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Welcome To The Empower Podcast
Empower Mississippi is committed to helping all Mississippians rise by removing barriers to opportunity. In this podcast, we talk with state and national experts about ways the Magnolia State can grow and thrive. These conversations help shape the debate for future legislative sessions and highlight policy changes that are necessary to make Mississippi the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family.
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Interview Library
Written by Empower Mississippi Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann: Whistle While You Work This week, we took the podcast on the road, recording in the beautiful Mississippi State Capitol. Host Grant Callen sat down with Mississippi’s 33rd Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann to discuss all things related to work and the Magnolia State’s economy. Historic low employment, record…
Written by Empower Mississippi David Bahnsen: Author of “Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life” The topic of “work” has been in the news a lot lately since Mississippi has record low unemployment and the lowest labor force participation rate in the nation. So, this week host, Grant Callen sat down with author, David Bahnsen, to…
Written by Empower Mississippi State Rep. Fred Shanks: Rankin Countian with Jackson Roots For this episode of the Empower Podcast, host Grant Callen sat down with State Rep. Fred Shanks, Chairman of the Rules Committee, to discuss nearly a dozen legislative topics including: the ballot initiative, suffrage bills, the new education funding formula, police officer safety…
Written by Empower Mississippi Jamie Holder: Small Towns, Population Shifts, and School Choice Bay Springs, Mississippi is like a lot of communities around the state, it has desirable schools and less desirable schools, but no meaningful avenue for parents to exercise school choice. According to Jamie Holder, President and CEO of Hol-Mac Corporation, that employs over…
Written by Empower Mississippi Russ Latino: Veepstakes, Punditry, and Neshoba Dust-ups It’s been a crazy few weeks in politics: an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, Biden announced he is not running again, Trump picked his running mate, the RNC Convention occurred, and last week was Mississippi’s Giant House Party, the Neshoba County Fair, with all…
Written by Empower Mississippi Dr. Kymyona Burk: Mississippi’s Historic Literacy Gains This week, host Grant Callen sat down with Dr. Kymyona Burk, formerly the State Literacy Director at the Mississippi Department of Education, who oversaw implementation of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act of 2013, a bill championed by then Governor Phil Bryant. Often when great policy gets…
Capitol Chat Library
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Sine Die Lawmakers returned to Jackson expecting veto overrides, but what followed was one of the more unusual endings to a legislative session in recent memory. We unpack the final day’s twists, the political fallout, and close the book on the 2026 session.
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Week 13 The 2026 legislative session is over… or is it? We break down the budget, education legislation, and a host of other bills that made it across the finish line during a busy week at the Capitol.
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Week 12 In this Conference Weekend Edition of Capitol Chat, we break down key dates and legislative processes for the remaining 9 days of the 2026 Session. We also dive into the latest on teacher pay raises, PBM reform, a controversial veto, and banning lab-grown milk.
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Week 11 With only a few weeks remaining in the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers are narrowing their focus. This week, we take a look at three issues dominating discussions at the Capitol and what’s on the horizon as the 2026 session winds down.
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Week 10 At the Mississippi Capitol, nothing is truly dead until it’s dead, dead, dead. This week’s episode features the resurrection of teacher pay raises, movement on pharmacy benefit manager reform, and the latest on a controversial NIL tax proposal.
Written by Empower Mississippi Capitol Chat: Week 9 With only 30 days remaining in the 2026 legislative session, we cover some of the hottest topics at the Capitol: NIL, teacher pay, and school choice.