Chicago celebrates cultural victory with native son, Pope Leo XIV
As much as the news media serves to inform the public, we’re also here to give you something to talk about. Learning about the world around us provides the connective tissue for spirited interactions and growing deeper bonds with each other.
What are you going to bring up at the dinner table to get the conversation flowing? Did you read that article everybody has been talking about, too?
Who is it? Well, this week’s main character is related to Pope Leo XIV, who was elected on the second day of voting during the papal conclave. But the real main star that has come out of this week’s online chatter is the illustrious Midwestern city of Chicago, Illinois.
What’s the big deal? In layman’s terms, you could say that Chicago stays winning. What other city can claim to be the incubator for a pope, a former U.S. president and a conceptual Sufjan Stevens album?
What are people saying? They’re talking a lot about Malört, the Chicago famous booze, hot dogs and general cultural supremacy. DA POPE!
BREAK OUT THE MALORT BOYS WE GOT A CHICAGO POPE
— america’s gassy lounge singer (@KrangTNelson) May 8, 2025
Translation:
He has eaten our dogs#chicagopope pic.twitter.com/AXnRL4FzaV— The Wieners Circle (@TheWienerCircle) May 8, 2025
So, what now? Pope Leo’s next few weeks will be filled with all of the administrative bits and bobs required from any new job — that includes his uniform, his ring and his schedule.
He’s also the first pope with a digital footprint, and as internet sleuths try to build an idea of what kind of pope he might be, some have already found answers to the questions they think are most important: Sox or Cubs?
Colombia’s lone Amazon port faces drying river and rising tensions with Peru
Colombia's only Amazon port town could soon be cut off from the river that keeps it alive. As drought and a shifting river spark a tense border dispute with Peru, locals are scrambling to adapt—and politicians are raising flags, literally.
Sunday Puzzle: Common denominator
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzlemaster Will Shortz along with listener Cynthia Rose of Littleton, Colorado.
South Korea says it has reached a deal with the US for the release of workers in a Georgia plant
More than 300 South Korean workers were detained in an immigration raid on Thursday. Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said South Korea plans to send a charter plane to bring the workers home.
The silent killer increases your risk of stroke and dementia. Here’s how to control it
New recommendations for early treatment for hypertension to prevent strokes, heart attacks and dementia come as an experimental medication is shown to lower blood pressure in hard to treat patients.
Are you a grandparent-to-be? Here’s some advice from those who came before you
Sept. 7 is National Grandparents Day. NPR readers shared the joys of becoming grandparents and offered some sage advice.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his intention on Sunday to step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July's parliamentary election.
