In 100 days, the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will bring the best athletes in the world together in February 2026. Every member of Team USA has a unique story about how they got to the top of their sport, and it takes a team of people to bring those stories to the world. We close Season 1 of The Takeaway with Alex podcast with a conversation between Alex Maragos and Mike McGovern about how those Olympics stories are told. McGovern, a photojournalist, has covered four Olympic Games (London 2012, Rio 2016, Pyeongchang 2018, Tokyo 2020) and Maragos has reported on two (Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024). Together, they will lead NBC Chicago’s coverage of the Olympic Games in Italy this winter. In this episode, they discuss some of their favorite Olympic memories, the extensive planning and collaboration that an Olympics assignment requires, and the ability to deal with the unpredictable stories that every Olympic Games provides.

With the 2025-26 NBA season about to begin, Chicago Bulls TV play-by-play man Adam Amin takes us through the storylines for the Bulls this season. With a young core of Matas Buzelis, Coby White and Josh Giddey; Amin talks about the steps forward he hopes to see the team take at the United Center this year. The Bulls will just be one part of his very busy fall. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Amin takes us through a week of his life in the fall: the game prep, the travel, the meetings, the broadcast. Balancing baseball, football, basketball in the span of several months has its own challenges, but Amin says he loves the variety and the pressure of describing and detailing games to tens of millions of people every week. Adam also dives into his love of music, and his regular runs on the turntable as a professional DJ. He shares how it got started and has now turned into more than a hobby.

Daylight Saving Time is an annual ritual that can be disorienting, confusing and controversial. With the time change coming up, The Takeaway with Alex sat down with Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes to dig into the law that’s been on the books for decades, how we arrived got this idea, and why people want to get rid of it. Daylight Saving Time has big effects beyond just adjusting our clocks, sleep and schedules. Kevin talks about what it does to traffic safety, energy use and how we think about our weather.

From the earliest days of the United States, there has been a debate about where the power should lie: with the states or with a central U.S. government? Now, that debate is playing out in Chicago and the suburbs. As the Trump administration gears up to send in federal troops to bolster "Operation Midway Blitz" and its mass deportation program, state and local officials are fighting back. To help explain the legal and logistical possibilities of all of this, we're joined on the Takeaway this week by Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson and former general Richard Hayes who once served as the highest-ranking member of the Illinois National Guard.

For 50 years, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa has fascinated and frustrated the FBI and millions of Americans. The famous former head of the Teamsters Union was last seen July 30th, 1975 – and while the mob connections to Hoffa were clear, the lack of an equally clear cause and manner of death has led to thousands of theories and tips. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, NBC Chicago’s Chuck Goudie takes us back to that summer day outside Detroit in 1975 to walk through the twists and turns of a story he’s covered from the beginning. Goudie also reveals what former FBI agents and mob figures are now telling him about how they think Hoffa's last moments were spent.

The Netflix documentary, “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” chronicles the highs and lows of the 90’s Cowboys from the perspectives of those who lived it — and willed it into existence. Across eight episodes Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Barry Switzer and many others in the Cowboys universe describe what made that time and those teams so special. Often compared to “The Last Dance,” the seminal documentary on the power of the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, “America’s Team” shows how not just the Cowboys but the whole NFL evolved throughout the decade. On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Dave Wannstedt, the Cowboys defensive coordinator for the ascent of that dynasty, shares more of his perspective, including some details about the Jerry Jones-Jimmy Johnson relationship that didn’t make it into the final cut of the series.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination in Utah has led to a renewed conversation about political violence in the United States. The 31-year-old had millions of followers on social media, was very close with President Donald Trump and his son Don Jr., and had built Turning Point USA into the leading conservative organization for the digital age. He had strong views on many divisive political topics -- the 2nd Amendment, gender, immigration, religion in American life – and relished debating it all in public. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, NBC Chicago political reporter Mary Ann Ahern describes how his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs shaped his views and his path to political stardom. She also talks about the reaction to the assassination from Democrats, and what the future of political discourse looks like with fear of continued violence.

