The Takeaway

The Takeaway

A fresh alternative in daily news featuring critical conversations, live reports from the field, and listener participation. The Takeaway provides a breadth and depth of world, national, and regional news coverage that is unprecedented in public media.

Episodes

June 2, 2023 70 mins

Our host and our staff have remained dedicated to one thing: bringing you, the listeners, a quality news and information show. 

Unfortunately, in February, The Takeaway staff found out that WNYC executives planned to cancel the show. The last day of the show was June 2nd, 2023. No official press release or external communications from NYPR mentions the end of the show, so in this episode, we address it hea...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Rounding out our Producer Appreciation Weeks, intern David Escobar and host Melissa Harris-Perry look back at some of the stories he’s produced for The Takeaway:

Does The Indian Child Welfare Act Hang in Peril?An Enduring American Pastime: The State FairWorking Out the Four-Day Work WeekHealing Trauma Through Nature in WildcatHow A Doll Became a Queer Icon in M3GAN

"David Escobar is a ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

David Gebel spent many years working as a singer and actor, and in between shows would work as a temp at various corporate jobs.

Little did he know that all those acquired office skills would help him end up at WNYC, initially supporting Radiolab, and then expanding his work to also include supporting The Takeaway and the podcast More Perfect.

David focuses on the paperwork, the scheduling and the business...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

"Atlanta influences everything." 

As part of our Producer Appreciation Weeks, Host Melissa Harris-Perry talks with the professionals behind the scenes who bring you the stories you love. 

Digital producer Zachary Bynum is a resident of Atlanta who's worked remotely with The Takeaway for the last 2 years. He produces, edits, and publishes all of our social media content, webpages, and podcasts.

Zachary has also produced...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

As part of our goodbye to The Takeaway, Melissa Harris-Perry sits down with the beautiful folks behind the scenes who make the show happen every day! Today, we're highlighting the work of producer,  Monica Morales-Garciaby listening back to a few of her favorite segments:

"Black Maternal Health Week Comes to an End""Hospice Care Is Plagued by Exploitation""Brittney Johnson is Spellbinding""Keyla Monterro...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

As part of our farewell to The Takeaway, host Melissa Harris-Perry sits down with the people behind the scenes who make The Takeaway happen. Today, we're taking a look at some of the work done by Cat Sposato while here on the show. Some of her favorite segments include:

Unpacking the Parkland Shooter VerdictA Conversation with MacArthur Fellow Kiese LaymonHurricanes, Puerto Rico and Bad Bunny's "El Apagón"The Polarizin...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

We continue our Producer Appreciation Weeks with Host Melissa Harris-Perry, who peels back the curtain and speaks with the talented folks that make The Takeaway every day. Today we're highlighting some of Morgan Givens' favorite segments produced during his time with The Takeaway:

What Makes a Black ManElectric Literature Editor-in-Chief Denne Michele Norris Makes History and Makes SpaceAward ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

As part of our farewell to The Takeaway, Melissa Harris-Perry sits down with the folks behind the scenes who make the show happen every day. Today, we're highlighting the work of Mary Steffenhagen — an award-winning investigative journalist and producer who joined The Takeaway just over a year ago — by listening back to a few of her favorite segments:

• "When Women’s Survival is Criminalized" and "Corrections in Ink"

• "A Culture o...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

We continue our Producer Appreciation Weeks with Host Melissa Harris-Perry, who peels back the curtain and speaks with the talented folks that make The Takeaway every day.

Producer Ryan Wilde got his first taste of radio in an unlikely place: 104.5 Ice Radio in Antarctica.  After beginning his public radio career as an intern, and then producer for The Brian Lehrer Show, he also had a stop in ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

As part of our Producer Appreciation Weeks, Host Melissa Harris-Perry talks with the professionals behind the scenes who bring you the stories you value and the shows you love. 

Producer Katerina Barton revisits some of her favorite segments that she's produced throughout the past two years on The Takeaway:

    Gordon Plaza Residents Fight for Relocation from Toxic Land What is Driving the Truck Driver Shortage? What Does Queer Me...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Over the years, The Takeaway has seen a long list of rotating staff made up of intrepid, outspoken journalists and producers.

That list does not include Vince Fairchild who is a 'Takeaway veteran' in every sense of the word. Vince has worked as a broadcast engineer on the show since its first year on air in 2008 and now serves as our Senior Broadcast Engineer. 

"He fact checks like no other. He sound...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

We went behind-the-scenes with our control room team: Jay CowitVince Fairchild and Jackie Martin to find out how The Takeaway gets made every day.

Then, we got a 1-on-1 conversation between show host Melissa Harris-Perry and Director Jay Cowit who's been working on the Sound design of The Takeaway for nearly 15 years now.

"Jay has been with The Takeaway since its on-air in...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

You might not know this about our Line Producer Jackie Martin, but she is an Air Force Veteran who served from 2000-2005.

On The Takeaway, she has produced segments about “Other Than Honorably” Discharged LGBTQ+ Veterans who were discriminated against and discharged due solely to their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status. On top of that, she has coproduced a nu...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

As the Takeaway comes to an end, we get one last set of movie prescriptions from Kristen Meinzer, a culture critic and host of the podcast "By The Book" and Rafer Guzman, a film critic for Newsday, and they bring us movie prescriptions about embracing change and fresh starts.

Together Kristen and Rafer are the co-hosts of the podcast, Movie Therapy.

KRISTEN’S PICKS:

Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar, 2021

When middle aged best frie...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Original Air Date: August 30, 2022

More than 55,000 people across the U.S. are incarcerated with the sentence of life without the possibility of parole. This population been rising sharply in the past few decades, with an increase of 66% since 2003, according to research by The Sentencing Project.

...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

On Friday, June 2, we will broadcast our final episode. 

As we head into these final days, we are taking the time to pause and show a little gratitude for the extraordinary team of producers who make The Takeaway every day. 

Today, we are hailing our Senior Producer: Shanta Covington. Shanta and Takeaway host Melissa Harris-Perry have been working on media projects together for over a decade now.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

A group of dancers working at the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, just won their battle to form the only current union for strippers in the country. Since being locked out on the job in March 2022, the dancers held a strike and picket for eight months before officially voting to unionize 

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Ruth E. Carter made history when she became the first Black costume designer to win an Oscar, and the first Black woman to win two Oscars, both for her work on Marvel’s Black Panther franchise. She’s been the premier designer for movies that portray iconic Black characters and cultures for three decades, having worked with the likes of Spike Lee, Denzel Washington and...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 17, 2023 16 mins

The mounting death toll from the opioid crisis in the United States continues to wreak havoc in cities, towns, and rural communities across the nation. Over the past two decades, the number of people dying from opioid overdoses in New York, and across the United States, are rising each year. 

But there is something that some public health experts say could help. 

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
May 16, 2023 8 mins

The Writers Guild of America, which has over 11-thousand members, is entering week its third week of a work stoppage.  This is the first strike in 15 years, and comes at a time when the TV and film industry has seen some major changes in recent years. Amongst their demands, writers are seeking higher wages, better residuals, and assurances on the use of AI.

First we hear from Monice Mitchell Simms, TV writer, screenwriter, author, ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    The Joe Rogan Experience

    The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices