The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

Katie Blount talks about leading the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, including the public response to the Two Mississippi Museums. She retired as the department's director on June 30.

Mississippi Today staff gives a rundown of the political stumping at the Neshoba County Fair last week. Did anyone make any news? Did we mention it was hot?

Senate Public Health Chairman Hob Bryan said the lack of transparency around the governor's program to spend millions in federal rural health dollars in Mississippi is "almost the Saturday Night Live parody of secrecy." Bryan and his House counterpart, Chairman Sam Creekmore, share their frustrations over lack of input from communities, and the Legislature, in how the state spends federal rural he...

Mina Corpuz with Mississippi Today and Daja E. Henry with The Marshall Project review their deep-dive reporting into suicides in Mississippi's prisons. Inmates -- including those known to pose harm to themselves -- are often locked away in solitary confinement without adequate checks on their wellbeing. The reporters looked at a decade's worth of data and tell harrowing stories through the eyes of...

Tameshia Shelton, a Clay County mother of four, is serving life in prison on a murder conviction. But the latest reporting from Jerry Mitchell and Madeline Nguyen has opened the door for her to get a long-awaited retrial. The investigative reporters join Emily Wagster Pettus to discuss their findings and the recent ruling from the Mississippi Supreme Court.

National NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson talks with Mississippi Today about GOP redistricting in Mississippi and across the South, and on his organization's call for a boycott of major college athletic programs in states pushing to weaken Black voting power through gerrymandering.

Mississippi Today's politics team gives a rundown on a monumental week in the Magnolia State that saw thousands of people marching and rallying in Jackson over voting rights and the gerrymandering battle embroiling much of the nation.

House Democratic Leader Robert Johnson of Natchez says that as states across the nation become embroiled over racial and partisan gerrymandering of voting districts, he believes now they'll know "what it's like to be in Mississippi" with its long struggles with voting rights and drawing district lines. What other states see as unprecedented political battle, Johnson said, "We call Tuesday."

Attorney Ty Pinkins is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate this year, facing incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic candidate Scott Colom. Pinkins says partisan politics and big-money influence are causing government to fail Mississippians and the system has become 'a self-licking ice cream.'

Scott Colom, district attorney and former judge, is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Mississippi's upcoming midterm election. He says incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith has put politics ahead of what's good for Mississippians and that he will be more accessible to constituents and support policies that help them.

Longtime Sen. Hob Bryan, chairman of the Senate Public Health Committee, discusses the recent failed attempt by lawmakers to override the governor's veto of a bill aimed at oversight and transparency in spending of hundreds of millions of federal funds for rural health care in Mississippi.

Philip Gunn, who in 2012 became the first Republican since Reconstruction to serve as speaker of the Mississippi House, says the state accomplished much during his 12 years leading the House and that record should set him apart in the 2027 race for governor. Gunn last week became the second person to announce a gubernatorial run, but many expect a crowded field, especially in the Republican primar...

West Jackson neighbors Valerie Clark and Heather Logan recently formed a nonprofit called Revive and Restore to prove a hypothesis that might surprise you: Their neighborhood has more good homes than blighted homes. JXN Reporter Molly Minta talks to Clark and Logan about their work mapping all 7,000+ parcels in their neighborhood.

Mississippi Today health reporters Gwen Dilworth and Sophia Paffenroth review what the Legislature did (or didn't) accomplish with PBMs, Medicaid, abortion drugs and other health policy issues this session.

Mississippi Today reporters recap the legislative session just ended, at least for now. The '26 session will be known more for what was killed — due to infighting between House and Senate GOP leaders — than what was passed.

Jarvis Dortch, executive director of the ACLU of Mississippi and a former state lawmaker, warns of a pending Supreme Court decision from a Louisiana case and efforts in Congress that would undermine the Voting Rights Act and potentially turn back the clock on voting rights and redistricting in Mississippi and elsewhere.

Sen. David Blount, chairman of the Gaming Committee in the Senate, says a proposal to legalize online sports betting lacks support in the Senate, and could harm the state's casino tourism industry, which provides thousands of jobs and millions in state revenue. Blount also discusses proposed, and recently enacted, changes to the Public Employees Retirement System, and proposals to increase tax cre...

Sen. Bradford Blackmon discusses the wild frontier of artificial intelligence, and the potential harm deepfakes can cause if left unchecked. He offered two bills this session that, while unsuccessful, prompted much discussion in the Legislature. One would have protected Mississippians' right to their name, image and likeness, another would have required AI-generated political ads to disclose the t...

Sonya Williams Barnes, state policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center in Mississippi, says the "SHIELD Act" being considered by state lawmakers would be an impediment for Mississippi voters and is a solution in search of a problem. The measure is being promoted as preventing non-U.S. citizens from voting in Mississippi, but Barnes notes it's already illegal for non citizens to vote, the...

Cassandra Welchlin, executive director of the Mississippi Black Women's Roundtable, says Mississippi still ranks at or near the worst in pay inequality for women compared to white men. That gap is even worse for Black women in the workforce. Mississippi's male-dominated Legislature has been loathe to address the disparity in any meaningful way.

Sens. Kamesha Mumford of Jackson and Justin Pope of Pope (yes, Pope) share their insight and experiences as freshmen lawmakers, at the halfway point of their first legislative session. The two say they've quickly realized legislating centers around relationships made at the Capitol and how one works with others.

Secretary of State Michael Watson discusses his push for lawmakers to enact campaign finance reform, including transparency and searchability of reports for the public. Watson says he knows such legislation is a tough sell with lawmakers.

Senate President Pro tem Dean Kirby, a Republican from Pearl, gives an update on school choice, state support for areas devastated by the winter storm, and serving in the position known as "the senators' senator." Kirby said the state will help areas hit by Winter Storm Fern, but says damages will be in the billions and full recovery will be a long-term process.

State Rep. Zakiya Summers has filed the House version of the "Robert G. Clark Jr. Voting Rights Act." It's an effort to get out in front of what many expect will be the further dismantling of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Summers isn't extremely optimistic about the measure's passage in the Mississippi Legislature this year, but says she and other lawmakers are t...

Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis DeBar says he will allow his committee to vote on the House's school choice measure, but he's still convinced the proposal to spend public money on private schooling will not pass in the Senate. Why are senators opposed to this? He explains.