part of the Cardinals to put an American in power on the global stage to counter Donald Trump?

A pro-immigration, pro-social justice Pope that can stand up to Trump and continue to exert moral American leadership on the world stage? We are here for it.

We discuss the symbolism and spirituality, and the politics, of the Catholic church stepping up as a force for good in a rapidly devolving world.

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

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Cathy and Troy break down the death of Pope Francis, a man of the people who brought progressive reform to the Catholic Church on issues of homosexuality and economic justice, following a decade of right-wing rule from his predecessor Pope Benedict who resigned in the middle of the church sex abuse scandal.

We discuss who the next Pope may be, and hope for a Cardinal from the Phillipines who would be the first Asian pope and could continue the legacy of Francis. Or will the church shift back to the right with a euro-centric traditional Italian leader.

Meanwhile, Trump embarrassed the U.S. at the Pope's funeral while enacting draconian policies at home.

A judge is arrested trying to protect a migrant from ICE who was in her court to be tried for a misdemeanor. The Trump administration is moving the needle on dismantling the independence of the judiciary, and it will only be a matter of time before federal judges are arrested simply for blocking Trump's dictatorial orders.

Meanwhile, Elon leaves DOGE to return to Tesla and finds it a complete dumpster fire as profits tank 71% in the first quarter of 2025. He has some explaining to do to the Tesla board. Could not have happened to a nicer guy.

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

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Cathy and Troy break down the passage of the SAVE Act in the U.S. House, a bill designed to disenfranchise millions of legal voters by requiring proof of citizenship presented in person to register to vote in federal elections.

The biggest targets of the bill are Americans overseas, including the military, who can't get back to register in person, and married women or any individual who has changed their name legally, since names that don't match a birth certificate may not be eligible to vote.

Meanwhile, Cathy deep dives the state of the economy by looking at the falling dollar and rising treasury yields, which is a fancy way of saying no one wants to invest in the U.S. anymore after Trump's disastrous tariff policy and market collapse.

What does this mean for the future? A world where the dollar is no longer the standard currency, nations make economic deals with China and no longer partner with the U.S., and potential collapse of the U.S. economy finally due to unsecured debt.

Awesome. Now what emerges from the rubble when all this over?

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

Support Cathy's break from teaching to fight back without getting fired here.

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Cathy and Troy break down a disastrous week for the U.S. economy after Trump's Liberation Day unveiling of tariffs on the entire world.

The U.S. has declared economic warfare, and countries are responding in kind. In response, the markets are in free fall. This is not a normal stock correction; investors are terrified of the instability of Trump and the looming recession.

Stock futures reveal that more drops may be coming as the American economy teeters on a 1929 styled cliff, completely created by Donald Trump, as the seeds of MAGA fascist chaos bloom into full on class warfare of billionaires on workers. Retirement accounts are being wiped out and companies are preparing to lay off workers as Trump is unapologetic.

Meanwhile, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker breaks the record for longest Senate floor speech; raging for 25 hours against the corruption, incompetence, and cruelty of the Trump administration, breaking the previous record set by racist senator Strom Thurmond who filibustered the Civil Rights act of 1957.

Performative? Or inspirational and effective? Booker's speech is the first major act of a Democrat fighting back against Trump in Congress while in the minority.

All for less than the price of a cup of coffee...

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