Fresh eyes: New lawmakers give their take on the Mississippi Legislature
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Release Date: 02/24/2026
Mississippi Today analyzes the growing list of 2027 candidates for governor
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Last week, Attorney General Lynn Fitch joined what's shaping up to be a crowded list of candidates running for governor in 2027. Mississippi Today reporters Michael Goldberg and Taylor Vance sit down with Mississippi Today Ideas editor Bobby Harrison to discuss the candidates who have entered the race and the policy ideas emerging in the race so far.
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Governor candidate and Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson warns of data center 'bubble,' other potential AI problems
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, a Republican candidate for governor next year, says he's concerned the proliferation of data centers in Mississippi puts the state at risk and that he's hearing major concerns about data centers and AI from Mississippians as he campaigns across the state. Gipson said data centers and the AI boom are being funded by debt and "circular financing," similar to what happened with other tech before the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. He said he's also concerned about the "AI impact on humanity," the environment and utility consumers' costs.
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What's changed about Mississippi's youth courts?
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Senate Judiciary A Chairman Brice Wiggins has worked for years to reform Mississippi's notoriously opaque youth courts. He sat down with Mississippi Today to discuss why the courts are now somewhat open to the public, what happened during the the recent special legislative session and why having a uniform youth court system is crucial to to the state.
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Author, former GOP strategist Stuart Stevens: 'There is no Republican Party'
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Stuart Stevens for decades was one of the top Republican political strategists and he ran campaigns for dozens of congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. But the Mississippi native left the party over President Trump and says, "There is no Republican party ... it has turned into the pro-tariffs party." Stevens says the GOP these days, "in many ways is to the left of the Democratic Party." The author of the New York Times bestseller "It Was All a Lie" and numerous other books also gives his take on Mississippi's upcoming midterm elections, how Sen. Roger Wicker is...
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What happened in the federal corruption case against Jackson officials?
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
Mississippi Today's Molly Minta walks through the Jackson corruption case that resulted in the conviction of five people, including former Mayor Chockwe Antar Lumumba and former District Attorney Jody Owens, from the city's initial plans to develop some property into a convention hotel to the FBI bribery sting.
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Looking back on three decades at Archives & History
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.
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What happened at the Neshoba County Fair?
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
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?
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House, Senate health chairs Creekmore and Bryan say rural health program, spending need more transparency
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
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 health care money.
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'Torturous' conditions in Mississippi prisons are 'breeding ground for suicide'
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
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 family members and inmates. The project was a partnership between Mississippi Today, The Marshall Project and the Clarion Ledger.
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MT's Jerry Mitchell & Madeline Nguyen dive into their reporting on the Tameshia Shelton case
The Other Side: Mississippi Today’s Political Podcast
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.
info_outlineSens. 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.