The Take

It’s been a 40-year fight in the United States over affirmative action, or taking race into consideration for university admissions. Now, students and schools are adjusting to a new reality after the US Supreme Court reversed the precedent. The ruling is the culmination of a concerted legal campaign by conservative activist Edward Blum and his organization Students for Fair Admissions. Some US universities have stopped using affirmative action, in the past, and the results show fewer minority students enrolled at their institutions. So how will this nationwide decision change demographics – and how will that change students’ futures?

In this episode: 

• Sumun Pendakur (@SumunLPendakur), Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategist 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders, with Chloe K. Li and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Nestor Peña was last seen leaving his construction job in the Colombian city of Tuluá to meet some friends for lunch. He left behind all of his personal belongings, and no one has seen him since. Since 2015, over 1,500 Venezuelans have vanished just like Nestor did, with only a fraction of the cases being resolved. The lack of access to justice compounds the challenges the families left in anguish face. 

In this episode: 

• Christina Noriega (@c_mnoriega), freelance journalist

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan with our host, Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

In early July, Tunisian authorities forcibly expelled hundreds of Black migrants and refugees from Sfax, Tunisia’s second-largest city. Al Jazeera found many of them days later without food or water, wandering through the desert ‘no man’s land’ on the border between Tunisia and Libya. Earlier this year, President Kais Sayed accused this vulnerable population of criminal behavior and warned of a conspiracy to replace Tunisian citizens. So what’s being done to help these people, or is it getting worse?

In this episode: 

• Simon Speakman Cordall (@IgnitionUK), freelance journalist based in Tunisia
• Malik Traina (@libyanmind), Al Jazeera reporter based in Libya

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters with Sonia Bhagat and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan and Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Cricket has 2.5 billion fans worldwide, but it has struggled to win over the United States. But a new professional league is trying to change that: Major League Cricket. Featuring six teams and some heavy-hitting investors, its inaugural season starts this week. Immigrants from cricket-loving countries might already be on board, and MLC is looking to convert fans from American football, basketball and baseball. 

In this episode: 

• Tabish Talib (@Tabish_Talib), AJ+ senior producer

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana with Miranda Lin and our host Kevin Hirten, in for Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

In the aftermath of Israel’s attack on Jenin last week that killed 12 people, Palestinians are furious not just at their occupiers but also frustrated with the Palestinian Authority. On Wednesday, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas visited the city and held talks to rebuild. So what are the obstacles to rebuilding Palestinians’ faith in the PA?

In this episode: 

•  Nour Odeh (@nour_odeh), Palestinian political analyst and commentator 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders, with Chloe K. Li and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Where exactly is Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin – and what’s happening to Wagner fighters scattered around the globe? The Wagner Group has fighters far beyond the war in Ukraine, from Syria to Libya to the Central African Republic. While much of the world was focused on Moscow, the shockwaves from Prigozhin’s brief mutiny had global reverberations.

In this episode: 

• Anchal Vohra (@anchalvohra), columnist, Foreign Policy
• Bernard Smith (@JazeeraBernard), Al Jazeera English correspondent 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters with Sonia Bhagat and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera AlDosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

When Bola Tinubu was elected as Nigeria’s president in May, many expected little would change. But from the first minutes of his inauguration speech, the 71-year-old has brought big changes to Africa’s largest economy. He says the moves, including scrapping a key fuel subsidy, are needed to save the country from debt and poverty. But for average citizens already facing soaring inflation and a cost of living crisis, the reforms could add even more pressure to their struggles.

In this episode: 

• Eromo Egbejule (@EromoEgbejule), Al Jazeera Africa news editor
• Pelumi Salako (@SalakoBabaa), freelance journalist 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Miranda Lin with Fahrinisa Campana and our host Malika Bilal. Sonia Bhagat and Fahrinisa Campana fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera AlDosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Captagon, a stimulant mainly produced in Syria that has become particularly popular with users in Gulf countries, has received a lot of press. While it seems clear that the trade is now one of the Syrian government’s main sources of income, less understood is its effects on users. Ever-larger seizures by authorities from Beirut to Abu Dhabi are daily occurrences. Now Captagon is part of the discussion as part of normalization talks following Syria’s readmission to the Arab League. How severe is the captagon problem in Syria and the Middle East? And will stopping the trade speed peace with Syria?  

In this episode: 

• Caroline Rose (@CarolineRose8), director of Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute 
• Elie Aaraj (@eaaraj), director of the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders, with Chloe K. Li and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera AlDosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

Darfur’s years of systematic violence left the international community outraged – along with a few celebrities. And many of them tried to do something. They tried to save Darfur. At its peak, the Save Darfur movement would be an alliance of more than 190 faith-based organizations from many countries, a reported one million activists, and hundreds of community groups. But by 2016, the movement shut down. So, why did the movement fail – and what does it mean for the violence unleashed in Darfur today?

This is the second of a two-part series on the crisis happening in Darfur. Listen to part one here.

In this episode:

• Rebecca Hamilton (@bechamilton), law professor at American University
• Niemat, women’s rights activist from Darfur
• Nathaniel Raymond (@nattyray11), human rights investigator

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters, David Enders and our host Natasha Del Toro, in for Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan and Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

In Darfur, Sudan's conflict has reawakened old wounds, the divisions drawn along ethnic lines that led to systematic killings a generation ago. Back then, governments worldwide accused government-backed militias of carrying out genocide. Since April this year, a power struggle between two military leaders tore apart Khartoum, the capital, and the country. So, where did those militias come from, and why do they have so many people in Darfur running for their lives again?

This is the first of a two-part series on the crisis happening in Darfur. Listen to part two here.

In this episode:

• Niemat, women’s rights activist from Darfur
• Mat Nashed (@matnashed), freelance journalist covering Sudan

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Amy Walters, David Enders and our host Natasha del Toro, in for Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan and Miranda Lin fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Adam Abou-Gad is our engagement producer.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook