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A leadership decision can look “done” before it officially begins, and that’s where we start. We break down the Mississippi University for Women president search, including what we heard from the public listening sessions and why the insider versus outsider question matters for MUW’s identity. We talk about the excitement around a well-connected MUW alum and seasoned public figure.

From higher education politics to local government accountability, the conversation shifts to Columbus City Hall and the escalating dispute involving the city’s public information officer role.

Then we welcome our guest, Charles Yarborough, the new Columbus Fire Department fire chief. He tells us why he came out of retirement, why he says a fire chief has to be a “politician” and a firefighter, and what he’s changing right away. As bonus content, we also talk with Betty Bryan about Columbus’ historic Pilgrimage and the work of telling a more inclusive story that includes African American history alongside the architecture.

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Zack and David break down recent headlines, including Senate Bill 2114, which places additional demands on local sheriff’s offices when it comes to ICE cooperation. We walk through what the bill actually changes, what many counties say they’ve already been doing, and why the “it’s no big deal” take doesn’t calm people who feel like their safety could depend on which county line they cross. We also get blunt about the language floating around online, especially the idea of “reporting” someone you merely “suspect,” and how easily that turns into profiling instead of evidence-based law enforcement.

Then we shift to Mississippi state appropriations and what a $54 million Golden Triangle package means for local projects, plus our frustration with stopgap funding and political games around MSMS facility needs. We round it out with a Kratom ban reality check, a quick guide to Columbus Pilgrimage and the Tales from the Crypt tradition, and three local storylines including tourism planning surveys, radar mapping for unmarked graves at Sandfield Cemetery, and Artemis II memories tied to Columbus Air Force Base.

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Progress has a sound, and sometimes it’s a chainsaw. We start in Burns Bottom, where a few dozen older trees are slated to come down as a new housing development prepares for infrastructure and dirt work. We talk through what’s actually happening on the ground and a plan to plant about 200 street trees.

Next, we dig into Mississippi public school accountability ratings and the frustration of changing standards year after year. We question what those A through F labels really communicate when the scale keeps shifting.

After the break, Matt Dowell, executive director of Golden Triangle Regional Airport, joins us from the world of air travel. We cover TSA during the government shutdown and the community support that kept morale up, new airline connections heading both east and west, major terminal upgrades like a first jet bridge, and what drives airfare pricing as planes fill and algorithms adjust. If you care about local growth, jobs, and the everyday logistics of travel, this one ties it all together.