The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast
News & Politics Podcasts
Host Adam Ganucheau and the Mississippi Today political team bring you intimate access to the most connected players and observers in Mississippi politics. This podcast is a continuation of the mission that Mississippi Today serves: To present facts,...
Location:
United States
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Description:
Host Adam Ganucheau and the Mississippi Today political team bring you intimate access to the most connected players and observers in Mississippi politics. This podcast is a continuation of the mission that Mississippi Today serves: To present facts, perspectives and appropriate context on all sides of a political debate. With no focus on one side of the aisle or the other, we'll also provide you the other side of a story, giving our award-winning journalists a platform to share their insights as they cover some of the most contentious elections in the state's history
Language:
English
Email:
caseycombest@gmail.com
Episodes
Former Speaker Philip Gunn says he's running for governor on his record in Legislature
4/21/2026
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 primary, with an open seat in 2027.
Duration:00:24:16
How bad is blight in west Jackson?
4/14/2026
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.
Duration:00:32:21
PART 2: What did the Legislature do on health issues?
4/9/2026
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.
Duration:00:20:01
What happened (or more importantly didn't) in the 2026 Mississippi legislative session
4/7/2026
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.
Duration:00:47:14
ACLU's Dortch warns of erosion of voting rights from court, Congress
3/31/2026
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.
Duration:00:26:47
Blount: Online sports betting proposal has little support in Senate, would cost casino industry
3/24/2026
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 credits for private schools.
Duration:00:26:06
Sen. Blackmon: AI is here. Mississippi needs to be out front with regulations
3/17/2026
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 technology's use.
Duration:00:24:03
Barnes says voting rights are under attack on state and federal levels with legislation
3/10/2026
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 state already has voter ID laws and the new proposal would only make it harder for citizens to vote, particularly senior citizens, rural residents and people who have recently been married and changed their names.
Duration:00:17:56
Unequal pay: Mississippi still has large gender, race pay gap
3/3/2026
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.
Duration:00:30:05
Fresh eyes: New lawmakers give their take on the Mississippi Legislature
2/24/2026
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.
Duration:00:26:54
Secretary of State Michael Watson says Mississippi needs campaign finance reform
2/17/2026
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.
Duration:00:32:38
Pro tem Kirby says 'We couldn't find anybody who supported it' when school choice bill got to Senate
2/10/2026
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.
Duration:00:24:37
Rep. Summers: With U.S. Supreme Court likely to dismantle Voting Rights Act, Mississippi lawmakers push for state version
2/2/2026
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 trying to educate people about the dire impact voters could see from damage to the VRA.
Duration:00:24:19
Senate education chairman DeBar says school choice vouchers remain a no-go n the Senate.
1/27/2026
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.
Duration:00:21:36
Anna Wolfe gives an update on Teddy Dibiase welfare scandal trial
1/20/2026
Mississippi Today Jackson Editor Anna Wolfe, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her investigative reporting on Mississippi's massive welfare scandal, provides insight on the first -- perhaps only -- criminal trial from the federal investigation into misspending of millions of dollars meant to help the needy, fight poverty and feed the hungry as it enters its third week in court.
Duration:00:20:35
Jackson Mayor John Horhn and the "prototype for what ails America"
1/13/2026
Jackson Mayor John Horhn gives an update on city issues to "The Other Side," including an arrest in the Beth Israel Congregation arson attack, the latest on the water system, the search for a new police chief as crime rates move in a positive direction and what the city hopes to get from the state legislative session. Hohrn says there are many challenges ahead for the state's capital city, and "We are a city that is a prototype for what ails America."
Duration:00:24:47
Happy New Year, and a Happy Mississippi legislative session from 'The Other Side'
1/4/2026
Mississippi Today's team prognosticates on some major issues the state Legislature will tackle in this year's session, which kicks off Jan. 6. School choice and teacher pay, workforce development, prison health care reform and health care in general, and legalized online sports betting are all clear-and-present issues. Will there be any surprise issues at the Capitol this year?
Duration:00:29:39
Will Mississippi see meaningful prison health care reform?
12/28/2025
Mississippi Today reporters Gwen Dilworth and Michael Goldberg recap some of the findings from their series "Behind Bars, Beyond Care," which uncovered widespread accusations of lack of adequate health care in Mississippi prisons and the suffering it causes. They discuss the potential for passage of reform in the upcoming 2026 legislative session.
Duration:00:14:51
Will Mississippi spend its opioid settlement dollars in a way that helps address the crisis and prevent deaths?
12/21/2025
Mississippi Today health reporter Allen Siegler and health editor Laura Santhanam give an update on the state's plan to spend its initial pot of opioid lawsuit settlement money. Siegler's in-depth reporting has chronicled some issues and raised serious questions about how the state and local governments are spending the money, which is supposed to help address the scourge of opioid addiction, which has cost at least 10,000 lives in Mississippi since 2000.
Duration:00:32:45
Mississippi first responders want separate pension plan after changes to PERS
12/14/2025
Ridgeland Police Chief Brian Myers and New Albany Fire Chief Mark Whiteside said pending changes the Legislature made to the state employee retirement system will make it even harder to hire and retain first responders. They want the Legislature to revisit an overhaul of the Public Employee Retirement System set to take effect in March for those who serve in high-stress, low paying and dangerous first-responder jobs.
Duration:00:32:45