The Takeaway with Alex

Pope Leo’s lung cancer diagnosis has caused millions around the world to worry and wonder about the 71 year old’s health. Officially called pulmonary adenocarcinoma, his disease is one of the most common forms of lung cancer. On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Dr. Kalvin Lung of Northwestern Medicine explains the surgical procedure the pope underwent, the type of cancer he faces and the prognosis ahead for the leader of the Catholic Church. Dr. Lung told NBC Chicago’s Alex Maragos that he has performed the same surgery that the pope had hundreds of times. He also described the advances in medicine and treatment over the last decade that greatly improve outcomes for patients facing this type of cancer. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Coach Chris Bennett wants you to know that running isn’t only about performance or time – it’s also a good way to handle things that have nothing to do with running: grief, loss, a breakup, or a bad day. Bennett is most famous for being Nike’s Global Running Head Coach. His voice guides thousands of runners through all types of training runs. Now he’s distilled how running and life collide in his new book This is about running. This is not about running. Bennett’s philosophy leans on kindness, flexibility and vulnerability – while not forgetting about challenges, improvement and success. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, Bennett shares why everyone should find a coach in their life, why skipping the long run is sometimes okay. NBC Chicago’s Alex Maragos also asked him about the comparison to a fictional uplifting coach with a mustache, Ted Lasso. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Chicago Bears start the 2026 season with a rare dose of hope and hype. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams aim to take the offense to new heights, and carry the team to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time 20 years. In this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, NBC Chicago’s Lou Canellis sets the stage for this season. He shares his excitement and worry about this year’s roster, compares this year’s expectations with Bears teams of the past, and says if the Bears keep winning – they’ll be celebrated like the 90’s Bulls. Canellis also shares his major concerns with host Alex Maragos, including worries about defensive depth, strength of schedule and overall team regression.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

'Spider-man: Brand New Day' is smashing Marvel Cinematic Universe box office records. The “Superhero fatigue” Hollywood had felt seems to fade away thanks to a mix of deep characters, strong storyline, and building excitement for the next Marvel film. On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex; NBC Chicago’s Alex Maragos welcomes Entertainment & Culture Contributor Richard Roeper, who hosts Roeper’s Take on NBC Chicago and The Movie of Your Life podcast. Roeper explains why Brand New Day excelled above its superhero peers, what Hollywood executives should learn from it and why 2026 has been a special year at the movies.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This summer’s Cyclosporiasis outbreak is the largest in U.S. history, with thousands getting sick from the intestinal parasite. Millions of Americans have heard about the symptoms -- like “explosive diarrhea” -- and are second guessing what to eat. Taylor Farms de Mexico has voluntarily recalled all iceberg lettuce from Central Mexico, but as of July 19th the FDA had zero positive sample results for the intestinal parasite. On this episode of The Takeaway with Alex, food safety expert Brian Schaneberg shares what we know about the outbreak and what he thinks is safer to eat. As Executive Director of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Institute for Food Safety and Health, Schaneberg talks about his hypothesis for the source, how the FDA tracks down the cause and what steps everyone can take to eat their vegetables and still stay safe.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Governor JB Pritzker is a consistent critic of President Donald Trump, and could run to succeed him in 2028. With the Democratic Party seeing a recent swing of progressives and Democratic Socialists win primaries, Pritzker talked about the future of his party and the country on the Season 2 premiere of The Takeaway with Alex. NBC Chicago’s Alex Maragos covered a range of topics with the governor: inflation, Democratic Socialists’ success, his accusation that Trump has dementia, US support for Israel, the 2028 DNC, the Bears stadium search, how Pritzker uses AI, and much more.  CHAPTERS:  0:00 Intro  0:49 Agreement with Trump  1:55 Trump’s Use of Power  3:42 Democratic Socialists  6:01 Affordability and Inflation  9:45 Israel and the Democratic Party  12:06 Biden, Trump, dementia?  13:40 Bears stadium search  21:18 Future of AI  25:03 Elon Musk  28:20 Data centers  29:40 Being a billionaire Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.