The Top Risks of 2017, Violence in Chicago, The New Space Race

Coming up on today’s show:

• If 2016 produced a global shift in political power, what does 2017 hold? Ian Bremmer, president and founder of the Eurasia Group, a political consulting firm, joins The Takeaway to discuss the top risks facing the world in 2017. 

• Congress is back in session today, and lawmakers already have a full plate. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich explains what’s on the agenda. 

• One of the most brutal prison riots in history occurred in the Brazilian city of Manaus on Sunday. The 17 hour blood bath killed about 60 people — the riot is part of a growing cocaine turf war. Simon Romero, Brazil bureau chief for our partners at The New York Times, has the details.

• Violence plagued Chicago in 2016, but gun deaths are still lower than they were in the 1990s. Chicago resident Seonia Owens reflects on the life and death of her son, Robert Owens, who was 15 when he was fatally shot in 1998. She joins The Takeaway with her daughter, Sharon Burgman-Owens, Robert’s older sister.

• Children under the age of 13 were injured or killed in 41 shooting incidents last year in the city of Chicago. Patrick Smith, a reporter from member station WBEZ, has been combing through the data and explains how people in Chicago are coping with violence in the Windy City. 

• Renewed interest in space exploration in both the private and public sectors is creating a new space race. Emily Rice, a professor of astrophysics at the College of Staten Island and the CUNY Graduate Center, and a researcher at the American Museum of Natural History, has the details.