The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

Tray Hairston, a founding board member of Mississippi Today and an attorney at Butler Snow, joins Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau for a conversation to mark the newsroom's fifth anniversary. Tray and Adam talked about where Mississippi Today has been and where it's headed, and they also talked discussed race and politics and journalism in Mississippi.

Mississippi Today journalists Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Adam Ganucheau are joined by WJTV reporter Thao Ta to break down what happened — and what didn't — during the 2021 legislative session.

Dr. LouAnn Woodward, the chief executive of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, joins Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the days ahead.

Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe joins editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss federal charges filed last week against Nancy New and Zach New, what's next in the ongoing federal and state investigations of their alleged misspending, and who else may be ensnared in the alleged schemes.

Rob Hill, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign of Mississippi, talks with Mississippi Today reporters Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison about how he believes the legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves discriminates and portrays a negative image of Mississippi.

Mississippi Today reporter Will Stribling and WJTV reporter Kayla Thompson discuss covering the 2021 Jackson water crisis.

Description: Speaker of the House Philip Gunn sits down with Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss his massive tax proposal, which would eliminate the state's personal income tax, cut the highest-in-the-nation grocery tax, and raise the sales tax and several other taxes.

Mississippi Today journalists Bobby Harrison and Adam Ganucheau break down two key transportation funding proposals, including an eyebrow-raising proposal to let Mississippi voters decide whether to raise the state's gasoline tax.

A lawsuit pending in the high court with more litigation possible. The agency tasked with running it doesn't want to. An alternative program proposed late in the game by lawmakers. Mississippi Today's political reporters discuss the state's fledgling medical marijuana program that voters passed in 2020.

House Ways and Means Chair Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia and one of the Legislature's most powerful members, talks with Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison about key issues facing the 2021 Legislature. Lamar, like Gov. Tate Reeves, supports phasing out the state's income tax but says it cannot be done without finding other sources of revenue.

Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison quiz state Sen. David Blount about a wide range of legislative issues including education, tax policy, elections and sports betting. Blount, chair of the Senate Gaming Committee and vice chair of Senate Education Committee, also discussed his proposal to help fight the state's public school teacher shortage.

In his final week in Jackson, Gerald Harris, a political reporter at WJTV, discusses his time covering state politics and why journalism in Mississippi is important as ever.

Highlighting unrest in Washington and reported threats to state capitols across the nation, Mississippi Today journalists discuss the odd start to 2021 for the state's elected officials.

In interview with Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison, state Sen. Derrick Simmons of Greenville, the chamber's Democratic leader, praises bipartisan spirit in state Capitol, though he said differences still exist. He also questions whether rioters at U.S. Capitol would have been handled differently had they been African American.

Mississippi Today journalists Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender break down key Mississippi leaders' 2021 proposal to eliminate the state's income tax and what that decision would mean for the future of the state.

In the final week of 2020, Mississippi Today editor in chief Adam Ganucheau recalls his favorite episode of The Other Side from 2020. That episode features Mississippi Today's political reporters debriefing on the night that lawmakers voted to change the state flag that featured the Confederate battle emblem and had flown for 126 years.

The pandemic took sports from us and then changed everything about it. There were monumental coaching changes that turned the eyes of the nation to Mississippi. Athletes and coaches influenced the historic state flag change. Legendary sportswriter Rick Cleveland, a columnist for Mississippi Today, discusses the year to remember in Mississippi sports.

Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley joins Mississippi Today journalists Adam Ganucheau and Bobby Harrison to discuss federal and state spending on expanding broadband access across the state.

Joe O'Hern, who managed Mike Espy's 2020 U.S. Senate race, joins Mississippi Today journalists Adam Ganucheau and Bobby Harrison to discuss Espy's campaign strategy and how Espy lost the election.

Mississippi Today political reporters Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender join editor in chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss which big issues lawmakers could consider during the 2021 legislative session that will begin in January. 

Secretary of State Michael Watson, in his first year as Mississippi's chief elections official, joins Mississippi Today political reporters Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender to discuss the state's 2020 elections and possible reforms the state could implement in the future.

Mississippi Today's political reporters Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison discuss candidates and issues surrounding the 2020 elections and what the results could mean in the coming years.

Hear from voters across Mississippi, Mississippi Today's rapid response team of correspondents and senior political reporters Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender. Hosted by contributing producer Tom Wright.

Mississippi Today's political reporters break down the biggest storylines of the 2020 U.S. Senate race between Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Mike Espy, and they discuss what they'll be watching on Election Day. 

Congressman Bennie Thompson joins Mississippi Today Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau in an hour-long discussion about why race is a difficult but important conversation to have in Mississippi. He also talks in detail about the U.S. Senate election between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy.