The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

The 2027 statewide election might seem far off to most folks, but the Neshoba County Fair made clear that Mississippi politicians are already jockeying to run for higher offices, particularly the governor's seat that will be open. Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance discuss who's looking to make a move for the state's top political offices.

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour talks with Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance about the contentious 1976 Republican Convention between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. He recalls how he filibustered the media from eavesdropping on members of the Mississippi delegation as they argued by reciting the state's 82 counties forward and backward.

State Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, talks with Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance about whirlwind events surrounding the Democratic presidential nomination. Johnson is a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Senate Elections Chairman Jeremy England tells Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance that he plans again in the 2025 legislative session to push for in-person early voting and for campaign finance reform — measures he introduced this year that were unsuccessful.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance talk with former Democratic state House member and attorney Brandon Jones about President Joe Biden's health, about state Supreme Court races and a litany of ongoing federal lawsuits that could impact Mississippi politics. Jones is the director of political campaigns for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund.

State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, covers a wide array of issues facing the state during an interview with Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender. Bryan argues Mississippi's ability to deal with major issues will be stymied if the personal income tax is eliminated as some politicians advocate.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender interview Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor about President Joe Biden's debate performance and the future of the Democratic Party in Mississippi. Taylor, a state House member from Starkville, also expressed hope that the Legislature will finally approve Medicaid expansion in the 2025 session.

New Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Mike Hurst talks with Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance about November 2024 and 2027 elections, Medicaid expansion and party platform and why state Republicans should celebrate Juneteenth.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender interview Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney about the impact of legislation allowing him to create a state exchange where Mississippians can sign up for health insurance instead of doing so on a federal exchange. Chaney said the new exchange would be a positive for the about 250,000 Mississippians on the federal exchange. But Chaney says he will...

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance provide an overview of House Speaker Jason White's plan to cut the state's grocery tax and phase out the income tax. They also break down the select committee White formed to study state taxes.

Investigative journalists Brian Howey and Nate Rosenfield join Adam Ganucheau to discuss their latest report on the Rankin County Sheriff Department's "Goon Squad." The reporters discuss shocking new internal police communications they obtained and published, and they discuss the importance of the ongoing reporting.

Community health reporter Sophia Paffenroth discusses with Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison a new law set to take effect July 1 that will provide more timely prenatal care via more easily accessed Medicaid health coverage. A majority of Mississippi births are covered by Medicaid, but delays in getting the coverage approval postpones prenatal care for many and negatively impacts...

Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Edward Ellington talks with Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender about former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy's speech at the University of Mississippi less than four years after the riots that occurred after the integration of the school. Ellington, who at the time headed the Ole Miss Speaker's Bureau as a law school student, recalls the controver...

Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, the House minority leader, talks with Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance on how efforts to expand Medicaid broke down during the chaotic final days of the 2024 legislative session. He hopes those efforts are revived in the 2025 session.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender, and Taylor Vance discuss the breakdown of Medicaid expansion negotiations in the Legislature.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau, Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender break down the final negotiations of the 2024 legislative session's three major issues: Medicaid expansion, education funding, and retirement system reform.

House Public Health Chairman Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany, tells Mississippi Today's Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance he's hopeful he and other negotiators can strike a deal on Medicaid expansion to address dire issues in the unhealthiest state.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance discuss the biggest issues – Medicaid expansion, school funding and PERS – that could spur contentious  final days of the 2024 legislative session.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau sits down with Rev. Dr. Jason Coker, a Baptist pastor who is helping lead a coalition of faith leaders who are advocating for Medicaid expansion. Coker discusses why his own Mississippi upbringing and his faith have inspired him to be a leader in the push for expansion, and how the policy change could help many Mississippians.

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau and Bobby Harrison break down the differences in the House Medicaid expansion plan and the Senate Medicaid expansion plan. They discuss where the legislative debate currently stands, where it's headed, and why some powerful leaders are still against expansion.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance speak with House Education Vice Chair Kent McCarty, R-Hattiesburg, about his proposal to change the way Mississippi's K-12 public schools are funded and whether his plan is good for education.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison, Geoff Pender and Taylor Vance discuss a busy week at the Capitol, where legislators work to garner two-thirds majorities to pass Medicaid expansion and to restore the initiative process. As it turns out, it is the Senate thus far having trouble reaching those two-thirds majorities.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance talk with Jackson attorney Rob McDuff about lawsuits involving legislative redistricting and school funding and how newspaper articles led an inquisitive 12-year-old in Hattiesburg to pursue a legal career focusing on civil rights and other social justice issues.

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance talk with Spence Flatgard, chair of Ballot Access Mississippi about legislation pending in 2024 session that would restore the initiative process, giving citizens right to bypass Legislature and place issues on the ballot. He cites positives and negatives from the perspective of his group with initiative proposals alive in both chambers of the Le...

Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau, Sophia Paffenroth, Geoff Pender, Bobby Harrison and Taylor Vance detail the first earnest debate about Medicaid expansion at the Mississippi State Capitol. They discuss what various proposals would do, who is supporting them, who is opposing them, and what might be on the horizon as the debate heats up.