The Takeaway with Alex

Olympics 2026 behind the scenes: 100-DAY COUNTDOWN to Milan-Cortina!

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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bulls 2025 Season Preview: Adam Amin on Giddey, Coby, Matas, his favorite calls + DJ side hustle

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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why do we have Daylight Saving Time?

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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What can National Guard troops REALLY do in Chicago?

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 [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happened to Jimmy Hoffa? Clues, cover-ups, new details

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