The Other Side: Mississippi Today's Political Podcast

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.

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.