Original Air Date: 3-16-2026

House Education Committee chairman Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) sits down with host Wilson Stribling to look at the competing teacher pay raise bills and reflect on a difficult 2026 session. Then, analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples discuss the House and Senate teacher bills, the likelihood of a special session, and MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain’s contentious meeting last week with the Legislative Black Caucus.

@ISSUE • Competing teacher pay raise bills • MDOC controversies • House Education Chairman Rob Roberson interview

Original Air Date: 3-9-2026

The House unanimously passed a substantial education bill Friday, raising teacher and staff pay, and making changes to the Public Employees Retirement System. Analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones join host Wilson Stribling to look at the strategies in play, and the continued friction between House and Senate leadership. Wilson also sits down with Senator David Blount (D-Jackson) to discuss this session’s political gamesmanship.

@ISSUE • House passes teacher pay raise and changes to PERS • Senator David Blount interview

Original Air Date: 3-2-2026

Senator Bradford Blackmon (D-Canton) joins host Wilson Stribling to discuss his two artificial intelligence bills. One would require political ads using artificial intelligence to acknowledge the use of AI. The other would protect Mississippians from having their names, images, and voices used without permission. Then, analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones look at the legislative calendar, the upcoming deadlines for bills to survive or die, and the process for passing the State’s annual budget.

@ISSUE • Information Technology • Artificial Intelligence • Cyber Security • Legislative Deadlines • Sen. Bradford Blackmon Interview 

Original Air Date: 2-23-2026

House Bill 2 is dead, but a special session on school choice may be ahead. Analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples join host Wilson Stribling to discuss the prospect of a special session and recall how former Governor Hailey Barbour used special sessions strategically.&nbsp; Wilson also interviews House Minority Leader Robert Johnson (D-Natchez), getting the veteran lawmaker’s perspective on the current session. In the week’s news, we look at the proposed infant mortality review board, problems with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control system, and bills addressing the use of opioid settlement funds.

@ISSUE • School Choice Special Session ahead? • Infant Mortality Review Board • ABC Troubles • Opioid Settlement Funds • Rep. Robert Johnson interview

Original Air Date: 2-16-2026

A major legislative deadline last week saw thousands of bills die while hundreds of others survived. Among those still alive are bills dealing with school prayer, immigration enforcement, abortion-inducing drugs, school attendance officers, literacy intervention, and prison health care. Senator Jeremy England (R-Van Cleave) and host Wilson Stribling discuss the challenges to reviving the ballot initiative in Mississippi. Roundtable regulars Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones then join Wilson for a spirited debate about the pros and cons of the ballot initiative process.

@ISSUE • Sen. Jeremy England interview • Ballot Initiative • School Prayer • Immigration Enforcement • Abortion Drug Criminalization • School Attendance Officers • Literacy Intervention • Prison Health Care 

Original Air Date: 2-9-2026

The Senate Education Committee unanimously votes down House Bill 2, the omnibus education package. And Rep. Becky Currie takes on the Department of Corrections with multiple prison reform bills.&nbsp;Analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples join host Wilson Stribling to review these and other actions at the Mississippi legislature. In this week's interview, Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons talks with MPB's Elise Gregg about the Senate Democratic agenda

@ISSUE •  Senator Derrick Simmons interview • Senate Education Committee kills HB2 • Prison reform  • Ballot initiative • Immigration laws

Original Air Date: 2-2-2026

As the first major legislative deadline approaches, analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones join host Desare Frazier for a wide-ranging discussion of pending legislation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Topics include immigration enforcement bills, a registry for domestic abusers, expanded roles for certified nurse midwives, elections for all school boards, and much more.

@ISSUE • Immigration Enforcement • Domestic Abuser Registry • Midwife Practice • Elected School Boards • And more…

Original Air Date: 1-19-2026

Host Wilson Stribling interviews Speaker of the House Jason White, discussing House Bill 2, the Mississippi Education Freedom Act. Then, analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones debate some of the bill’s more controversial provisions and talk about its prospects for passage in the Senate.

@ISSUE • HB 2, the Mississippi Education Freedom Act, passes in the House.

Original Air Date: 1-12-2026

The Mississippi House and Senate both hit the ground running in the first week of the legislative session, but with very different strategies for school choice and other education legislation. Host Wilson Stribling welcomes political analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples to discuss the Senate’s multiple bill approach, as well as the House’s mammoth, 553-page House Bill 2.

@ISSUE • School Choice • Teacher Pay Raise • Funding PERS • House Bill 2: The Mississippi Education Freedom Act

Legislative issues in Mississippi

Welcome to @ISSUE 2026! Host Wilson Stribling and political analyst Brandon Jones welcome new analyst Rebekah Staples to the @ISSUE team. Rebekah gives a baseball-themed explanation of the legislative process, then the team dives into the issues of school choice, the ballot initiative process, and concerns about federal budget cuts.

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