The Chicago Bears come into the 2025 NFL season with a new coaching staff, new offensive line and new playmakers – but will it lead to more wins? Will Ben Johnson’s offense turn Caleb Williams into an elite quarterback? Heading into Week 1, these are just two of many questions fans have about what to expect from the 2025 team. The Bears finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record, featuring a 10-game losing streak in the middle of the year. With so much to fix and so many new pieces on this team, former Bears head coach Dave Wannstedt joined The Takeaway with Alex to discuss what he wants to see from the offense and defense, what real progress looks like for a team that finished 5-12 last year, and what will determine this season being a success or failure. Wannstedt, who spent six seasons on the sidelines for the Bears, breaks down how Johnson’s offense will help Williams in year two under center.

President Donald Trump's threat to send the National Guard to Chicago has Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and other Democrats outraged in opposition. They say there are better ways to address the crime that the president hopes to solve. But is the move even legal? If troops hit the streets, what can they do? On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, NBC Chicago Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern and law professor Harold Krent dissect the legal and political angles of the president's plan. The president says the guard will help quickly cut down on Chicago's crime problems. Democrats dismiss the idea as authoritarian theater. Ahern also discusses how the issue animates Democrats and a path to a possible Pritzker presidential run in 2028. Krent also notes the differences and similarities to National Guard deployments in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles earlier this year.

Months after voting out former Mayor Tiffany Henyard, Dolton is looking for a new school superintendent. Kevin Nohelty was the highest paid school superintendent in the state of Illinois, making over $500,000. Then he suddenly retired, after Regina Waldroup started digging into Nohelty’s past performance as a school administrator. She found Nohelty had a pattern of alleged financial problems – both professionally and personally. She also found that in the years Nohelty has been in charge, Dolton School District 148 has gone from solid finances to now being on a “watch list,” the lowest financial rank the Illinois State Board of Education can give to a district. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Regina talks about Nohelty’s administrative record and what it means for taxpayers in the south suburbs.

“Alligator Alcatraz” and the “Speedway Slammer” are two of the Trump Administration’s newest ICE detention facilities. The buzzy titles may suggest similarity, but the sites are very different. Soon after the Department of Homeland Security announced the new facility in the Midwest, NBC Chicago Investigative Reporter Bennett Haeberle started digging into what the federal government has planned for the Indiana prison. Bennett joined The Takeaway with Alex to also explain what Indiana leaders say about the plan, how The Indianapolis Motor Speedway feels about the name, and how often the people whom ICE is detaining and deporting actually have criminal convictions.

Texas Democratic lawmakers have left their state, saying Donald Trump and fellow Republicans are unfairly redistricting and gerrymandering Texas. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has welcomed over 30 Democrats with open arms, supporting their cause as he seeks a third term in office — with one eye possibly on a presidential run in 2028. NBC Chicago Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern has covered all kinds of stories in her career, but hasn’t seen anything quite like this. In this conversation of The Takeaway with Alex, she explains why redistricting matters, what gerrymandering is, how Illinois could respond and why the effects of this story go far beyond Illinois and Texas.

Will Chicago be a haven against climate change? Do climate safe zones really exist? Extreme storms, higher prices and uninsurable property make Chicago more attractive, but climate change can still make midwest storms, flooding and heat worse. NBC Climate Reporter Chase Cain joins The Takeaway with Alex to share how the Midwest must adapt, how just talking about climate change can actually make a difference, and how artificial intelligence has positives and negatives for the future of our planet.

A 14-year-old Chicago boy named Emmett Till was abducted and lynched 70 years ago in Mississippi after being accused of whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant in her family's grocery store. Till's death became a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement after images circulated of an open casket funeral arranged by his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. Over time, his story began to fade from view, until decades later, the 2020 murder of George Floyd reignited the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked new conversations about the 1955 lynching that once shocked the country. Journalist Marion Brooks created the Emmett Till: Then and Now documentary that reexplores Till's life and death through the lens of his loved ones -- including Wheeler Parker who was there the day Emmett died.

