The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for her remarkable investigation "The Backchannel," which uncovered the depth of the sprawling $77 million welfare scandal, the largest embezzlement of federal funds in the state's history. Anna joins Mississippi Today editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau to discuss the win, her career, and how she sees her role in Mississippi.

Mississippi Today's political team is off this week, resting up for a big coverage plan for the 2023 statewide and legislative elections. Join us next week for the best political interviews and analysis in Mississippi.

Mississippi Today's political team breaks down statewide 2023 primary and general elections of interest, including the increasingly bitter GOP primary for lieutenant governor and the general election between Republican Tate Reeves and Democrat Brandon Presley.

Mississippi Today political reporter Bobby Harrison talks with state Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson, about his new role as Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus chair. Bell is taking over for Sen. Angela Turner Ford, D-West Point, who held the post for four years. He talks about the role of the 53-member Black Caucus in the legislative process and the plans for the group during this year's state elections.

Mississippi Today political reporters Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender talk with veteran Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Water Valley, about the rules changes that occurred in the 1980s making the Mississippi House more democratic. As a young member of the House, Reynolds played a key role in writing those rules.

Mississippi Today's political team breaks down three major issues from the 2023 legislative session that will become inescapable issues during the 2023 election cycle.

Mississippi Today's political team breaks down how a small handful of lawmakers spend a few days behind closed doors and determine how to spend more than $6 billion in taxpayer funds. All lawmakers are then asked to vote for budget bills without having any real idea of how much they're voting to spend stacks up with previous years.

Mississippi Today's political team shares their biggest surprises of the 2023 legislative session, breaking down major issues that lawmakers are debating (or not debating) in the final days of the session.

Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, outlines the Senate plan to tweak the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula for K-12 education, then fully fund it for the first time in more than a decade. The issue is now before the House, where the GOP leadership, along with the governor, has voiced skepticism about the plan. But DeBar said he's talked to rank-and-file House members and believes there is widespread support for it.

Mississippi Today's political team speaks with Rep. Ed Blackmon, a Democrat from Canton who has served 41 years in the Legislature. Blackmon shares his perspective on several controversial bills authored in 2023, as well as his decades of civil rights works and career legacy.