Taxpayers have spent over $3 million on an empty lot on Chicago’s south side meant for migrants that was never used. First proposed as a winter shelter for migrants that were bused to Chicago from the southern border, tests eventually showed the lot was contaminated with heavy metals. Three years after Chicago’s migrant crisis began, NBC Chicago Investigative Reporter Bennett Haeberle sits down on The Takeaway with Alex to walk through the missteps that led to millions of dollars being spent on the land, tents and site cleanup – with no shelter to show for it. With the flow of migrants significantly slowing in 2025, Haeberle also looks ahead to what effect the influx had on city and state finances, and Chicago neighborhoods already struggling with housing. With Donald Trump promising to end federal funding for sanctuary cities like Chicago and also deport millions of people, Haeberle also looks ahead to what the future might hold for migrants.

Chicago’s Hollywood history runs deep. Blockbusters like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Dark Knight and The Blues Brothers helped the world get to know our city. But did you know Chicago also has connections to Back to the Future, the Wizard of Oz and even The Great Gatsby? Host of NBC Chicago’s “Only in Chicago” series Lexi Sutter tells Alex Maragos the stories behind the famous scenes and sites. She also found a real police station that plays a fake police station on television, and describes what Chicago has to offer that few other show biz cities can match.

From big events like Lollapalooza, Riot Fest and Summer Smash to small street festivals across the city; Chicago’s summer soundtrack has lots of variety. With so many concerts to check out, two music critics give The Takeaway with Alex a guide to navigate the summer. Britt Julious of the Chicago Tribune and Selena Fragassi of the Chicago Sun-Times tell Alex Maragos about the shows they’re most excited to see this year, the festivals with great vibes, and their list of underhyped artists and venues in Chicago. Julious and Fragassi – who have seen over 1,000 concerts collectively – shared their excitement for the 2025 concert season by giving a list of who to look out for, how to master the many stages of Lolla (and the aftershows) and also predict who might be the next rising star to shoot out of Chicago’s music scene.

Governor J.B. Pritzker’s run for a third term will have ripple effects far beyond Illinois. With more Democrats looking for a leader, Pritzker's criticism of Donald Trump, MAGA politics, and the Republican Party will all have more power coming from a current governor, according to NBC 5 Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern. On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Ahern said the billionaire has shown several signals that higher office could be in his plans: more appearances with national media, regular speeches at Democratic Party events outside Illinois, and progressive posturing other Democrats have started to move away from. And there is his massive net worth – over $3 billion according to Forbes. Ahern said combine all of that, and it’s easy to see why Democrats have told her he could potentially be the next party leader. Ahern also dove into the potential perils a third term might bring; Pritzker will be forced to own more of Illinois’ problems, including a festering pension problem, a drop in federal funds, a transit fiscal cliff and a stagnating population and economy.

When you think of Chicago food, you may think of pizza or hot dogs, but there's so much more the city has to offer. Every dish in every restaurant has a story, and it takes people like Steve Dolinsky to share those stories with the world. With nicknames The Hungry Hound and The Food Guy, Dolinsky has traveled far and wide through Chicago, the suburbs and well beyond for 30 years to tell people where to eat and why to eat there. After chronicling the best meals and restaurants on TV, Dolinsky is headed to a new role — but not before he stopped by The Takeaway with Alex for a taste of some Superdawg, a deep dig on why he loves pizza and his picks to have your next meal in the best food city in the world.

Jerry Reinsdorf has been controlling owner of the White Sox since 1981, but has agreed to sell the team to Justin Ishbia as early as 2029. On this episode of the Takeaway with Alex, The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg dives into this reporting on the White Sox succession plan. In February, Greenberg’s reporting foreshadowed the deal, and today he tells the story of how Ishbia was approached to take a bigger stake in the team and how the final agreement ultimately came together. Greenberg talks to Alex Maragos about what the ownership change means for the White Sox staying in the city, whether they move to a new stadium, and how it can get the White Sox back on the road to a championship.